The wife and I are looking to get some land and set up a small(with room to grow) homestead, the sooner the better given the current climate. We are considering finding the 'perfect' land for us long term, and putting a mobile home on it for a temporary(5-10yrs) period. During that time saving the excess money we get each month we build a traditional home with cash, doing as much of the work as my boys and I can, over time. Once the traditional house is built the mobile home could be used for hobbies, storage, family when they visit(eventually grandkids) etc. We went to a local dealer yesterday just to look and dang! they seem really nice. We spent a couple years living in a bumper pull 31 foot RV traveling, and this was obviously nicer than that. We loved the RV living, so we think comfort wise we would love this, and price wise, I have considered fifth wheels almost as expensive. My wife loved the amount of space it had VS what we have now in our rental. All that said, I have no experience with mobile homes, all the houses I have owned have been traditional stick built.

The plan would involve doing things "right"? if you will... A good thick slab, the upgraded siding, maybe a steel roof etc. Anything that can make it a better experience over the longer term will be considered.

In my mind several aspects could be reused once the permanent house is erected i.e. Well, Solar, Wind etc.

Info that may be relevant:
- Wife and I are in our early 30's
- Currently renting a house in OK. Moved here in January and we were looking for a house to buy when Covid hit and was forced to find something fast and temporary. Paying almost twice in rent that I would be in a mortgage for the same house. This is also the first time I have rented a house in a decade.

The rationale being that this is something we could realistically accomplish in the next 6 months, where as to build a stick built house for a similar cost up front, we would be looking at a higher down payment and more time to save initially. I don't have to tell you the piece of mind the thought of having a well stocked rural property with a well and solar is right now. Especially with kids, 2 of which are toddlers.

I guess I am looking for advice from people who have gone this or another non traditional route. Is this realistic, or is there some aspect I am not even considering because I don't know about it.

Thanks to all in advance!

We recently bought property in CO to build a house on.

In order to avoid sticker shock and be able to be financially prepared, get a feel for what a well, electrical service and septic will cost. Make sure you are good to build yourself and what the permit requirements are for building, electrical, plumbing, septic and well permits.  I understand counties in UT are pretty lax, but make sure you can do what you want.

My well and having the electrical meter placed is going to cost around $20K. It costs a bit of money to get the infrastructure set up. It's really pretty hard to run just off panels, but that could be an option.

Also any earth work if you don't do it yourself.
Look into getting a lot that you can build on with your skills and experience.

Have some idea of what kind of house you'd like to end up with and how it will fit on your site.
We wanted a walk out basement pointing South and found a lot that slopes downhill to the South that will work perfectly.

Put your house in the best spot on the property even if you have to pay more up front to run services. It's a buy once, cry once situation vs I wish we weren't so close to the road for the rest of your life.

Thanks for the reply! I didn't change it fast enough, but I am actually in Oklahoma now. I have updated my profile. Definitely will check into the land restrictions and permit requirements. I want this to be something I can use as a long term learning project, that I can push myself, but not bite off more than I can chew. I agree wholeheartedly on the buy once cry once mentality regarding the final build site. In both my previous houses I wished they had positioned the house differently and intend to get this one positioned just right. No regrets!

Check on building permit closing time limits too.
I'm in the county and they expect me to close out a permit within 12 months. I can extend for another 12 months, but it cost 1/2 again as much as the original permit. (still not that bad, but would surely rather use the $$ for something else, right?)

I'm phasing my approach and will finish each one before starting on the next phase.

Detached Garage permit
House Permit
Improved basement permit

I’ve been considering similar but my thought is a steel building shop and just build an apartment with dining/kitchen/laundry/ master bedroom in it and use the whole thing as “living space” until the home is done.  I hate mobiles just because as soon as you set it down it starts depreciating...fast. And Oklahoma I hear has these spinoff windy things that live mobiles

This sounds like the best strategy, but would take a little longer time wise.

Put up a steel building with an apartment above, or living space built into it.  That way you can use it more when the permanent house is done and still have a place for family to stay

We thought about that. A barndominium/Shouse or what not. Definitely liked that idea more overall, but that's a bit more expensive than we wanted to go at first. There is a good chance the house we build next, that's a forever house will be something like that.  Steel structure with living space built in. I liked that if you built like a 40 x 80, 40 foot can be for living and the other 40 could be an indoor play space for the kids when the weather is bad.

As for the Tornados, a storm shelter will be in before we move in. Period. Would hate to survive 2020 only to die in a Tornado in 2021 lol

Here’s our 40x60 pole building that’s half house half barn.

Right now it’s a bathroom and a kitchen/big room in the house half
We do have a full kitchen with dishwasher, washer/dryer, 2 mini splits.


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We're in a similar boat.  My current house and 106 acres is for sale.  We have already purchased another 125 acres that we are going to build our retirement home on.  Driveway has been installed, pasture area has been cleared and we are getting fescue established on it.  We're in the planning stages with a GC on shop and home build costs.

Anyway, we're getting a bit of interest in our current home and we may end up being "homeless" real soon. A quick setup mobile home is one of our options.  I can't imagine a shop/apartment being built in time.  So we are going to end up buying a small house to live in and turn it into a rental later, becoming a renter ourselves, or getting some sort of living quarters setup on our home site while building takes place.  Septic and well permits for the shop are being worked on now.  Maybe we can have an RV hookup put in first and get one of those "park model" trailers.  Who knows. Lol.

CHRIS

I have been following his thread for some time! I would love to do something like this, but cant figure out where to start regarding permits, time it would take etc. I can do it, but I am going to be learning along the way so its not going to be fast. I understand most permits have time limits and what not.

You sound like all the voices in my head! We have looked at all those options too, jumping back and forth based on research. We even floated the idea that we just put our RV there and have hookups installed for Phase 1 so to speak. If we could do that and have an actual address or what not we probably would. We floated trading up to a large fifth wheel or a park model.

Have you checked the build requirements in your chosen county yet? Probably should start there. Not sure about OK but there may be no permits required.

Financing is a concern. Many banks will not loan money to a self builder unless the self builder has prior experience with home construction. On the first house I built, I had to have a contractor for most of it. That house went so smoothly, when I got a construction loan for the next house, the bank didn’t care and just wrote the loan for me.

We haven't found the county or land yet. That's where we are at right now, looking and asking questions etc. Some of the properties I have looked at online say 'No Restrictions' or what not, but the closer in I get to the big city, the less I see that. I assume the more rural of land I choose the fewer restrictions and permits I will need.

Thats my concern for just straight up building the house up front. I will have to get financing and getting that while building is tougher, or else this would be my #1 plan. Im handy, and can figure it out, but its gonna be slow going as I take my time learning it. Dont want to be under the gun so to speak

When you purchase land restrictions usually mean they are placed there by the developer or the current owner. The restrictions might be HOA restrictions or they could be placed there by the seller.You definitely need to look them over very carefully. Some restrictions are no problem. Other restrictions you don’t want. So be sure you research it very carefully.

Permits are usually a requirement of the local jurisdiction. Some jurisdictions require permits actually probably most jurisdictions require permits but some do not.

A great deal of sellers will put a “no mobile homes” restriction on the property which will affect your probable plans.

I built a 30x50 barndomineum because it will be an air-conditioned shop when we build a house.

I don't like trailer homes.  The barn should at least slightly appreciate instead of go to damn near zero.

Trailer houses require a lot of upkeep down the road especially if you are in a damp or humid area of the state.  If you could do the barn home option you would have something that would last a long time and you wouldn’t have to spend as much money on upkeep.

Glad you want to move out to some land OP.

We recently did something similar.  Bought some acreage that already have a mobile home on it.  It is an older but very nice mobile home that we want to live in while we get everything paid off.

We wanted to get the land paid off before building another home.  I think it is a good idea to stay out of debt as much as possible - although in my case, I had to get a loan for the land and then a personal loan for the mobile home (since no one would finance it).  Worked out well for us.

Alot of what you can do depends on your county - I have a nurse that put up a metal building and they live inside a camper in the metal building while they are building their house - then will use the metal building for a workshop/garage.

Trailers or mobile homes have benefits but also liabilities.  They are less expensive, but generally only lose value over time.  I've lived in 2 over the years and neither of them cost me a lot of upkeep.  Low taxes here.  Nothing wrong with living in them but it is not a house.  There are different levels of mobile home also, look into the insulation, wind/snow load ratings.  Most new ones are plumbed with PEX so this is a big improvement over older ones.  You can save a lot of money by getting them used, but you risk getting someone else's junk if they weren't cared for - be careful for repos, if you look at them make sure you inspect them carefully.  My BIL bought one and fixed it up nicely, the structure was solid, but he had a lot of work to do.  Look out for roof leaks/water damage.  

Enjoy - if I can answer anything specific, I will.  I've bought and sold several pieces of land within the last 10 years, and finally ended up with one we would like to stay on.

Be sure to totally research the county building office requirements AND state requirements. It can get pretty tricky.


In CO, since I own the land and am building for my own residence, I can pull my permits and do the work myself.

Even though I am rural, I have to submit construction documents, get a building permit and inspections from the county and get sign off.

I have to pull electrical and plumbing permits from the state and get inspections and sign off.

I can sub out BUILDING permit work on a homeowner's permit, but I cannot call in a electrician or plumber to do part of the work under my homeowner's permit.

The permits expire in a year, but I can renew for 12 more months for 1/2 the original permit fee.

Usually proof of well and septic must be provided to pull the building permits.

If you start early on any permits and get caught, the building permit fee doubles.

You will likely have to pay some percentage of the building materials sales tax up front with the permit fee. You'll then get a tax waiver form to show when buying material that will exempt you from paying county taxes.

You can do work in bite sized chunks.

I am building detached garage first as a detached structure permit.

Then I will build house, but not finish the basement as a single family residence permit.

Then I can pull a finished basement permit and finish the basement.

This strings things out for 3 years as each is 12 months to close out.

While the renewal fees are not outrageous, I would still like to avoid paying them.

I know I can finish the garage in less than 12 months.

I HOPE I can finish the house in less than 12 months. It's the largest chunk of work by far. BUT, there is a lot of house stuff that is not required to close a permit. Millwork, cabinets and countertops, and interior doors being very time consuming, but completely ornamental.  I'm doing all that work because it's a HUGE way to turn work and materials into a lot of equity $$$.

Improving the basement should be really easy considering I'm planning to do it and not going to build in any stupid stuff that later has to be torn out.



I have 2 neighbors that GC'd their houses and did a lot of the work and they have both said the inspectors are pretty reasonable with homeowners doing their own work and will help out with suggestions.