New SUVs are going for over $50,000 these days but you can buy an older mobile home and remodel it into a beautiful home for that amount. Heather and her husband completed this $45,000 manufactured home renovation in a matter of months. You’re gonna love it!
The creative couple purchased a 1979 double wide in Naples, Florida for less than $5,000. She nicknamed the 1979 double wide the Palm Cottage and it’s fitting. The home sits in a cute Florida park surrounded by palms and Heather turned it into a perfect little cottage.
Like most $5,000 homes, this double wide needed some work. In fact, it would need to be stripped to the studs but that didn’t scare Heather at all. As a set designer, she knew how to build and create beautiful scenes and that’s exactly what she did. In all, they paid $5,000 for the home and put about $40,000 into the renovation. Altogether, they created a gorgeous home for $45,000!
1979 Manufactured Home Had Seen Better Days
This was not a cheap manufactured
home when it was new but it was long past its prime. It had some of the most popular amenities and unique layouts available in the late 1970’s.The original kitchen had curved counter tops, a feature Spartan Trailers made popular in the 1950’s. The globe lights and built-in appliances and pantry were found in higher-end models of that era.
A Complete Kitchen Remodel
Unfortunately, the kitchen had to be completely gutted. The sub-flooring had to be replaced as is the case in most older mobile and manufactured homes.
The creative couple removed the kitchen cabinets and appliances while in the process of replacing the sub-flooring.
Related: How to Replace Flooring in a Mobile Home
The kitchen after it was completely gutted:
The New Kitchen is the Star of this $45,000 Manufactured Home Renovation!
Most kitchen remodels cost $45,000 by alone. In order to keep costs down Heather repurposed dressers into kitchen counters.
Since the kitchen was a small, Heather opted out of upper kitchen cabinets. Placing shelves in lieu of upper cabinets have become a popular kitchen trend.
The Hutch Stays!
The original dining room hutch was all that was kept in this $45,000 manufactured home renovation.
Heather updated the hutch with new paint, trim, and a tiled top.
Related: Awesome, but Affordable, Mobile Home Kitchen Remodeling Ideas
What does a $45,000 Manufactured Home Renovation Include?
This $45,000 manufactured home renovation included new electric, plumbing, roofing, windows, and doors. New drywall was installed on every wall and ceiling in the home.
In addition to the new kitchen, both bathrooms were completely updated as well. You name it and it was replaced in this home!
$45,000 manufactured home renovation was possible because of Heather’s creativity.
Heather isn’t just a set designer. She has been renovating homes in an effort to move up in the real estate business. But she says this $45,000 manufactured home renovation was the most fun she has ever had.
Whether it was because it was on a much smaller scale, since the home is only around 1000 square foot, or because she used thrift store or resale items, she really enjoyed creating a cottage from her 1979 double wide manufactured home.
A couple of favorite things stands out to Heather about this $45,000 manufactured home renovation. Repurposing furniture for the kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities could have been a bust but instead, they turned out amazing! She states that is her proudest DIY moment.
Her other favorite thing about this renovation is the living room. It’s a great space for relaxing and is decorated for tranquility and relaxation.
Related: Read how to Create An Awesome Gallery Wall for Less Than $50!
Bathroom Makeover
Both bathrooms were completely gutted in Heather’s $45,000 manufactured home renovation. Before the renovation:
The Exterior Was Part of the $45,000 Manufactured Home Renovation, Too!
The Bottom Line
All in all, this entire manufactured home remodeling project came to a little over $45,000 (and that includes the cost of the home).
With Heather’s real estate experience and obvious interior design skills, we asked her what her best piece of advice would be for someone wanting to buy an older mobile home and remodel it.
Hiring an Inspector is Important
Heather gave us some great advice. She says, “Make sure to hire an inspector before you purchase the home. Have them go through each and every item in the house and give you the condition of it all.”
Hiring an inspector is great advice. You want to be sure you know what you are getting into before you make a purchase. This article about mobile home inspections should help, too.
Big thanks to Heather for sharing her gorgeous $45,000 manufactured home renovation with us.
Have a home you want to share with us? Email us or comment below, we would love to hear from you.
Thanks for reading Mobile Home Living!
UPDATE: After we wrote this article about Heather’s $45,000 manufactured home renovation, we heard from her about the status of her 1979 home after Hurricane Irma tore through Florida. She says that their home survived the devastation with only minor damage! Unfortunately, she says the rest of their community didn’t fare as well and around 60% of the homes in her park was totally destroyed.
She says that according to her insurance agent and contractors her home survived with little damage because they had installed a new subfloor, windows, doors, as well as install new drywall over the existing paneled walls and ceilings. They also had the roof done with the heavy vinyl “roof over” system. Basically, these items served as structural protectors.
The other homes in the community that fared so well were also renovated or updated.
We are so glad to hear Heather’s home survived with only minor damage. We only wish we could say the same for all the other mobile and manufactured homes in Florida and Texas.
Partly because of the dozens of permits and fees added on by the State of California. I live in Alaska where prices for EVERYTHING are at least 30% higher than anywhere else other than Hawaii and outlying military islands. That being said, I did a complete remodel on a double-wide in one of my bathrooms and the cost was around $10,000. However, it included the cabinet, mirror, and towel racks; tearing out old walls; and installing new flooring, new toilet, and a special order 4.5′ tub (non-standard size). I then hired one handyman (master carpenter) to do ALL of the work. He was someone I knew very well so he was not bonded. Your extra cost is probably about the same but with a licensed and bonded contractor who uses more than one employee to perform the work.
Really want to renovate my double wide home .. can you recommend any contractors in Texas ?
We don’t really have a list of contractors (we are working on a site for just that though). However, your best bet would be to just ask around or check the yellow pages. Make sure they don’t request all the money up front and also be sure to check their standing with the better business bureau!
Hi. Your mobile home is amazing! I am wondering what a ‘roof over” system is.
thanks,
Kelly
Hey Crystal I will email you at your email when I get to Florida and maybe you can help me. Teresa
How would you like to feature my mobilehome in your next article.i have 40000 dollars for a total renovation.just need so eone to do it.
Hi Dean,
I would love to feature your home! Just email me crystaladkins@mobilehomeliving.org and we’ll get started. Thank you!
Hi Val. My apologies for the late reply. We used 1/2″ drywall on both the walls and ceiling and went right over the existing paneling for extra insulation. Yes, all the trim around the doors and windows was new.
Heather – could you give some detail about the drywall over the existing paneled walls. Also did you add new molding around the doors? This is an idea that a handy friend had already suggested to me.
Thank you for all the great info on your remodel!
Val
What did you nail the new drywall into? Is it studs behind the existing panels. Sorry for for silly question. My first time renovating a modular home
Hi John,
Yes, you will nail your drywall into the studs. No question is a silly question except the ones not asked! best of luck! we’re here if you need anything!
We are truly interested in a renovation on our double wide mobile home located in Lakeland, Florida. We have considered construction on a new home but we don’t want to get into a bill nor invest a lot of money. Can you recommend contractor(s) in my area?
I’m sorry but I don’t know anyone in FL. If you can find your local mobile home parts store give them a call and ask for a recommendation. Best of luck!
We bought a manufactured home in Satsuma Florida that we have updated. The home was only $35,000 with good bones (motivated seller) After about several hundred dollars in paint, water pump and bath repairs, that home has changed dramatically. We were hit with Irma also. It did damaged to our front porch and workshop ceiling. Insurance took care of that, so now we are able to update the outside of the home as well. Wish we could post pictures. My home is getting to be the cottage of my dreams! Manufactured homes have a stigma that I feel is unwarranted. You can do so much to them to make them beautiful.
Hi Barb,
I would love to share your home! Please email me at crystaladkins@mobilehomeliving.org – I love a good mobile home makeover story!
Can you give me recommendations for contractors to do a renovation on my mobile home in Bonita Springs… Florida
Hi Trish,
Unfortunately, I do not know anyone in Florida. Sorry!
HELP! I am disabled and my husband cant do a redo, we live in Mass and have a 1981 Flair Single mobile that had a bad leak, (we found out when we got a 250.00 electric bill! No signs anywhere else until AFTER we found the leak, so the problem is we can’t even find a contracter to work on the place! Any suggestions would be truly appreciated, its getting cold up here!
Hi Debi,
Here are some websites with a lot of helpful information for home repair and maintenance help in Mass (just click on the sentences).
HUD’s website with a list of loans and grants you may be eligible for.
MA State website with additional information on home repair help.
Best of luck!
Hi Sandra,
I’m the same way. In WV, you can hire professionals at a much more affordable rate than the rest of the country. I know NY and CA are really expensive places to live but FL wasn’t too bad (we lived there for 2 years). Plus, I think they did a lot of the work themselves. Keep looking and getting estimates, there should be a much cheaper company out there. Best of luck!
Truly amazing! Also, thank you for giving us the status of her home after Hurricane Irma blew through. It was the first thought I had once reading the home was located in Naples! I’m glad their hard work made it through this devastating event. I have many friends in Florida and a few were not so lucky. ????