old trailer house

Homegrown Tomatoes · January 18, 2009, 11:51:16 PM

OK, so, say we buy a place for the land, but it has a half-burned little house and an old old single wide that is pretty worthless... any guess on what getting rid of them is going to cost us? I mean in the most time-efficient manner, too. We could see about having them burned, but not sure that is a good idea because we may want to use the foundation of the house and for the trailer, it is sitting right above the well. Anyway, any experience with demolition and clean-up costs? I'm going to call around a few places tomorrow and see if I can get some free estimates, but just so I don't have a heart attack when they tell me, give me your best shot.

MountainDon · January 19, 2009, 01:20:53 AM

Wouldn't the trailer siding be salvageable for the aluminum? Roof likely too. Windows maybe saved for a barn/workshop. In some areas of NM there are outfits that will haul them away for the salvage.

What kind of a foundation is the old house on? Would it really be suitable to build on?

January 19, 2009, 10:05:31 AM

When we bought our property, there was an old ugly building on it. We put a free ad out that said, Building free, gave the size, and stated they had to clean up after they removed it, and we had people fighting over it. It took 2 guys about 3 days to completely remove all traces.
If you burn it down, you are going to have a lot of mess(nails, fastners, etc.) to clean up. I doubt if it would be a good idea to burn over the well, if you plan on using the well.
There probably are places where you could put a free ad and find someone who would be glad to remove it.

Homegrown Tomatoes · January 19, 2009, 11:59:18 AM

Well, the house is on a slab, and it seems to be in good shape. The house is burned out and not much of it would even be salvageable (maybe the fireplace bricks, which we may keep, if for nothing else to use in landscaping.) The trailer siding is probably recycleable, and there maybe something else of it that it useable. Even if we don't use the slab for a house, there is nothing wrong with using it for a barn/outbuilding/shop. It is not really an OLD house... just destroyed. There is a small pole barn on the place that needs the roof fixed, but is otherwise useable. I called a guy about deconstruction and haul-off this morning and he gave me a ballpark of $3K to 7K, which wasn't nearly as bad as I'd expected, and that was for everything (the trailer, house, junk in the yard, and an old freezer or two. I might put a freecycle ad about the trailer as far as you can have it if you can get it off our place. The only thing that worries me about that is liability issues and insurance. I think it is going to be do-able one way or the other... this place is $20K cheaper than the other parcel of land we are looking at, and the people already got their insurance money for the fire more than five years ago; they just want to get rid of the land and are willing to take less than what they have it listed for. No one has even looked at the place in the past few years. Usually, they drive up in the driveway, see the junk and the burned out house and speed off as fast as possible. I look at it and see a lot of possibilities.

considerations · January 19, 2009, 08:28:49 PM

I spent the first 2 years cleaning this land up to the point where I could stand back and start thinking about the aesthetic aspects of living here. It was worth it. I love it here.

There is an occasional suprise, yesterday down by the creek I saw another big rusted out tank.

I say big, about 4'diameter and 6' long. Why is it down there? I have no clue. All the the snow smashed down the salmon berry bushes and it just rose up out of the center of them.

I'll have to figure out how to get it back up on the flat....but there was only one time when I thought maybe I'd really made a mistake buying the place. But that's a story for another time.

When you look past the human detritous to what is really there you can sometimes find real treasure. Just takes elbow grease and time to clean it up.

January 19, 2009, 09:21:07 PM

Quote from: considerations on January 19, 2009, 08:28:49 PM
But that's a story for another time.

... and that really whets my curiosity.

glenn kangiser · January 20, 2009, 09:08:13 AM

Looks like it could be a deal, Homey.

Homegrown Tomatoes · January 20, 2009, 10:58:51 AM

Found out from the lenders (talked to two of them yesterday) that we'll have to have 50% down to buy vacant land. They consider it high-risk, even though we have perfect credit, just because it is vacant land. One of them told me that I might be able to bargain my way down to 40% or even a little lower if I could convince the owners to carry the loan. Have to wait until we've done our taxes to know just exactly how much we can offer.... Also found out that you're required to show that you own the land free and clear before you can get a building permit on it, so here's my thought on that: When we make the offer, we'll say that we'll pay x amount for the acre or two where the house and the outbuildings and the well sits, cash. Then we'll finance the rest of the land so that we're free to go ahead and build a shop and eventually the house. OR, Plan B is that we offer them cash for the first ten acres and put a contingency on the other ten that we'll pay them cash by a certain date. Where there's a will, there's a way.

Well, as I was typing this, our realtor just called me and gave me a couple of banks she found that give land loans with 10% down, as she said "because they want to give you a construction loan too". I'm wondering if they'll give you a land loan for 10% down if you DON'T plan to do a construction loan? More people to call.

MountainDon · January 20, 2009, 01:22:25 PM

I'm not surprised at the down payment amount for vacant land.

As for the construction loan that may not be easy wither as banks usually give those to people who are using licensed contractors.

Hope it works out for you.

January 20, 2009, 03:15:16 PM

Yeah, Don, that's what I thought too. I'd rather just wait a little bit and pay the 50%. Who wants debt, anyway? Our payments if we paid 50% of the price for the whole place would only be about 100 bucks anyway. Could have it paid off within a year or thereabouts, if we wanted.

StinkerBell · January 20, 2009, 03:30:58 PM

We have the Well, Power, Septic and a building on our property ( http://wehavea.name/Album.aspx?album=67fba17e2a694eec9aa5ad64399a4e9e ) We are on the final stretch. We need to attach the water, put a slab down on the main floor, frame out the bathroom and do the finishes. Maybe are most 30K and that is if we have help. We have ran out of cash, the property, and building have no liens and we have excellent credit. Not one bank is willing to give us a loan to finish it off. We have been told numerous times that if we had not started then they would. We know at minimum (with todays market values) that the finished product would be at least 150K, but not one person will loan us the funds to finish despite our good credit, our ability to pay back the loan. THe run around we have gotten is beyond me. Personally I think the bank is being greedy because their is no large bridge loan we need and that we are so close to being done that any bridge loan they would not make any money.

Homegrown Tomatoes · January 20, 2009, 03:49:58 PM

Nice looking place... I can see what it would look like finished. Am I understanding you correctly that you can pour the slab after the building is done? That's an interesting idea, too. Did you have the whole building built for you, or have you worked on part of it? DH is wanting to build a 25' by 30 or 40' shop with a small living quarter until we can build our house. I'll have to show him your album.

StinkerBell · January 20, 2009, 04:00:57 PM

It is a pole building, that is why we can do the slab after the fact. It is a 36x36 pole building. Living area above with 1/3 of the bottom reserved for entry washroom and extra bedroom if need be.

considerations · January 20, 2009, 10:22:02 PM

"Not one bank is willing to give us a loan to finish it off."

I have no idea what fiscal or time constraints you may be operating under, but perhaps you can look at using "consumer loans", incrementally. The local bank here does them, the interest rate is higher than a mortgage, but the payoff time is a lot quicker, and I don't currently recollect the maximum amount they will loan.

However, you're not putting up your land as collateral (why should you, its paid for), and you won't get stuck with the criminal interest rate games the credit card folk play.

You get one loan, use up the proceeds, pay it off, start over. Yes, it is slow motion, time lapse, but when you are done, you aren't staring at 29 more years of payments.

I don't know, just a thought.

January 21, 2009, 01:17:11 PM

You know, I said in the original post that it is a single-wide trailer house, but looking back through our pictures, I am thinking more and more that it may be just a really large travel trailer.

It's got two doors, one at each end, and both on the same side. If it is truly meant as a full-time dwelling it is the smallest trailer house I think I've ever seen. It looks too small to be a regular trailer house, but maybe that is just because I'm used to seeing the big double-wides they make these days? I don't think it is over 30' long, and it is pretty narrow, too. I think 30' would be including the hitch? Anyway, they'd built a porch on it, too, so maybe that's why I registered it in my brain as a trailer house? May go back out and look this afternoon... it is gorgeous outside today and it'd be a pity to spend a day like this indoors.

MountainDon · January 21, 2009, 01:45:39 PM

If it's 8 ft, maybe up to 8'6" wide, it's a travel trailer.

Wider, then it's a mobile home.

StinkerBell · January 21, 2009, 02:17:46 PM

Cough Cough MtnDon Cough Cough

Travel trailers can be wider. I have one that has two slides making it almost 12 feet wide.

MountainDon · January 21, 2009, 05:09:08 PM

Sliders don't count. You measure the width of the main structure not the slides. Sorry I thought that was obvious, but maybe it isn't to those who don't know about them. I should know better than to make assumptions.

The over the road width on a travel trailer is restricted to 8ft 6 inches on many roads, but some are limited to 8 feet zero inches.

StinkerBell · January 21, 2009, 05:14:45 PM

I am just teasin you MD.

southernsis · January 21, 2009, 05:29:46 PM

Homegrown, you may be able to work a deal with the owners on the property. Its worth a try.
I like your place Stinkerbell, it really looks nice. Wish I had your travel trailer for our Oregon property.

January 21, 2009, 09:06:41 PM

Sounds like a good plan HT. BTW, if you have a perimeter foundation, and want a slab, you can pour the slab after building, logistically speaking, just may not be the cleanest thing.

Jens · January 21, 2009, 09:14:02 PM

BTW Stink, ask around town if there are any hard lenders around. Maybe you can find somebody from the local church community who can loan you some money to get finished? I know it is a lot of money, but there are those who do this sort of thing. Interest rate will be high, expect 12% or so (no higher I'd say), and a balloon.

rwanders · January 21, 2009, 09:22:21 PM

Don't borrow from anyone named Vito who wears see-through socks though----they usually want about 2% a week and use really mean collectors!

Beavers · January 21, 2009, 11:37:35 PM

Quote from: Homegrown Tomatoes on January 18, 2009, 11:51:16 PM
OK, so, say we buy a place for the land, but it has a half-burned little house and an old old single wide that is pretty worthless... any guess on what getting rid of them is going to cost us? I mean in the most time-efficient manner, too. We could see about having them burned, but not sure that is a good idea because we may want to use the foundation of the house and for the trailer, it is sitting right above the well. Anyway, any experience with demolition and clean-up costs? I'm going to call around a few places tomorrow and see if I can get some free estimates, but just so I don't have a heart attack when they tell me, give me your best shot.

I just finally got done tearing down a 74' single wide trailer that was located where we are going to build our house. It took me all of the summer and then some to get the job done.

I called around all over the place and couldn't find anyone that will take them. The scrap yards said there is too much wood and non-metal crap in them to make them worthwhile to scrap out. The volunteer fire department wouldn't even burn it, said it was too unsafe to practice in.

I ended up tearing it down piece by piece...

I salvaged some good 2x6's and some 2x4's out of it, enough to build a couple of sheds.

Got $300 hauling the aluminum siding to the scrap yard. (this was a few months ago before scrap metal prices dropped)

Hauled three trailer loads of the roof to the dump (about $100)

Still have a big pile of copper wire and pipes to haul to the scrap yard(not sure how much $$$ I'll get for that)

Saved the frame, and cut it down to make a nice car/utility trailer, also saved the rest of the steel from the frame for future projects. (might be able to sell the frame, I've seen them go for $500)

I burned every thing that would burn.

Rented a 20 yrd. dumpster for the rest of it. (had 10 tons, at a cost of $600)

Also had the free use of my father in law's tractor w/loader, and the neighbor and his Bobcat.

It was a TON of work, but I don't know how else you would get rid of one. One thing to consider if you hire someone to tear it down is getting a deposit. Even if they say they will tear it down for free, you might find yourself left with a gutted trailer stripped of all it's aluminum and copper, and left with all the crap that isn't worth money. If you get a deposit they might be more likely to actually finish the job, instead of leaving you with a pile of picked over junk.

Jens · January 22, 2009, 09:11:05 AM

Just use the neighbors tractor to pull it over to another part of the property, take a sledge hammer and sawzall, and knock out all the interior walls. Then use it for a workshop, or a barn. If you have 20 acres, you can never have too many outbiuldings, and its a deal at twice the price.