One Young Man’s Venture into Rental Properties

In our family we have rental properties. Although it may sound glamorous, we don’t always buy the typical places that some would think of when considering a rental. We most often buy fixer uppers.

Recently, my 21 year old son, Wesley purchased his very first fixer upper.

What a Really Bad Fixer Upper Can Look Like

The pictures I am going to show you are horrible, disgusting and totally uninspiring to those who might think they want to get into the rental market. I am not over exaggerating the case but this is probably just about the worst fixer upper we have ever bought.

Sometimes your children can make a really good point.

When I asked Wesley, “Why? Why did you buy this one?”, his reply was “That’s all I can afford, Mom.”

He was speaking truth. 🙂

One weekend Wesley was able to get a work crew of friends and family to come and help him get the roof fixed, walls that were falling down built up again and some windows enlarged and replaced.

Warning! Prepare yourself for the following pictures.

The beginning of the morning the roof looked like this.

But with the work crew things moved along quite nicely.

And now things have greatly improved on the outside after a few weekends of work. Where once the trailer had a few different colors of paint going on, it is now 1 solid color…

…and a new roof. No more roof leaks!

A Unsightly Mess Awaited on the Inside of the Fixer Upper

I have no idea how the inside (besides the water damage to the ceiling) became so awful… but the rest? That’s a question we will never know the answer to.

When Wesley first viewed the mobile home it had this to offer.

In this picture you can see there is a big window on the right. That window replaced the bay window that was broken and sagging that you saw in the very first picture at the top of this post.

The Kitchen

I didn’t do much walking around. I just didn’t have the courage. 😉

Construction skills is such valuable knowledge. Mom’s, if it’s at all possible, let your kids learn some of these skills while they’re still at home. Find a mentor and even have your kids volunteer if need be. The things they learn will always be useful. Even small woodworking projects would be a help in developing construction skills and thought processes.

It fell mine and Serenity’s lot to prepare and deliver a lunch to the work crew. So we had a little fun with it and turned it into a cute little tailgate party.

Grilled ham and cheese croissants, chips, grapes, a Clementine and a few apple slices was the fare.

This little monkey Oh, that’s my nephew!

Working on his birthday! But it paid off because he was made his favorite pie – coconut cream.

The crew.

(and I spy that little monkey again!)

Follow along and see how this place gets its makeover.

Don’t worry. I won’t leave you hanging. As progress is made, I’ll keep you updated on this little beauty.

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