Today during lunch I was browsing FB and my eyes just about bugged out. There in front of me was a 1334 sq ft house for $30k!
Everything I usually see on there is 3x+ as much. So I inspected it a bit closer to figure out why it was so inexpensive.
The main thing I could come up with was that it is a mobile home. From the pictures it looked well kept, it included a yard and a screened in back porch. It didn't sound like it was in a bad part of town, nor too terribly far from work.
I couldn't click on the link for more info, and it seems to have disappeared. However, it gave me hope that I might be able to afford something without taking on a huge mortgage or waiting ten years ... as long as I can find a mobile home in good condition and in a good / well taken care of park. And apparently there is such a thing here!
I could do 20% down on this thing with only my EF savings. 
Give me a few more years (and more time to research areas/mobile home conditions) and this might just be the way to go.
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I ended up walking to work this morning even though I really had not planned on doing it (so HOT yesterday morning.) It was a little warm, but much cooler than Monday a.m.
NE picked me up after work today and took me over to his place so I could use his car to go to the gym.
The drive without a/c wouldn't have been too bad if it hadn't been for the horrible traffic! It took me nearly 30 minutes to get to the gym! (In comparison, it took me 12 minutes to get home.)
NE is planning on getting the a/c fixed in his Honda, and then taking his Subaru in to see what is going on with it. If it's more than a $1k fix, he's probably going to get rid of it. If the a/c gets working in his Honda, that'll give him until October or so to get another second car (for winter driving.)
We're trading cars again tonight after he gets off work (11 p.m.) I'll be glad to have my car back.
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I figured out that my digital scale just takes AAA batteries. I have some around here somewhere ..
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No spending today (Day #11)
$30 k House!
July 15th, 2015 at 01:27 am
July 15th, 2015 at 03:32 am 1436931165
Mobile homes depreciate and are not cheap to heat or cool. A house, if you can deal with maintenance, or a condo id you can't is a much better investment.
July 15th, 2015 at 03:39 am 1436931592
July 15th, 2015 at 04:35 am 1436934936
July 15th, 2015 at 05:12 am 1436937179
July 15th, 2015 at 02:11 pm 1436969470
July 15th, 2015 at 02:57 pm 1436972234
Principal and interest: $383
Taxes at 2 percent? (guess) $133
Insurance at $900: $75
That adds up to $571
There would be mortgage insurance as well, not sure what it would be for this small of a loan. If it's $50 a month, your total payment would be $621. How much less are you paying for an apartment?
With a mobile home, you are paying the space rent, and personal property taxes on the mobile. The mobile depreciates to nothing over a relatively short period.
The space rent goes up and the park could be closed at any time. You would have to pay thousands to move the mobile which is likely worth very little if the park closes. A lot of people just abandon the mobile, because it costs too much to move.
If you want to be a homeowner, sit down with your bank and get an estimate of what you can afford. And as Julie points out, there might be a good owner-financed property out there that will meet your needs as well.
July 15th, 2015 at 04:58 pm 1436979523
July 15th, 2015 at 08:34 pm 1436992476
July 16th, 2015 at 01:10 am 1437009026
I definitely want to own the land my home sits on - so the only thing that could take it away from me is eminent domain.
I really don't think I'd want a MH in the long run - this was more just me dreaming and being happy to see a house for 30k.