Terminology Tuesday (Tricks of the Trade) – Painting a Porch

(Note: I think it’s important to know the terminology and words used when learning any new business including mobile home investing. I came up with ‘Terminology Tuesday’ as a way to go over the terminology used in the mobile home business. It’s important to know the terminology when talking to people in the business so you’re all on the same page).

**** Tricks of the Trade is a new series I have started that will be included with“Terminology Tuesday” posts. The goal of this series is to share with you the “tricks of the trade” I have learned in the mobile home business.

Many times whether you buy a mobile home in a park or need to take an existing one back, you will need to pay special attention to the outside of the home. And, one of the things that will mostly likely need to be updated will be the porch/deck.

When the time comes to paint your porch/deck, the first thing you must do is determine the color you want to use. In most cases, you will need to match the color you choose with the home – this is usually the park’s preference.

(Note: Recently, I had a case where my residents had painted their porch a different color from the home. The park manager did not like the color they chose as it did not match. So, they had to paint it back to a color that suited the park – one that matched the home).

Regarding painting, I cannot stress the importance of making sure the outside of the home has curb appeal. If the outside does not look pleasing to the eye, it will be very difficult to attract potential residents. And, when painting the porch – you will need to get exterior paint and use a solid color.

(Note: I made the mistake once of buying a semi transparent color to paint one of my porches. Let’s just say – it just did not come out the way I wanted it. Using a solid color gave it more of a bolder feel which made it stand out).

Here’s a picture of the type of paint I used for a past project:

And, here are some before and after pics of two porch projects:

Case Study #1

Before

After

Case Study #2

Before

After

I hope this “Terminology Tuesday” post has been helpful and has given you some useful information – it definitely has for me.

Happy investing!