We’re not trying to be complete downers here. After all, making people miserable is not in our job description. But since you’re still in your decision-making phase, we want to share three reasons why you may want to rethink that 2 story double wide.
Decision time
To help you through the decision making, Madison Homebuilders has a list of pros and cons for 2 story homes. While they probably didn’t have mobile homes in mind, we think their ideas are still applicable. Below, you might detect an echo of their concern about heating and cooling. But if you feel like you must be totally evenhanded, go ahead and skim through their pros too. But not until you get the scoop from us first.
Mobility
Okay, here you need to take a minute to consider how opting for a 2 story mobile home may affect your ability to move your house in the future. If you’re planning to pull up stakes and set your new abode down in a different location in a few years, be sure you keep that in mind.
It may be worth checking with a mobile home mover and getting a quote from them. This way you’ll know whether you’ll be charged more to move a 2 story mobile home than a single story one. Find out how much it would cost you to move a 2 story mobile home so you protect yourself from surprises. You want to make sure you don’t end up feeling like you can’t move your home cause you planned for a moving price that wasn’t realistic. That would restrict your mobility.
Additionally, if you decide to put a more permanent foundation under your two-story, you may find yourself a little less willing to pick up and move in the future. You’d hate feeling like the effort and money you put into the foundation was wasted.
Safety
Be sure to weigh any possible safety pitfalls of going with a 2 story double wide. There are some cases you’ve never even thought of. For example, is it possible that in the event of a fire, emergency crews won’t know that your house is more than one story? Sounds crazy, but how do we know? Because the folks over at VentEnterSearch.com: The Lost Art of The Fire Service have talked about it. If your home looks like a single level double wide from the front, but really has two stories, it’s possible that emergency personnel won’t know. And this could have implications for their search, rescue, and firefighting efforts.
Expense
If you find that your 2 story double wide is going to cost you more to purchase than a single story double wide, take a pause. Reflect on what your priorities are. If you’ve heard of the economic concept of “opportunity cost,” now is the time to rope your knowledge of it into your home-buying decision. If you need a refresher on opportunity cost, check it out here. Remember, every dollar you spend on your mobile home is a dollar you can’t spend on something else.
To illustrate what we’re talking about, let’s pick a random number. We’ll say it is the difference between how much you’re thinking of spending on the single story double wide and the 2 story double wide. We won’t make it representative of actual market prices. However, we’ll just say it’s $10,000 dollars. So it would be $10,000 more expensive to buy the 2 story double wide in our little example here.
What could you do instead?
Now comes the hard question: what could you do with that $10,000 if you didn’t get the 2 story double wide? There’s a lot of stuff you might want to do with that money. Maybe you’ve always dreamed of putting in an inground pool. Or maybe you want a lovely porch that spans the length of your entire double-wide. Well, if you decide to forgo the 2 story double wide, you can make good on those dreams by using the $10,000. Or whatever your dollar figure actually is to do it.
So you can see that if you do opt to spend extra and get a 2 story double-wide, your opportunity cost would be having $10,000 dollars to spend on whatever you wanted. The money you could have had if you hadn’t elected to get that larger home. Think of all the dreams you’ve had for your future home or yard. Weigh them against your 2 story double wide. Ask yourself what you truly want more.
Another possible expense of a 2 story double wide
As we mentioned briefly at the beginning, do your research about any differences in heating and cooling costs. And count in the electricity costs of a 2 story versus a single story double wide. You don’t want to completely leave this out of consideration and run into a shocking electric bill.
Rethink and move forward
We hope we’ve been able to get you thinking more deeply about your idea of 2 story double wide. Be sure to consider the implications for mobility, safety, and expense before making your decision.
