Girls, I need your advice. I live in a very expensive area... we rent from my FIL and its the only reason we can afford to live here right now. We are going to have to be out of here in about 2 years because my FIL has to sell this house (part of his retirement plan - this is not flexible as far as we know). In order to stay in the area we'd probably have to pay another $600 a month in rent minimum and would not have much of a choice with our pets (and if we moved out of the area we'd have to find another daycare and spend a lot of money commuting etc). Anyway, even the shittiest one bedroom house in our area is $400k or more. An ideal home/adequate would probably be about $600k. We've been thinking of moving into a trailer/manufactured home. There is one park in our area that is really nice, is not age-restricted, you actually own the land you are on. Its the park where my MIL lives. A home in the park is current for sale at $219k. Its a 2 bedroom, 1,400 sq foot with a small yard. That is a really really great opportunity to get in there. The trailer itself is horrible though.. built in the 70s and it really really shows it, has dark wood panelling etc. To put a new trailer on the lot we heard is at least $100k. I just don't know what to do.
We are not prepared to buy anything yet. We have a ton of debt, no savings or down payment (we'd have to ask family to help with that and we just hit my family up for money to help us with daycare.. I don't think they could help us more). I've heard that to do the remodel, we'd have to have that money or get a separate line of credit, we can't tack it onto the mortgage. To buy a new trailer would be more debt on the mortgage but might be easier to finance than to have to pay for the remodel out of pocket when a downpayment is going to be a scramble. The smartest thing to do would be to move in as it is now and remodel over time. But its honestly so awful I think I would be horribly depressed to live there as it is
Also, some work has to be done to the supports and a new skirt put on it to get it up to the home owner association codes. I worry that the older trailer will depreciate too far to be worth as much when we sell where the newer one might go for a decent amount when we sell. Since you own the land, there will always be some equity when you leave.
I feel like its rushing into things, but I also don't know that something in this price range/opportunity is going to come up often enough for us to wait. I feel sick to my stomach at the thought of us getting kicked out of here and how we're going to manage but I also am so stressed at the thought of buying this trailer. Honestly, my fail-safe in the back of my head is moving up north to live with my mom for a while and find new jobs up there if we can't find a place to live when we are kicked out of here. Don't know what to do girls! Help!
We have a lot of debt... I should be getting a very good tax return this year which I was going to use to pay down my credit card debt. My stupid husband wanted braces so we have $250 a month tied up in that for the next couple years... finally finished car payments, almost done with his student debt. We may need a new car in a few years too since his car was used when we got it and not in ideal condition. We have good enough incomes that we SHOULD be able to afford this but we just cannot live better. We really cannot stop spending on stuff that are not basic necessities.. I just don't want to live like that and don't know how to (just like I don't know how to diet!)
I made it clear that that wasn't why we were going. I cried a lot. Joe didn't talk to me on the way home. Didn't even come in to the flat. 
We're booked in for next week, but I just get the feeling Joe's already made up his mind... I feel back to square one again... 
