Picking my battles

@sallypup (58088)
Centralia, Washington
June 16, 2020 9:45pm CST
When you live in an old mobile home, or whatever you want to call it, you have to pick your battles. If we sell this place in two years, fix what?? Ignore what?? Tell the buyers to be happy that the mobile sits on three acres and has a working well pump, electricity, septic tank, driveway, fences, shed. Gardens, chicken coop. So the floors here are not great. We had a friend who is a contractor to come in and give us an estimate. He is busy drawing up a price but for now his estimate is in the thousands. Decent flooring is not cheap and labor is not cheap. And that thousands only involves the living room, dining room and kitchen. Not the four bedrooms etc. Just the rooms seen when you walk into the house. It would be nice to have the job done and over with. Next up after that: the next battle is the roof. Its been patched but before we leave, if we leave, that thousands of dollars roof will need to be more than sneezed at. For now we will concentrate on the floors.
11 people like this
12 responses
@wolfgirl569 (95648)
• Marion, Ohio
17 Jun 20
Thats why we went house shopping several years back. It seems like with mobile homes there is constantly something shifting and needing replaced.
2 people like this
@sallypup (58088)
• Centralia, Washington
17 Jun 20
@wolfgirl569 I hear you. I am more a country person than a townie and yet if this Virus lets up, we'll be in town in that 120 year old house. We'll be done with mobiles. And done with land. Sigh there.
2 people like this
@wolfgirl569 (95648)
• Marion, Ohio
17 Jun 20
@sallypup I hope to stay in the middle of nowhere until I cant take care of myself.
2 people like this
@sallypup (58088)
• Centralia, Washington
17 Jun 20
@wolfgirl569 I like that. I know that I am not putting in the effort that I was last year and its showing here. Its not easy to find folks who will honestly work hard outdoors let alone have the money to hire them with. I don't really want to leave this acreage but yeah, its a lot of physical work.
2 people like this
@maezee (41997)
• United States
17 Jun 20
I agree...I live in a old house that I rent, but still. When you start looking at things that need to be replaced - yikes. Glad that you are looking at getting things fixed up.
2 people like this
@sallypup (58088)
• Centralia, Washington
17 Jun 20
@maezee I rent a very old house to some folks. A couple of weeks ago the pipe to the sewer broke so since we are the landlord, we paid for the issue and then paid the renters a couple hundred cause they had a yucky mess to clean up from the yard.
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (85677)
• United States
17 Jun 20
My dad had the floors replaced in his house, but not in the bedrooms. It is just so expensive, like you said.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118546)
• Gainesville, Florida
17 Jun 20
I would think that the roof would take priority over the floors, but you know your house better than any of us, so you know what needs to be priority. Because it's a mobile home, it can be easily removed or replaced by any buyers. The focus is the land and the amenities. Your selling them the land, the mobile home just happens to come free with the land! haha
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118546)
• Gainesville, Florida
17 Jun 20
@sallypup Around here, if you buy a new mobile home, the company that sells it to you will usually haul away your old one. But I'm sure it's not that way everywhere. You could always donate it to the fire department to use for training in putting out fires! lol
1 person likes this
@sallypup (58088)
• Centralia, Washington
18 Jun 20
@moffittjc Nope on anyone hauling off trailers in my area.
1 person likes this
@sallypup (58088)
• Centralia, Washington
17 Jun 20
@moffittjc There is no inside damage in the ceilings. We've had the roof patched and later we need to replace it but for now its dry and okay inside. You are right about selling the land first and the house second. In my corner of the world, its not easy to know where to remove a mobile to. Once its somewhere, you're stuck with it.
1 person likes this
@DianneN (247191)
• United States
17 Jun 20
They say there's a house for everybody. Some might like a fixer upper. I wouldn't pour too much money into things you can't see.
1 person likes this
@sallypup (58088)
• Centralia, Washington
17 Jun 20
@DianneN Yes, especially if they have land to go with it.
1 person likes this
@sallypup (58088)
• Centralia, Washington
18 Jun 20
@DianneN Yes it is. I am so torn between the old house west side and the land here. I feel the pull of poetry readings and poetry possiblities west side and I feel the pull of the land where I am. Sit here until I am carried out or return to the larger horizon? When and if it opens up again?
1 person likes this
@DianneN (247191)
• United States
18 Jun 20
@sallypup Land is always a plus!
1 person likes this
• Agra, India
17 Jun 20
Take one thing at a time and soon all shall be done.
2 people like this
@rebelann (111249)
• El Paso, Texas
17 Jun 20
I would think thousands of dollars would be pointless given buying a new one might actually be cheaper in the long run.
1 person likes this
@rebelann (111249)
• El Paso, Texas
17 Jun 20
I know @sallypup but I was thinking that you mentioned it would cost thousands to repair the floor then thousands to repair the roof and it got me thinking that sometimes a mobile home just isn't worth putting that much money into.
1 person likes this
@rebelann (111249)
• El Paso, Texas
17 Jun 20
The problem is that mobiles depreciate like cars do so you're not likely to get more money outta it than you paid but the land should appreciate some @sallypup
1 person likes this
@sallypup (58088)
• Centralia, Washington
17 Jun 20
@rebelann You're right. A mobile can put a person into a real jam. We bought this house and property very cheaply but for sure don't want to sell it for that price again. We can't afford to basically give it away.
1 person likes this
@jstory07 (134546)
• Roseburg, Oregon
17 Jun 20
That will cost a lot of money to get the floors redone. Is the mobile home a double wide.
1 person likes this
@sallypup (58088)
• Centralia, Washington
17 Jun 20
@story07 Yes my house is a double wide. We are going to do half the front for now and see how it looks then. Not doing the kitchen yet. This will still cost us 2,500. It will be a huge improvement.
@simone10 (54189)
• Louisville, Kentucky
18 Jun 20
I would just do one thing at a time as I could afford it. Thinking too far ahead can be stressful.
1 person likes this
@Jessicalynnt (50525)
• Centralia, Missouri
18 Jun 20
yeah, hard to put money into things. We need to have someone come paint a bunch of trim and clean the remaining gutters. they have things growing in them
1 person likes this
@sallypup (58088)
• Centralia, Washington
18 Jun 20
@Jessicalynnt Good luck with those gutters! That's ladder work and dangerous.
@just4him (307029)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
17 Jun 20
It's good to know what to tackle first. There's always something to fix and repair.
1 person likes this
@sallypup (58088)
• Centralia, Washington
17 Jun 20
@just4him Sometimes you just put what needs fixing into a hat and pull out a slip with the issue on it and choose that one!
1 person likes this
@sallypup (58088)
• Centralia, Washington
17 Jun 20
@just4him Actually I should put cleaning tasks into a hat and grab one and just go do that task. That might get me moving.
1 person likes this
@just4him (307029)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
17 Jun 20
@sallypup That's one way to do it.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (157044)
• United States
17 Jun 20
Houses of any kind are a never-ending drain on resources.
1 person likes this
@sallypup (58088)
• Centralia, Washington
17 Jun 20
@LindaOhio I'm sorry that you know this first hand. Houses are another kid- dependent on us adults to feed and water and generally care for.
1 person likes this
@sallypup (58088)
• Centralia, Washington
17 Jun 20
@LindaOHio Same here. If the rental house has an issue, its up to me and mine to do something about it. Total horrors sometimes.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (157044)
• United States
17 Jun 20
@sallypup You have that right...and we have two.
1 person likes this