Choosing Your Mobile Home Floor Plan

The Tru Home’s “Excitement” pictured above.

Buying a mobile home can be full of exciting and often overwhelming options. The lot models are decked out in high-end furniture, beautiful finishes, and shiny appliances. Gleeful anticipation combined with the stomach-dropping fear of long-term commitment begins clouding better judgment. The dust settles, and you’re left with a home that—though beautiful—wasn’t best for your family after all…

It sounds harsh, maybe even a little far-fetched, but it happens to more home buyers than you may think. The home of their dreams instead becomes the home full of small annoyances and large regrets. Something to “deal with” instead of fully enjoying.

While I won’t say finding the mobile home you and your family can love forever will be easy, I can help you simplify the process, even just a little bit.

Get a Budget, Baby!

In a recent blog post, I talk about making a budget and sticking to it, so we won’t get into the specifics here. It is important, however, to make your budget FIRST. I have read too many articles giving advice about home buying where the last item mentioned is budget.

Money is a touchy subject, but we can’t avoid this major aspect of our lives. We have to be able to first afford the home in order to relax when it’s ours. Knowing—firmly—what your budget is, will give your housing consultant essential boundaries to work within. And will also ensure you don’t fall in love with a home that doesn’t match your wallet.

Know your Limitations

Every city, county, and neighborhood will be different in terms of what kind of mobile home is allowed. In order to avoid devastating news after weeks of work purchasing your home, regulations and requirements will need to be looked into before you shop.

Some of these might be:

• Double-wide mobile homes only
• Hardboard siding
• Hardi-panel or rock skirting
• Covered decks
• Concrete base pad

These are certainly not always required but will affect the budgeting of your mobile home, as well as where you choose to place it.

“Dig deep and find what you like about how you currently live… make sure your new floor plan includes those things.”

Look Past the Finishes

Lot models in any home buying situation are going to be beautifully decorated. Every space will seem so purposeful and quaint. The kitchen will be glistening, as will the bathrooms.

It’s important to ignore all this glamour and think about what practically works for your family. How does life work in your rental or apartment?

• Do you cook?
• Do you love movie nights?
• Do you entertain for dinner?
• Is everyone gone most days or even nights of the week?
• Do you need more bedrooms?
• Do you need to spend less time cleaning?

These questions are important to ask as you move through the home. A large kitchen with tons of storage, a giant island, and room for a coffee bar might look so inviting and feel necessary… but if your family doesn’t like to cook and isn’t eating at home most nights, the beauty will not make up for the wasted space in the long run. You may want to look at a home with a smaller kitchen and possibly more bedrooms instead.

On the other hand, a stay-at-home parent would benefit from a larger area for children to spread out as they play, and might also require more storage space for toys, bulky baby items, and hand-me-downs in waiting.

Dig deep and find what you like about where you currently live. Make sure your new floor plan includes these things while resolving any recurring issues from your present living situation. This is part of the beauty of buying a new home, you get to find almost exactly what is best.

“Measure your furniture, and bring a measuring tape along to your mobile home showings.”

Factor in the Furniture

Do you have antiques passed down from past generations? These items are usually bulkier than furniture presented in lot model homes so it won’t be immediately obvious whether these items will fit or not.

Measure your furniture, and bring a measuring tape along to your mobile home showings. Furnishing a home isn’t always cheap, so be prepared and confident that you won’t have the extra expense of new furniture if you don’t want it.

The Tru Home’s “Elation” pictured above.

Expanding or Downsizing?

A lot of mobile home buyers are purchasing their first home while their children are very young or even on the way. Others may have older children about to graduate, and some are even retired, ready to cut down on the maintenance of their large property.

All of these seasons of life will require homes that meet those specific needs. The more purposeful you are about your family’s current and future needs, the more content you will be in your new home. There is a floor plan to satisfy everyone’s wish list, just be careful that you’re only wishing for what your family really needs.