whats the best way to fixup an old trailer?
Answers:
Thanks. That helps alot. I have to ask, tho, if you're going to buy it next year, are you just trying to ready it so it's suitable to live in for now? I'd be cautious about any big expenditures until the paperwork has been signed. You might increase the sale value of the home and wind up paying even more for it...it happens!
There's alot of cosmetic things you can do to make it more bearable in the meantime. If the ceilings are watertight and in relatively good condition, you can use a good primer coat and paint them. How's the condition of the walls? In one bedroom we took wood filler and filled in the lines in the paneling, sanded the walls down (making sure to cover old nail holes, etc.), put on a coat of kilz and actually painted the walls. The cabinets and built-ins were tricky as they weren't actually wood and couldn't strip and refinish them. Instead, I opted to paint them a country white to brighten up the room and visually enlarge the space. The stove hood, which was a questionable color and didn't work, was replaced with a white one.
Peel and stick floor tiles were used after all existing vinyl was removed (TIP: 3M spray adhesive was applied to the floor first to ensure better wear in high traffic areas). The tubs etc. were bleached clean, and since most of them are vinyl, any stains, etc. from cigarettes (I suppose) were sanded away and each piece recaulked.
If the carpet is in really bad shape, it can be replaced, or in our case, was replaced with a floating laminated hardwood floor. Light fixtures can be upgraded and ceiling fans are a great addition.
The biggest lesson we learned is that replacement parts and materials for mobile homes evidently are specialty items which make them not the same size as standard home pieces. We learned to go to the garden section at Lowes and get irrigation fittings to replace worn plumbing parts. They're the same size but much cheaper than going to a mobile home supply store!
We have removed walls of a 7X9.5 ft "bedroom" to increase the livingroom space, added windows, replaced doors with glass paned doors, etc. which were all things people in the industry said would be too costly and probably not work. Hope this gives you some ideas and light at the end of the tunnel.
Other answers:
With lots of money and hard work
With lots of money and hard work