Hope I didn't make a mistake

16 years ago

I've lived in a stick house for the past 26 1/2 years, and just sold it today. It was built in 1900; a pretty solid Victorian. Tomorrow I buy a 1985 double-wide mobile home in a leased-land 55+ park.

The DW needs about 25K of work to make it right -mostly cosmetic because it's never been updated. EVERYTHING needs updating. All the walls (if you can call them walls) are covered in that cheap ugly panelling and vinyl wallpaper. And all of the doors are dark brown. We intend to paint all the doors and woodwork semi-gloss white, and all the walls a pastel blue-green. And paint the kitchen cabinets in 2 colors to give them life. We'll refine the colors once we live in it. Then replace the carpets with vinyl and/or indoor-outdoor. Etc.

However... now the paranoia sets in. Did I make a mistake? Will these renovation plans be overwhelming? Will it blow away in a New England hurricane? Yes, we haven't had a big one in 50 years. O, well, maybe I'm just ranting.

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Comments (3)

pris
16 years ago
We won't go into the why of this lifestyle change as it's none of my business so let's make sure the 1985 is not going to be a major money pit.

Have you checked out the flooring to make sure it's solid and hopefully not pressed board. Look underneath the bathroom toilets and the kitchen sink for water damage. If the floors are not good sub flooring there will be major problems there. I'd hate to see you get up in the wee hours to go to the bathroom and fall through the floor. Do your homework regarding the different types of surfaces in your MH and what it takes to get a coat of paint to stick. Most of the surfaces in these older MH's are some form of plastic. Not properly done paint just peels off. What you want to do can be done but just do your homework so that you don't have to spend money later removing it and doing it over which would be much more costly. How about the roof. Check the ceilings in all rooms including closets for water stains and also go up and check the roof for problems. Why buy someone elses problems? Good luck.
desertsteph
16 years ago
i'd really check it out good. i'd buy a newer one if possible. I realize it isn't always possible tho. they are often preset in those parks.

you might need to replace the windows also and check the insulation in it.
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italicsmyn
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you for giving me words of encouragement.
The thing I really like about this house is the location. I don't know if it's feng shui or what,
We moved in this house the day before Thanksgiving.
With the pace of a banshee we've painted the ceilings, walls, relocated a wall, put in a new bathroom, pergo floored 2 rooms and a hall, and planning to rip out the crummy old kitchen cabinets and replace them with new.
It has made a world of difference. The park manager has been like the fairy godfather and gone out of his way to make us feel comfortable, and guide us to the right professionals. So I'm looking at this place with new glasses now.
Even those batten things on the walls are giving me ideas about accentuating them with stencil.
Again, thanks to everyone for helping me through the rough points.