Re Mobile - Our First Adventure!
Before - Living Space / Kitchen
About a year ago, Ryan started listening to a podcast called Bigger Pockets and there was a segment about the mobile home industry and so he approached me about the idea to flip them. I was immediately intrigued because the designer in me would just love to decorate a “tiny” house! People have asked me, why mobile homes? Well, for starters they are small and easy to renovate, they transfer like a car title so there isn’t a lengthy closing process or costs, and it was a great way for us to get our feet wet flipping homes without having to bring on investors. When we found our first project we jumped right in! We learned so much along the way and I wanted to share some of the highlights.
Our Goal: To create affordable housing that is updated and move-in ready for families in Butler County, Ohio.
Finding the Property: This home was turned in by the owner, meaning he simply handed his title over to the park and said, you deal with it. Parks make their money on ground rent, so they list the homes “as is” and sell the title to new owners. We lucked out on this one because this doesn’t happen too often, most homes for sale are by the owner and they are looking to make a profit. When we first walked in, it was in rough shape - mismatched flooring, no appliances, outdated cabinets, holes in the walls & subfloor, and teeny, tiny bedrooms. The bathroom had no shower and the vanity was decaying. We had our work cut out for us. The community the home is in sealed the deal for us no matter how much work it entailed. It’s in a great school district, has well maintained grounds, amenities and new homes are being purchased there which helps increase the value.
After - Living Space / Kitchen
Setting a budget: Our mission is always to keep costs low by preserving and reusing any materials we can. Not too much was salvageable, so I had to hunt for great deals and text my girl, Renee, who works at the Green Gorilla discount warehouse, to see if anything new came in. We set our budget for $1800 and blew right through that. Our biggest expense was lumber and other materials needed to rebuild what had been poorly maintained. Overall, we spent around 3K and felt good about it.
Now let’s get to the question you’re all probably wondering - what’s it like to work in a cramped space with your spouse? Let me tell you, maneuvering through the mess we created was our biggest challenge. Ryan would be working on something in the hallway and I needed to get to the master bedroom so I had to shimmy by without disturbing him with an open can of paint, but then realize I left my brush at the front of the house. Well, crap. Another challenge would be my clumsiness. I must have tripped 5 times a day over lumber, a tool or my favorite, the shop vac hose. That thing had it out for me.
Our second biggest challenge was missing tools. Even though we both have our own set of power tools, Ryan has all the good extra tools like the oscillating drill and the air compressor while I have the Dremel and my new love, the finger sander. My finger sander would go missing daily and I would scream at him for stealing it. Let’s start with the fact that he had no use for it nor did he want it. I would just leave it in places and forget. Much like the dust pan which was replaced with a bright blue one so I could spot it easier. Hard to spot when you accidentally throw it in the trash with the dust. I’m working on it.
Overall, we had a blast and despite the injuries and missing tools, it’s done and we are still married. Check out the before and afters!
