Addition vs major renovation?
Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 5:20 pm
I recently purchased an old 1973 single 14' wide mobile home with addition in a small town in northern Alberta. I would like to renovate the existing structure, tear down the existing leaky addition, and add on with a properly built one. I just purchased the Manufactured Home Additions & Roofed Decks guide by L.J. Wright, which looks to offer excellent advice and info to assist in doing the work yourself.
I am trying to decide if I should simply add a new addition with small decks front and back or plan for a major reno where I would locate the existing mobile home on a concrete foundation together with a new addition that is also 14' wide and a peaked roof to cover both, essentially turning the structure into what would appear as a house. By doing this I would turn it from a narrow structure two bedroom one bath unit, into a three bedroom & den, two bath with decent living room space for guests, etc... If I decided upon this plan, then I would likely shorten the entire structure from about 64' to around 52'. I am currently renovating the inside making the exterior walls an equivalent of 6" thick and placing in R20 insulation. I also own the lot I'm on and don't plan to stay here long as I would like to purchase acreage, and use it as a stepping stone.
I realize that they're are plenty of factors to consider such as: 1) future housing market which looks promising at the moment with a mega project proposed 2) soil conditions (there is plenty of clay and silt in the region. The concrete pilings my mobile sits on go down 12 feet I believe. A person across the street built a house around his mobile home. Inspector told him he would need a concrete foundation and go below the frost line (4 feet down) 3) Finding a buyer with cash or equity as I am aware of the difficulty that can be had with mortgage coverage on mobile homes that may not cover the real value after extensive renovations have been done 4) There is no serial # for this unit which could be a bit of a stumbling block as well. My real estate agent mentioned there is a way around this. 5) the amount of time and labor required to complete the project, although I would be doing almost all of the work myself, including digging out for the foundation.
I also realize that others have suggested in not spending too much on mobile homes, unless you plan to live in them. Money is better spent on a house. On the upside, the mobile would be like a house when finished, with a value between a single wide and rancher. It would be an affordable unit for someone looking for a good sized rancher, but at a lower price. Another plus is that everything is paid for and I have no mortgage, a real plus, and that I can live in it while renovating.
Has anyone else gone through a similar process and if so would you recommend it? Any comments would be much appreciated.
I am trying to decide if I should simply add a new addition with small decks front and back or plan for a major reno where I would locate the existing mobile home on a concrete foundation together with a new addition that is also 14' wide and a peaked roof to cover both, essentially turning the structure into what would appear as a house. By doing this I would turn it from a narrow structure two bedroom one bath unit, into a three bedroom & den, two bath with decent living room space for guests, etc... If I decided upon this plan, then I would likely shorten the entire structure from about 64' to around 52'. I am currently renovating the inside making the exterior walls an equivalent of 6" thick and placing in R20 insulation. I also own the lot I'm on and don't plan to stay here long as I would like to purchase acreage, and use it as a stepping stone.
I realize that they're are plenty of factors to consider such as: 1) future housing market which looks promising at the moment with a mega project proposed 2) soil conditions (there is plenty of clay and silt in the region. The concrete pilings my mobile sits on go down 12 feet I believe. A person across the street built a house around his mobile home. Inspector told him he would need a concrete foundation and go below the frost line (4 feet down) 3) Finding a buyer with cash or equity as I am aware of the difficulty that can be had with mortgage coverage on mobile homes that may not cover the real value after extensive renovations have been done 4) There is no serial # for this unit which could be a bit of a stumbling block as well. My real estate agent mentioned there is a way around this. 5) the amount of time and labor required to complete the project, although I would be doing almost all of the work myself, including digging out for the foundation.
I also realize that others have suggested in not spending too much on mobile homes, unless you plan to live in them. Money is better spent on a house. On the upside, the mobile would be like a house when finished, with a value between a single wide and rancher. It would be an affordable unit for someone looking for a good sized rancher, but at a lower price. Another plus is that everything is paid for and I have no mortgage, a real plus, and that I can live in it while renovating.
Has anyone else gone through a similar process and if so would you recommend it? Any comments would be much appreciated.