My home on “wheels”
When Over60 community member Margaret Scott McKean, 70, from Central Coast, New South Wales was told she needed to vacate her rental property, she went on a strange but exciting journey to build her forever home in the most unlikely of places.
“It's a year ago exactly since I bought my caravan in a residential lifestyle park. What an exciting, energetic year of big decisions and immense change.
I am a 70-year-old pensioner. I worked full time until three years ago. No, I did not save because I lived from hand to mouth. Besides, I am, disgracefully, undisciplined these days at trying to save. What I am saying is, I didn't and don't have a big bank balance. For a person or couple who do not have a large sum of money behind them but want to retire, downsize and with any luck have some cash left over to either invest in super, or travel, whatever, lifestyle park living offers an affordable, pleasant way of life. You own your own home and lease the site. I am a person who likes a little bit of a garden round me so this arrangement suits me perfectly. I couldn't bear living in a unit with only a balcony and a motley collection of struggling pot plants. Lifestyle park living is an entirely new concept to me. I am so enthusiastic about it.
Since leaving my husband and selling our home 10 years ago, I had been renting a two-bedroom townhouse in Sydney. Through the purchase of a dud business in 1991, my ex-husband managed to lose our home and everything else in order to pay off debts. In fact we actually struggled financially all of our married life. He was a financial disaster, poor fellow. So after our breakup there wasn't much money to split. Half of nothing is nothing. I was advised by three financial advisors, that if I wished to continue living in Sydney, to invest the small amount of money from my settlement in superannuation and then rent. I didn't have enough money to buy a satisfactory dwelling in Sydney, so I really was forced to rent. My rental townhouse was more than adequate, the rent was lowish for what it offered, added to which I was permitted to have my dog and two cats with me there.
After living in this home for nine years, last October I was advised that the landlord was to sell my rented townhouse. I spent long nights and days searching the net for a new home for us. My priority was a place where I could have my pets with me (NEVER would I rehome them. I would live in my car with them if it came to that!). Location was important, too, of course; also being able to get my car off the street, an internal laundry, and a sunny aspect... I wanted all the usual things we all want. I was staggered at rental prices! Anywhere that I found acceptable to live was astronomically expensive. I didn't want to live on the outskirts of Sydney where rents are more manageable. There were so many obstacles. Competition is high and having one's application accepted is a challenge in itself. Not to mention the fact of my pets. The more I thought about renting again the more agitated I became. I am now classified as elderly. I don't have the energy, strength and stamina I once had. I'm no different from anybody else – I'm not getting any younger.
My options were so limited. Being an elderly, financially disadvantaged pensioner places you between a rock and a hard place. So, what were my options in being able to move somewhere I could call home... forever? The only way I would be able to stay put, forevermore, was to own it! What could I afford? My financial planner advised me that I could withdraw from my super fund $140,000 without it affecting my pension benefits. What on earth could $140,000 buy?
For years I have been aware of folk living in residential caravan parks, trailer parks, however I knew not a thing about this kind of living. Shame on me... I think I probably looked down my nose at this type of lifestyle. How foolish and uninformed. I stumbled onto the residential park/manufactured home scene. These homes go by all sorts of names: manufactured homes, relocatable homes, mobile homes etc. On investigation this clearly was a feasible choice on such a limited budget. I was excited! I began trawling the net for places for sale in lifestyle parks. After considerable trawling, the idea came to me of buying a "knock it down start again" property and putting up a brand new home! I was beside myself with glee.
Friends told me I was mad, that I couldn't cope with living on top of other human beings, I'd have no privacy and the noise of neighbours would drive me crazy. They were wrong on all counts. I found a beautiful, combined residential/holidaymaker park, three minutes from the beach on the Central Coast which had a dilapidated, beat up, old caravan with an annex and screened porch for sale. They also allowed small pets. I bought it, slapped a coat of white paint throughout, even over the carpet, just to clean, brighten up the fake wood laminate panelling and freshen it up, put everything except essentials into storage and moved in with my animals just after Christmas last year. It had no hot water, nor shower. My kettle did overtime. It was all a bit primitive, but the roof didn't leak and I did have a flushing toilet… supreme luxury when you are "camping".
During our seven months living very simply in our caravan and next door's caravan, I researched, visited mobile home companies, talked at length to as many people as possible and then decided upon a company to construct our new home. Once I'd decided on the team, the planning and building processes were the easiest aspects of our entire adventure. Because I am a woman on my own, it took me forever to decide on the builder with whom I felt comfortable, confident, and whom I could trust. I have been extremely fortunate as we have all heard tragic home building tales.
First of all it took a couple of months to nut out a plan. I was limited by the size and shape of my site and by council regulations. I found everyone to be exceedingly helpful and cooperative which facilitated smooth sailing. It was all just so easy. Once I was satisfied with the plan for the house, it took approximately two months building it at the factory, then a further three to four weeks on site to finish it off. They did the carport, connected electricity, plumbing, installed a clothesline and storage shed and finished off all the bits and pieces that could only be completed on site. From go to completion, this whole exercise took about five months.
While my caravan was being demolished and the site cleared, then the house was delivered and finished off, I lived in the caravan next door. My dear new neighbours offered me their holiday caravan to bunk down in while all this was happening. My house was delivered in two sections on the back of two gigantic trucks. This was quite a sight to behold. The sections were then hauled, high up into the bluest sky, over the tops of trees and the house next door, by a massive crane. All breathtakingly, sweaty palms, nerve wracking! We all breathed sighs of relief on completion of this process. Wheeee!
I own this house, it's mine. If I want to, if I were to move, heaven forbid, I could take my house with me and have it resurrected in another location. I lease the land from the park for $520/month. I pay for my gas and electricity. When I do the maths, all up I think I probably spent a little over $150,000 for this entire undertaking. The house itself cost approximately $123,000, which is as cheap as chips for a brand new home. Granted, it's not double brick, nor even brick veneer, however beggars can't be choosers and I am over the moon with sheer delight living beneath palm trees, the sun beating down on my charming little cottage with its lovely, sunny veranda open to the peace and tranquillity of my new surroundings. I listen to birds and the sea breeze rustling through the palms by day, and by night the songs of cicadas, crickets and frogs enchant me. I have found my nirvana. And guess what? I have the best neighbours, who keep to themselves. However, they are there if and when you want them. It's perfection. It's a very loving, supportive community.
In hindsight, being forced into a corner and to become proactive in seeking suitable accommodation for as long as I need, was the best thing that could have happened to me. It pushed me into really getting on and doing something about my living arrangements. Prior to this, for years I had agonised over what to do, where to go, how to manage financially for the rest of my life. I really didn't know what was going to happen to me as I aged. I didn't want to be a burden to my children. Two years ago when my mind struggled to focus on and try to think about the next phase of my life, never would I have stumbled upon this whole concept. It has all evolved, simply and beautifully. I couldn't be happier. I am once again in charge of my own destiny and not governed by some landlord (or financially incompetent husband).
Thankfully, my animals and I have the most gorgeous little lavender blue, two bedroom cottage. We are independent and at peace. I am more serenely contented, satisfied and sublimely happy than I have been in a long, long while. I feel secure and safe for the first time since Christmas 1968.”