Question: A few years ago while visiting my aunt, uncle and 5 cousins, I was very impressed with their homes. They lived in a trailer park spread over 3 different trailers. It was interesting style of living and in spite of the stigma attached, it actually looked to be a very comfortable mode of habitation. I know I can never hope to actually own my own house but apartment living has some serious drawbacks. People were never meant to live stacked up like that. I don’t know how much longer I can take it. Its good now due to low rent and good neighbors but it wont always be that way. Living in a trailer is something that might someday be within my grasp. It does seem much more comfortable than living in an apartment. Does anyone have any clues for me, what to look for when shopping for a trailer and a place to put it as well as how much I can expect to spend? I know there is a trailer park across the street from the airport, maybe I will check it out someday.
Answer: You better check that a home that small is allowed. Many city zoning codes won’t allow homes that small. Attracts the wrong sort of residents. And even building out of town, you’ll probably need to have the cash up front as most banks won’t loan you money for a primary residence that small. Little resale value. You could claim it as a vacation cabin maybe, but that would probably classify as a personal loan which is harder to get as there’s no marketable home for collateral. Your cost estimates for utilities are off by a couple decades. If you can find properties that cheap that are capable of being built upon, I would be amazed. Putting in a septic system is not a trivial matter. If the property doesn’t perc test properly, it won’t be allowed. And if it is allowed, is the property big enough for a well too? There is a minimum separation required. And if a well is allowed, how deep will it have to be? You can spend many thousands just on drilling, not counting the pump and associated equipment.
Building a home is an enormously complicated endeavor. Pipe dreams are free but homes cost. I’m sure this varies greatly by location, but it cost me US$1400 for sewer and US$800 for water, just for the permits to connect to city services back in 1984 (small town NW Oregon). Hiring the contractor to dig the trenches and make the connections (he had to cross the road for the sewer) was on top of that. I understand that the permits cost something over 2 times that now.
>In the sticks, you will have to put in >a septic system, and may have to use a well for water supply. Other >than the well (I still haven’t priced this at all),
Again, this varies by location and terrain, but the septic system for my second house cost about US$6000, and my well about US$4500, all total, in 1996 (again in NW Oregon).
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