Posted on 11/22/2011 8:41:51 AM PST by Kaslin
Dear Dave,
I’ve heard you tell people not to buy mobile homes. We bought one when we moved out of our apartment, and it’s been much cheaper for us. Why do you feel this way?
Debbie
Dear Debbie,
It’s simple. Mobile homes go down in value. When you buy a house, it goes up in value in the long run. From a financial standpoint, mathematically, when you buy a mobile home, you’re buying a very large car in which to live.
Now, I’m not necessarily against manufactured homes. But the phrase “manufactured home” can mean different things to different people. My test goes something like this: If it’s a type of housing that doesn’t look like it had the wheels yanked off, then it will probably go up in value over the years.
There’s nothing wrong with renting an apartment for a while. When you pay out rent, that’s all you’re losing in the deal. But when you buy a mobile home, you’re losing out with the payments and you’re losing money every day as the thing goes down in value.
That’s why I tell people not to buy mobile homes!
—Dave
Dear Dave,
My stepdaughter is 17 and will be starting college this fall. Her dad and I want to help her with expenses, but she’s chosen a private university (with the help of her other parents) that costs $250,000 for an undergraduate degree. We don’t want her going into student loan debt, but we can’t afford that kind of money, and she’s really pressing the issue. What do you suggest?
Christina
Dear Christina,
The biggest problem I see is that you’ve got a 17-year-old girl wagging the dog. I can tell you right now this wouldn’t happen at my house. When it comes to the parent-child relationship at that age, the adults tell the children what to do. It doesn’t happen the other way around.
If this child is going to take your money, then she needs to take your advice too. If she’s not willing to be reasonable and take your advice, then she gets none of the money. There’s no undergraduate degree on the planet worth $250,000. The whole idea is absurd, and somebody needs to say that out loud.
This girl can work, and she can go to a state school and get a great education for about a fourth of that price. Since you’re in Texas, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the University of Texas or Texas A&M. They’re great schools. And at that price range, I’m sure it would allow you guys to pitch in and help out some.
But seriously, a quarter of a million dollars for an undergrad degree? I don’t think so!
—Dave
He was a straight science graduate though, Chem. and not Chem.E. "I'm not a plumber," hesez, sezze.
The co-op feature is great for future employment, but it does add time to the degree. Friend of my daughter’s is on a similar program in biology, and the practicum is very time consuming.
Isn’t the 6-8 years to get a medical degree 250K at cheaper schools?
I had a friend out west, who married a younger wife. They were both very strong in their religion, and had a very traditional family, with two small children. They both had finished their undergrads; he went on to law school and got his JD. She decided she wanted to go to Sarah Lawrence to get her Master's degree in Poetry. Some time after she returned from that boondoggle, she divorced her husband.
Not saying that SL caused the divorce, but she was a changed person when she returned...I don't mean that as a compliment.
First of all, a female would have been offered significant financial incentives to matriculate in engineering.
Second of all, MIT is $39K p.a., Stanford $41K, Carnegie Mellon $36K, Ga. Tech $24K, and UCal Berzerkly a real bargain at $15 for out of staters. Where would she be going to pay this sort of freight for an engineering degree?
They have a tremendous chip on their shoulders just because they are former women's colleges and have abandoned their traditional role to attempt to ape a more conventional school. A bad bargain that pleases no-one.
I saw this when I took an extern course at Bryn Mawr. They were very huffy about their status, more so when they discovered I was in residence at a "conventional" Ivy.
There’s some good insights on this thread. I’ve recently looked at some 55+ manufactured home communities. Some places I’ve looked at include both manufatured homes along with mobile homes. Other communities were strictly manufactured homes (this is my prefernce), on concrete base, with attached garages on some models. They seem very nice. Prices range between $125K to $175K. Community fees seem to avarge abot $ 450/month.Does anybody here reside in this type of community? If so, what are the pros and cons?
My husband and I married before I went to law school, and we're still happily married -- but many marriages among my classmates did not survive that experience.
My experience with mobile homes is the problem isn’t the home itself, which can be had very cheaply, but the other tenants in the mobile home park.
then don’t park it in a mobile home park. My niece and nephew bought a trailer and put it on a piece of land that they bought for $5000 and they’re very happy with it. It’s a great starter home for them and the land will always have value.
If you buy in the right exurb you can wait for the suburbs to come to you. Get a corner lot on a major county road and you can earn a very nice return a decade from now. Then move on to the next, next thing.
AP doesn’t really help with hard sciences. If you take physics, chem, calc it might, but the rest of the fluff you’ll enjoy as a break between thinking.
You’re right. See my other posts this thread.
You are probably correct. I would not bet a steak dinner on it. That being said, my daughter put herself through school with scholarships, work, and a couple small student loans. She took five years for the BS and another two for the MS, both in Computer Science, at Texas A&M. She is well into her career now, and just got married to another Computer Science type.
That’s the way to go and about half of florida lives that way. Nothing in the world wrong with manufactured housing. Provides a very real need for those who can’t afford huge down payments and mortgages. The best scenario, of course, is to have your own acre for the home.
Very few manufactured homes are called “trailers,” anymore. They are not mobile and are considered permanent homes in most cases.
Believe I know, was brought up in the mobile home capitol of the world and it’s a great industry.
Tornado magnet.
Yeah, that can be a problem. That's why my boy opted for a $650 a month park where the management does a background/credit check.
Painting with a very broad brush there for someone who's not "generalizing".
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