The Unknown World of the Mobile Home (Creating the North American Landscape) Review

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(More customer reviews)Some of my best years were when I lived in mobile homes in New Mexico and California. That's what attracted me to this book. Book has 3 different authors and reads like a research paper but it's a fast read and is interesting. Lots of info I never knew. Makes me want to move to a mobile home now. Can't beat that lifestyle for good livin'.

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In American popular imagination, the mobile home evokes images of cramped interiors, cheap materials, and occupants too poor or unsavory to live anywhere else. Since the 1940s and '50s, however, mobile home manufacturers have improved standards of construction and now present them as an affordable alternative to conventional site-built homes. Today one of every fourteen Americans lives in a mobile home. InThe Unknown World of the Mobile Home authors John Fraser Hart, Michelle J. Rhodes, and John T. Morgan illuminate the history and culture of these often misunderstood domiciles. They describe early mobile homes, which were trailers designed to be pulled behind automobiles and which were more often than not poorly constructed and unequal to the needs of those who used them. During the 1970s, however, Congress enacted federal standards for the quality and safety of mobile homes, which led to innovation in design and the production of much more attractive and durable models. These models now comply with local building codes and many are designed to look like conventional houses. As a result, one out every five new single-family housing units purchased in the United States is a mobile home, sited everywhere from the conventional trailer park to custom-designed "estates" aimed at young couples and retirees. Despite all these changes in manufacture and design, even the most immobile mobile homes are still sold, financed, regulated, and taxed as vehicles.With a wealth of detail and illustrations,The Unknown World of the Mobile Home provides readers with an in-depth look into this variation on the American dream.

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The Grissim Buyer's Guide to Manufactured Homes & Land: How to Find a Reputable Dealer and Negotiate a Fair Price on the Best Kept Secret in American Housing Review

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(More customer reviews)The short answer is yes. If you buy this book and it doesn't help you to save thousands, then you either didn't buy a manufactured home or you didn't read the book.
When we began our search for a Manufactured Home, we had design and purchase requirements which were slightly different than the mass market niche at which most manufactured homes and their sales are aimed. Further, we realized that we didn't have enough knowledge or information to make informed and knowledgeable decisions. So-- How to get that knowledge? There's got to be information on the internet- right? Lengthy searching on the internet brought us to a site that promised to rate the top 25 manufacturers. We gleaned as much free information as we could from the website, but it wasn't enough. We decided to spend (invest) the few dollars for the book "The Complete buyers Guide to Manufactured Homes and Land", by John Grissim that promised to give us the unbiased information that would allow us to navigate safely through the minefields of manufactured home purchase. When the book arrived, we were surprised at the clarity and extent of information it presented. The book reaffirmed that a manufactured home purchase would be a good move for us. As it turns out, we did not buy our new home from one of the top 25 (25 biggest) manufacturers, but the book made passing reference to several smaller high quality manufacturers. After interviewing and visiting various of those manufacturers, we found one whose materials, structure, fit and finish seemed a notch above the rest, and most importantly, who was willing to work with us and our design to build us a custom home that does satisfy some our special requirements. We are vastly pleased with the home that we were able to design, have built and installed on our property. Without John's book, we would not have known how to conduct our search, nor been aware of some "unpleasant" dealer practices which we were able to avoid because we were forewarned. John even answered some off-the-wall questions which we had posed to him via e-mail.
So-- Was the purchase of the book a good investment? Definitely, decidedly, absolutely, entirely! Because of John's book, we were able to buy the right house at the right price and avoid almost all the pitfalls that await the unwary or uninformed. I cannot recommend John's book too highly.


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Portable Houses Review

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(More customer reviews)I have had an opportunity to see an advance of this book and must say I am impresssed. The photography alone is a reason to pick it up. What a wonderful topic. I continue to be impressed by these authors works. Cozy, comfy, like a crackle of a corner fireplace in an wintry cabin this book takes you to those bitty homes with great charisma.

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Sheep wagons, houseboats, RVs, tents, yurts, even prefab homes and old converted school bussespeople are finding creative ways every day to build and adapt homes that aren't confined to one geographical location.Portable Houses features traditional movable dwellings around the world, from a houseboat in Sausalito to a gypsy wagon in the English countryside. Authors Irene Rawlings and Mary Abel provide essential information on making movable homes functional and practical, along with chapters on acquiring the necessary tools and gear for travel, problem solving with each type of portable house, and converting the dream into highway-legal reality. With photography of some of the world's most ingenious and unique portable structures, Portable Houses will inspire the migratory-minded to turn ordinary modes of transportation into creative living spaces. Rawlings proves that it really is possible for the dedicated, nomadic, do-it-yourselfer to make the road a comfortable home! Irene Rawlings is editor-in-chief of Mountain Living and Log & Timber magazines. Since age seven, she has wanted to buy a retired school bus, take out the seats, paint it a shiny red, and travel around the country. She is the author of many books, including The Clothesline (Gibbs Smith, Publisher, 2002) with Andrea Van Steenhouse.Mary Abel is the managing editor of Mountain Living and Log & Timber Style magazines. She wants to buy an old trailer, paint it pink, and take it into the mountains to fly fish and cook chili over a campfire. She's still working on it.

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Mobile Home Wealth: How to Make Money Buying, Selling and Renting Mobile Homes Review

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(More customer reviews)This book has everything but the kitchen sink! I have been to two seminars costing over $350 each and they didn't cover half the stuff this book does. The home work he gives you at the end of every chapter goes a long way in getting you started. I read the book cover to cover the first time. Then I help a friend who went chapter by chapter doing the home work the second. By the time he was done with the book the second time (5 months ago), he had everything in place and have been purchasing one mobile home a month ever since to great success, with a positive cash flow after expenses of $1,500 a month so far and plans to keep going.

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For years, mobile homes have been the butt of jokes-and definitely under the radar of most real estate investors. Yet for a small but growing group of savvy investors, they have become a tremendous asset. Written by one of the top professionals in the business, Mobile Home Wealth is an easy-to-understand book that can guide you to one of the most lucrative investments in real estate.

The author begins by presenting the basic principles and practices of real estate investing. He then applies these principles to mobile homes, covering every step of the investment process from choosing a home to financing the purchase, negotiating the price, improving the property, and selling or renting for maximum gains. Whether you are looking for a smart addition to your portfolio or searching for a new and different business, this book will forever change the way you view mobile homes.

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Buying a Manufactured Home: How to Get the Most Bang for Your Buck in Today's Housing Market (3rd Edition, 2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)Aloha,If you are in the market for a manufactured home you *must* get this book. He tells all the ins and outs of the manufactured home buying process written from the perspective of a guy who is simply trying to tell you the truth. He is sincere and *very* knowledgeable and will save you significant money and hassle.As one reviewer noted, this is not the best editing job. There are a number of grammatical errors, careless things like a missing pro-noun or mispelled words. But you don't buy a book like this looking for pulitzer prize level literature. You buy it to arm yourself with information. Mr. Burnside does a very good job of doing just that, arming you, and does so in an easy to read/understand fashion. I read the whole thing in about 4 hours.He gives tips on all aspects of buying a manufactured home and setting it up on your property. But the primary focus is how to handle the home dealers and how to get the best deal with the right options. In that light it would be wise to have this book as but one book in your home buying collection. A great book that covers other important areas like finding and buying land (etc) in a more comprehensive way than Mr. Burnside's book is "Finding and Buying Your Place in the Country" by Scher & Scher (husband wife team). This is also a *must* have book. Do not as much as set foot inside a manufactured home dealer without reading this book.Good Luck! It is a best seller for a reason.

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