The Trap House Renovation

Ohh The Trap House. My IG feed is full of these beautiful, historic buildings being restored to their former glory and I’m just over here re-doing single wides that were once trap homes. It’s just the kind of content you guys are looking for, I know it! 🤪

What is a Trap House?

Funny you should ask. I’ll save you the Google search. It’s a place where illegal activities take place. Sadly, this particular Trap House was located right next to my sweet Daddy’s home.

These neighbors {who weren’t so neighborly} caused all sorts of headaches and issues. After a while we realized the only way we could get them out was to buy the whole property. {It’s a single-wide in a small town so it’s not like we were buying a brown stone in NYC.} So, we bought it and I’m so glad we did! Having such horrible people live next to my Dad worried me.

Trap House Plans

The plan for this renovated spot is to have long terms renters, who are amazing people! If you recall the Little House I renovated a couple years ago just so happens to be on the other side of the trap house. We have experienced only wonderful renters there so I am confident we can get some sweet people in the Trap House. Clearly, we need to think of a new name before we list it!

Mark and I are a fan of rentals for extra income. While I love my job as a Creator, I’m always trying to create more streams of income as a safety net. You just never know when IG might dry up or shut down 🥴. I mean, it may never dry up. But speaking from more experience than I’d like to have, losing everything is not ever where I want to be again. 

Trap Treasures

If you are on my email, you may recall the lovely bullet hole selfie photo I took! Yep, bullet holes in the house next to my Dad. What was even happening??!! Of course, we came across other fun treasures, like a roach {and not just the bug kind.} And lots of liquor, pill bottles and of course, more bullets. I don’t even want to know what was happening in here. Breathing in all the nastiness while gutting it may even be why I got so sick.

I knew it was a long shot, being a single-wide drug haven and all, but I am always on the lookout for something historically inspiring when I renovate. The only fun thing I did come across was the original 70’s linoleum and would have loved to have kept it it. The flooring was so brittle and damaged under several layers of other flooring so it wasn’t salvageable, but it was a fun moment.

Mobile Home Reno Tips

I knew this would be a big project, but also one I didn’t want to spend a ton of money or time on {like the Carolina Cottage.} My best advice on a project like this: you’ve got to have some really handy and creative “contractors” to retrofit and try to improvise a lot of the issues that will arise.

Most mobile homes are put together with cardboard and staples (I truly wish i was joking, but I am not.) In order to do things nicely and safely, we ripped things out and then went back in with sturdier materials wherever possible.

Repairing a Mobile Home

I find it can be helpful if you have a Mobile Home store nearby because literally everything in a mobile home is different than your standard home. The sizes of windows, doors, rooms, etc. are all different and too expensive for what they are honestly. For example, to replace the mobile home doors with a flat, no panel door from the mobile home store was over $200… for a literal piece of cardboard. And the same went for the weird sized windows.

You all know me. That just wasn’t gonna cut it, so I went on Facebook Marketplace and purchased doors anywhere from $10-$40. Thankfully, my “contractors,” Dad and Uncle Donnie are amazing and were able to retrofit them to the spaces. If you don’t have someone with carpentry skills to “make the impossible” work and get creative, the job is going to be a lot more costly. I am lucky when it comes to help!

Family Help

I get asked this a lot, but I do pay my family. I don’t expect them to do anything for me for nothing. And how I see it is if I can keep it in the family, I’d rather do that anyway.

Trap House Selections

I always aim to infuse a “historically inspired” feeling into renovations, but let’s be honest, this one was a challenge. I did go with a nice neutral paint, Valspar’s Cream in my Coffee” that literally goes with anything. The place was like a dungeon before we added this light color!

Sadly, I wasn’t able to do anything to this home that would add any historic or vintage charm as all of that was stripped and or painted over once we got it. We did add some charm by putting up walls to create cozier spaces and adding chair rail to the main living space.

Flooring & Fixtures

The flooring we chose is the same flooring I used on the Little House. It’s truly the most inexpensive wood plank laminate flooring and holds up well to normal wear and tear. It’s great for rental properties. I usually get it at the discount store, Ollie’s, but this time I found it a few dollars cheaper per box at Lowe’s.

The bathroom flooring was only $20.00 if you can believe it and came from Ollie’s. You can actually get rolls of vinyl sheet flooring very inexpensively there! Also, for the bathroom we were able to get the whole vanity, sink and countertop for just $50.00 on Marketplace! The entire bathroom makeover cost under $150 including new plumbing. Isn’t that wild? 

We also have a local Habitat for Humanity store and I found a lot of the light fixtures there with the exception of ceiling fans (which thankfully were very affordable), outdoor lighting and the bathroom sconces. 

Renovations always amaze me when I look at the Before and After photos and this one was no exception. It’s hard to believe this is even the same house we started with!

Mobile Home Rental Tips

When looking into a Mobile Home for real estate investing, I would always keep in mind that unlike a house, a Mobile Home is going to depreciate in value over time. Generally, these are not wise long term investments. The exception would be that the Mobile Home you are purchasing will not cost you a great deal to renovate and the land it’s sitting on is valuable.

Aside from getting rid of my Dad’s terrible neighbors {which is really the only reason I justified this purchase} I could sell the land the home is sitting on for what I invested in it. All the while, it’s bringing in monthly cash flow {once I get a good renter in there anyway}.

Trap to Treasure?

🤪 Not sure that’s really what I would call this project, but I will say, it looks 10 million times better! I am so beyond thankful we were able to get those neighbors away from my Dad and turn this little house into a home. We removed anything yucky or unsafe and now she’s ready for a renter!

I would love to know what you think of this particular renovation! Have you ever redone a Mobile Home??