Friday, October 18, 2024

How To Automate Your Mobile Home With Smart Technology

Manufactured homes, like site-built homes, have kept up with the times and introduced loads of smart technology over the years. For some, though, it can seem overwhelming to start automating their mobile home with the latest tech.

But, it doesn’t have to be that way. Incorporating smart home technology to increase automation can be a thrilling process that, over time, introduces many benefits for the mobile homeowner. Here are just a few ways to get started.

Voice Assistants

This is an easy one to implement. Virtual assistant technology from Meta, Amazon, Apple, and Google makes it easier than ever to go about your day with an extra helping hand. For example, if you’re getting ready for your day and need to know what traffic is like for your commute, simply asking your virtual assistant will get you the answer that you need.

Some of the other smart technology solutions that we’ll go over below even have virtual assistant functionalities built in!

Smart Thermostats

Here’s another way to automate your manufactured home in a small way that delivers big benefits. A smart thermostat can run on a timer so that it shuts off at certain times of the day, or when you leave your home.

You can also remotely control your thermostat for maximum energy efficiency. These are a great solution for saving energy costs over time by identifying where you’re using power that you might not need.

Smart Appliances

Mobile homes can often be found with smart appliances these days, from the dishwasher to the fridge to the washer and dryer. These devices are often wifi-compatible so that you can control them from wherever you are.

Smart refrigerators in particular have come a long way and are highly sought after in mobile homes. Various models of smart fridge can connect to music streaming apps like Spotify or Pandora, show you what’s inside your fridge without you having to open it, and merge your shopping lists across various smart devices.

Other smart appliances can be controlled by your phone to start at a certain time, or shut off automatically after use. This is one of the easiest and most popular ways to start automating your mobile home!

Smart Lighting

Technology that has to do with your lighting fixtures has come a long way in the past several years. Now, smart lighting makes it easier than ever to turn lights on and off, turn lights a different color, and turn on or off based on whether someone is in the room.

In fact, you can even use an app on your phone to control the lighting in your house. Some lighting manufacturers, such as GE, have apps that pair with their lights to do just that. So, you can set timers for your lights before you go to bed, or set one to make sure your lights are out once you leave for work.

Your virtual assistant may have connectivity with your smart lights, too. So, you can ask Siri or Alexa or Google to turn off your kitchen lights without lifting a finger.

One alternative option you can look at here are smart plugs. These plug into your existing outlet and can turn a lamp or light fixture into a smart light that can be controlled via an app or your voice.

Interior and Exterior Cameras

These days, it’s hard to find a home that DOESN’T have some kind of smart camera attached to it. After all, it’s an incredibly convenient, yet smart way to keep your home secure and even watch your feed in real-time.

Popular smart camera manufacturers include Ring and Wyze. These brands of smart cameras offer options for outside your front door, outside the exterior of your home, and even options for watching inside your home – a great idea if you want to keep an eye on your pet at work, or watch your children from another room.

Photo of a businessman using mobile phone in the city

And, these smart cameras connect with your cell phone, too. So, no matter where you’re at, you can check in on your front doorstep in real time, or otherwise make sure your home is secure indoors and out while you’re away.

Your Phone Is Your Friend!

We’ve referenced this a few times throughout this blog post, but we want to reinforce that your smartphone is a vital tool for automating your mobile home.

Even if you don’t check out some of the items we’ve listed out here, there are ways that you can make your mobile home a bit “smarter” by just using your phone.

For example, you can use automation apps such as IFTTT to, say, change your wallpaper or disable notifications for certain apps when you disconnect from your home’s wifi. So, when you leave home to go to work, you can cut down on screen time until you return.

To make your mobile home as automated as possible, though, you’ll want to consider some of the tips in this blog.

Your Top Mobile Home Inspection Tips

If you’re getting ready to buy a mobile home, the seller may have already shown you paperwork relating to a mobile home inspection. In many cases, they’ve already gotten an inspection completed prior to listing their home.

However, you may want to consider a mobile home inspection of your own. A buyer-ordered home inspection is incredibly common, even for site-built homes, so that you can get a full view of your new home’s condition.

Today, we’ll go over the top four mobile home inspection tips so that, when the time comes, you’re ready to handle the inspection process with virtually zero stress and hassle.

Tip 1 – Hire a Professional

At the MHVillager, we love to suggest DIY approaches for various remodel and repair projects. However, when it comes to a mobile home inspection, you should always – ALWAYS – hire a professional to do the job.

Why? Because a professional mobile home inspector will know exactly what to look for when he’s assessing your home inside and out. And, your mobile home inspector can put together a comprehensive report of your mobile home’s condition, room by room, and highlight the most important takeaways.

Tip 2 – Consider Which Approach Is Right For You

No two mobile home inspectors are the same. Some, for example, may take different lengths of time. Some may take photos of the inside and outside of the home, while others may take photos of the outside only. In fact, some inspectors offer exterior-only inspections in some cases.

Take some time to think about what kind of inspection is best for you as the home buyer. Do you want one that’s quick and easy to understand at the end of the day, or do you want one that’s more comprehensive?

Tip 3 – Don’t Be Afraid to Get a Second Opinion, If You Need To

Mobile home inspectors will go out of their way to ensure any potential repairs needed to your new home, minor or major, are documented so that you have a clear picture of your home’s condition.

If you feel unsure that your roof would need a complete roof-over, you could reach out to a roofing contractor to see if there are other options available for your roof repair that will either save you money, prolong the life of your current roof, or both.

That being said, there may be some repairs that you’ll HAVE to ensure are made before you can move in. These primarily relate to bringing your mobile home up to code with local ordinances – for example, perhaps your stairway on your front porch needs a handrail for safety purposes. In these instances, you’ll want to work with the seller to ensure these fixes are made promptly so that you can finish the closing process.

Tip 4 – Ask Questions!

This might be the most important tip on this list. If you’re unsure of what a part of your mobile home inspection means, ask your inspector!

They will be more than happy to go into further detail about any given part of your inspection. They can also share information on how to best monitor an issue, get a repair done, or otherwise address any part of your inspection report.

A mobile home inspection can seem daunting. You might be unsure if the inspection will turn up any unexpected repairs. But, the mobile home inspection process can be incredibly assuring knowing that you know everything there is to know about your new home.

But, if you’re still looking for that perfect mobile home to call your own, head over to MHVillage, the nation’s leading platform for buying, selling, and renting manufactured homes. Our dedicated mobile home search page lets you find the right mobile home that fits your criteria in your market.

Gen Z’ers Are Now Buying Homes. Here’s Why Manufactured Homes Are So Popular With Them.

If you have children or friends between the ages of 23 and 26, chances are some of them are buying houses for the very first time. That sounds crazy, right?

Well, in reality, it’s not all that crazy when you look at it. Gen Z’ers – generally accepted to be those born in or after 1997 – are gradually entering the housing market.

And, at the end of the day, manufactured housing is a key entry point for these young home dwellers. Here are a few reasons why.

Affordability

Manufactured homes have routinely proven, time and time again, to be a far more cost-effective option than their site-built counterparts.

The cost of purchasing a site-built home in 2021 is up to $453,000, according to data from Statista. However, when you compare that to the average sale price of a new manufactured home in 2021, the difference is staggering.

New manufactured homes in 2021 sold for $92,911, according to Datacomp sales data. That number goes even lower when you look at pre-owned manufactured homes, which averaged at just $60,733 that same year.

These are numbers that, when you compare them to site-built homes that sell for much higher, underscore how great of a value manufactured housing is for young Americans.

Virality

We wrote recently about some manufactured homes that have gone viral on TikTok. It was impossible to include every mobile home that’s gone viral on social media over the past year, and that’s for good reason.

Content surrounding manufactured homes and their high quality and affordability has seen a massive uptick in viewership on platforms like TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

This type of content helps to spread the word that manufactured homes are an insanely affordable entry point to homeownership for Gen Z. In fact, video content in general has helped spur new conversation about the importance of manufactured housing for younger Americans, as YouTube has grown to become the world’s second largest search engine behind Google.

Couple that with the boom in the vertical video format popularized by TikTok, and it’s become a prime medium for visual content on mobile homes to spread like wildfire.

High Quality

The last point feeds into this next one. Because of the rise in familiarity of mobile homes among younger Americans, many are tuning in to how high quality manufactured homes are.

In fact, not only are factory-built mobile homes incredibly high quality, they’re customizable as well. Many manufacturers offer different floor plans that offer customized options for your home. This includes premium cabinet and countertop materials, larger bedrooms and bathrooms, and increased closet space, among many others.

You can even view some floor plans on MHVillage to get an idea of what kind of mobile home you might like.

Ease of Access to the American Dream

Recently, there has been a stigma surrounding home ownership – specifically that it’s no longer attainable for most Americans. This stigma can be for multiple reasons, whether it’s because of the high cost of site-built homes or because site-built homes are so difficult to buy.

However, manufactured housing is proving that stigma wrong. In America, over 22 million people live in manufactured homes, meaning that nearly one in ten homeowners have discovered the benefits to these types of homes.

It’s also worth noting that finding manufactured homes for sale or rent isn’t difficult when you’re browsing MHVillage, the nation’s leading platform for buying, selling, and renting mobile homes. Using our mobile home search page to find homes, you can find any kind of mobile home that meets your needs.

When you combine the affordability of factory-built homes with their high quality and luxury, it’s easy to see why Gen Z’ers are flocking to manufactured homes to attain their dream of home ownership. Next time you see a social media post expressing disappointment that they can’t ever buy a home, send them over to this blog post.

Solution To Apartment Rent Churn

There’s one other reason that we should mention here.

Have you ever seen a social media post complaining about how someone can’t get approved for a $900 mortgage for their site-built home even though they pay $1,400 a month to live in an apartment? This is just one factor that traps apartment renters in a cycle of ever-increasing apartment rents. And that doesn’t even touch on noisy neighbors all around you.

Living in a manufactured home is an antidote to apartment rent churn. Financing requirements for mobile homes are different from site-built mortgages, meaning that you may have an easier time getting approved for your mobile home purchase. In fact, we’ve written before about how manufactured homes are perfect for breaking out of the apartment renting cycle.

All of these reasons contribute greatly to Gen Z’ers entering homeownership thanks to manufactured housing. But, if you’re a Gen Z-er, you might be wondering how you can get in on the action.

The best place to shop for manufactured and mobile homes is MHVillage. Like we mentioned earlier, you can search for mobile homes in your area, including manufactured homes in communities if you want to live in an all-ages park.

Debunking Common Manufactured Housing Myths, Part Two

Recently, we wrote about some of the most common myths in manufactured housing. These myths, which range from exaggerated at best to flat out untrue at worst, make people believe that manufactured housing isn’t the right fit for them. However, in reality, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Our last set of manufactured housing myths proved to be popular, so now it’s time to take a look at a few more myths and explore just how untrue they are.

Myth #1: Manufactured Home Communities Are Only For Retired Folks

This is one that just isn’t true.

There are many communities that are for retirement living. However, there are also a vast amount of communities that welcome residents of all ages.

In fact, you can filter mobile home searches on MHVillage based on whether homes are in all-ages communities. From the home search page, simply click on the Location Type menu and select “Only All-Ages Communities.”

You can also contact a community directly if you’re unsure whether they accept residents of all ages. We’ve gone into detail about how to contact a mobile home park previously on the MHVillager.

Note: you don’t want to contact MHVillage for this one. We do not directly own, operate, or manage any of the communities listed on our website.

Myth #2: I Can’t Customize My Own Manufactured Home

This is a myth in regards to mobile home manufacturers specifically.

Many people wrongly think that it’s not possible to have a manufactured home custom-built.

However, many manufacturers offer customizable options for mobile homes that give you, the buyer, more say over how your home is built.

For example, you can customize the materials that go into your mobile home. Many homebuyers choose to customize the countertop material in their kitchen, for example, which provides the opportunity to use luxury materials you might not have access to otherwise.

Myth #3: Manufactured Homes Aren’t Structurally Strong

You may see a mobile home and worry about it not being structurally strong, whether that’s on the inside or outside.

However, you can put those fears to rest. Manufactured homes are incredibly structurally sound and are held to strict quality standards to ensure that.

In 1976, the Department of Housing and Urban Development passed the HUD Code, which regulates a number of key safety and quality standards for all manufactured homes. To this day, manufactured homes are built to withstand high winds, extreme heat, and have protections in case of fire or other extreme weather.

Myth #4: It’s STILL Too Hard to Find Manufactured Homes Near Me

Okay, so we’re cheating a little bit, since we referenced this myth in our last manufactured housing myth roundup.

But, the unfortunate reality is that there are STILL many people that think it’s impossible to find manufactured homes for sale or rent near them. And, really, that’s just not true. In today’s housing market, it has never been easier to find the right mobile home for you that’s in your market.

The answer to debunking this myth? MHVillage, the nation’s leading platform for buying, selling, and renting manufactured homes.

By heading over to MHVillage and searching for mobile homes near you, you can find a mobile home that fits your criteria – whether it’s bedrooms, size, or whether the home is in a community.

The Perfect Mobile Home Autumn Painting Colors

Autumn means your kids are going back to school, the weather is cooling down just a bit, and you’re thinking about ways to pumpkin-spice up your mobile home. For many, this can be a “fall cleaning” session on the weekend, but for others it’s a time to introduce some new paint colors into the mix.

Here, we’ll talk about some of the most popular colors for painting your mobile home interior in the fall to help create some inspiration this season!

Light Coffee Brown

This is a popular color for elegant living rooms. Painting a common shared space a shade of brown, such as coffee brown, is a great way to start introducing some earthy tones into your mobile home.

Browns are a close cousin of dark reds (which we’ll get into below) and help inspire calmness and naturalness. While you could use a coffee brown for your bedroom or a dining room, we recommend it most for your living room as it can be a great, calm color when you’re cozying up for movie night with some warm cider.

Neutral Gray

Though this color is one of the more neutral ones on our fall mobile home painting palette, it’s still worth mentioning because of just how popular it is this time of year.

A gray-painted wall is a great tone that can work in multiple rooms of your home. Whether you’re painting your mobile home bathroom, or a guest bedroom, a gray that’s not too dark or not too light can help really bring the room together.

Burgundy

This is another popular color that inspires elegance in any mobile home. A dark red like burgundy, when paired with the right kind of furniture, can make your living room or master bedroom feel like royalty.

Because burgundy, even though it’s a darker red, is still a more vibrant color than gray, it’s more important to find room furnishings that match your new wall color. For example, if you’re painting your mobile home master bedroom burgundy, finding a comforter in a similar or matching color (so, not teal) will help tie this popular fall color together.

Olive

While olive as a painting color is popular in the spring, it’s also gaining popularity in the fall, too.

An olive green, with hints of gray, is a fantastic color for many rooms in your mobile home. It can provide an earthy tone to your mobile home kitchen. Or, maybe it’s a subtle, yet creative color for your home office. You could even use it for a guest bedroom!

Of all the colors on this list, olive might just be the most versatile because of how well it can be used in just about any room in your mobile home.

Autumn Orange

Autumn orange is the brightest color on our list of fall mobile home painting colors, but it’s perfect for a child’s bedroom or even a mudroom.

Having a bright orange can help inspire happiness and activity, particularly when the last rays of summer sunshine are still shining. While it can be tricky to get this color just right, it can be worth it for having your own pocket of warmth right in your mobile home to last you through the fall and winter.

If it makes sense, you could also use this kind of orange as an accent wall. An accent wall is a different color from the rest

Hopefully some of these mobile home fall painting colors have provided some ideas for your space this autumn.

If you’re looking for other painting ideas, you can check out this MHVillager blog post on 12 other painting ideas for your manufactured home. Or, you can head over to our page on remodeling your mobile home in case you’re looking at other projects to wrap up the year!

How Long Will It Take to Sell My Mobile Home?

The mobile home selling process can be exciting and full of celebration, particularly once your home has been sold. But, it may conjure up some anxiety, too. Perhaps you’re worried about getting the right price, or about finding interested buyers.

Or, perhaps you’re wondering how long it’s going to take to get your mobile home from listing to closing. If this sounds like you, then the MHVillager has the answers.

Selling Your Mobile Home

First, it’s important to remember that the mobile home selling process can look vastly different from listing to listing.

Some sellers might go through a broker, dealer, or manufactured home community. Others may sell from the comfort of their home, through a process known as For Sale By Owner – or FSBO.

In any case using MHVillage to list your mobile home, can also speed up the process. But, by selling your mobile home either with a third party or the FSBO method, no two selling processes are alike in terms of length.

What Factors Affect How Long It Takes to Sell My Mobile Home?

Quality of Your Listing

Having a well-written listing for your mobile home is critical for getting it to sell quickly. This means having quality photos of your home that show its beauty inside and out.

It also means using descriptive language to showcase your home and its appealing features. Make sure to mention any recent additions or repairs to your home (more on that below).

Your listing description should also be the right length. One sentence isn’t going to cut it. A few paragraphs is best, but don’t write a novel. Be short and sweet….but not too short.

Visibility of Your Listing

If you’re listing your mobile home on MHVillage, you’ll be getting your listing in front of thousands of visitors that come to our website every day searching for manufactured homes to buy or rent. There are ways to make your listing even more visible on MHVillage. And, because MHVillage is exclusively dedicated to manufactured homes, you’re not competing with other types of real estate when selling your home.

The best way to reach as many visitors as possible is to explore Featured or Premium listing options. These put your home in front of even more MHVillage visitors and give you more options for maximizing your potential as a seller, such as unlimited photos for Premium listings and a boost to the top of the search results on MHVillage.

The Condition of Your Mobile Home

This next factor doesn’t apply to just mobile homes; it’s a common rule of thumb when selling any type of home. The better condition your home is in, the higher the likelihood you’ll be able to sell it quickly.

Consider what remodels you can make to your mobile home before you list it. For example, perhaps you can remodel your kitchen, or repaint the siding on your home. Such improvements can, in some cases, increase the resale value of your mobile home once you go to sell it.

The period before selling your mobile home is also a good time to make any major repairs. For instance, you could repair your mobile home roof.

Demand in Your Local Market

This is another factor that’s dependent on things outside of your mobile home. The demand for homes in your local market can affect how quickly it sells.

That’s not to say you shouldn’t list your mobile home if demand seems low in your area. However, you should consider some of the above factors when listing your home and take extra care to make sure your listing stands out above the rest if supply is higher than demand.

Speed of Inspection and Appraisal

Before you decide to sell your mobile home, you should have an inspection and appraisal completed. The inspection will take a full view of your mobile home’s condition, and the appraisal will value your home for what it’s worth.

The length of this process can vary depending on a number of factors. However, by going with Datacomp Appraisal Services for your mobile home inspection and appraisal, you can ensure you have the expertise and speed needed to complete this step of the selling process quickly and easily.

For FSBO: Familiarity of Paperwork

If you’re selling your mobile home the FSBO way, this next part is very important.

As the primary selling party in a FSBO transaction, it’s up to you to ensure you’re well versed on the paperwork involved throughout the entire selling process. This will vary from state to state, as mobile homes are titled and registered at the state level, not at a federal level.

If you find yourself missing paperwork along the way, or using the wrong forms, you risk drawing out the selling process.

How Can I Sell My Mobile Home?

If you’re ready to sell your manufactured home quickly, head over to MHVillage, the nation’s leading platform for buying, selling, and renting mobile homes. MHVillage offers multiple listing packages for you to choose from, with varying options that optimize your listing to reach as many people as possible.

Remodeling Your Mobile Home Bathroom? Here’s Everything You Should Consider.

If you’re thinking about selling your mobile home, or simply want to give it some new life, you should consider remodeling your mobile home bathroom.

Not only should your bathroom give you comfort, privacy, and provide a sense of luxury, but keeping it modern and stylish can have an impact on your manufactured home’s resale value. But, if you’re not selling your manufactured home anytime soon, then remodeling your bathroom can still breathe new life into your home.

For those looking to start a bathroom remodel, here is everything you should consider from top to bottom:

Bathtub

Remodeling a mobile home bathtub can be a big or a small project. Whether you’re giving it a new finish or replacing it outright, a bathtub remodel in your mobile home can go a long way.

One way to go is with a free-standing clawfoot tub. These have been popular in centuries past, but have made a comeback as a stylish, elegant, and refined option for bathrooms across the country.

Or, if you want to explore refinishing your existing tub, many mobile homeowners opt to go for a DIY approach. You can find DIY kits for refinishing your mobile home bathtub that make the job manageable, yet satisfactory. However, we recommend seeking out professional advice before you begin a large project like this.

Shower

When it comes to your shower, remodeling can mean a few different things. Maybe you have a standing shower and want to resurface it with tile, stone, or another material. Or, perhaps you just need to replace your showerhead with a new water-efficient model.

In any case, you should highly consider whether your shower needs a remodel if you’re working on your bathroom. Remodeling a shower can mean increased water efficiency, or even an all-new look for your bathroom that’s just your style.

Toilet

The toilet is one of the most important fixtures in your manufactured home bathroom. So, having one that works as intended is important.

Like your shower, this is another area where you want to ensure that you’re being as energy efficient as possible. Replacing your toilet with a low-flush model is a great way to be more environmentally friendly.

Or, if you’re looking at other ideas, something as small as replacing the toilet seat or installing an easy-install bidet can do wonders for your bathroom.

Sink

You might not think about your mobile home bathroom’s sink all that much, but in reality it’s just as important as the other items on the list.

Remodeling a bathroom for its sinks is a great way to bring it into the modern age. Installing a new sink made of glass, ceramic, or marble can add a sense of luxury when you’re washing your hands. In fact, you can even add a sink if you have room for a his-and-her sink setup.

If you’re happy with the number of sinks in your bathroom, you could look at re-doing the countertops on your sink for a new finish. Or, installing a new faucet can help improve water flow.

Flooring

Tiled or vinyl flooring in a mobile home bathroom is incredibly common. It’s a simple, yet effective way of flooring a bathroom, as non-porous materials like these reduce the risk of mold buildup.

When remodeling your bathroom, keep in mind the flooring and decide whether it’s what you want in terms of style, color, and material. It might just be the perfect time to consider reflooring!

Re-flooring your manufactured home bathroom can be an easy DIY project, too, depending on the material as well as your know-how. If you’re going with vinyl flooring, it’s especially doable if you have a friend or family member to help you out and make the job go by even faster.

Fan

The exhaust fan in your bathroom – also known as a vent fan – is incredibly important when it comes to moisture control, getting rid of any stale air, and ensuring your bathroom doesn’t smell like wet socks. Without a properly working fan, you’ll have mold growing in your bathroom left and right.

Take time to make sure your exhaust fan is venting properly. If it’s not, repair or replace it as soon as you can. While some vent fan issues can be fixed with a reset at your circuit breaker, generally you’ll want to call a professional to have it looked at.

Storage

Think about how much storage you have in your bathroom. Do you have a medicine cabinet behind your mirror? What about storage space under your sink for cleaning supplies? A towel rack? Shower supply storage?

If you find yourself wanting some more space to store your bathroom essentials, the perfect time to do so is while you’re in the middle of a remodel. Upgrading your mirror to one with a medicine cabinet will give you more room for your ibuprofen, first aid needs, and more.

Another popular option is a rack that sits above your toilet that takes advantage of otherwise unused vertical space. This makes for a perfect way to add space for your hairbrush or makeup bag!

How Can I Start My Mobile Home Bathroom Remodel?

If you’re looking to start remodeling your bathroom, check out MHVillage’s Mobile Home Parts and Supplies page to get started.

Here, you can shop for whatever you need for your manufactured home bathroom, whether it’s replacement parts for your sink or supplies for a full-scale bathroom remodel. No matter your remodel needs, this page can help get you started today!

How Can You Contact a Mobile Home Park You’re Interested In?

We’re going to start this blog with a hypothetical scenario. Let’s say you’re looking for mobile homes for sale in a mobile home park. While you’re looking, whether you’re looking for homes in your neighborhood or browsing MHVillage, you find a community that has it all.

Your favorite amenities. The perfect manufactured home for sale. The right location.

From there, you might be wondering – how can you contact a park that you’re interested in moving to on MHVillage?

The MHVillager has the answers.

Finding a Community You’re Interested In

The first step to contacting a mobile home park that you’re interested in is finding one, first.

What is the definition of the right mobile home park for you? Well, it can mean a few different things:

It has the right amenities. If you’re passionate about keeping in shape and want to hit the pickleball court, finding a community that has a pickleball court would be important to you. Finding a park with the right amenities can be crucial to ensuring your long-term success in that park.
It has the perfect mobile home for you. One aspect of your community search should be the search for the right home. The right community will have the perfect home for you, from the floor plan of your desire to the number of bedrooms and bathrooms.
It offers your preferred level of privacy. Many mobile home parks offer gated security to offer peace of mind for their residents. In fact, many prefer this, as they know they’ll have a quiet neighborhood to come home to.
It’s in your budget. This might be one of the most important considerations. The right park for you should be within your budget for a manufactured home that offers what you want and need out of your home.
It’s in your desired market. Whether you’re moving between neighborhood or one that’s in another state, the right community for you will be in an area that you want to call home. Maybe that area is close to family, or close to where you work.

How to Use MHVillage to Contact Communities

Once you find a community that you’re interested in, there are a few different ways you can make contact:

First, you can contact a community directly through MHVillage. This is one of the easiest ways to contact a manufactured home community that you’re interested in moving to.

On a community profile on MHVillage, you’ll find a form that will allow you to contact the community directly to request more information on their available homes. Here, you’ll provide your contact information so that the community can contact you back.

You can also email the community from their community profile on MHVillage in some instances as well. On some community profiles, you’ll see a red Email button that you can use to send an email to the community.

This will allow you to send an email with information about your inquiry.

Or, you can call the community directly from your phone or telephone-enabled computer (using Skype or a similar provider) directly from a community’s profile on MHVillage as well.

Under the Email button, you may see another button that says Call Community. From your mobile device, you can click that button to call them if their phone number is listed with MHVillage. If your computer is connected to an application that can make and receive telephone calls, you can click this button to make a call that way, too.

How to Find Communities

If you’re interested in finding a manufactured home community to call home, but aren’t sure where to start, look no further than MHVillage.

On MHVillage, you can browse thousands of mobile home parks that list their information and view their available mobile homes for sale. You can even browse communities based on a number of search criteria from our Mobile Home Parks search page, such as search radius, park type, and parks with available lots.

The Ins and Outs of Buying a Mobile Home in Indiana

If you’re looking in Indiana for a manufactured home to purchase, then you’re in luck. Why? Because Indiana is one of top markets for manufactured housing in the country.

No matter what stage of the mobile home buying process you’re at, let the MHVillager help you out in your journey. Here are the ins and outs of buying an Indiana mobile home:

Indiana as a Mobile Home Market

Indiana is one of the most active states in the Midwest for manufactured home buying, not to mention the entire country.

One of the main reasons for this is the affordability factor. Indiana is home to some of the most affordable manufactured homes, both new and pre-owned, in the entire country.

In fact, according to 2021 sales data from Datacomp, the average sales price for a new manufactured home in Indiana came out to around $69,720. Meanwhile, pre-owned mobile homes in the Hoosier State sold for an average of $39,213.

Given the blooming market for both types of manufactured homes in the state, it’s easy to see why Indiana is so popular for manufactured homeowners. And, when you compare that to average sale prices for site-built homes, which are often in the six-digit range, it makes the appeal of mobile homes that much greater.

Questions to Ask Yourself

If you’re getting ready to purchase an Indiana mobile home, there are a few things you should ask yourself before you start the process:

Do you want to live on private land?

There are two ways to buy a mobile home: in a manufactured home community, or on private land.

There are advantages to both. If you buy a mobile home on private land, you’ll have more privacy and as much space as your land allows for expansions onto your home.

You can read more in the MHVillager about buying a mobile home on private land.

How big of a mobile home do you need?

When you’re shopping for mobile homes in Indiana, not only should you consider the square footage of the home, but the type of mobile home you’re buying, too.

See, manufactured homes are often referred to as single-section or multi-section. If a manufactured home has more than one section, it means that each section of the home is joined together once it’s been shipped to the final home site.

For many, a single-section or single-wide mobile home is more than enough. Some single-wides can measure up to 1,400 square feet. However, if you’re moving into a manufactured home with your family, or would like a spare room or two for a home office, it may be worth looking into multi-section mobile homes in Indiana.

If you’re looking for a community, what amenities are important to you?

One of the biggest advantages of living in a manufactured home community are the amenities that they provide.

If you’re considering a move into a manufactured home community, consider whether that community has the right amenities that you’re looking for. For example, if you’re an avid swimmer, finding a park that has a swimming pool on-site might be important to you. Or, maybe you want to find a community that has a dog park on-site for your furry friend. Or, maybe you’ve been meaning to take up shuffleboarding.

The Closing Process

Once you’ve placed an offer on an Indiana mobile home that you like, you’ll begin the closing process once it’s been accepted. This may involve a counter-offer from the seller before they accept your offer, or accept a different one in some cases.

After your offer has been accepted, you’ll want to have your new Indiana mobile home inspected to verify its condition.

From there, it’s a matter of ensuring your financing is secured before the closing paperwork begins. The type of closing paperwork will vary from state to state, but at the very least you’ll sign a transfer of ownership agreement, a bill of sale, and other documents relating to your financing.

Indiana-Specific Considerations

Buying a mobile home in Indiana means that you’ll need to have a title for the home that is registered with the state. Specifically, in Indiana, you’ll have your home titled through the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV).

One aspect of the titling process that is very important to know is that the application requirements are different for new and pre-owned manufactured homes. You can find the application forms for each at the Indiana BMV’s website.

Finding Your Perfect Mobile Home

So, if you’re in the market for a new or pre-owned manufactured home to call your own in the state of Indiana, you’re probably wondering how you can find a mobile home that’s perfect.

Well, like many things, perfection is subjective. But, to find the best mobile home for you, you should check out MHVillage, the nation’s leading platform for buying, selling, and renting manufactured homes.

With MHVillage’s mobile home search page, you can browse mobile homes in Indiana to find one near you that meets what you’re looking for. And, you can even contact the seller of a particular home you’re interested in, right from the listing.

How is the Market for Luxury Features in Mobile Homes in 2022?

As the cost of living continues to rise, the need for affordable factory-built housing has risen. So, too, has their popularity with Americans all over the country.

In fact, the desire for manufactured homes that offer upgradable luxury features, offering the same first-class perks as a site-built home that can be out of reach for the majority of Americans, is seeing a jump. But what are mobile homes with luxury features, exactly, and how are they a suitable alternative to similar suite-built homes?

Let the MHVillager walk you through it:

What are Luxury Features in Mobile Homes?

Mobile homes that have luxury features, like all manufactured homes, are built in a factory and then transported to the home site.

These mobile homes have modern upgrades, state-of-the-art appliances, and elegant, upscaled finishes that make a mobile home, well, luxurious. Some upgradable luxury features include:

Marble or quartz countertops
Stainless steel, internet-enabled appliances
Extra kitchen storage, including a kitchen island
Higher ceilings
Open floor plans
Spacious closets
Lush, high-quality carpeting or hardwood flooring
First-class bathroom materials, including large spa-style tubs

Keep in mind that what might be a luxury feature to you, might not be one to someone else, So, consider what upgrades are most important to you when considering which option to choose with your mobile home purchase.

Can I Buy Mobile Homes With Luxurious Features in 2022?

Yes! In fact, the market for mobile homes with luxury features in 2022 is quite strong.

This is, in part, due to increasing demand for factory-built manufactured homes across the board over the past several years. Because manufactured homes offer cost savings thanks to their cost-efficient, factory-built nature, they’re seen as an affordable option by millions of Americans for attaining the dream of homeownership.

So, manufactured homes that offer luxury features in turn have also seen an uptick in interest. When you have luxury features like the ones we mentioned above at a lower cost than having similar features in a site-built home, it’s easy to see why they’re so in demand.

Are These Homes Found in Communities?

Before we answer this question, it’s important to remember that not all mobile homes will have the same upgradable add-ons. In fact, if you put two homes side-by-side, they may look quite different. Not all manufactured homes with luxury features will have high ceilings that are the same height, or the same types of countertops.

That said, you may find some manufactured home communities that have homes with luxury features. For example, some communities may have open homes that have larger floor plans.

If you already own a mobile home with modern features and want to move it into a community, you could contact that community to see if they have any open lots to move your home to. In fact, you can filter your mobile home park search on MHVillage to show parks in your area that have available lots.

What About Private Land?

If you buy a mobile home new from the manufacturer or dealer, more than likely you can have it placed on your own land.

In fact, this is one of the reasons why new mobile homes on private land are more common than those in communities.

We wrote recently about the logistics of buying both a mobile home and land, whether it be together or separately. This mostly holds true for mobile homes as well.

If living space, indoors and outdoors, is a major consideration for you when buying a mobile home, then private land may be the way to go. This is because you could buy a plot of land that’s as large as you want, widening your potential for expanding your manufactured home. So, if you wanted to add a deck, you could do exactly that.

What’s My Next Step?

Many manufacturers offer mobile homes with upgradable luxury add-ons directly. If you have a specific manufacturer in mind, you could contact them to see what’s available.

Or, you can check out MHVillage’s Manufactured and Mobile Home Dealers page to look for dealers near you. Here, you can look for dealers near you that can help you throughout the mobile home buying process, including for mobile homes with luxury features if they have them in stock.

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