"John A. Weeks III" wrote:

And lets do some math. Lets say I buy a luxurious top of the
line mobile home for $30,000. And I live in in 30 years. Lets
say it has zero value and the end of the 30 years (according to
your scenario). So, by living there, it has cost me about $1000
per year, and I have no investment.

Compare that to a regular house in the city that costs $300,000.
To live in this house, you have to pay $1800 a month, plus a
few thousand a year in taxes and insurance. You end up paying
hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest. In fact, you
pay almost twice per month of what the other house costs per
year to live in.

In fact, if you put that $1800 per month into a regular house,
you end up with a 30 year old regular house worth maybe $300K
that needs 30 years of maintenance and updating.

On the other hand, if you bought the mobile home, you have
a livable house worth nothing, but if you invested that $1800
a month wisely at 6%, you end up with a nest egg worth nearly
$2,000,000.

So, to avoid losing $30,000 in value on a manufactured home,
you foolishly suggest a "regular" house, when in fact, the
decision to buy that regular house cost you over a million
and a half dollars in missed profits. Making that kind of
mistake should be a criminal offense.

Missed profits? What passes for financial education in this country is the
criminal offense.

To compare your two scenarios on an equal basis, you have to assume that both
transactions are cash deals. Traditional housing in the US has historically
appreciated at a minimum 5% annual rate over the long term. Current market
aside, its reasonable to assume that will continue. We'll also assume that $30K
includes land, or rent free use thereof, which is unlikely.

I agree, that $30K trailer will be worth nothing at the end of 30 years. The
300K house OTOH, will likely be worth at least $1.3 million at the same 30 year
point - not "maybe $300K.". Even subtracting the difference in maintenance and
taxes, there is no comparison.

Your math above makes no sense. You seem to be saying that you can live in a
trailer for free and invest a $1800 mortgage payment elsewhere, resulting in an
end result of $2M. That doesn't work.

Let's move on to a financed deal. Last time I looked, mortgages on trailers
carry higher interest rates than standard mortgages, and the term is
significantly shorter. That means someone financing a trailer will end up with
an out of pocket amount each month not much more than a standard mortgage.

Furthermore, many states offer special underwriting programs for first time home
buyers that reduce the currently low rates even further.

Quality of life? Sound insulation? Thermal insulation? There's no comparison.

Look - I don't sell houses or trailers, but I can do basic math. I'd like to see
one competent financial authority that suggests that as a rule trailers are
better financial deals than traditional houses.

There are lots of people living in "manufactured homes" these days, for lots of
valid reasons. Appreciation and investing any difference in the market aren't
likely to be those reasons.