Cleaning up an old mobile home so we can sell it- depressing

[studentofecology]

We, at the ripe old age of 20, inherited a mobile home when my husband's mother died. Along with it's 95k mortgage. Did I mention that it is 30 years old? We've lived in it for the past 4 years, but now we've moved out so that we can sell it.

In addition to that, when we do sell it, we'll be lucky if we can get 85K out of it. We have paid the mortgage down to 60k, and we did have renters to help pay the mortgage, so I suppose I could look at it as really just renting for the past 4 years, which makes me feel better.

I'm having a lot of trouble getting up the motivation to go over and clear it out, fix it up, and clean it up. Every time I go over there, I just see one mistake after another piled on top of one another. The yard is hugely over grown, the thermostat is broken, there is a squishy spot in the floor, a greenhouse that has to come down, the roof needs to be fixed, and on top of that the whole thing is moldy. I'm pretty sure the best option for us now is to clean it up as much as possible and sell it as a fixer-upper. If I had time travel, I would have told us to never move in, and just immediately sell it.

All I see is the mistakes we've made, the depression and sorrow of my husband, and mountains of work to be done. I get there to work, and I just feel it pressing down on me, and I get so demotivated so quickly.

Does anyone have advice about how I can make this easier>

[catherine]

Man, I can so relate..

We had a similar situation that I'm still straightjacketed by. My husband's mother and brother bought a foreclosure property next door to us in 2007. We didn't sell her first residence until after we bought the foreclosure--in fact, we took out a big mortgage ($380,000) so we could buy the foreclosure with cash. BIG MISTAKE!! Then 2008 and the recession happened, and then MIL died in 2010, and we have been unable to sell her home for the same reasons you mention: it hasn't been updated since 1965. We will be lucky to cover the mortgage IF we ever sell it, and we've already put thousands and thousands towards in in mortgage payments and basic repairs just to make it look habitable.

My husband has the same bad feelings--this was his childhood home and his mother was a meticulous housekeeper who purchased the home for $15,000 in 1952. Now it is an albatross that's ruining us financially.

I sure have those "turn back the clock" regrets also.

We'll get through it. But what a bummer overall.

Just wanted to commiserate with you! I have no advice, because if I did, I would have taken it. I think you really do just have to sell it as quickly as you can as a fixer-upper, as you said.

[fidgiegirl]

Can you cut it loose? I mean, sell it as-is for whatever you can get, walk away from the money, and be done? That's kind of what you are talking about, I guess, when you say "clean it up as much as possible and sell it as a fixer-upper."

I really really fear this scenario. My parents (well, mother initiates, and father just goes along) are hoarders, and it will be a lot of work to deal with when they can't do it anymore. They are actually past the point of being able to do it anymore. I don't envy you at all :(

Here's something that might help you to feel better - like you said, $$ wise, it will be much like you were renting for the past four years. At least you have many years ahead of you for homeownership and to recoup any losses, and at least it sounds like they won't be massive.

Big hugs,
Kelli

[mtnlaurel]

Do you have a supportive relative or matter-of-fact friend that could be assigned the 'project manager' or 'non-sentimental cheerleader' of the clean up?
Or even just go over with you for a few sessions.
Not so much that they do the active cleaning, but helping to keep you on task and keep your Eyes on the Prize of the final sale.

I have had to 'close up shop' on 2 deceased relatives and have had to 'HGTV' our own home under a considerable amount of duress after DH lost job.
On my own I was pretty useless as I was too emotionally close to the situation to be my sometimes 'bullet point' self, but having a relative on-site as support helped me through all of those scenarios.
We got my house converted to a showplace in 3 days with my dear, dear slave driver relative.
When DH lost job, the first call was to the realtor, the second was to my MIL who between the 2 of us I think we have clocked in 1,000s of HGTV viewing hours over the years.... and since I had just had a baby... the house was lightyears away from ready to sell.
But time was $$$ and we had to get out because we couldn't sustain too many mortgage payments without active income.
(and our realtor advised us of the beginning of market starting to circle the drain, we closed in early October 2008, our house sold in 4 days, we didn't dilly daddle around, we priced aggressively)
Having MIL come out and help us kept us on task and putting one foot in front of the other, seriously decreased any static b/t me and hubby as we had to be on 'guest behavior' and we just got up every morning, made a 20-25 point list and it got DONE.

Getting a good realtor that we trusted and knew our specific market inside and out was our saving grace too. Before our place was even on MLS she had been working the phones within her network to find prospects.

Would'a , Could'a, Should'a gets us all at some time or another, be easy & loving on yourself.
Also, with the home connected to the loss of your DH's mom, grieving is such a long process. This may unearth a bunch of emotions for him.

So I guess what it boils down for me in that situation....
I didn't have the resources within myself and had to reach out to emotionally stay contained so I could do what needed to happen in a timely manner.

[studentofecology]

Thanks for the support everyone.

I went over today and made some pretty big progress. I had been trying to work with my husband, but I went over by myself today and was able to get down to it. Whacked back some blackberries, dug up the rest of the plants I want, and brought over the last of the pots I want.

Over the past few years we did do a lot of emptying out- she held on to things like old broken ovens and 7 different tape rolls. So there was lots to take to the dump and lots to give away.

Now, I think all that I'll do is a deep clean, sell the few remaining pieces of furniture, fix the thermostat (or hire a someone to do it for me), rip out the weeds and neaten up the yard a bit. My goal: Have it on the market by the end of the month. I'm not going to worry about the roof, or repainting, or the one squishy spot in the floor.

[catherine]

mtlaurel,

Good for you! (Can I hire you to consult on our place in White Plains?) :)

We just lowered the price for the second time in three months. Still no bites. We hear it's because it really needs a second bathroom and some serious updating (even though we spent quite a bit sprucing it up). There's also a shared driveway (the house was built over a hundred years ago by a father and son, so they didn't mind the shared driveway, but it's proven to be a huge sticking point to potential buyers. If I had an extra few thousand I'd widen and separate it, but I just don't have the energy for that.

[iris lily]

...
So I guess what it boils down for me in that situation....
I didn't have the resources within myself and had to reach out to emotionally stay contained so I could do what needed to happen in a timely manner.

This is a GREAT testament to doing what must be done.

So many people in your situation do NOT realistically see their situation as you did and DO NOT quickly move to change course. That's fab that you have extended family in to help prepare you house to sell! This little story made me happy today. I can think of a hand full of people who need to do the same thing yet are not moving off of their butts.

[awakenedsoul]

A lot of times if you just get started fixing things and cleaning up, it's not as hard as it looks. I've just listed my tiny old house on the market and got three offers on the third day. It's underpriced and I had it painted. repaired the cracks, decluttered, and took everything off the walls. (I stored half of my closet in my car, with a car cover over it.) I took a bunch of stuff to the Salvation Army today, and it felt great!
I picked an agent that I noticed was selling mobile homes very quickly. I saw her real estate signs each morning on my bike rides. She told me she likes the low end properties. When my house was a "fixer upper," I felt depressed. The repairs were really minimal. If you've got some cash, it's totally worth it. I would fix the roof and the squishy spot if you have the money. I told my realtor, "Everything in this house works, it's just not new." I repaired rather than replaced. Good luck. Congrats on trimming the bushes. Buyers really respond to landscaping.

[Tussiemussies]

Good luck with your situation. It can seem daunting at first, but I agree with awakened soul that some repairs would help and your solution to sell right away!

[ToomuchStuff]

95K mobile home? Is this with a lot too, or is there lot rent? If there is a lot, what is the breakdown of the lot verses the mobile home part?

[studentofecology]

It's on a lot, and the lot according to the county is worth 65K.

[jp1]

congrats on making so much progress. Hopefully you can use that success to build momentum and just get it done. Thankfully I'll not likely be in that situation since my dad moved to an assisted living facility a few years ago. The condo he and mom retired to was sold at that time and now he just has a 400 sq foot apartment that has few things in it.

But I can relate to your situation having watched a friend of mine deal with her childhood home after the death of her parents and later her brother. There were just too many emotions involved and she just couldn't bring herself to get it done or to make the decision to sell it at a big enough discount relative to the shape it was in by the time she owned it. Eventually the home equity loan she had to get was foreclosed on and she lost the house.

[shawntheweaver]

My advice is just to get stuck in! I know that’s easy for me to say but it seems like you are on a roll already. The easy things to start with are clearing the rubbish, even if you just bag it for now and deal with it later, clear spaces will enable any potential buyers to see what it is they will be getting for their money. Get rid of all the larger items of furniture, tidy the garden and make obvious repairs and get it on the market as fast as you can.