Am I biting off more then I think? Bathroom/Kitchen work

[Terry Drake]

I got a phone call today from the park manager. She told me that a lady just signed her mobile home back to the park. She offered it to me for free with free lot rent until I sell it if I fix it up.

Turns out the home is a double wide in decent shape. Needs work, but not terrible in my opinion. At first glance it needs new carpet through out and some patch work in the flooring. Ceilings seem to be in pretty good good shape, and the metal roof seems to be in pretty good shape as well. There are tons of storage spaces and extra rooms built on. Everything is fenced in with a wooden fence and Areca Palms.

What does stick out to me is the UGLY retro kitchen and bathrooms.

I mean, I know they're hideous but a free double wide, free lot rent with my only expense being repairs?? I haven't run numbers yet as I've only seen this yesterday and the handyman won't be out until today but I figured even if it cost between 4-5k in repairs, I should be able to sell it for 15k with 2k down/$450/month. Because I won't be paying lot rent, I can hold out a little while for someone with more cash to put down if need be.

I am confident that the living room and kitchen floor will look 110% better with new carpet and vinyl down. I think some new formica over the old counters is a step in the right direction, but what's the best thing to do for those nasty cabinets/doors? Should I leave them? Would you replace the doors or re-laminate the cabinets?

Any thoughts or suggestions offered are well appreciated!

[Bill Gulley]

Hi again, white walls makes sore eye balls, paint it egg shell, it's a light off white. Yes you can paint the cabinets and change hardware, that would be fine too, but real doors would make them pop in my opinion. Doors are cheap....check out habitat for humanity re-store, the one here has tons of hardwood raised panel doors and you can trim many of them out to size. Painting that tile ceiling might really help, didn't see the light fixtures...ceiling fans are cheap too! Hey, it's free and you're getting a chunk up front! Good luck, Bill