Installing mobile home in residential area Vs. new construction of small home?

[Jay Gray]

I was thinking about this the other day

there are tons of very cheap (sometimes even "free") mobile homes available from families inheriting them who basically just want to get rid of the monthly park fee (rent) ASAP. 

When you're talking about "double wide" or "triple wide" units, some of these things are huge and relatively nice inside and out. 

I've talked to people who specialize in moving these things and typically you can get the job done and the unit completely moved and re-installed for under $5000. 

Let's say you found a fanastic deal on an ~1500sf unit from the 1980's and it cost you maybe $5000-$10000. 

So in theory, so far you could have a 1500sf "home" moved from one location and installed for $10,000-$15,000. 

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For example, I would want to do this in an area where standard construction wood-frame tract house was previously scraped and now only an empty lot in the residential area remains. 

Of course another huge chunk here would probably be the fees that the county would charge to do such a thing (police, fire, school, water, sewer, etc. "impact" fees - as well as the basic building/zoning/planning fees).  I would estimate another $15,000-$20,000 for all these fees. 

Add another $5000 for concrete (if required) and basic landscaping and you have a 1500sf "house" installed for $30,000-$40,000 + the cost of the land.   

If you were to do new construction, you still would have the same process and fees with the county/city, but there's no way you could construct the house itself for $10k-$15k (maybe a kitchen). 

My question is... has anyone here actually done or tried to do something something like this?  

I think there are also some special (more relaxed) rules for "construction" or "installation" and even taxation (property tax) when dealing with "mobile" homes. This is why you can look under most/all mobile homes and you'll see the axles with the wheels removed. Something to with them still remaining "mobile". 

Anyway just some ideas I'm bouncing around here.