Saga of First Time MH Owners

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Moderators: Greg, Mark, JD

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LynnieCheb

I haven't posted in a while but taken a few minutes at night to lurk every once in a while. I had promised pictures of our new Love Cottage - this will not happen. We've been through quite an experience and haven't even been here two-and-a-half weeks!

When we first walked in after closing we noticed (of course) more little things that had to be changed/fixed that had been covered up by drapes/furniture. I mentioned the register covers to my DH and popped one off to show him how rusted they were, only to discover an inch of water sitting in the duct. I could easily rant on for several paragrahs about what happened after that, but the short version is that the park handyman re-connected our A/C outlet hose (which had been pulled off), and while he was under the house found the water heater was leaking through the floor. Then the blower motor on the furnace blew up on Wednesday. In fixing that, the furnace dude checked the A-coil and found it was covered by an inch of crud (we became one of his "stories" about the worst he's ever seen).

These are just the big things - there are a bundle of little things that we're fixing as we go along.

The bad - the seller signed a paper saying that the major systems worked when he moved out. The minute he turned over the keys they became our problem. So his lack of maintenance (which is what led directly to the furnace / a/c problem) is something we have to pay big bucks to fix.

The good - we have met the repair people that we will need to know over the coming years. We also had a couple of potentially dangerous/even more expensive problems averted - the water heater stack wasn't connected and was venting carbon monoxide into our bedroom and the way the A-coil looked it wouldn't have made it through the summer without freezing up.

We love the neighborhood and the "bones" of this house, but GADS, what a ride it has been!

Thanks for letting me ramble.........................
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Yanita
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Posts: 3369
Joined: Sat Feb 17, 2007 10:16 pm
Location: Eastern N. Carolina

Hi,

You are not the first to discover/have these problems when buying a used home.

In case you have not seen all the links at the top of the page check them out. There are some great articles and we have a second to none HVAC forum for all your MH heating and air problems.

Not saying that your repair men are not knowledgeable, but you can also check with Robert in HVAC with questions before hiring someone to repair your problems. He will certainly guide you thru the process of what they should be doing.....

If you have not done so already we have a manuel for MH repair and upgrades. This manuel has had great reviews from all that have bought it. It's easy to read, understand and has great pics, and if you still have questions you can always post it here for further help.

Now, I am not an attorney, but if at closing all these items worked, then the previous owner should be responsible for some of the repairs if not all. This is called a disclosure and should of been discovered during inspection and repaired prior to closing. Did you have this home inspected prior to purchase?

LOL, buckle your seat belt, owning a MH is generally a ride none of forget! :lol: I love my home, and will continue to repair, upgrade and renovate!

Yanita
The difference between success and failure is who gives up first!
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Greg
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Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 8:01 pm
Location: Weedsport, NY

Lynnie, on the plus side you will know for sure what has been done, when & how it was done. I am sure by the time you are through you will have found more to do and some "extra" things you want changed around. just think about what you are actually paying vs what you COULD be paying for a stick home. Greg
"If I can't fix it, I can screw it up so bad no one else can either."
LynnieCheb

No, Yanita, we did not have an inspection (go ahead and slap my fingies). An inspection was done two years ago before they put the house on the market and I relied on that. One would think that after the number of houses I've bought and sold, and the number of grey hairs residing on my head, I would know better - all I can plead is that our personal life has been in an unbelievable amount of turmoil since last October and my poor brain just isn't running on all it's cylinders because of it.

We thought about legal action, but have decided to use the money we'd pay a lawyer to just go ahead and get stuff fixed. We didn't pay a bundle for this place, and the sellers didn't make a bundle off it, so we're just going to let dogs lie.

I will be ordering Mark's book, and did have time to come onto the forum to get some general information before the HVAC guy showed up. That's how I knew what he was talking about, that his pricing was in line and he wasn't handing us a line of bull about the A-coil.

You are right, Greg. DH and I were discussing just that over supper. He put in a new ceiling fan in the Living Room for me and discovered that the previous wiring connections were held together with blue painters tape and the fan itself hung from the ceiling (literally) by four wire coat hangers. If we weren't forced into making these repairs it would be far too easy to just let things slide, but since they are such gross problems we have to do something about them and in so doing get them done correctly.

Thanks for the reminder - these repairs would be far more expensive in a stick built, and, as you said, Yanita, we DO love our place. I just can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring............ :shock:

Lynnie C.
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Yanita
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Posts: 3369
Joined: Sat Feb 17, 2007 10:16 pm
Location: Eastern N. Carolina

Good morning Lynnie,

Well I am glad to see that you have a positive outlook on your home.

Personally I agree with foregoing the legal action and just get things repaired. Since you have bought and sold thru the years then you know that this is really just a blank canvas that you can do with as you want now.

We bought this now 35 year old double wide last May. We knew that it would need doors and windows replaced and a new heating and cooling system. Fortunately all the structural items were already done, and so far correctly. New roof, shingles, plywood floors and several other upgrades. That cost savings and the fact that we got the home 24x65, an acre of land, a 20x24 concrete floor garage, wired for 50,000 in our opinion made this place a good thing to buy.

About the only frustrating thing is living with at least one room under construction all the time. :shock: But, as time passes, money gets spent and the upgrades are done to our liking and needs this will be what we want it to be...and that is unlike a traditional looking MH.

Mark's manuel will be a God send to help you in your repairs, whether you do them yourself or hire someone to do them. Glad you thought to utilize our HVAC forum to get info prior to just hiring some help.

With the help of everyone here, and the manuel hopefully your renovations and repairs will go smoothly. You are on the right plan of attack, LOL, tend to the big stuff, and then move into the cosmetic things.

LOL, Lynnie, I will not reprimand you for not getting your inspection. Sometimes the inspectors miss alot in MH's as they are not familiar with all that is involved.

In case you missed it, I posted a sticky yesterday about purchasing used MH's, if nothing else it will give you some ideas of other areas to check.

Keep us posted of your progress, and as always we are here to help you thru the repairs.

Enjoy your home!

~Yanita~
The difference between success and failure is who gives up first!
LynnieCheb

Please bear with me as I learn to navigate around the site. How do I get to your sticky?

Lynnie C.
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Greg
Moderator
Posts: 5696
Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 8:01 pm
Location: Weedsport, NY

It is in the repair section of the forum.
As I have always said, the best support team in the world is right here, I honestly don't think there is a problem (mobile home related) that we cannot solve. Greg
"If I can't fix it, I can screw it up so bad no one else can either."
LynnieCheb

Nevermind. Found it.

I was looking for just such a checklist when we were looking and couldn't find one. Just a little too late for us, but I'm sure will be used lots by others!

Latest chapter in saga - we have had ants up the ying-yang since moving. Part of the problem is that we're built on sand and just have to learn to live with them, but the other day my husband said he was afraid they were going to carry him away while he was taking advantage of our second bathroom.

It looked to me like maybe they were nesting under the tub there as that's where the majority were coming from, so I pulled up a piece of the vinyl to check. Subfloor was soaked. I ran a fan on it all day yesterday hoping to be able to dry it out enough to live with it until we can afford to fix it properly. No such luck. Once it became dry it crumbled. And now that it's crumbled we can see that the plywood that was wet was sitting on top of another layer (probably the original) of vinyl. So there was some kind of leakage problem in the past that was addressed by slapping plywood over top and covering it with another sheet of vinyl.

Yanita, please keep telling me that it will get better............

Lynnie C.
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Yanita
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Posts: 3369
Joined: Sat Feb 17, 2007 10:16 pm
Location: Eastern N. Carolina

Sorry Lynnie, can't tell such a blatant lie.

About the ants, many folks have them, and there are several threads of varying ways to deal with them, try them all and hopefully one will work for you.

About the bathroom, since you "pulled up the top vinyl and the floor underneath was soaked, then you dried it out and it crumbled" tells me that it was OSB, oriented strand board, not plywood. You are correct, someone did an incorrect repair that has caused even more hassles, don't despair although labor intensive it is repairable. We can even tell your where the leak is, or close and how to get there!

I try to keep repair questions in the repair forum...soooo, if you would like some replies on that please post a question in the repair forum.

No problem asking where things are on the site...there's alot to read here. There are also some good tips about the forums/functions in the Website Questions Forum.

LOL, it will get better...only when you have done all the repairs, renovations and maintain all the hard work that you have done. :wink:

Between now and then you will have several frustrating moments, hours on this website and numerous trips to the big box stores spending hard earned money! :? But, remember, when you are done it is yours and you will know that you did everything right!

~Yanita~
The difference between success and failure is who gives up first!
LynnieCheb

Shoot - a blatant lie would be most welcome at this point......

Yeah, I figured that after my initial grumbling I probably needed to head over to the repair forum to get some down and dirty help. I'm going into the hospital for at least a week starting tomorrow, but when I get home I expect to become a real regular over there!

Also ordered Mark's book this a.m. I'm mainly having tests and evaluations at the hosp and so will have a lot of time on my hands (you know it's going to be bad when they provide you with your own DVD player and suggest you bring a bundle of movies to watch). It'll be the perfect time to start learning!

See you all in a week!

Lynnie C.
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Greg
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Posts: 5696
Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 8:01 pm
Location: Weedsport, NY

On the up side 3/4"plywood is only running abot $25/sheet (here in cent.NY) and screws are not that bad, and you will save a lot on labor!! Make no mistake the first section will take some time, but it will go quicker once you have done a section or two. Greg
"If I can't fix it, I can screw it up so bad no one else can either."
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