Something we in South Africa can consider, and an option that can make owning a home, a reality for more South Africans.
Housing Option
A mobile home (also trailer, trailer home, house trailer, static caravan, caravan) is a prefabricated structure, built in a factory on a permanently attached chassis before being transported to site (either by being towed or on a trailer). Used as permanent homes, for holiday or temporary accommodation, they are left often permanently or semi-permanently in one place, but can be moved, and may be required to move from time to time for legal reasons.
Mobile homes share the same historic origins as travel trailers, but today the two are very different in size and furnishings, with travel trailers being used primarily as temporary or vacation homes. Behind the cosmetic work fitted at installation to hide the base, there are strong trailer frames, axles, wheels, and tow-hitches.
If you’re considering ways to live cheaply, have you thought about buying or living in a mobile home? Here are some thoughts on the subject:
It can be cheaper than renting.
Buying a mobile home is an excellent alternative for those unlucky enough to have lost their original homes to foreclosure, or for retired folks who don’t want to splurge a large amount on a regular home. Granted, they’ll have to pay rent for the lot they occupy; my in-laws used to pay around R3000 a month including utilities. A small mobile home of recent construction can easily be cooled or heated with portable units.
Determine how your home’s value may appreciate.
While a manufactured home is not for everybody (e.g. a family with 5 children), it can be a recourse in difficult times, whether you decide to rent vs buy a house. Many mobile homes are set on other people’s land, but you could also buy both the lot and the manufactured home. Now you may wonder about your property’s value over a certain period of time. If the mobile home is well maintained, and if the area of the country where you live sees enough traffic, growth and jobs, your property’s value may hold up pretty well. It is nevertheless a bargain to buy a used manufactured home compared to a regular house. So study the options before deciding to buy.
For those looking for some mobile and cheap, mobile homes are a good option, and Yes, there are companies that build mobile homes in South Africa. We would be arranging a visit soon to nyamba services, that offers prefabricated buildings – including prefabricated mobile accommodation units, prefabricated mobile ablution units, prefabricated mobile kitchens, prefabricated mobile diners and prefabricated mobile offices.
