ckucia
Well-known member
Been on GJ for several years.
Formerly a resident of Cleveland OH. Had a small detached (around 12x20) two car on the West side for a few decades. Never had enough space and could seldom actually fit a car inside.
We bought property in WV and fell in love with the state. Three years ago I found a job down here and moved down in our little camper. Then bought a small cabin (about 20x20) and my wife moved down. I've been without a garage for that time - working on the cars only as necessary outside in the gravel driveway.
We rented the house in Cleveland for a year or so, then spent every weekend since July doing renovation to get it ready for sale. It sold in less than a week for a few thousand over list - expect it to close in January.
We had been looking around and had a few prospects get sold before we were ready financially. Day before Thanksgiving, a doublewide on 31 acres with a 32x48 two story barn/garage and smaller (maybe 12x16) shed came on the market. It was a foreclosure and we were the first to look at it on Black Friday. Made an offer right away and the bank accepted. We expect to close this coming Saturday.
Never been a huge fan of manufactured housing, but this is one of the nicer I've seen. Best of all, it doesn't need a lot of work.
Garage needs some. PO never finished putting vinyl siding on the short walls. We don't know how long it sat that way, but most of the OSB sheathing needs replacing, and the homeowner's insurance company wants that done in short order. Couple changes I'd like to make for appearance and longevity - that will come in time.
We were hoping to find a place with a decent size garage I could use as a shop, but I was willing to build later if we found the right house. Frankly, I doubt I would have been able to swing building a structure as large as this one is so I feel very fortunate. Other than being able to keep at least my wife's car in there, I pretty much have a free hand with both stories of the building.
Pretty excited about the prospects, but right now, the focus is going to be moving all our stuff into the garage for unpacking and then getting the new house spun up. Then getting the siding on, and the insurance company wants railings on the deck.
The house is on stacked block piers which, while common, isn't considered a "permanent foundation". This means more money for the mortgage and insurance. An upcoming project is going to be seeing what we can do to build a permanent foundation under it, once I get the bank requirements. It doesn't have anchor straps right now, so if a permanent foundation isn't going to happen short term, anchor straps and levelling will be one of the first jobs I tackle. Tornadoes aren't common here, but they happen.
There's also some driveway work needing to be done, changes to the well and cistern, and I'm sure the missus will have remodelling ideas once we're in. I also need to finish some work on the cabin once we move out so we can sell that property.
The house is just outside Spencer WV, which is a very cute town that has most things we'd need day-to-day. Right now, I'm an hour from the nearest stores for supply, so I spend a lot of time driving back and forth getting material and parts. I also have to haul water and refill 100lb propane cylinders regularly now, which I won't have to do at the new place. All told, I'll have a lot more time, and a lot less routine maintenance to do.
But I'm going to have a garage soon! I think it's going to be an awesome 2018.
Once we close, I'll get some pics up and we can talk about future plans.
Formerly a resident of Cleveland OH. Had a small detached (around 12x20) two car on the West side for a few decades. Never had enough space and could seldom actually fit a car inside.
We bought property in WV and fell in love with the state. Three years ago I found a job down here and moved down in our little camper. Then bought a small cabin (about 20x20) and my wife moved down. I've been without a garage for that time - working on the cars only as necessary outside in the gravel driveway.
We rented the house in Cleveland for a year or so, then spent every weekend since July doing renovation to get it ready for sale. It sold in less than a week for a few thousand over list - expect it to close in January.
We had been looking around and had a few prospects get sold before we were ready financially. Day before Thanksgiving, a doublewide on 31 acres with a 32x48 two story barn/garage and smaller (maybe 12x16) shed came on the market. It was a foreclosure and we were the first to look at it on Black Friday. Made an offer right away and the bank accepted. We expect to close this coming Saturday.
Never been a huge fan of manufactured housing, but this is one of the nicer I've seen. Best of all, it doesn't need a lot of work.
Garage needs some. PO never finished putting vinyl siding on the short walls. We don't know how long it sat that way, but most of the OSB sheathing needs replacing, and the homeowner's insurance company wants that done in short order. Couple changes I'd like to make for appearance and longevity - that will come in time.
We were hoping to find a place with a decent size garage I could use as a shop, but I was willing to build later if we found the right house. Frankly, I doubt I would have been able to swing building a structure as large as this one is so I feel very fortunate. Other than being able to keep at least my wife's car in there, I pretty much have a free hand with both stories of the building.
Pretty excited about the prospects, but right now, the focus is going to be moving all our stuff into the garage for unpacking and then getting the new house spun up. Then getting the siding on, and the insurance company wants railings on the deck.
The house is on stacked block piers which, while common, isn't considered a "permanent foundation". This means more money for the mortgage and insurance. An upcoming project is going to be seeing what we can do to build a permanent foundation under it, once I get the bank requirements. It doesn't have anchor straps right now, so if a permanent foundation isn't going to happen short term, anchor straps and levelling will be one of the first jobs I tackle. Tornadoes aren't common here, but they happen.
There's also some driveway work needing to be done, changes to the well and cistern, and I'm sure the missus will have remodelling ideas once we're in. I also need to finish some work on the cabin once we move out so we can sell that property.
The house is just outside Spencer WV, which is a very cute town that has most things we'd need day-to-day. Right now, I'm an hour from the nearest stores for supply, so I spend a lot of time driving back and forth getting material and parts. I also have to haul water and refill 100lb propane cylinders regularly now, which I won't have to do at the new place. All told, I'll have a lot more time, and a lot less routine maintenance to do.
But I'm going to have a garage soon! I think it's going to be an awesome 2018.
Once we close, I'll get some pics up and we can talk about future plans.