First Mobile Home Rehab - Where Do We Start?

[Isaiah Foster]

Hi all, 

Myself and two buddies have a mobile home that was given to us that we would like to rehab and sell. This mobile home seems to need a lot of repairs. Was wondering if there are any tips or tricks to flipping mobile homes? This mobile home is about 30 years old, so we don't want to put too much into it, but we want to make sure we can sell it. 

Some of the repairs/updates we planned on doing was:

-Update flooring in all rooms (vinyl/carpet)

-New paint in all rooms

-Paint cabinets in kitchen

-Update appliances

-New skirting

-Repair roof

Based on this list, any tips? Also, how much does a typical rehab for a mobile home run? 

Just as a quick insight - we do have an LLC set up with the mobile home in. We also have a $30,000 Line of Credit to help along the way for large expenses.

Thanks for any help you all can provide! 

[Griffin Schermer]

Isaiah,

Costs are going to vary depending on the size of your home. Doublewide vs. Singlewide. I'm assuming you're goin to try and do all this work yourselves? 

rooms New paint : $500-$1,000

cabinets: $250-500

Skirting: $1,000 - $5,000

roof: $1,500 - $10,000

Flooring: $1,500 - $6,500

Appliance (include W/D): $4,000 - $7,500

Totals: ($7,250 - $30,500) 

I recommend if you're looking to flip this, consider your time. Time is money especially with a LOC. If you've never repaired a roof or installed skirting I would contract out these two things. Flooring is doable with no experience but if you have the money I'd also contract this out.

If you really want to move fast, I'd consider contracting this all out. I believe your $30,000 LOC would cover the things you've listed above. It would just come down to your materials, your contractors, and size of home.

Good luck!

[Reid Hanley]

You didn't mention anything about HVAC - does it have one currently or does that need to be replaced too?  If you need new central ac/heat system that will add $4-5K more.  If you go with all window units they will need heat too for IN winters, so probably $500 (x 3 or 4 units) = $1500-2000.

If it's a 90's model it likely has a gable roof.  I'd strongly consider a roof over with a 26 gauge metal roof.  I'd sub it out so it's done right (unless you know how already).  Make sure the roof overhangs the eves by 10-12" so water runs off onto the ground and not down the side of the home.  It should run you about $2500-3500 if you sub it (materials included).  That will be a huge selling point for your potential buyers.    

Whatever you sub out, you should provide materials and pay for labor only.  I have spent a lot of money letting contractors supply materials only to find out they mark them up 20+% because they went and got them - you should do that yourself - there's a lot of education to be had in procuring materials.

Lots of good content on youtube about MH remodeling - check out Drews Mobile Home Repair channel.  Has some great roofing and floor repair videos.

Best of luck!!

[Rachel H.]

@Isaiah Foster Before you start work on the mobile home, you'll have to first decide what type of buyer are you looking to sell the home to. Will it be retail to a buyer who wants everything fixed up? Or to someone looking for a "handyman special?" 

It's best to figure out what items are being put in homes that are selling near yours and what type of buyers are buying these homes. This will save you a lot of time in the long run. 

If you end up under rehabbing the home and there are no buyers who want a home with those types of materials, you'll have to adjust and change the type of buyer you're looking to sell to which may mean lowering your price. 

At a minimum, you'll need to take care of any structural, mechanical and plumbing work the home may need. Items such as the roof, heating and air conditioning system, plumbing, hot water heater and siding are all items that may need to be repaired and/or replaced depending on the condition. 

From there, you'll have to go around the home to see if there are any soft spots in the subfloor before laying over any new floor over it. Cosmetic issues come next and it's up to you how you want to handle these items (i.e. paint, new cabinet hardware, etc). 

If you want some insight, you may want to talk to a few mobile home park managers and local mobile home dealerships. In the past, I've found both to be good sources of information (as well as referrals) when it comes to learning the market and seeing what buyers are looking for and what and how they're willing to pay for these types of homes. 

Hope that helps. Best of luck with the project! 

[Mark Brogan]

@Isaiah Foster, you will need to determine what you are going to do with the home once its fixed, sell it for cash, sell it on a note, rent it, this will determine the amount of rehab you do to the home, once you decide this then start the rehab on the outside of the home to keep the weather out 
good luck

[Bruce Woodruff]

Two of the nicest things you can do to any home are 1) open up the space, take down or put a pass-through in the kitchen wall 2) Get a new stone countertop and appliances for the kitchen, maybe a trick sink and under-cabinet lighting? The kitchen is the room that will sell the house. That and the master bed & bath...

[Alejandro Riera]

Evaluate for how much you can sell/rent the home. Take in account same park, nearby parks, market, etc. That will refurbish provide a budget top.

Ask any mobile home refurbish contractor to walk the home with you to define scope of work together and get a detailed estimate for the renovation. Take account of major systems conditions: plumbing, electrical, HVAC (including ducting), gas, foundation (check leveling).

With that estimate, you can now decide which items you can do with your buddies and which should be done by the contractor. That would help you to balance money/time: you would take too much time to do some things the contractor can do better and faster, with the right materials purchased through their right providers. You could do the more simple things to finish the home after the heavy work is done.

Having said that, the renovation could be programmed to last between one to three weeks, depending on the particular conditions of the home.

Usually you go through this process:

1.- Releveling. Before any interior modification.

2.- Repairing drainage.

3.- Detrash the home. Furniture, food left overs, toys, clothing, appliances.

4.- Getting rid of any infestation. Bugs, fleas, etc

5.- Strip existing flooring

6.- Strip blinds, lights (leave naked bulbs to have light to work with), electrical faceplates, door knobs, baseboards, any screws on the walls, wire shelving, toilets (leave one for use), broken mirror, cabinets in bad shape, storm windows, shower heads, faucets, damaged tubs (and surrounds) and shower stalls.

7.- Repair subflooring, ceiling, walls holes, replace wall panels, door jambs, window sills, battens and trims, subflooring, electrical switches and outlet receptacles, etc. Replace any window, glass, exterior door. Repair roof decking and shingles.

8.- Repair/replace plumbing. Repair/replace vent ducting.

9.- Prepare everything for texture, if desired, or for painting. Use tape, paper, plastic to cover.

10.- Texture. Prepare to paint. Paint ceiling and walls.

11.- Paint kitchen and bathroom cabinets. Paint doors. Install doors.

12.- Replace/repair cabinet countertops, cabinet doors and drawers.

13.- Assembly: lights, smoke sensors, cleaned storm windows, door handles, cabinet hinges and knobs, blinds, lavatory and kitchen sinks, install shower heads and faucets. Install new tubs, shower stalls, faucets.

14.- Install flooring (vinyl, carpet) and floor/ceiling vents. Clean house

15.- Repair/replace/stain any wood deck/stair, skirting, exterior light, gutters. Coat metal roof. Power wash/ replace/replace siding, vents, window screens, etc.

16. Install HVAC and appliances.

17. Get rid of all the debris that you were dumping in your trailer or dumpster.

Any way, this is what we do for living. And we are in Indiana and Texas.

Hope this help you decide how to accomplish your goals, Isaiah.

[Scott Swanson]

Isaiah,

Maybe I missed it, but I didn't see anyone mention "weight." Both laminate and ceramic flooring are extremely heavy. Many of these mobile homes weren't designed to support that much weight. I would make sure that you have enough support beams underneath it, to support the weight. Sometimes on trailers that old, the beams, either steel or wood, are too far apart to support all that weight. Additional beams can be added. So be SURE to check that! Best of luck.

[Alejandro Riera]

Please don’t use ceramic tile or stone countertops. Mobile homes always move and settle a bit, so it would always have cracks.

Same for the walls. Keep the battens between Sheetrock to avion the cracks.Good point, Scott Swanson.