My family lived in a mobile home for years. It was a nice home and was incredibly heat efficient. Like any home, a lot depends on how you take care of it. We lived in a mobile home park which means we had to pay lot rent. There were restrictions about what you could have on the property and there were maintenance levels that had to be met. In my opinion, this is a good thing. The owners were quite reasonable and it has kept the park looking nice for over 30 years. We had a nice porch, planted some trees, had a carport, a shed out in the back yard and even a garden. Some parks don't allow you to do those things, especially planting trees or if they do allow tree planting, the tree must always be pruned to remain shorter than the roof of the mobile home.

Where I live, single and double-wide mobile homes are quite common. Many are set on permanent foundations. My mother-in-law recently purchased a mobile home to set on her own property. By law, she was required to put in concrete piers, 16 of them for a single-wide mobile home that are 50 inches deep (the piers). There are also tie-downs for each pier that are attached to the concrete pad and go over the frame of the mobile home. I'm sure wind could still be an issue but the state regulations help to make things a bit more sturdy.

In the US, some folks think that those who live in mobile homes or "trailers" are trash. The fact of the matter is that mobile homes provide affordable living for many people. Many of them are very nice and well taken care of. The newer mobile homes are very energy efficient (I wish my old farm house was as tight as the mobile homes on the market!)too! Another plus of the mobile home is for the elderly or anyone who has difficulty getting around as (generally) everything is located on one floor. Some of the downfalls include a decrease in property value (mobile homes do not increase in value as a stick built house does unless a basement, garage or significant landscaping or acreage is involved).

The difference between a modular home and a double-wide are as follows:

Modular homes:
1. Must be put on a foundation
2. Better built (better materials/quality materials)
3. Are sold without any type of furnace system/hot water tanks, etc.
4. Higher pitched roof

Mobile homes:
1. May stand independently
2. Quality varies greatly
3. Generally sold with furnace and hot water tanks
4. Lower pitched roof

I'm sure there are more differences but that is all that I can come up with at the moment.

Michelle