I used to think that mobile homes were universally trashy places that only people with no shame would deign to inhabit. Then, after a six month contracting stint during which I earned a lot of extra cash, I bought a mobile home and have lived in it for four of the last five years. I have seen the other side of the mobius strip.

First, let me acknowledge that there are a lot of mobile home parks that do fit, or at least approach the stereotype–all paved or dirt with little or no grass or trees, and low standards for home maintenance. But they’re not all that way.

The park in which I reside has many trees, nice lawns and yards, beautiful rose bushes everywhere, grape vines here and there, and a well-maintained swimming pool. The lot fee is a bit higher than most parks, but at $300 per month, it’s less than half the cost of renting an almost comparable apartment in the area. I say “almost comparable”, because a similarly sized apartment costing twice as much would not have its own yard, and would share walls and perhaps a ceiling or floor with neighbors, making it considerably noisier and less private.

Unlike real estate, mobile homes do lose value over time, but consider this: over 5 years, I’ve saved perhaps $18,000 versus comparable apartment rent. My home cost only $14,000. I could give it away and come out ahead, in a manner of speaking. A home owner on a thirty year mortgage, on the other hand, would have been paying mostly interest–tax deductable, yes, but not a tax credit, so it still costs a lot. Okay, so a person buying a mobile home who couldn’t afford to pay cash would also be paying interest. But not nearly as high a percentage of their payments would go to interest, because they’d almost, if not always, be paying it off much more quickly. If real estate values rise enough, buying a home could still reap more of a financial benefit, but under some circumstances, and certainly compared to living in an apartment, a mobile home can be a great money saver.

Better than an apartment. More economical than an apartment. Mobile homes aren’t just for white trash after all. I’m sure glad I learned to look beyond the stereotype.