What to Look for When Buying a Trailer Home
Before you buy a trailer or modular home, you need to inspect it like you would any other piece of property. This is true for new and used trailer homes. You don’t want to buy it and find out lots of things are wrong. Usually fixing up a trailer home is more expensive than buying a new one and only depreciates the value faster. Here are some tips to think about and things to look for before you buy a trailer home:
1. Check crawl space venting, and look for evidence of mildew, rot, rust, etc. under the unit - especially in exposed, retrofitted plumbing, electrical and duct work. These are costly things to fix.
2. Are the supply and waste piping adequately insulated, and heated for winter conditions? Is any exposed?
3. Is there adequate combustion air for a standard gas or oil furnace? Most of the furnaces we observe are standard gas or oil, forced-air, down-flow style. The make-up (combustion) air source is usually from under the trailer, excepting newer installations of direct-vent furnaces.Is there adequate ductwork? In some mobile homes the original configuration provided for supply and return air only at the furnace closet door. Much of the retrofit ducting is flex-duct, and may be damaged or deteriorated under the unit. Everything under the unit is also susceptible to rodents so you need to make sure everything is sealed properly.
4. In cold-weather regions, uninsulated oil tanks (outdoors) are subject to condensation and rust, especially at their bottoms. You need to make sure your tank is insulated properly.
5. Depending on the soils under the trailer, the unit may heave and shift under heavy frost conditions, unless the pilings are mounted below frost level.
6. Many units are insulated with Urea Formaldehyde Foam Insulation (UFFI). This might, or might not be a consideration - depending upon history and attitudes in your local area. Polyurethane foam and other insulation are sometimes mistakenly identified as UFFI.
7. Mobiles are generally quite air-tight and (in cold-weather regions) retained moisture will cause excessive condensation on windows, especially metal-framed and/or single-pane units. Many mobile home in colder areas are re-fitted with wooden or vinyl, double-pane windows.
8. Older mobiles had 50 or 60 amp electric capacity, and newer models most often have 100 amps. However, depending on the mobile home park, they may be connected to a pole-mounted shut-off, of less than 100 amps.
9. In many mobile home parks, water and sewage are private or communal - not municipal. It is important to know how your sewage is managed, who is responsible and who pays for maintenance and repairs to private or communal systems.
10. Beware of owner-installed porches and additions. These demand diligent inspection. There is frequently wood-earth contact, and poor ventilation underneath - and frequently unorthodox framing methods. The porch roof-to-wall flashings are frequently substandard and problematic.
If you think about these things before you purchase your home, you’ll be in a much better situation!
