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Tips for Turning a Mobile Home into a Forever Home

Tips for Turning a Mobile Home into a Forever Home

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When you have a limited budget, it’s important to make the most of every dollar you make. Many people don’t realize that they can turn a mobile home into a forever home with just a little bit of work. The following guide walks you through a few things you can do to turn your mobile home into the home you love living in for the rest of your life.

Choose the Right Location

In order for the home to feel like a forever home, it’s important to have a prime location for it to be situated. Buying a piece of property to put the home on ensures your long-term security. You won’t have to worry that the mobile home community will one day shut down, or the person who owns a piece of property you are renting wants to suddenly sell it. Mobile homes require a very small amount of land so finding one at an affordable price shouldn’t be too difficult.

Have a Concrete Foundation Created

If you want your mobile home to be your forever home, you need to give it a solid foundation, literally. Having a concrete foundation for the home not only protects the bottom of the home from the elements and animals, but it also gives the home a finished look. Concrete foundations only go around the perimeter of the home, so they are often very affordable and can be created in a very short period of time. In order to have a concrete foundation created you do need to own the property that the home is going to be located on because it does create a permanent fixture on the property.

Add a Deck and Entryway to the Mobile Home

In order to be able to relax and entertain comfortably, you need to have exterior spaces to enjoy. Having an entryway created will make getting in and out of the home easier. Having a deck added to the home provides you with great exterior entertaining space and can actually add a lot of value to the home. The deck doesn’t have to be overly extravagant in order to be great.

Upgrade to Engineered Wood Siding

Vinyl siding is the traditional siding used on the exterior of mobile homes. While the siding looks great, it can show signs of wear and tear over time and upkeep can be a bit of a hassle at times. Upgrading to engineered wood siding gives the home the look of a stick-built house without the high cost. The siding is designed to look like wood siding, but it doesn’t require the same upkeep that wood siding requires. It will have a grained appearance and is available in a variety of colors so that you can customize the look of your home for an affordable cost.

Sheetrock the Walls in the Home

The vinyl on gypsum walls in a mobile home exposes the fact that it is a mobile home. The walls have a unique look to them and are often thinner than traditional walls. If you want to give the home a more finished look, you can have sheetrock walls added to the house. You can then paint the walls and hang items differently than you can on the traditional VOG walls that come in mobile homes. This allows you to create a relaxing oasis you can look forward to coming home to each day. The sheetrocked walls can also help with insulation in the home to lower your heating and cooling costs at the same time.

Get Energy-Efficient Appliances

If you know that you are going to stay in the house for years to come, you need to invest in affordable appliances. Many of the appliances that come standard with mobile homes aren’t very energy efficient. This is because energy-efficient appliances are more costly. When you have money available to invest, consider upgrading to energy-efficient appliances. Start with the water heater. When you have an energy-efficient water heater, you’ll be able to start seeing a difference in your electric bills almost right away.

Add Landscaping Around the House

Many people who own mobile homes know that there is a chance that they will have to move home in the future, so they ignore the landscaping around their house. If you know that this is your forever home and you are going to stay in the same location for many years, why not add great landscaping around the house? Adding flower beds, shrubs and even trees to the yard can create the look of a stick-built home. Be sure that anything you plant near the home won’t have large, cascading roots in the years to come to ensure that the roots don’t grow under the house and damage the foundation.

Pay Off Your Loan as Quickly as Possible

One of the best ways you can make your home feel like a forever home is actually to own it. Take the time to pay off the loan for the home as quickly as you can. Many people are living a very lean lifestyle for a few months so that they can dedicate as much of their income as possible to paying off their home loans. Once the loan is paid off you will have peace of mind that you own something valuable. The equity in the home is something that you can always fall back on if times get tough financially. Owning the home will also give you a sense of pride and accomplishment in the long run.

Turning your mobile home into your forever home isn’t hard to do. You need to do more than hang a few pictures on the wall though. It won’t happen overnight though. Take the time to create a plan of action when it comes to creating a forever home. You want to be sure your home is a space you love and want to come home to each and every day. Taking baby steps towards transforming it ensures that you don’t get overwhelmed or sink deeper and deeper into debt.

Are Upgrades Worth Investing in When Buying a Mobile Home?

Are Upgrades Worth Investing in When Buying a Mobile Home?

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People often choose to purchase mobile homes because they are so affordable and can be placed just about anywhere they choose. When shopping for a mobile home, there are so many options available to you when it comes to upgrades. Some of the upgrades are worth investing in at the time of purchase, and some can wait for later. The following guide walks you through a few of the most common upgrades that are available for mobile homes and advice as to if they are worth investing in or not.

Insulated Skirting Around the Exterior of the Mobile Home

If you don’t plan to put your mobile home on a concrete foundation, the bottom of the home will be exposed to the elements. This can lead to pipes freezing during the cold winter months and animals being able to burrow into the house from the outside. An insulated skirting can be a great upgrade to invest in because it not only provides your home from protection from most animals but also insulates the underneath of the house to decrease the chances of your pipes freezing.

Upgraded Flooring Isn’t a Great Investment to Make at First

Many mobile homes come with laminate flooring or carpeting throughout them to keep the cost to a minimum. The dealer will give you the option to upgrade the flooring to tile, granite, or even hardwood flooring to give the home a more refined look. While the upgraded flooring may look great, it can add thousands to your final cost of the home unnecessarily. Flooring can be changed out at a later date to keep your costs low when you are first buying the home.

Invest in Energy Efficient Windows and Doors Throughout the House

Mobile homes are often known for not being as energy efficient as stick-built homes are. Having low-quality windows and doors on the exterior of the house can allow heat and cool air to escape from the home during the cold winter or hot summer months. Upgrading to energy-efficient windows and doors makes it easier for your home to maintain a constant temperature. This minimizes the heating and cooling costs you’ll ultimately have to pay.

Sheetrocked Walls Aren’t a Necessity

VOG walls, also known as Vinyl on Gypsum, are standard in most mobile homes. They are smooth, thin walls that create privacy, but aren’t soundproof. Some people choose to upgrade the walls in their homes to sheetrock because they feel that it creates a more finished look and makes painting the walls easier. Sheetrocking the walls will cost you thousands of dollars and ultimately won’t change the way that you can use the house.

Upgraded Lighting Isn’t as Important

Many dealers have multiple lighting options that you can add to the home. There are chandeliers, recessed lighting, and even globe lighting that can be added to make the home look higher end and provide more light within the rooms. The cost to have the lighting upgraded isn’t worth spending because you can simply add lamps throughout the home to boost the amount of light that’s in a room. You can have recessed lighting, chandeliers or any other lighting you want to be added to the house later on down the road when you can afford it.

The Cost of a Jet Tub Will Make Your Soak Less Relaxing

Many people want to unwind after a long day at work, and taking a soak in a comfortable tub can be a great way to do it. Dealers often have upgraded tubs that have jets in them available for you to add to your home. The tubs are often larger than traditional tubs so that you can fit in them comfortably. The only problem with these larger, jetted tubs is that the water heaters in the mobile homes aren’t large enough to provide enough hot water to fill the tubs.

You’ll be investing in something that you might not even be able to use. It’s best to wait to install a jetted tub until you know you can afford the large water heater and the high electricity costs that will come with using it.

Granite Countertops Aren’t a Sound Investment to Make

Having granite countertops in your kitchen will create a very elegant look. The granite can cost you triple or even quadruple what you would pay for the traditional laminate countertops that come in most mobile homes, though. The countertops work exactly the same way, and there are so many color options available when it comes to laminate countertops that you can still create the look you want without having to pay the high cost that comes with granite countertops.

High-End Appliances Cost More than They're Worth

Refrigerators, ovens, and even dishwashers are all designed to serve a specific purpose. There are many options available, and some will cost significantly more than others. Upgrading to stainless steel appliances will boost the amount you have to pay for your home significantly. Choose the basic appliance package and upgrade your appliances later when you have more disposable income to spend. You can often find high-end appliances on clearance or even at a scratch and dent store to get the most bang for your buck.

Solar Panels Cost More than They Save at First

Solar panels can sound very appealing to many people. They can help you to be more environmentally friendly and decrease your overall electrical costs each month. When you are first buying your home, the cost to have solar panels added to your mobile home will be quite high. If you consider how much the purchase and installation price is for the upgrades, you’ll quickly realize it’s an investment to consider at a later time.

Some upgrades are totally worth the investment when purchasing a mobile home, and some are not. You need to think long and hard about what you really need in a home and what you want in your home. It’s important to budget and agrees to purchase the home for an amount that you can afford to pay off as quickly as possible. You can then use the money you were spending on the loan to make any upgrades you choose once you are established and no longer paying for the house.