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Mobile Home Photos

Vince is really smitten with this place.  I can see why.  Last night I had a good heart to heart talk with myself and decided that it’s not so much that the houses there aren’t what we want, but they just don’t measure up to my current house.  I have to get over that way of thinking.  I decided it’s kinda like getting a new puppy.  When you have a dog that you love so much and something happens to him, it’s not always a good idea to rush out and buy a new puppy.   The new puppy will never be the dog you just lost.  That’s how I feel about my house.  I can’t keep comparing the Texas houses to my current house.  I can’t have my current house any more so . . I’m going to look at this in a whole new way.

Vince is still going to see one more property before making an offer but I think this is what it’s going to be.

And, I think this is the real reason he wants the place.

I think we each need one!

The mobile home has a huge steel built structure over it and this addition on the back side.  This is two double garage doors.  The opening goes to the back door of the mobile home and see the room to the left.  It’s two story and it’s 12′ x 16′ and it’s air conditioned and Vince is already calling it the quilting room.  I would probably put the long arm upstairs and store batting up there.  12′ x 16′ is about the minimum size that would work for the longarm.  In the downstairs, I could put a sewing machine, ironing table, cutting table and design wall.  Or, I might get Vince to close in and air condition one side of that garage to have myself a larger sewing room.  Lots of possibilities.

The current owners camped and had friends who had campers.  This area was set up for their friends to visit with their campers.  There are four hookups for electricity and sewer.  It wouldn’t take much to close this area in and make a building out of this if we wanted to.

This is a fully insulated 30′ x 40′ shop complete with plumbing, electricity and a concrete floor.  Vince would be so happy to have this for a shop.

This is a concrete underground storm shelter that’s in the area where four campers could be parked.  It’s only about 12 – 15′ from the mobile home’s back door.  There’s power to this room and ventilation though it would take one heck of a storm for me to go in there. I’d have to check it out on a clear day and be sure there were no critters in there before I ever went in during the middle of a storm.  Maybe I could put shelves in there and store my canned goods in the shelter.

This is the front of the mobile home.  You can see that the steel roof comes way over to create a porch.  Vince said it’s all built very well and the mobile home, though kinda small, is immaculate.  It has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a fairly small kitchen but we would probably build or we might decide to build a really nice outdoor kitchen area and if I have a sewing space already, we might not ever build.

So, we have space for four campers.  I’m going to encourage my mom and dad to bring one there and leave it so they can visit any time and have their own space.  That leaves three spots.  Who wants to come live with me in Texas?  🙂

Seriously, I think I could get excited about this place.

Oh . . look at this . .the best part of all!

Land with no close neighbors!  Land for chicken.  Land for goats if I want them.  Land for fruit trees.  Land for a garden.  Land to run and play and laugh and not have to worry about anyone hearing or seeing me.  Land . . out in the country.  No red tag man.  Yes, I’m excited about this property.

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Comments

  1. Good for you, Judy. It is great that you can see the potential in the place. We have friends who built a shed over their trailer, too. Their thinking was that when they outgrew the single-wide, they could pull it out, sell it, and still have a shed. You will love the place and the space for Mom & Dad to visit.

  2. There sure is a lot of space there, Judy. I’m sure Vince would love that 30×40 man shop!! What man would not? It is great that you see potential. I’ll be looking forward to reading further about this property. 🙂

  3. A sewing room for you and a man cave for Vince. Sounds good! I think I noted a little excitement from you.

  4. How exciting to see all the possibilities! I can appreciate why you see the potential in this place. Out in the country, with no close-by neighbors, room for livestock/chickens, room for hobbies (more accurately “activities that sustain life”) – that’s all good.

  6. With those facilities you could run quilting retreats and workshops without ever having to leave home (or worry about crossing a bridge).

  7. Judy,

    My Dad and Sister live in a Manufactured Home in Florida. They can be real nice and the insides can be redone similar to a house. Age is a factor when it comes to insurance. Hope the inside looks as good as the outside. Good Luck!!

  8. Sure is good to hear you being excited and finding something that will work for you and Vince.

    It looks really great to me…so many possibilities and uses for the spaces.

    Hugs.

  9. Good to hear you excited about a place! I agree I’ve seen some lovely manufactured homes. And the wide open spaces seem to be just what you need.

  10. Wow Judy, that property looks great. No wonder Vince is excited with all the man cave space. I’m wishing you lots of luck.

  11. I have a dear friend who bought a small house just to get the land around it. And they have been very happy there. She recently bought a “modular office” building and turned that into her sewing haven (and 2 bedrooms back into bedrooms). Now that are REALLY happy. I think this looks good, Judy. With that much land and no POA, you can do anything you want whenever you want!

  12. When my husband and I moved to SW Missouri, we moved in with my Mother. After 2 weeks of 4 people (including a 3 year old) cats, dogs, and birds, in a 4 room house, I wanted out. We purchased a double wide mobile home and have been in it for 11 years now. It wasn’t my dream home but we have thoroughly enjoyed it and will be here for the duration. They really aren’t so bad.
    Judy in MO
    Ju

  13. Sounds good to me Judy and if we ever come through Brownwood, TX I know where there’s a RV hookup for our motorhome!

  14. “Or, I might get Vince to close in and air condition one side of that garage to have myself a larger sewing room. Lots of possibilities.”

    yep, that’s the ticket. put the longarm, batting, cones of quilting thread, and bolts of backing fabrics upstairs. Put your stash and cutting table in the downstairs, and close in all of the garage for your sewing room, design wall, thread, and ironing board. that way you’ve got a designated area for the whole process, as well as room to spread out while sewing
    (or hosting quilting retreats!)

  15. The thing I never understood is why they put mobile homes in places they have tornados? Do they get a lot of tornados in that part of Texas? I’m out in California and I’ll take an earthquake any day 🙂 I guess it is what you grew up with.

    • If its a tornado, it doesn’t matter what kind of building it is, its going down. In that recent big one that hit the south, especially Alabama, one town in North Georgia lost the entire business district-completely flattened. A regular building might lose its side or its roof in a partial hit, but the rain damage to the open building and the structural weakening will probably require a complete rebuild anyway. I’m glad to see the storm shelter on Judy’s possible new home. Wish we had one here for those times. We go to the basement, but the idea of the house collapsed on top of us isn’t comforting.

  16. This looks great. Sounds like there’s a lot of potential – the quilting building sold me and a man-cave for Vince – what more could you ask for?
    Karen

  17. One issue I would question only because we live in a manufactured home is if it is tied down either to a slab or in the dirt below. In out State it is mandetory. If you chose this form of housing I think you will be happy. I know I am.

  18. I’m excited for you! This property has the one thing you can’t change: location. Everything else you and Vince can make work. And we will all enjoy continuing to read the Road to Brownwood saga. This next chapter could be pretty interesting!

  19. 🙂 I can feel some happiness!!! Land, chickens, goats?, man room, sewing and quilting spaces, room to run and jump and now red tag guy. Those all sound great! Save an rv spot for us!

  20. Do you have any idea why the owners are moving? Sounds like they had it the way they wanted it (friends etc). It sounds like an ideal place for you. You don’t know what the next few years will bring, and by time you go to retire you might decide you don’t want to live so isolated and would like to have things a bit different. When you retire at least in my case and when we bought this house, we had looked at a house in Topsy. it was a gorgeous house and it had 10 acres of land. I was concerned how far away we would have been from medical so thus looked elsewhere. I think where I am is a good place since my life has changed greatly. So think of as a temporary place and who knows how long temporary is. It is a roof over your head, it has everything that both of you need at the moment. Sounds like a winner to me.

  21. What a unique idea to place the mobile home so it’s inside the steel building! Should be really secure when you both leave on a trip. I lived in a mobile home in the early 70’s for a few years. It was really nice then and they’ve come a long way since then. Now they really are just a module or manufactured home! But sounds like all the features you wanted are here or can be added or constructed. That’s great!

  23. I think this looks great! If you move in and hate it you could always build your dream home on a piece of that gorgeous land.

  24. I notice there are pictures of the inside of the out buildings where the tractors, mowers, tools are Vince. Could we please have pictures of Judy’s future kitchen? Sewing room? Long arm room? :o)

  25. oh boy , Im with PDudgeon for retreats ! Ihave rv too, I dont need a roof over it but would need the elec hook ups. Patchy/Susan can bunk with me. lolll..Pst.. you need another kitchen in the shop area…………………… ; }

  26. It sounds like this is already a done deal. I love the place.
    The second spot is already taken. Chad will have a camper on #2 before you get unpacked.

  27. Judy,
    Hello again from outside Houston. Stitched down the binding by machine on the little “Making Ends Meet” quilt–all good things from you–so I sent you many thanks and happy thoughts yesterday. Glad to see you are looking forward to your move to Texas. My husband’s father was born in Brownwood more than 90 years ago 🙂 We sold our 2500 sf house (where we raised the two boys) six years ago and moved into the little camphouse (720 sf) on our 11 acres. It was our original plan to live in the little house and build a “normal” big house. We added a metal building with covered parking and a full kitchen and moved all my sewing/crafting activities over there as well as a small shop for Don (he would be so envious of Vince’s shop) a year or so later. So, our little house is a bit like a hotel suite–little ‘fridge, coffeemaker, sitting room, full bath, big bedroom and the shop is . . . the shop. We love it. For us, it was about eliminating whatever kept us from doing what we love. We have a wonderful patio and outdoor eating area and all the stars above. Figuring out the empty nest thing is tricky and I believe that if grandchildren ever appear, we might find ourselves reconfiguring our living arrangements, but until then, you are so right, less taxes, more freedom, more sewing, more fun right now. The guest camper idea is a winner. I do so enjoy checking in to your blog to see what you are doing and wish you all the best in the exciting times ahead. It’s all gonna be good 🙂 Mona
    P.S. We tried the ChocoVine at a tasting at HEB and were wowed by it. A little sip of it IS dessert. Thanks for the tuna info, too. Well, dang it. I’ve blithered on long enough. Must get to chore list — washing big truck and LQ horse trailer so my pony and I can take a camping trip Friday.

  28. Me! Me! Me! I would come to Texas in a heart beat!
    It sounds like a great place!

  29. Grab it quick, Judy. It’s very different from what you have, but there’s space and garages and a shop and land AND a storm cellar. That’s important when you don’t have a basement and are in tornado country. Space for four campers…wow. Plenty of room for company. Besides all the good reasons for grabbing it, Vince will probably get transferred again before he retires so it won’t be permanent and you might as well have a place you can settle into now, get a garden going, maybe get a few chickens again and be “home.”

  30. Have RV, will travel! I would not want to LIVE with you (because frankly, our slide-in truck camper is not large enough to live in, but very easily to travel in), but I would love to drop by and meet you should we travel that direction sometime. And of course, a night in your “campground” would save us about $30! Who knows… you might could supplement your income by charging visiting quilters to camp at a “celebrity” quilter/author’s house!!

    Kat in Tamale Land

  31. That looks like an AWESOME place! I already live in Texas. Thank you. Although, it’s south quite a ways in San Antonio.

    We’re took a drive by a piece of property in Floresville and we’re liking it so far; although, we’d have to build the kitchen because whoever owned the house before us tore it all down and didn’t rebuild it. :-O We’re currently anxiously awaiting for our agent to arrange a showing to see the inside of the house. It’s deeply marked down and it’ll be a money pit 1) the siding needs replacing and 2) the kitchen needs to be built from ground up. But, it’s exciting thinking about dreaming up a kitchen from scratch. 🙂

    PS I envy y’all for your realtor. Ours seems sluggish….

  32. Very country with lots of space. From one who lives on a huge acreage I can tell you that mowing and trimming takes up a huge chunk of time every summer. Our space (15 acres) requires a tractor with attached mower and also a second large lawn mower. We love it and wouldn’t trade it for city life again until we get very, very old!

  33. Maybe you could build a house on the property and offer the existing home to Chad and his “someday” family to live in, keep him close by! The buildings all look like they are new and in great condition. Thanks for reminding all of us to be positive and to looking outside the box to new experiences and adventures.
    Goats??????

  34. I’m glad to hear you are looking at all possibilities. It is hard to replace a home that you love. Lot’s of acreage for sure. If it turns out you don’t like it you will have had time to start looking around for something else but yet have someplace to live when you leave MO. It will be nice to have a covered porch on hot days and you will use the storm shelter if you have a tornado warning!! Clean it out before hand and check it out every couple weeks or monthly and you will know it is ok when you need to make a dash for it – that is what I do with ours. Keep a flashlight in there or lantern so that you will have light if the power goes out!
    Karen
    http://karensquilting.com/blog/

  35. Hi Judy!
    I am excited for you! Really looks more like what we in CA would refer to as a manufactured home rather than a mobile home(trailer) ~ especially that it’s really not mobile or moveable. Hope they accept an offer from you because “property” certainly seems like it meets all your needs. Good luck!
    Penny

  36. I have the same feeling as Vince about Mobile Homes, but I can see this one is a bit different. It would be different if it was just a mobile home in the middle of no where, but this has safety, fun and potential built into it. If you see that you are going to stay in TX a brick and motar home could be built and the mobile home could be used for quilt retreats. Let your students come to you instead of you going to you students all the time.

    At least you would have a roof over your head and lots of room to call your own.

  37. I am doing the Happy Dance for you Judy! I see great things with this modular home/land idea. I love the idea of a “guest” camper with possible quilt retreats in the future. Hee Hee!

  40. Wow it looks great from the outbuildings and land! Truthfully I’ve never lived in a mobile home, but my parents do now and it’s not what I expected. And like you said, a really nice outdoor kitchen would be so cool! My DH would so jump on it from just seeing the shop buildings! How much land is it?

  42. I lived in a single wide mobile home during my first marriage. I loved the kitchen. There was a bar that was the right height for me to knead bread and roll/cut out cookies. That is what I miss the most from that house. The storm cellar is a great item. I remember one that my granny had in Oklahoma that had cots and other items if they needed to stay in for a while. I thought it was the neatest place. And believe me, when a storm is coming, you probably won’t be thinking of snakes. If it is as nice as you have said, probably no way for them to get in. How much land? And from the property tax side…is the home declared as real property. If not, you will probably want to declare it as real property vs personal property. They can do the necessary paperwork at closing. You will have less headaches in the future. You can sign me up for a retreat also!…or cooking classes.

  43. It looks great, Judy. This could be a whole new way of life for you. I grew up a military kid. Every move is an adventure, in my mind.

  44. Give her room, lots of room, on the farm. Looks like a pretty good option.

  46. i could come visit with my motor home!!!!! everything you showed looks great. you can always add on to the home to fix what you don’t like.
    you may get in that storm cellar fast if there is a tornado coming.!!!!!

  47. I am so jealous! I live in a suburb of Dallas — yes, you get used to the traffic, noise, traffic, traffic I would love to be out and away. I’ll take this home in a heartbeat!
    Beth in Dallas

  49. Judy, I simply love everything about it! YOUR OWN SEWING AREA – a man cave – a place for family and friends to bring campers – a place for chickens and goats. The idea of building an outdoor kitchen sounds just wonderful!

    PERFECT!

    I can see why you would be excited and I LOVE YOUR ATTITUDE!

    sao in Midlothian, VA

  50. I’m with those who are looking forward to a quilting retreat B&B. Put me down too. I think this spot would be a fun adventure for you and Vince and there is so much going for it. As a youngster I thought living in a mobile home was the best idea. Of course, I was from even smaller beginnings (1 room for 15 years), so a trailer was like an apartment!! :). All the extras are fantastic. My DH would love those too. Dar

  51. Well I wouldn’t want to come LIVE with you but I do have a very nice camper that’s great to stay in while visiting. 🙂 You could have quilt retreats and tell everyone to bring their own camper instead of bring their own bottle…or whatever. blessings, marlene

  52. Praying and hoping this works out for you all! Manufactured homes now days are really nice. Many built better than site built homes. And land!!! WOOOHOO!!

  53. This looks and sounds like the perfect place for you and family. It appears it has loads of possibilities. You will like having the storm shelter, and it is a great place for storing your canned items. I forgot whether you said the storm shelter had a/c, but surely it has lights and if it is fairly new it will be tight and you won’t have any “creatures” I wouldn’t think. I hope you’ll decide to go for it.

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