Living the Good Life, along with Riley

This Old Mobile Home

I’d like to say it’s entirely done. It isn’t. There’s still paint touch-up. There’s still the minutia of fitting out a new house. But we’ve been living in “this old mobile home,” quite happily, for nearly three months.

Our interior space is about 1,150 square feet. It’s divided into a living/dining/kitchen area, a master bedroom and a media room. We also have a utility room and 1.5 bathrooms. Outside we have a good-sized front deck and a large, covered rear deck. For all practical purposes the covered deck is another large room, a place where we spend a lot of time.

Yes, it cost more than expected. It always does.

The deck that was built for our new home is pictured above. Before you ask, I’ll tell you. Yes, we spent more money than we expected to spend.

But it still compares very favorably with building a new conventional house. Think less than half the cost of a new house. Besides, cost savings were only part of the whole deal.

Just as you can always spend more in the Land of the Infinite Upgrade, you can spend less. Our spending got us custom elder wood cabinets and built-ins throughout the house, an induction range that I like better than the fancy Viking range we once had, a big outdoor shower so we can shower and watch nearby deer at the same time, and lush natural light everywhere.

Not to mention a view over miles of undeveloped ranch land that isn’t likely to change in our lifetime. Most important, both of us are delighted with our new “last house,” every day, all day.

Life is not about storage

If you’re thinking about “downsizing” or making a similar retirement move, here are some of the questions to ask:

— What’s the right amount of space? Start with this principle: Life is not about storage. Trust me, less space and less storage are good things.

We all suffer from home inflation, the idea that gigantic houses are intrinsically good. That’s why builders offer, and sell, houses with 4,000 and 5,000 square feet to otherwise ordinary people – a size that once represented a mansion.

Should we squeeze down to a tiny home, something with 150 square feet? I don’t think so. That’s too much like loading clowns into a Volkswagen. A retired couple can live comfortably in a two-bedroom, two-bath home of about 1,000 square feet without bumping into each other and with enough storage.

— Do the numbers work? Many people find that downsizing doesn’t work. Why?  The smaller, and new, house or condo they want will cost the same as what they can get for the old house they need to sell. One result is that their taxes will likely be higher, offsetting a lot of the other cost savings.

But if you truly change your agenda, downsizing (rightsizing, to be more accurate) can result in major savings in shelter expense. In our case, we have left behind the expense and care of a swimming pool. Not to mention an extensive irrigation system in frequent need of repair.

All in all, I figure the move has cut our out-of-pocket shelter expenses by about $12,000 a year in after-tax income. Depending on your other sources of income that can be like suddenly finding nearly $400,000 of assets in an IRA account.

The people who made it all happen.

Rebuilding and remodeling in the country isn’t easy. It involves a surprising number of people. Here’s a partial list of the people and firms that did really good work. All were pleased with the completed project.

• Scott Kiewlich (SK Builders, 512-663-5085) Scott was our main guy. He mostly works in the Dripping Springs area. He works alone as much as possible, thinks ahead, figures out fine details before most people know there is an issue. He’s a positive problem solver, seeing everything as an interesting challenge. He’s a guy most businesses would love to have, but aren’t smart enough to keep.
• Tommy O’Dell (Tommy Odell Custom Cabinetry, Facebook, 512-293-2288). Tommy has a custom cabinet shop in Kyle and has been building beautiful cabinets for decades. He built to plan, solved problems as they arose, and installed his own work. That’s important when you’re dealing with a nearly 30-year-old manufactured home because there is no such thing as plumb or level, anywhere.
• Juan and Ernesto Torres, painters. (512-417-5027). There’s nothing better than seeing a good, well organized team at work. And few things can make more of a difference, in a shorter time, than good paint. I should add here that the Sherwin-Williams store in Dripping Springs is a reminder of what great retail service was before Big Box stores ruled the world.
• Cub Gardiner (GardnerPlumbing, 512-775-5034) Without Cub, we might still not have running water and water pressure. He redid all the supply-side plumbing and got his kids involved over spring break.
• Armondo and Chuck at Blanco A/C, Electrical and Plumbing honchoed the replacement of HVAC and electrical service for both mobile homes, coping with the vandalized conduit and everything else that was in the way. ( http://blancoheatingandcooling.com , 877-833-2558)
• Della Tile and Stone,(dellatile, 512-288-6811). These folks cut and installed our white quartz counters and grey tile backsplashes. Their installers did a splendid, perfect job.
• Wilson A/C & Appliance ( https://www.wilsonappliance.com, 512-894-0907). The trouble with the Big Box appliance sources like Home Depot is that everything is divided and outsourced. Wilson is end-to-end service: They have a big selection, deliver, install and then service.

Related columns:

Scott Burns, “Razed in a Day,” 8/24/2019

https://scottburns.com/razed-in-a-day/

Scott Burns, “Why all the fuss about mobile homes?,  6/2/2019

https://scottburns.com/why-all-the-fuss-about-mobile-homes/

Scott Burns, “This Old Mobile Home: Lessons from a Book Purge, 5/7/19 https://scottburns.com/this-old-mobile-home-lessons-from-a-book-purge/

Scott Burns, “Stuff: Do we really need it?,” 4/20/2019 https://scottburns.com/stuff-do-we-really-need-it/

Scott Burns, “On the level … and going with the flow,” 3/8/2019 https://scottburns.com/on-the-level-and-going-with-the-flow/

Scott Burns, “This old mobile home: The Joy of Tear-Out,” 2/25/2019 https://scottburns.com/joy-of-tear-out/

Scott Burns, “This old mobile home: raze or save?,” 1/12/2019 https://scottburns.com/this-old-mobile-home-raze-or-save/

Scott Burns, “Last House Syndrome,”12/15/2018

https://scottburns.com/last-house-syndrome/

This information is distributed for education purposes, and it is not to be construed as an offer, solicitation, recommendation, or endorsement of any particular security, product, or service.

Photos: Scott Burns  (1) Covered deck facing west, (2) view of living room from entry to french door to covered deck, (3) view toward dining area and kitchen, (4) view of master bath with glass door to outdoor shower.

(c) Scott Burns, 2019