Single, Double, Or More: Choosing Your Mobile Home Size
by Luke Fields
Looking at new mobile homes for sale is exciting. You're getting the latest building technology in an affordable and attractive package that's going to last for years. But along with choosing the features you want, you have to look at the size. Mobile homes are most often found in singlewide and doublewide sizes; singlewides are narrower and shipped in one unit, while doublewides are slightly wider, much longer, and shipped in at least two units. (they're joined together at the installation site.) Sometimes which one you need is obvious, but other times, it takes some thought for the future:
Space and Occupancy
The obvious factors are space and how many people will be living there. If the land you have available will fit only a single-wide, your choice is made for you. And if you're planning to have a lot of people living there, you need at least a double-wide, if not a rarer triple-wide or larger.
In addition to the basic size, keep in mind that you'll also want room for a carport and possibly a porch or patio. So your space in the mobile home park or on someone's land might look like it could fit a double-wide, but once you calculate the space for a carport and garden, you might have room left for only a single-wide.
Looks
Singlewides tend to look more like mobile homes. The narrow shape is fairly telling, and the skirt around the home will be more obvious. A larger double-wide may be better at hiding the base skirt (the amount of land lends itself well to a concealing landscaping job), and the wider shape that allows for more porch space makes it look more like a regular house. If you want to live in something that looks like a regular house, a double-wide or larger is your best bet.
Rental Units
Finally, if you want to have extra income and want to create a rental unit or two on your property, a larger mobile home can be remodeled (or created, depending on the company) to include a separate, smaller unit. That way, you can have some passive income while still having your own space and not shelling out for an expensive separate unit.
The mobile home company you buy from should have catalogs of all the models and sizes available. You might want to ask about design help so that you accurately judge how much room you'll need for your carport and other amenities.
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About Me
Welcome to my website. My name is Larry Silva, and I want to talk a bit about private mortgage insurance. You may have heard the term PMI mentioned when you were in the process of purchasing real estate. When I first heard my lender talking about PMI, I was very confused. It was my realtor who sat me down and explained what private mortgage insurance was and when someone is required to purchase it. He told me that PMI is not lifelong insurance; it can be cancelled when the mortgage principal balance reaches a certain point. Once it was explained to me, private mortgage insurance was no longer a mystery or a confusing concept. I would like to pass on what I learned and hope that you find it to be of value.