Bummed out-new hubby wants to put a mobile home and .....

rhondarenay · July 09, 2010, 12:23:14 PM

"just build the sheds and storage buildings".

We had been talking about this for months. He's getting his disability soon and should be around 14K . I was looking for ward to putting that money into building materials and getting the sewage installed, water, elec., gas. We would have a little left over for building materials plus about $500 month extra to put towards the project of building us a 20 by 20 or a 20 by 24 and later adding on as we can afford it.
But B. and K. offered to help us buy a mobile home and it seems like he's leaning that way. Why can't he understand that we have to get financing for that over the next 10 years and it will end up costing us four times as much and by that time we get it paid for we could have built a nice 1,000 squ. ft. home that will only go up in value not down?! I know B. and K. are just trying to help but I would rather they help us with a travel trailer if they want to help and let us go ahead and build. (B. and K. are letting us live w/them until we get our house ready and it's their land they said they were going to will to us not sell us that we're going to build on-just real good friends). Man, in a couple of years we could have a nice small but comfortable dwelling we could add on to if we want if only people were more patient.

Rhonda

MushCreek · July 09, 2010, 04:19:24 PM

A (true) cautionary tale: We bought property in rural SC, and there is a mobile home adjacent to it. I met the original owner, and he had a little over $100K in it when he fell on bad times, and it was re-possessed. The mortgage company first sold it for $35K, but that fell through, and it ended up selling for $21K, WITH the 1 acre lot! Just the lot is worth nearly that much. Mobile homes are fine, and I've seen some really nice ones, but the re-sale value makes them a very poor investment, unless you plan on living in it for the rest of your life. If that's all you can afford, I understand, but just remember that re-sale is tough on a mobile home.

July 10, 2010, 10:58:05 AM

Yes, and I've heard of mobile home companies going up on the monthly payments over time, to where people can't afford them, then repossess the home and resell it, the original owner owing what negative equity was left on the home. I really don't want to get into a mobile home deal. It's a bad investment and these guys are crooks! I don't know how B. and K. plan on helping us, maybe w/ down payment.
When they told Kelly, my new husband, that they wanted to help us get one he was ready to jump on it.
But I wouldn't mind living in a travel trailer just as long as we're building a house next to it. Even a couple of years wouldn't be bad. I lived in one for four years with 5 children once, that was too much. And it was all for nothing because we didn't buy any land and build, we bought a house that was 40 yrs. old and THAT was a bad investment. We get in it and the windows were stuck, the toilet was stopped up, the cabinets in the kitchen needed to be replaced. We were desperate after 4 yrs. in a travel trailer, especialy me-I NEEDED a house real bad. The house cost us 60,000 and it needed alot of work. THey tried to put central heat and air into an older home that originaly had gas heating and it was a disaster. On top of that we had two house payments: the travel trailer and the house and we couldn't afford it. It did have an acre of land w/it though, only we were spending so much on house payments we couldn't afford to buy and care for animals.

I told new hubby when he gets his disabilty check if we paid off the car we could afford to put $750/mo. towards building materials. That's $9,000 a year. Plus we will still have money left over from his first disability check-prob. about $3,000. It will only cost about $16,000 to get our 20 by 20 built. Man, we could have most of the building materials in one year. It would probably take us a year and 1/2 and we'll have all the stuff to start building. Hubby says we can't take a long time to build because the wood will get wet and I guess that would wrape ikt? I just told him we could start buying the building materials and stock pile them. In about a year we'll have enough to start building. In the meantime we can live in a travel trailer.
Rhonda

rhondarenay · July 12, 2010, 10:27:13 AM

Feel better today. Hubby says he's been thinking about it and he'd like to go ahead and get a travel trailer, get a car or truck, and start working on sewage as soon as he gets his first disability check. We're expecting somewhere around $14,000 for his first check because of back pay. With his monthly check and mine combined we could save around $8,000 the first year plus $3,000 from the first check to go directly towards building materials. That's $11,000 the first year saved. By the end of the second year we would have about $19,000 saved in building materials. We could start building after 2 yrs. of stockpiling our materials. And have a 20'by24' finished inside and out! We do plan to add on in a few years the bedrooms (about 3 of them)
and probably a garage or workshop (where he can work out in) in a few years too. Eventualy we'll have about a 1,000squ. ft. site built home with a workshop and storage shed if we're not impatient.

Rhonda

muldoon · July 12, 2010, 10:44:50 AM

if your husband is on disability and cannot work, how is going to build a house? isn't the definition of social security disability "unable to work"? if that's the case are you figuring in the cost of labor to have someone else building it or helping?

July 12, 2010, 01:50:57 PM

I wondered the same thing.
Just thought it was too rude to ask.

cmsilvay · July 12, 2010, 05:42:47 PM

SSDI is based on many things one is the what they call meaningful employment which means that your disability will not interfere with you being able to go t work. It also depends on the injury and if you are can be hired due to your injury. They Also take into account your skills,age, past work history. It one thing to "work" around the house and if you need a week to recover then to not being able to do something day in out with out being able to take breaks as needed and be able to continue keeping yourself employed. Also some W/C injures can almost make you unhireable in the future. Remember SSD is something that everyone pays into and the rate is determined by your contributions.

muldoon · July 12, 2010, 07:05:34 PM

Your right Erin, it probably is rude to ask.

cms, thanks for the information - I was not aware of some of that.

QuoteIt one thing to "work" around the house and if you need a week to recover then to not being able to do something day in out with out being able to take breaks as needed and be able to continue keeping yourself employed.

If the backpay is 14000 (as has been said over and over) then it's pretty obvious this is not a week or two to recover.

anyway, it doesn't really matter so much in the long run. Except that plenty of people have been arrested and funds clawed back for insurance fraud and the crime of "theft by deception". If you are disabled - working in the construction industry - and getting paid by the government to not work in the construction business - dont go on internet websites bragging about how you can build a house and save a ton of money using all this free money they are giving you because you are disabled. It can backfire on you.

Aside from that, taxpayers footing the bill may find the bragging "rude" as well.

Don, John, Glen - feel free to delete my post and or lock my account if desired. I say what I think and I call it like I see it.

Whitlock · July 12, 2010, 07:47:04 PM

Quote from: muldoon on July 12, 2010, 07:05:34 PM
Your right Erin, it probably is rude to ask.

cms, thanks for the information - I was not aware of some of that.

QuoteIt one thing to "work" around the house and if you need a week to recover then to not being able to do something day in out with out being able to take breaks as needed and be able to continue keeping yourself employed.

If the backpay is 14000 (as has been said over and over) then it's pretty obvious this is not a week or two to recover.

anyway, it doesn't really matter so much in the long run. Except that plenty of people have been arrested and funds clawed back for insurance fraud and the crime of "theft by deception". If you are disabled - working in the construction industry - and getting paid by the government to not work in the construction business - dont go on internet websites bragging about how you can build a house and save a ton of money using all this free money they are giving you because you are disabled. It can backfire on you.

Aside from that, taxpayers footing the bill may find the bragging "rude" as well.

Don, John, Glen - feel free to delete my post and or lock my account if desired. I say what I think and I call it like I see it.

Without the facts it is hard for me to lay blame on anyone for anything.The guy could be blind for all we know?

I'm surprized at you Muldoon?

July 12, 2010, 07:51:43 PM

Personally, I know of a good number of people who are technically disabled and viable candidates for SSI/SSDI benefits who attempt to build their own homes with the assistance of loved ones. Quite a few of us are desperate enough to suffer the pains associated with personal survival over that of a simple paycheck. If he and his family can and are willing to struggle through these difficulties all I can do is offer support and condolences.

rhondarenay · July 13, 2010, 04:40:52 PM

Well he can work, his foot just swells and he spends more time in the hospital than out of it if he has to stand on his feet all day with a full time job where employers aren't going to smile about him having to miss work for a month or sit down on the job for an hour or two. He can walk, he can work in the garden, he can sit on a riding lawn mower, he can build a house with help-he just can't do it like he used to-all day for eight hours streight with only a 30 min. break for lunch.

When he was seventeen he was in a motorcycle accident that crushed his leg and pelvis. When he was younger he could work o.k. but now he can't stand on his feet for a full day. I think he deserves disability, especialy since the circulation is so bad in his leg that he had to have his toes amputated and he thinks if he has to work on it much longer (talking full time job here not building your own house off and on as your able) they're going to have to amputate his leg too.

But I didn't want to turn this conversation into something that is ugly and rude. We can't build our own house because we're on disability? I'm mentaly handicapped-does that mean I can't help my husband build a house? What about someone who has lost an arm? It's kind-of hard to pass judgement unless you know the situation. We're not mooching off the government-we are two people who only make a little over $1,000 who can't afford to hire someone but would like to try and do what we can ourselves.

R.

DirtyLittleSecret · July 13, 2010, 08:11:28 PM

Rhonda,
Quite frankly, you ought to be proud of yourselves for considering building your own home, and prouder yet at keeping "at it" while facing your challenges. Every day I deal with people facing similar situations to yours, but they rarely take the initiative to attempt to do anything but resort to state assistance (for everything). I am certain that none of us were being intentionally judgmental, and I for one look forward to seeing your progress! Just starting the conversation is an excellent first step, and it sounds like you might even want to take special considerations for your husband's disabilities while building...Im sure you can get some great ideas from the crew here.

NM_Shooter · July 13, 2010, 08:19:29 PM

Heck yes you can do this.

There used to be a link on the home page to a small house that was built by a handicapped man (MS?) who was assisted by a blind person. It was a great story.

Stick with it! One nail at a time.

Do you belong to a church? Frequently you can get free labor help from groups such as that. The challenge is to have your materials lined up and ready to go.

rhondarenay · July 14, 2010, 12:53:01 PM

Quote from: DirtyLittleSecret on July 13, 2010, 08:11:28 PM
Rhonda,
Quite frankly, you ought to be proud of yourselves for considering building your own home, and prouder yet at keeping "at it" while facing your challenges. Every day I deal with people facing similar situations to yours, but they rarely take the initiative to attempt to do anything but resort to state assistance (for everything). I am certain that none of us were being intentionally judgmental, and I for one look forward to seeing your progress! Just starting the conversation is an excellent first step, and it sounds like you might even want to take special considerations for your husband's disabilities while building...Im sure you can get some great ideas from the crew here.

Hi,
Thanks, we talked about it last night after I read some of the posts. I didn't realize it would cause such friction. Nor did I realize it would interfere with him being able to keep his disability. We talked about it again and have decided it would be better that we take B. and K. up on their offer of helping us get a mobile home. K. says he can build it-it would just take him a long time. He doesn't just sit around all day like alot of people on disability. He's a body builder and is always working out-even his bad leg which is half the size of his normal leg, he also keeps the people's yard mowed for the people he lives with and fixes what's broke around the house and feeds the animals on the farm. He planted a fall garden this year. I go to be with him July 17 to help him with his chores and get married . I think he would need alot of help if we buildt the house. We already talked about hiring someone to do the foundation and septic if we built, also he would need help with the walls and roof. But even with us hiring somone to help with the work he still would be risking loosing his disability-just if they know he's been working on a house. And it wouldn't be worth it. Where we'll be living there is an organization that helps disabled people find jobs. But he has to be disabled first. We're waiting to hear if he got it or not. His lawyer said it looked good.

As for me, I was into nursing and midwifery before I had to be hospitalized. Had something tramatic happen in my family and I had a nervous breakdown. Lost my nurses' aid possition because of it and also could not find someone to hire me as a midwife's apprentice. It is frustating because I was a hosptial coreman in the Navy as well as an experienced nurse's aid who was good at what I did. Now I have to get retrained in something else because of discrimination. I have to give up my dream of becoming a midwife or midwife's assistant too becuase of discrimination. (I did start my own house cleaning business last year but that fell through) I'm thinking seriously about cosmetology. My sister is a hairdresser and makes $50,000/yr. I wouldn't make that much money starting out or in the country, but even half that much would be great. I plan on going to school this coming January. First, I have to attend an orientation. After I'm done and making good money maybe then we can build a house. That will probably be at least five years from now. In the meantime I'll be saving up what I can, putting away money for the day we can afford to build and hire someone to help alot if not do all the work.

Rhonda

July 14, 2010, 06:22:07 PM

Rhonda
He will not even risk losing his disabilty based on what you have said. its all about if he could work a full time job, dont make any decisions based on that fear. just because a person can do some work on their schedule and breaks and help as needed does not mean anyone would find him fit for a full time job.

mldrenen · July 14, 2010, 08:00:01 PM

Quote from: Txcowrancher on July 14, 2010, 06:22:07 PM
Rhonda
He will not even risk losing his disabilty based on what you have said. its all about if he could work a full time job, dont make any decisions based on that fear. just because a person can do some work on their schedule and breaks and help as needed does not mean anyone would find him fit for a full time job.

i agree.

rhonda-

contact the SSA anonymously, and verify whether or not his benefits would be in jeopardy based on his building a house. you could also contact an attorney that specializes in that area. whatever you do, please don't let fear alter the course of your life. if this is a dream the two of you have shared, do what it takes to follow it through.

Dave Sparks · July 15, 2010, 09:08:34 AM

You would not be the first one to live in a travel trailer for a year or two while you build

The resources here are amazing! Good Luck!

rhondarenay · July 15, 2010, 12:30:59 PM

Quote from: Dave Sparks on July 15, 2010, 09:08:34 AM
You would not be the first one to live in a travel trailer for a year or two while you build
The resources here are amazing! Good Luck!

I've lived in one for four years with five children underfoot that I had to homeschool in a trailer park that would not allow the children to be seen outside. Had hopes back then of getting our own land (we were in WA state) when we moved back to Texas. But once we got back we became impatient and just bought a house. Anyway, I would do it again (live in a travel trailer) but not under those circumstances again. Too much is too much.
I'm not going to complain either way: live in a travel trailer while we build or buy a mobile home.
Either way I'm still going to get a house.
And that's what we want: our own place.

Rhonda

jpatti · September 12, 2010, 05:25:53 AM

A friend of mine has been on disability for severe fibromyalgia for well over a decade. She has good days/weeks/months and bad ones. She can *work* on good days, though she pays for it in pain afterwards. But she can't hold a job because she spends about 25% of her time having bad days - during which she literally cannot get out of bed. Disability does not mean you can't work, it means you can't hold a job.

Anyways, about 5 years ago, a group of us who knew her online went to AK and built her a house. She had been living in a trailer that was falling apart. The previous winter, she'd built a carport over it because it leaked. Now, the floor was starting to rot out. She ahd saved a few thousand for building supplies and we decided it was time to build.

We built a very simple house, a big square, with an internal wall cutting it in half, and another wall cutting one of the halves in half. The big room was the kitchen/living room, and one of the small rooms was a bedroom and the other was a bathroom/laundry/mudroom combo.

There were about 10 of us, only one of which had ever built anything before (and he was largely physically disabled, to the degree that my friend was able to do more than he was).

She had the piers poured before we got there, and was building without codes so no need for inspections, and we built this simple house in ten days, including two porches.

We camped on the land while we built. We sat a potty chair over a hole in the ground with a shower curtain hanging from trees for a toilet while we built. We cooked breakfast and lunch over a campfire. Local friends of hers hosted us for dinner, a different family each day. And we'd hit them up for use of their showers while we were there.

We all calculated up what it took to get there and buy food and whatnot and we could've pitched in and hired a few local carpenters cheaper. But... it was the *experience* of camping with all these great folks and accomplishing this together - one of the best vacations I ever took that was the thing. It was a terrifically fun time during which I met many online friends I'd never met before.

It wasn't *done* by a long shot. She was walking on the subfloor when we left. The inside was bare, no siding, just bare frame walls. No appliances, no tub, toilet, sink. But we did do electric and had a few lights going here and there and plumbed water into the house and sewer lines out. And we had two decks also.

She finished it over the last few years a bit at a time, buying appliances from auctions, putting down floors, buying a wood stove, etc.

It worked out well for her. Basically, don't buy the materials as you build, just save up the money and buy them all at once... and invite a bunch of people over to help. Getting a small place done is faster than you think it is. The inside, now that will take a long time.