Budget Breakdown: A Prison Bus Becomes a Couple’s First Home For $26K

When Meag and Ben Poirier were living in Maine in 2016, they snapped up a 31-foot bus on Craigslist for $8,000, planning to convert it into their first home. The bus, previously a prison transport vehicle and a mobile command center for the Sherriff’s Department in Fairfax County, Virginia, had a storied history, and its previous owner had planned to transform the bus himself. After turning down several other potential buyers who wanted to strip it for parts, he was thrilled to connect with the Poiriers.