Things to Know When Buying a Mobile Home in North Carolina

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Living in a mobile home changed my life for the better. It allowed us a chance to live stylishly while still saving money for a down payment on a larger home. Needless to say, we’re big advocates for mobile home living! However, buying a mobile home, especially a used home, can be a stressful situation. We’re trying to make it easier for families to buy and live in mobile homes with our state guides. In this article, we share helpful information for anyone thinking about buying a mobile home in North Carolina.

North Carolina is a beautiful state with lots of economic opportunities (which is why half the state of West Virginia has moved there!). You have the beach on one side and the beautiful mountains on the other. NC was known for being a manufacturing and financial center of the east coast.

Here are some stats, helpful information, and contact information for mobile home buyers and owners in the state of North Carolina.

My husband and I have lived in North Carolina a couple of different times over the last 22 years. We lived in Lexington (Davidson County) for 2 years in the late 1990s when we first started out. In 2005, we moved to Southport to work with a contractor that was building houses in the Boiling Springs community. Both times, we rented a really nice single wide. Our rent in Lexington was $500 and in Boiling Springs was $600. Both on large lots in nice neighborhoods and both within 200 yards of a lake or pond (I’ve always loved being close to water).

North Carolina Mobile Home Living by the Numbers

As you already know, manufactured homes are a great investment for many people and that is especially true for North Carolina.

NC has the second highest number of mobile homes (per capita), right behind South Carolina. Mobile Home Village offers these other statistics as well:

The average price of a pre-owned home: $85869
Average model year of a pre-owned home: 2009
The Average pre-owned home size in square feet: 566
Average sites in a manufactured home community: 72
Average year a community was developed: 1997
Number of age-restricted communities: 36
Number of all-age communities: 851

Making an Informed Mobile Home Purchase

When making a mobile home purchase, whether it be a new or used home, it’s important to do your homework. Fortunately, for mobile and manufactured home buyers and sellers there are a few

The North Carolina Manufactured & Modular Home Builders Association site. While there you can learn about the home buying process, financing options and ways to protect yourself as a consumer. You can also contact them directly at:

4911 Departure Dr
Raleigh, NC 27616
919.872.2740 Fax: (919) 872-4826
gro.ahm-cnobfsctd-90e1a8@ofni

Titling Your Mobile Home

Once you have purchased your new or used mobile home the next step is to make sure that it is titled within the state. If your purchase was a new home, the dealer will usually handle all that for you. But if you are buying a used home then you will need to make sure that you take care of the requirements yourself. Titling will require a Manufacturer’s Certificate of Origin. You can find all the requirements on the NC DMV site.

If your mobile home is placed on a permanent foundation on land that you own the title of the home will be canceled. In its place, the county will deed the land and you will then be responsible for property taxes on it.

If There’s a Problem With a New Manufactured Home Purchase

Unfortunately, there are times that your new mobile home has issues that need to be handled. These can be problems that happened during the building of the home, during setup, or after the home is installed. Luckily, a new mobile home includes a one year manufactured warranty. There are a couple of manufactured home builders that offer 5 and even 7-year warranties. Any issues or defects from the factory or the installation are usually handled by the dealer.

Be sure to keep a record of any correspondence (typically contact them in writing via certified mail or email) so that you will have a paper trail in case your issues aren’t handled properly. Learn more about handling manufactured home warranty issues here.

If you cannot get your issues handled by dealing directly with the dealer, you can reach out to the NC Department of Insurance State Fire Marshall Office online, via phone at 1-800-587-2716, or by mail at:

Manufactured Building Division
Office of the State Fire Marshal
NC Department of Insurance
116 West Jones Street
Raleigh, NC 27603

When filing the complaint be as specific as possible and include details of any attempts to get the issue handled.

The NC Office of the State Fire Marshal’s website has a complete index of the NC Regulations for Manufactured Homes (2004 Edition) online. You can see it here.

You can also see Manufactured Housing Memos and Code Interpretation page where they have a ton of information on regulations and codes.

Mobile Home Living in North Carolina

If you are looking for a manufactured home its easier than ever to find one. Dealers can help you customize exactly what you are looking for if you are buying new and with sites like Craigslist, Realtor.com, and Zillow it’s easy to find used ones whether it be in a community or attached to property. During our recent search, there were over 1400 homes on Zillow alone! These are just a few we found.

Related: 45 Great Manufactured Home Porch Designs.

In Closing

Every state has its own unique way of dealing with mobile and manufactured homes. But one thing that all the states have in common is their growing acceptance of these homes being an affordable investment for consumers. Hopefully, we will continue to see these homes pop up as manufacturers keep making gorgeous, affordable home options.

Be sure to watch as our series will continue with a look at mobile home resources available in another state across the country! As always we appreciate you reading Mobile Home Living.