I am purchasing a 20 year old manufactured home, how do I find a remodel contractor?
by admin on Thursday, February 24th, 2011 | 5 Comments
I’m finding great info on manufactured/mobile homes here. So, anyone know where I can begin to search and choose a good contractor to make repairs and update my home? I have no clue how to go about looking for a person or company to do this. How could I find out if they are any good, quality, reasonable prices?
Repairs include: Tie-down, whole house filtration system, remodel space to fit the water heater and filtration system, carpeting, new shower/tubliners, new sinks, etc.
I’ve watched that show Flip This House and one lady had a contractor she worked with. He directed everything. Basically all she had to do was pay for the materials, his service, the workers (plumber/tile) and paint herself here and there.
Your insights are appreciated!
be your own contractor. First, get it inspected by the city, once you get your punch list, go down that list and and start calling around for bids. I E plumbing, electrical, hvac, etc. You can get numbers out of the yellow pages. I know it seems hard to believe, but in my experience, the union contractors cost a little more, but there was no call backs or problems, and it was done on time. For us it was worth it.
A permit is required anytime you touch plumbing, electrical
or structure.
Do your research before hiring anyone. Best to stick to
those with a valid business license.
A renovation contractor is worth 10 – 15 % of the job to
oversee the job start to finish. He will likely take care of
tie-down, framing & finishing around the water heater,
cabinets & finishes in the bathroom, possibly flooring
as well.
He will likely hire a plumber & electrician on your behalf.
Tradesmen he has good history with.
The plumber will install the filtration system, heater & bathroom fittings & fixtures.
The electrician will install fittings & fixtures.
You may opt to shop for lighting, carpet, shower, tub, sinks,
taps, showerhead, towel bars, paint etc. The “estethic”
stuff…or your contractor can look after this as well.
I hope the carpet isn’t going in the bathroom. (no, no, no)
Be sure to check your gov’t pages for rebates & incentives
for installing energy efficient devices such as low flow
toilets.
It will take a bit of time & will get messy, but you’ll love it.
Look in your Yellow pages and see if you can find someone who works on manufactured homes, they are similar to regular houses but not identical. I have one too, same age, and there are a couple of local guys here who specialize in mobiles. If you can find one of those, he will also have contacts for guys who do specialized work like plumbing, so you won’t have to figure out who’s good. Failing that, I would look for a general contractor or a very experienced carpenter who can act as contractor for you. If your home was sold by a dealer not too far from where you are, they may have names of people who work on them. It took me a while but I finally found that a dealer for my make of home is only an hour away.
I have 2 general contractors that I work with. Both are capable of all areas of carpentry/construction.
Start at your local zoning/codes department. They deal with people of this nature all the time and become familiar with the most common names that are used for contracting.
Word of mouth. Ask some of your new neighbors for recommendations. Remember, getting a quote for the job does not mean that you have to commit to that person. Make sure that you state you are looking for a quote.
I would check with your states department of transportation before buying it..most states DOT wont even let you get a permit to move a manufactured home on the highways if a manufactured home is over 10 years old …Alot of people have been screwed here in Florida purchasing older manufactured homes not knowing this…It is not illegal to sell them, and I have seen some buyers buy an older one in a mobile home park to move to thier already owned land..then find out they have to keep them where they set and keep paying the mobile home lot rent where they sit, or get sued for leaving it if they dont, and lose the mobile home to the park it sets in..I would check this out first…