Archive for Mobile Home
Dec
08
More Wobbly Boxes
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First off, congratulations to Ranger, he was our 15th emailer yesterday! I will be making arrangements to get the book out to him, ASAP!
OK, I have another set of used mobile homes or “Wobbly Boxes” as I’ve seen them called over the years, to show you today. Two of the homes are from my local area here in Seattle but a third came in from Sean, a reader in Arizona. At least the mobile home’s in Arizona, Sean didn’t actually say where he was? Again, these are just examples of what I’ve been talking to you about. I haven’t done my homework on these beyond exchanging an email or two.
The most important thing to remember is that these homes are indeed available. These places are all still a bit older than I would like, ideally… However, if I was seriously looking for a place to call home on the cheap, I’d check on anything that looked even the slightest bit hopeful.
I have copied the text from the corresponding advertisements, these are the sellers words regarding their homes, not mine! The ads are all fairly recent so if they sound interesting to anyone, I included the phone numbers so give the sellers a call.
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Example #1
#1
Nice 1971 Home, in a nice Senior Park (55+). Located on bus line… close to lakes & shopping. 2 Large storage buildings/workshops, 1 with roll-up door. $7,900
Features include:
Central Heat & Air
Extra Insulation under floor
New Vinyl Windows & Sliding Glass Door
New Vinyl Flooring bath, kitchen, entry
All Appliances including Washer & Dryer
3 Large Porches
Dish Network Satellite Dish, also Wired for Cable
Fenced rear Yard with Gate & Pet Door to kitchen (pets welcome)
2 Car deep driveway with Carport
6’ x 11’ Storage with Shelves, Work Bench & Outlets
Separate 11’x 16’ “out building” with roll-up door, work benches, shelves & outlets.
R/V Storage Space is available in park
Space rent of $330.00 includes water, sewer, garbage.
Owner Financing with Flexible Terms w/substantial down. Discount for “all cash offer”.
Call anytime 253-312-3334
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Example #2
#2
Three bedrooms, two bathrooms nice and pretty big extra wideshed, I added it for a wreck room. I’m trying to sell fast so I can get right again for the holidays that’s why it’s so cheap. Look, own your own home for $6,000 that’s a deal and for a nicer place you seen most mobile homes posted, most are really old looking, not this one! I’m also willing to work out deals depending on what you got? Like I will take $3000 cash and a trade for something like a nice running car or truck that’s deals right there so don’t wait soon will be to late who do this , I’d hurry before it’s to late call Jon (206)-403-7621
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Example #1
Extra Insulation under floor
New Vinyl Windows & Sliding Glass Door
New Vinyl Flooring bath, kitchen, entry
All Appliances including Washer & Dryer
3 Large Porches
Dish Network Satellite Dish, also Wired for Cable
Fenced rear Yard with Gate & Pet Door to kitchen (pets welcome)
2 Car deep driveway with Carport
6’ x 11’ Storage with Shelves, Work Bench & Outlets
Separate 11’x 16’ “out building” with roll-up door, work benches, shelves & outlets.
Example #2
Example #3
#3
Trailer for sale year is 1989
3 bedrooms and 1 bathroom
11,000 in payments
but 9,000.00 CASH!
OK condition
Needs work in kitchen and bathroom
Please contact Vanessa at (520) 336-8550
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There you have it… 3 possible homes that could possibly be turned into productive homesteads. All of them could be had for cheap to free, depending on how good at dickering you are. I’m going to just give you my initial thoughts on these and the kind of actual purchase price you might expect for each of these homes…
#1- These folks said specifically that there would be a discount for cash… I’ve seen this ad on craigslist for a couple of weeks now. If I were going to make them an offer it would be no more than $5000, it might actually be no more than taking the title and paying them a couple hundred to leave the house clean when they left. It’s a 1971 and therefore could present some issues when getting it moved. It’s in a rural senior park so it’s probably quiet, a person so inclined could possibly just live in the home where it is and bank the rent/mortgage money while they save their cash for something better or to maybe move this home to some free and clear land! $330 space rent, including water, sewer and garbage – not to shabby?
#2 – I emailed this gentleman and he is very interested in dealing… This is a 1985 home and he claims that it has 2×6 exterior walls and is sheet rocked on the interior. If it wouldn’t be to far to move to my BOL, I would at least take a long look at this one… He apparently is in need of $3000 cash, from what the ad says, so that’s all I would probably have to pay. $3000 cash in hand and this guy would sign anything I asked…
#3- This is the home located in Arizona. I can see from the photo that it would be a fixer. This alone wouldn’t scare me away as long as it has a solid structure. Believe me going through a small home like this with new flooring and paint just wouldn’t cost much… For someone that was handy, a few thousand in fix up money could go along way. Plus, you would have the benefit of de-scuzzing the place at the same time. They have already played their hand and said that they are willing to deal. $2000 off the purchase price for cash would probably mean a cash buyer could get this one for $5000 or maybe even less since they admit it needs work? It’s a 1989, so this one is another I would definitely dig a little deeper on if it were located nearer to me.
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In closing today, I want to remind you that I DO NOT advocate lowering your standard of living by living in a mobile home. I actually think that many of our lifestyles would improve if we had lower overhead. These homes can be fixed up VERY nicely and be quite comfortable. I realize this plan wouldn’t work for everyone but shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand because of any self imposed stigma associated with a “Trailer House”, I speak from personal experience here! I will continue to show all of you what the Prepper family is doing with our MOBILE HOMEstead and try to lead by example, showing everyone what’s possible!
Prepper
Example #3
3 bedrooms and 1 bathroom
11,000 in payments
but 9,000.00 CASH!
OK condition
Needs work in kitchen and bathroom
Please contact Vanessa at (520) 336-8550
Oct
28
Minor Details
Posted by: | CommentsAlright, first I want to thank the new subscribers that have come in over the last couple days. I want to remind all of you that if you don’t immediately begin receiving your email alerts than please email me. We’re all caught up now and processing the subscribers as they come in. Thanks!
I’m beginning to get a back log of reader questions and I will answer them as quickly as possible but will probably not do more than one of these types of posts per week. I know some folks really like those but others don’t so I’m going to continue to keep the topics revolving. I don’t want anyone to get bored!
One last thing, please continue to tell your friends about “Prepper” Nation. I want to see our community growing and I can’t do it without your help! Also, I asked you all to start watching your local areas for good deals on Mobile Homes and I haven’t had one email on this yet. Just a reminder, keep your eyes peeled for these homes as this could be a real windfall for someone in your area to take advantage of – Thanks!
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I don’t have to tell you that I’m becoming a big fan of these older singlewide mobile homes… I challenge anyone to show me a way to get more for your money? I’ll live up to my end of the bargain and show you all how nice a place like this can be. Other than the limited square footage, I just can’t find a downside for one of these on a property you plan to keep, long term!
With the niceties out of the way, we can get down to business. These older homes SUCK for fit and finish. Cheap cabinets, low end surfaces, limited or sub-standard trim, inside and out. Then there’s the sheetrock, I do like the idea that it is sheetrock on the interior but it’s very thin and I haven’t seen this stuff at Home Depot. There must be an outlet for 1/4 sheetrock but I haven’t tripped over any at the hardware store yet?
Guest bedroom end w/ old trim at old location too
I have a small area around the back door that’s in need of some wall repairs. Just for cosmetics, there isn’t any rot or anything. The previous owner said that his dog tore the hole in the wall? You’ve seen my dog, BOD, she’s the type of dog that you might expect to do something like chew wall board off but not even she would do that?? With the pergo floor already installed, I’m hesitant to start changing the interior around. I want to put in new kitchen cabinets someday but this is low priority since the existing ones still work fine. All things to be taken care of in good time. We’ll tackle one project at a time and eventually get them all done.
Its actually another exterior project I recently completed that I was going to show you today. I’m going to post both before and after photos to better illustrate what I’m referring to.
Living room window near the front door
When we bought the home, you probably even noticed, it had some real funky window trim on it. This wouldn’t even be called trim in my book but it was installed that way so it must have been what the manufacture intended to be trim! This stuff is about as low end as you can get… Little more than cardboard? It lasted 12 years and hadn’t disintegrated so I’m probably exaggerating a bit but this stuff was pretty bad!
We knew all along that this would have to be replaced but it wasn’t until we were doing the prep work before painting that we made the time to remove this stuff. It was stapled up there at the factory and would have probably lasted another 12 years without falling off. It would have just continued to look more shabby year after year. In addition to the cheap material, the manufacture had the trim put up in a way that was suppose to look more elaborate but only looked more cheesy to me. The pattern they chose just screamed MOBILE HOME. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not hoping to fool anyone but would like to put my best foot forward!
Guest Bedroom end w/ new trim
As you know we’ve completed the paint job and are very happy with the new brown color over that awful blue. So, was time to find some appropriate trim and get it reinstalled. I headed off to Home Depot, to see what I could find.
When I got there I discovered a least three different trim board materials to choose from. There was cedar but this wasn’t what I was after. I was going to be painting it and so cedar wouldn’t be the best choice. I found some sort of soft wood that was pre primed. It was pine, I think? This would have been alright, except the wood was warped badly and I would assume only get worse when put back out in the weather. The third choice was a OSB, oriented strand board, product and it was also pre primed. I took a second look at this stuff and it was arrow straight and less expensive than the solid wood…
I went with the OSB. We bought enough to do the project and set out to get it installed. I did a traditional window trim wrap. Straight board across the bottom and then two up the sides. Topping it off with a wider board and cutting angles on the ends for additional character. Not the most creative idea but it works and is much better than its predecessor!
Living room window w/ new trim
As you can see in the photos, it came out pretty well! I still need to get the caulking done and then a coat of paint to finish it off. We haven’t decided what color for the trim yet for sure. We’re leaning toward the cream colors and so it won’t look a lot different than it does now.
You can see that the place is looking better and better. I mentioned that I’m going to head for the BOL after work on Friday. If the cold weather hasn’t hit to hard I’d like to get the caulking done and maybe some paint on this trim as well but we’ll just have to see how ambitious I feel this weekend! It’s a long drive so I always feel compelled to get as much done as possible. We’ll be up to our ears in snow before much more time goes by, I guess then I’ll feel better about laying around relaxing… Gangland, anyone??
Anyway, see you tomorrow!
Prepper
Oct
27
Decked out mobile home…
Posted by: | Comments
OK, OK, I’ll try to stay on topic for this post. I just couldn’t help myself yesterday? Whenever I take to long a look at the system and see it for what it is, I find myself getting more and more worked up until it all just has to blow! I received a few emails that indicated I was making excuses for people making poor decisions? Not so, I blame the people that make bad decisions, myself included! It is our job to see what the scam is and avoid it. No one is going to protect us from ourselves, especially the folks that control the scam! Oh well, I’m alright now and we can talk about a lighter subject today.
By the way, if you haven’t signed in for the email updates yet, I’m reminding you again! We’ll be having more opportunities for subscribers give aways in the near future.
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Front deck
I guess, from this posts title you could tell what I was going to talk about next. Thats right, we put some decks on the house. The one pictured here is on the front, right off the living room. Its 8′x16′ and made from pressure treated 2×8’s and TREX decking for the deck surface. We decided to go with the man made material over cedar. This was largely due to the amount of maintenance that is required with the cedar.
The TREX is a bit more expensive but the manufacture advertises it as a maintenance free material. This was attractive to us as we didn’t want to have the annual sealing that would have been needed with real wood. Between the cost of materials and our labor, we felt it would be worth the do it once and be done angle. Not to mention that there may come a day when the sealer isn’t available for one or we may not have the financial ability to purchase it for the other. It really does look good but isn’t quite the same rich effect that you get with a brand new cedar creation.
Ample cross bracing
I’m sure that others would have gone with the cedar and explained that the maintenance is over blown but we went this route. Now we’ll probably continue with it as these projects will most certainly continue. It seems that you can never have enough deck. With this one at 8′x16′ on the front and the one off the back door only a 8′x8′, we will be needing more, whether we like it or not.
You will also notice I haven’t gotten around to putting up a railing. This and the steps are required for us to meet code and get our final building inspection signed off. Something about meeting the bureaucrats demands for my safety doesn’t get me overly motivated – you know me, rebel with a cause… Just cause I don’t feel like it right now is more like it. I will eventually get around to completing the rails and such, more for us than them but hey I can’t start anymore building projects until I satisfy the “MAN”!
Actually, we have a few more things to punch out before we’ll be done with the building inspector. In addition to the rails and steps, I have to cut in some access hatches in the skirting. I don’t exactly know why thats important but I haven’t been singled out… They make everyone do it? I hesitate to disturb the skirting as we have only recently began to believe that we beat these pesky mice!
Deck outside the back door and right next to the driveway.
Like I said we only built a 8′x8′ deck off the back door. This gives us just enough room to load and unload the car. It really looks even smaller in the picture. I wasn’t sure what the long range plan was for the area outside the back door but we had to have something in the mean time.
We built both decks with the long term in mind. They are braced and cross braced so they won’t be going anywhere unless we choose for them too. Again, had to have something to satisfy the county but these will be a good start for our exterior reshaping! At this stage everything is exciting, even small decks. When you live in the city just about anywhere you might find yourself walking is paved. Not so at the BOL, we have hardly any areas to get out of the dirt. That brings me back to the plan for the garage/barn that will be coming up in the near future. It will be so nice to have an area out of the rain! The sun is almost as big a problem for me, I’m bald and get a sunburn almost every weekend we’re here over the summer. You’d think I’d learn my lesson?
Thats a wrap, now you know what a “decked out mobile home” looks like. You’re right bad joke, decked out in only the truest of meanings. Its a start and as you continue to see in these updates we chip away at our projects a little at a time. We’ll get them all caught up just in time to decide to start some more. Its fun and easy to get excited over the smallest of accomplishments. Hard for us adults to say stuff like that, it always seems to take more and more to make an impression on us. This BOL has been good for me on more than one level I guess, we have to go slow. Our progress is in small bursts as time and resources allow! I guess that’s it for today – See you tomorrow!
Prepper
Oct
19
Interior motives…
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Welcome back! Its another wonderful Monday morning and the beginning of another work week… Have I ever mentioned that I can’t wait to get off the rat wheel?
I noticed an interesting thing over the weekend, preppernation.com has past its first milestone, 10,000 page views. We are at the 2 month mark and 10,000 views both in the same weekend. I say milestone more for me than the site as this is a new endeavor for me andto have literally 1000’s of folks interested in what I write about is kindof cool! The emails that I have been receiving are for the most part kind and encouraging, thank you! I will continue to try to improve the site and keep you all interested.
I would like to ask all of you to keep helping me spread the word about preppernation. Also, please keep the feedback coming, when I see a trend in the questions or comments I can use these to make adjustments and even add content that will benefit all of us!
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Like I said, when I get multiple emails asking about something specific I will try to accommodate you with an answer publicly so others that want to know get the benefit as well.
A number of folks have asked about the interior of the mobile home, so I thought I would share a few photos and describe it the best I can… First, it is a home manufactured by Fleetwood and is the Barrington model… As far as I can tell this particular model has a unique floor plan. The way the kitchen is setup, kind of divided off from the living room with a built in bookshelf on the living room side. Also, the bedroom’s are at opposite ends of the house. This is a nice feature but I think the homes with bedrooms all at one endare a little more efficient. Either way this home is what we found that met our quality criteria.
Living Room view - Pergo floor
Living Room view - Pergo floor
The home is what’s referred to as a 14×70, that is 14 feet wide by 70 feet long. It sounds so strange to hear it described this way? It seems like with those dimensions it would have to feel like living in a long skinny tube. It really is quite homey and more than comfortable enough on the inside. As you can see in the photos we have a good sized sectional couch that maximizes seating capacity in the living room but doesn’t mess up the scale of the room either. Its not like there are more than 3-4 people at a time using the place but it’s nice to have more than enough capacity if we were to need it!
At 14×70, we have just under 1000 square feet. 2 bedrooms and 2 full baths. As you can see in the photos, the kitchen and living room are adequate but no dining area to speak of… We have the laundry area in the hall way just inside the back door. There is more than enough space for a full sized washer and dryer, Mrs. Prepperwas quite happy to have these. That sounds kind of sexist but she really is happy to have em, just ask her!
Nice sized Kitchen
The bedrooms could have been done more efficiently but hey there’s two of them and that fits our minimum requirements. The inefficiency is in the size disparity. The master bedroom is very roomy but the 2nd bedroom is overly small. So small that it would be nearly impossible to have even a full sized bed in there without it being pushed into a corner and the whole room feeling claustrophobic. We haven’t come to a conclusion with how to have that room permanently setup yet, so we just have a full sized futon in there now. I haven’t personally slept on it but the folks that have thought it was adequate. Time will tell, maybe some bunk beds or a Murphy bed, so we can close it up during the day and have more space.
Nice sized Kitchen
The master bedroom isn’t what I would call a master suite by any means but is plenty large enough to accommodate a king size bed, a dresser or two and still have room for a couple chairs or a couch. There is also a walk in closet, not a large one but a walk in none the less. It probably measures 6×6 and is more than enough for us at the moment.
Master Bedroom
Master Bedroom
As I was saying there are two full baths. The smaller bathroom is directly outside the 2nd bedroom. Between the bedroom and living room, it has all the fixtures but not alot of elbow room. The master bathroom is much larger. It doesn’t have the jetted bathtub but it does have what’s referred to as a soaking tub. Its much bigger than the standard home sized tub. Now, I have yet to try it out myself but have heard on good authority that it’s real nice and roomy. There’s also a large closet opposite the tub, we use it for all kinds of stuff. Plenty of room for the linens and blankets as well as cleaning supplies and the vacuum cleaner.
Kitchen Layout
As I’m sure you can all tell, I like this place real well. It isn’t perfect but it is a far cry better than just a place to get out of the weather. I also want to, reiterate that this is my first and could be my last mobile home. I have owned and lived in traditional stick built construction all of my life. Its with this stick built background that I make my comparisons. I haven’t yet found anything about this structure that I’m uncomfortable about or thats much different than other homes I’ve owned.
Kitchen Layout
There are a number of upgrades that I would want to complete at some time in the future. The kitchen and bathroom cabinets are of the lowest quality and even though they are still quite serviceable will need to be replaced as soon as they make the top of the to do list. The interior walls are only 2 1/2 inches thick but you have to really look to even notice, really only possible to see when examining the interior doorjambs. I will want to upgrade the doors from the plane jane stock ones to something more substantial and aesthetically pleasing when I get that far down the list as well. Lots to do but nothing that’s critical or even sub standard in anyway that matters much.
Master bedroom looking into bath
Master bedroom looking into bath
Mobile Home For Sale Ads
Posted by: Prepper | Comments (0)I asked you guys a while back to start watching the local papers to see if you could spot any deals on used mobile homes in your areas… Did anyone find anything? I have yet to receive any input from the peanut gallery? Oh well, I watch my Craigslist ads within 100-200 miles of my place in the city, almost everyday. The market is real thin around here right now, I’m guessing? I haven’t found any that were a sure thing but I thought I would share a couple of ads I did find this morning…
These are shown as an example only, I am not saying that these are homes I would personally purchase but these things are still out here, even in a thin market… I’ll post the few pictures and details I have and then make my comments at the end – Take a look!
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Ad #1 -
FREE FREE FREE MOBILES HOMES, DOUBLE WIDE AND SINGLE WIDE
MUST BE MOVED NOW
CALL ROB 425-879-3081
Craigslist Ad
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Ad #2 -
2BR 2BATH double wide NICE Mobile home!!!MAKE AN OFFER!!! – $1 (Federal Way)
1981 Fuquah Parkway model – doublewide
We are selling our 2 bed 2 bath mobile home that we recently remodeled. Remodel included, new shag carpet (stain resistant) new flooring in the kitchen bathrooms laundry room, and second bedroom. New Paint through out entire house. New toilet, new hardware and paint on kitchen and bathroom cabinets, new lighting, newer fridge. This house comes with all appliances. It has one huge master bedroom with master bathroom, and one large second bedroom with big closet! Vaulted ceilings, and other misc. upgrades. We really need to sell preferably by the end of the month so will consider any reasonable offer. asking $26,000.00. Please call me at 253-569-8012 or e-mail the craigslist address above. more pictures available upon request. thanks for looking!
Dining room - double wide
Bedroom photo
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Ad #3 -
Single Wide Mobile Home – $100 (Echo Lake Area)
1986 14′x66′ 2-bedroom, 2 full bath mobile. Never been smoked in. Has never leaked. I had this posted a while back and no one wanted to pay the estimated $4k to move it. It might cost less to move but I don’t know. Needs new carpet and vinyl (or not, depending on how picky you are). Stove, fridge, washer, dryer, pellet stove negotiable. Perfect for Mom or Dad as temporary housing on your property (check your zoning first!). Write back with phone number if you are serious. I will call you right away.
**No photos available yet, I have requested them from the seller… I will re post this ad, if they are sent to me!
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Alright, whats my point, other than to make you look at some bad pictures of some old wobbly box mobile homes? The point is that I took a quick look at what was on the local Craigslist section for Seattle and came up with 3 ads for MOTIVATED mobile home sellers… 1 ad said the home was free but had to be moved, another said $100 and the home had to be moved and the last was showing signs of becoming desperate and their price will certainly drop like a rock once they hit that stage.
Again, your thinking “So What!” I know none of my readers would even briefly ponder this route to home OWNERSHIP… I say this in jest, I’ve had email discussions with several of you that are doing the same thing I am out at the BOL. An older mobile home that you can own free and clear, sitting on paid for land.
Sometimes a fixer/upper is a bad idea but in this case it could actually be in your favor. If the structure is sound and it would have to be to go down the road to your land, you at least have a foothold into a free and clear house. The idea about it being a fixer upper is that when you’re done de-scuzzing the place, you end up with something you can be proud of that is exactly the way you choose to have it set up! I have been to see many of this type of home and if they’re ugly they’re cheap. Often they can be had for just the trouble of getting them off the sellers land. An additional thing to remember is that just like beauty, ugly is only skin deep. A few repairs and some new surfaces and you have what looks like a fresh clean little condo. I might be over simplifying this but you see what I driving at, right?
The seller will have one of several different motivations in getting out from under these places. Sometimes the county is sweating them to get it moved because their new home is built and they can’t keep both places on the same piece of property. Another thing I see in my real estate related business is the heirs of a deceased older person are needing to dispose of their relatives prior home.
As a side note, since I brought it up… The last scenario, heirs of a deceased home owner are probably the best people to buy from. They have no financial interest in the home other than maybe keeping whatever money they can get you to pay. Even more of a factor is that the heirs are saddled with the monthly space rent for the home while its for sale. We often see these places come on the market with a realtor who prices the mobile home fairly but on the optimisticside. A month or two will go by without a buyer and the seller is out the space rent which would typically be $400-500 or even more per month. You would think that this was their last dollar! It feels like a huge burden to these folks as they are trying to do the family a favor by taking care of the last details after the death but they just get to write a monthly check… See where I’m going with this?
I have seen cash buyers pick these homes up for as little as $2500 bucks. I do know that you can get these homes for free but I wouldn’t see them come across my desk, since they wouldn’t go through a real estate agent, I didn’t want to say specifically something I haven’t personally seen for myself… There are even investors that work specifically in this field and see these homes as the “Gold Mine” they can be! Lots of money has been made with these little treasures!
If you’re willing to do a little research, I’ll bet you can find a diamond in the rough right in your own back yard. It will probably be a distance from where you would ultimately want it but that’s what mobile home movers are for. I have said it before, our 200 mile move with breakdown and reset on the other end was only about $6000! Yes, that’s alot of cash to pull out of your pocket but it’s not expensive, considering what you end up with.
Do us all a favor and take a look or keep looking if you’ve already started and email me what you find! I’m kind of on the “Mobile Homes for Freedom” kick lately… I hope that this subject doesn’t bore you, I would like to have more time to devote in this area. I would even encourage a business minded individual to think about these homes as an investment opportunity? I will pick this subject, the investment idea, back up again in a future post. I haven’t decided if I want to give away what I think could be a lucrative investment idea? Time will tell…See ya tomorrow!
Prepper