Pattie and I pretty much had the opposite situation when we finally moved into a ground based home.? We had bought a mobile home and lived nicely for about 6 years--payments were under $200 and I had part of a spare bedroom for a workbench.?
When we began our search we also had been on Houston's Nov. tour for a couple of years.? So we kept an eye on things.? In our neck of the woods, rr space isn't the easiest thing to obtain.? Attic's are way too hot and basements are called swimming pools, so out-buildings, garages and home additions all beat spare bedrooms.?

On tours we noticed that if you had to enter through the 'front' door you normally have a greeter/security guard doing that chore.? Most modelers are good honest people, but a few are not and face it our tour is open to anybody who might see your layout on a list.? One layout that we visited was a nice N scale layout in a back bedroom with a sliding patio door for entrance.? The problem was we had some rain a day before and the grass area was worn away, so the entrance was fairly muddy.? The owner had thrown some scrap carpet in the mud, but that wasn't enough.? That bedroom carpet had become a dark brown sponge by the time we entered.? Wife said--no way!?

When it came down to actually looking for a home the country was in the middle of high mortgage rates so having to move fairly far away for anything reasonable was normal.? We also liked the idea of a fireplace, gas heat and hopefully a detached garage that I could add on to.? We turned out with all electric appliances, no fireplace, and a attached garage, but we were able to assume two prior "reasonable" notes? So we made a pact where I could add on a RR room above my garage and Pattie could get a larger kitchen!? We both got our wishes eventually but the RR room could be 4 ft longer and the wife's kitchen could be built a bit larger too!?

And probably most of all, we haven't been flooded out.? Part of that is prayer, luck and slightly higher ground.? We still have thousands of formally "nicer" homes that need to be raised about 9' in some areas or torn down.?

Visitors enter through a dedicated entrance where I can still haul up a 4 x 8 sheet up the stairwell, my old smelly dog can visit and all kinds of friends can visit without having to have folks wander through the house.? I'll probably be open for our 5 week-long tour this November.?

Bob Werre