Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Update - First Mobile Home Move



Just an update on my first mobile home move - a 1992 singlewide, 2 bedroom/2 bath, 16x70. The home arrived safely to the park - thank goodness it was only going up the street!

Once the home got to the park, we had issues with the lot - had to get it releveled which set us back a few days. The park manager was awesome in having the park help pay for the materials to level the home. In order to have the home set properly, we had to take the hitch off. So, we ended up bringing in a welder to weld the hitch off. I spent more time and money with this process but it was definitely a learning experience.

Here's a pic of the home set in the park after re-leveling the lot



Now, I am in the process of getting the home hooked up - electrical, plumbing, and a/c. I'm going to start the plumbing first - it'll require digging and it's good the home is not very far from the water line. My plumber guys tell me it'll take a day or two to get the job done. They gotta pull permits and then pass inspection. After the plumbing's hooked up, I'll get the electric done - a lot of electricians are using aluminum wire nowadays b/c the price of copper is way high. We're talking $1.80 per foot vs $3.75.

Though, the issue w/the aluminimum wiring catching on fire if not tightened every couple of years really has me on edge. I discussed this issue w/my insurance agent and he strongly advised just to go w/copper so I wouldn't have to deal with this issue. I guess the aluminum wiring becomes an issue when it gets loose and it needs to be tightened so it won't catch on fire. Scary thought. Think I'll spend the extra money and go with copper.

Once the electric gets hooked up and passes inspection, then I'll be ready to deal w/the heating and a/c. The sellers told me the heating unit stopped a few years ago and thought it had something to do with the motor needing to be replaced. I'm hoping this is not a big issue - we'll see. I won't know until the electric gets hooked up and power gets turned on.

Well, this has certainly been a learning experience. Now, I know why Lonnie prefers to buy the mobiles in the parks already instead of moving them. It does take time and money to move these mobiles - I'm finding myself constantly managing these contractors and working w/the park manager to make sure we're all on the same page.

In the meantime, I do have the home on the market and have the park managers in the area sending people to the house. Once everything gets hooked up, it'll make the process a lot smoother.

All in all, it's definitely been a learning experience. Though, I am glad I went ahead with this deal. Going through this experience has certainly given me the knowledge to know what to expect for future mobile home moves.

Saturday, November 3, 2007

Leave Your Ego at the Door

"Leave your ego at the door." This is one of the first things I learned when I started my investing ventures. One of my many mentors back then gave me this very important piece of advice. Time and time again, I remember it.

I'm writing about this subject b/c I'm running into investors who have such inflated egos. These are people who make it seem like they are above everyone else and know more than other people. I don't like these types of people b/c they stop learning b/c they think they know it all. In reality, no one knows it all - you can always learn something from someone.

It's amazing b/c a fellow investor of mine told me that he was treated very rudely by a title company who thought he was completely new at the real estate biz. In reality, he is a landlord with multiple properties in the area and has been in the business for the last couple of years. The title company just assumed he didn't know much b/c he was asking so many ?s specifically related to transferring title on a sticky situation.

People tend to make assumptions on people. A lot of times, most people don't even know my background investing in real estate and assume I'm just a kid in school. It's even worse with family members but I guess that is the reality of the situation.

I've learned to block things and people out who insist they know better. Personally, I stay low with my investing ventures and don't really discuss it unless I am with fellow investors. It's better that way - I don't like when people try to convince me they know more about investing than I do even though they've never invested before.

My thoughts today again is to just leave the ego at the door. People with inflated egos are just that - inflated.