Trailer-home buyers find they can save money — and face, too

They provide an affordable option

When Mary Ann Ridenour and Bill Ridenour became empty nesters last year, their 3,200-square-foot home suddenly seemed superfluous.

The Ridenours decided to downsize.

But unlike many others, they left their big house in a golf-course community for a trailer home.

“When I tell people what we did they think I’m jok- ing,” said Mary Ann Ridenour.

Their move, however, is not as uncommon as you might think. As housing costs — both buying and renting — remain high in many parts of the country, some people are finding trailer homes to be an affordable option.

In fact, roughly 20 million people in the United States live in trailer houses, also referred to as mobile homes, according to Census numbers.

For the Ridenours, the impetus for moving into a trailer was cutting costs. Mary Ann Ridenour, a 49- yearold who works full- time as a court reporter, started a side business a year earlier. The couple wanted more cash to support her endeavour, so the $ 1,800 monthly mortgage payment on their house in Summerville, S.C., needed to go. They bought a three- bedroom, two- bath trailer with a half- acre of land about 10 years ago, for $143,000.

The Ridenours moved in last July.

“Once we swallowed our pride, we now find the awkwardness when people realize our living conditions amusing,” says Ridenour.

Trailer- home esthetics have changed. Many today have modern interior designing, stainless-steel appliances and colourful paint.

“I love my trailer,” said Kodi Bryant, 40, who purchased the home in Golden, Colorado for $ 20,000. Her side deck offers a view of the downtown Denver skyline and the Rocky Mountains.

“I looked at apartments in the Denver area, but they were so expensive,” she said. “I didn’t want to work in a cubicle and come home to a cubicle.”

Mobile homes have long helped fill gaps in affordable housing. They were introduced after the Second World War and geared toward the millions of veterans returning home. Since then, trailer homes have grown in popularity. Census data from 2000 showed mobile homes constituted 7.6 per cent of housing, compared to 0.7 per cent in 1950.

Trailers still play an important role in satisfying the country’s housing needs, according to Charles Becker, a professor of economics at Duke University, who has studied the topic. Not only is there a steady stock of trailer homes in otherwise tight housing markets, but mobile homes can accommodate lower- or middle- income people “who don’t want to own more housing because they’re retired or they can’t afford it,” Becker said.

The average price of a trailer home, which usually does not include the land under it, is about $ 73,000, according to Census data.

“In some ways, this could be l ooked at as the new American dream because the old American dream has become unreachable for so many people,” said Daniel Levine, director of the Avant- Guide Institute, a business that watches consumer trends.