# Am I nuts?



## sisterpine (May 9, 2004)

As some of you know I have been looking for my stead here in Arizona for a couple of years.

Was recently contacted by a realtor who has two places for me to look at. One is a 5 bedroom house on five acres about ten miles away from my preferred location. The other is a 1992 double wide (I am thinking it must be attached as I want to finance VA but who knows) on 10 acres with fruit trees exactly in the location I want to live in. Both have good private wells and are in my price range.

Would I be nuts to look at the double wide...? Arizona does not get much snow but it surely gets hot and you never know until you check how much insulation a place has.


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## TXWildcat (Mar 26, 2014)

no. you are not nuts. 


Live life in such a way that the preacher won't have to lie at your funeral.


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## where I want to (Oct 28, 2008)

sisterpine said:


> As some of you know I have been looking for my stead here in Arizona for a couple of years.
> 
> Was recently contacted by a realtor who has two places for me to look at. One is a 5 bedroom house on five acres about ten miles away from my preferred location. The other is a 1992 double wide (I am thinking it must be attached as I want to finance VA but who knows) on 10 acres with fruit trees exactly in the location I want to live in. Both have good private wells and are in my price range.
> 
> Would I be nuts to look at the double wide...? Arizona does not get much snow but it surely gets hot and you never know until you check how much insulation a place has.


Ask to see the last years worth of utility bills. That might give you an idea.


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## notwyse (Feb 16, 2014)

There are some pretty nice mobiles out there. See them both.


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## Teej (Jan 14, 2012)

You are not nuts. Some of them are very well built and well insulated.


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## sisterpine (May 9, 2004)

Thanks all, I will be going out next week with the realtor and likely my niece to check out a few places...mean while I continue to prep this house for sale!


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## mrs whodunit (Feb 3, 2012)

My parents live in an older mobile home in Az. They have a swamp cooler and ac in their bedrooms. They dont seem to have any issues.

They also have a huge array of solar panels so their power bill is pretty much nill unless its really hot.


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## DryHeat (Nov 11, 2010)

A friend of ours lives sort of southwest of Tucson in I'd say an older doublewide, keeps a growing chicken flock and a bit of gardening presence and seems satisfied with the logistics. She works a day job as a residential real estate appraiser so certainly looked at the basic practicalities and value quite carefully before moving there from a small house owned in central Tucson. I've been casually looking over potential bug-out, homestead, maybe investment, properties showing online through AZ and NM for a couple of years now also but without even getting to the point of physically looking at anything. I'd say the real absolute key has to be the *water* availability. That means, close enough to the surface, and reliably enough there, that the cost (if using electricity) of sufficient volume through a well doesn't become financially burdensome, if not impossible. Hmm, here's a link to a setup at an "intentional community" site that probably wouldn't be on the real estate market but got me scrolling around the area on Google Earth: ( http://www.ic.org/directory/lonesome-coconut-ranch/ ). The general area that setup is in is along the San Pedro River north of Benson. The area looks to be a very pleasant (for AZ high desert) strip running east of Mt. Lemmon north to around San Manuel. Any property right in that strip with water, garden space established, and a functional residence would be worth a look if put on the market, imo.


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## Muleman (Nov 8, 2013)

Much easier to update or change a home or trailer on the perfectly located property, rather than try to make the wrong property into the right location. Pretty easy to build an additional roof over the MH to help with the hot summers.


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## TedH71 (Jan 19, 2003)

I would check out both properties just to see what they have to offer. Honestly 10 miles out of your preferred location isn't that bad.


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## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

From the info you gave us, I really can't determine your sanity (or lack of sanity).

But I'd certainly give them both a look. The trailer actually sounds better to me, because it's exactly where you want to be, AND it has established fruit trees.

Don't forget to let us know how it goes!


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## Lupine (Oct 2, 2013)

Late to the party here, but in southern Arizona trailers don't have the same issues as they do in more humid climates, i.e. mold and rot. Siting, shading, wind protection all factor in on how a house (of any type) performs.


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## sisterpine (May 9, 2004)

Well we found a brick home that we really like,,,,,now to come up with a huge down payment so the mortgage will be small...there are three hundred pistachio trees!


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## meugene (Jul 30, 2009)

Ah, well it looks like you've found a place. But 10 acres with mobile vs. 5 in your ideal location beats a nicer house in a less desirable area. You can always upgrade your house, but you can't move it. Of course, you gave no details on condition of the 5br home either. For resale, a stick built will win every time. '92 mobile - not going to appreciate for sure. But if you have no plans to move and are happy there, who cares? Put a shed roof over it and add on if need be!


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## fellini123 (Feb 2, 2003)

sisterpine said:


> Well we found a brick home that we really like,,,,,now to come up with a huge down payment so the mortgage will be small..*.there are three hundred pistachio trees!*


I would say the answer to your title is YES!!!!! That is a lot of pstachios!!!

Alice in Virginia


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## PonderosaQ (Jan 12, 2004)

Let us know when we can start placing our pistachio orders! Good luck hope this works out for you you've been looking for long time.


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## Oontry4 (Feb 25, 2013)

never discount the "value " of a mobile home. I bought a cheap$3500 single wide.put it on my 4 acresin-the-woods........gutted it(it was a nasty rental unit).put in the kitchen,bathrooms etc that I wanted..and added insulation. and a neat 12x24 add-on with a big woodstive. Property taxes are (on the trailer),$122/yr(because of its "old BOOK value". VERY,VERY comfortable and very cheap to live. I dont even insure it,as I keep most of my true valuables in the 3 storage bldgs/garages. I added metal roofing and new metal siding....quite fire -resistant .Put up a few small solar panels(cheap at Harbor freight), and live quite cheap!!. Ive owned several "conventional" houses in my 66 years, and have spent(totally)$81,000 JUST IN PROPERTY TAXES, in that length of time. Yes, they all sold for more than I paid.........BUT the real value of them was in the "DIRT" that the house sat on.NO LONGER can we reliably ASSUME that a stick-home will be an "investment"(as in the past in America)..Good luck


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## DryHeat (Nov 11, 2010)

The pistachio "angle" got me a bit curious; with a bit of Googling, I saw an article in which a grower was speculating that while prices looked OK at the present, that fact has encouraged considerable new grove planting. With it taking around seven years for a new tree to come into production, he seemed to be actively fretting that way too many nuts might be on the market from a few years from now going forward, with much lower prices possible if that happened. I'd suggest a really close look at that possibility and the danger that low prices and higher overhead (water availability, fertilizer, and such) could turn that grove into a frustration rather than a cash cow. If nothing else, grumbling about the idea might aid negotiations on your side. I notice, too, on Zillow that the place was under contract for its present full asking price a couple months ago, but the deal fell through. If that was due to credit issues with the buyer, there might not be much negotiating room for a while, but perhaps the prospect found some problem and backed out? I'd think the agents would be obliged to make a disclosure on what happened there if asked?


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Yes, you're nuts. You want to stay in Arizona. (joking)

My dh would be there in a heartbeat if we were looking in AZ. He loves pistachios!


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## big rockpile (Feb 24, 2003)

Danaus29 said:


> Yes, you're nuts. You want to stay in Arizona. (joking)
> 
> My dh would be there in a heartbeat if we were looking in AZ. He loves pistachios!


 
I was thinking the same but because I have no teeth Nuts are out.

Oh Arizona has some nice places.:grin:

big rockpile


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## Hoopjohn (Mar 8, 2013)

I happen to think single and double wides are very very poor investments, are built from the cheapest building materials known to mankind, and are only slightly better than living in a teepee.

But, if you can get your hands on one free or very very cheap, they can provide temporary housing. Absolutely do not pay more for a mobile/double wide than 1/3 of its original purchase price......usually its true value when they turn 1 month old.


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## fffarmergirl (Oct 9, 2008)

Well, now I guess you ARE nuts. Pistachio nuts! Teehee


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## Bellyman (Jul 6, 2013)

The past years' utility bills could be telling.

Honestly, I've seen some pretty awful stick built houses. I lived in one for a while. Don't think that just because it's a stick built house that it's somehow of a superior quality. It might be, but it very will might be junk construction. It happens way too often.

I've seen some very well constructed mobile homes and modular homes. Of course, there are some that are junk, and no doubt many have heard the horror stories. 

I'd say you need to go look at both. If you're not qualified to form an opinion of the structural integrity of the buildings, take someone along who is. Even if you have to hire someone to do it, it's a few hundred dollars well spent.

Personally, I'm way more interested in the land, the neighborhood, the situation. I'd rather have a shack on a great piece of ground than a mansion in a place I don't want to be. 

Good luck!!


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