I wanted to hear some feedback from those who have done or are doing lonnie deals and tell me if I'm on the right track. With all the action I have gotten on this thing I would have thought it would be sold already. I don't know if I'm jumping the gun or 1,000 lookie loo's is the norm for each deal. Am I being too hard on myself? Here are the details. Well a week ago I saw a mobile on craig's list listed for $3,500. It had newer appliances, washer, dryer, countertop stove and pergo wood floors. I offered her 2k and got it under contract for $100 with a two week inspection period. Lot rent has been paid until March 1st (365/month). Right away I put a for sale sign in the yard, offering it for $189/month owner financing. I also put a sign at the intersection offering the same thing. I have had a ton of phone calls, and a bunch of drivebys/showings. I've had a few people call back and were interested still but after that haven't heard from them again. If it wasn't getting so much action I wouldn't normally kick the can after not selling a place in a week but I thought with how much action it has gotten, the owner financing and new appliances/wood floors that it would be snapped up already. I have seen other mobiles for sale that needed work for more then what I'm selling this one for so I thought this thing was going to pop in just a few days since it's ready to move in (there's one soft spot in teh floor.) The terms that I have offered are 4k cash or 5k owner financed. 495/down and 189/month for 30 months. What's the holding time for some of you guys on a 2/1? Is it normal to get that kind of action and not have it sold? I don't know if the mobile is at fault and that's why it hasn't sold or if it's a numbers game and there's usually a hundred lookie looks but it still takes a month to sell? I don't know if I should drop my payment and make it MORE affordable or if I should sit tight and not worry about it. Thanks for any input :cool: I really don't have anyone around here to bounce ideas off of.

In short, this was not a 15k home. I could have listed it for that much but these buyers know their market better then I do. Most of them have been in and out of mobiles their whole lives. This was not a 15k home for more than one reason. -It is 40 yrs old -Aluminum wiring -No central air/no heat -Evidence of water damage around most windows, and kitchen flooring -I don't remember there being a hot water heater -Last owners replaced some windows and did a shoddy job -No car port/no storage shed -The cabinets in the kitchen appear to be home made with plywood and white paint -Soft walls BUT mostly.. it's a 2/1 and they just don't move like the 3 bedrooms. As far as why did I settle for only 4k? I had marketed this property so much that I went from 6 calls a day from craigslist to ZERO. It was old potatoes, especially since I had it over priced and under repaired for 2 weeks. If I were to do this deal over, I would have bought it for less then 1k, not repair a thing, and flipped it for 3k as is. Hardly any money out of pocket and it would have sold in a week or two. I could have stuck to my guns and kept the price as 5k, but for one, the park had a nicer 3 bedroom unit for sale for 3k-3500 and two, if I stuck to my guns at 5k and held on to the property 2 months longer to do so, I would have been out of pocket another $750 and all of a sudden, I'm right back where I started around the 4k mark but by then all the excitement would be gone and I'd be left with a bad taste in my mouth after 2-3months of holding time. I didn't want my first deal to be a bad one and slow me down in anyway. Honestly, I would have been just as happy if I broke even on this deal. The knowledge I have acquired on this deal is priceless! BUT the BIGGEST reason I am just happy to let this go is because based on what I've learned through this one, I found two other deals that are highly profitable. I didn't want to screw around on this one so much that I missed out on bigger fish. As I learned more about this business, the market, and whats out there I realized that I could do better on my next deal so I didn't want to get bogged down with this one. Price it low and let it go! I will make up for it on deals number 2, 3, 4 and so on. Don't let the numbers on my first deal scare you away from the business. I'll tell you about deal number two I'm working on.. The park has a 3/1.5 vacant for about a year, and haven't been able to sell it for 3500 cash. She told me I could have it for 2k. I asked her if I could put a lock box on the property, show it, and buy it after I have a buyer. She said yes so I put a sign in the yard, lockbox on the door, and called down my buyers list. Less than 24 hrs later I have it under contract for $5500!! $500 down, 190/month for 30 months. (now I don't have to worry about competing with the park to sell homes!) I almost feel bad that my post are so terribly long winded but I have learned so much from this and I want to pass on what I can to those sitting on the fence waiting to start!

For those following along.. Last Friday I had 3 what seemed to be serious buyers. One buyer said he was going to apply Monday morning, and wanted to meet Monday at lunch to talk numbers. Well, it turns out he had a huge rap sheet including harboring a fugitive, battery with a weapon, drugs, ect ect. Luckily Monday morning I got a call from a man who lived in the same park with his best friend but wanted to get out before it ruined their friendship. He liked the place but most importantly, his girlfriend loved the place. I told them $4,500 financed. He walked around and told me my price was too high, and teh central AC doesn't work, yadda yadda yadda. I told him that if the central AC worked, it would have been sold already for $500-$1000 more than I have it listed. Then I reminded him of the $250/month electric bill with a central air VS the window unit which is far less (according to the neighbors and residents I have talked to). Then he told me he needs to be around $3,500. I told him that I would be happy to play in the low 3k range for cash and I don't mind financing it if I'm going to make money, but it doesn't make ANY sense for me to tie up my money for 2 years just to break even. We agreed on 4k (note worked out to be $500 down, and $190/month for 20 months) and he said he would apply to the park and get back to me. I told him if he wants this home that he needs to get it under contract because there were some other buyers on the line (there really was). So I wrote up the contract and when we got to the $495 down part, he told me only had $200 cash until next week. I told him that I could take the $200 cash IF he paid the remaining $300 on Saturday PLUS $365 March's lot rent. I figured worse case scenario, he backed out and I get to apply the $200 towards lot rent and sell it to someone else + pro rate the rest of the rent. He called today and told me that he will have the $665 cash on Saturday. I wasn't able to sell for double my out of pocket but I have learned so much from this deal that it doesn't matter. I have used what I learned, found my second deal and have the ball rolling on a third. I will update this thread with details as the deals progress, not to be pretentious or because I'm looking for a pat on the back but because before my first deal, it was extremely helpful to read about others first deal, the problems they encountered, and how they handled them in the real world and I hope that my story helps someone else jump in with both feet. On that note I will finish with my lesson(s) learned. -DON'T repair if you don't have to! Out of pocket money KILLS your return! Buy RIGHT so you can sell right. If it needs repairs, you should definitely hammer the sales price down so you can sell it as is. -Don't take repairs lightly! You don't just 'slap down' some linoleum and you don't just 'throw down some plywood'. All that stuff took a lot longer then you would think, and cost more too! Cheers!

Terry, Thanks again for sharing your experience on your first deal. I've learned a lot from this post and I bet other people have as well. -Steve

One thing you will find that park managers will be much more personable with a hand shake then a phone call. You are just some other voice over the phone. Find a park you want to do business in and go talk to the park manager. Explain that you're an investor and if you can keep new people coming into the park it's a win/win/win for everyone. A good park manager will realize that you make their job easier by bringing in new paying tenants. If you are in a park and the manager doesn't seem very friendly or helpful then shake their hand, leave on good terms, and find another park. I was in one park and the manager wasn't friendly, wouldn't even meet with me at first. Normally I would have packed up and left but the DW I was looking at seemed to be a killer deal so I got it under contract. She tried to nail me to the wall with this fee and that fee, doubled DMV transfer/reg fees so I opted out and found another park. Where I am now, she is so helpful. She sends me deals, buyers, and gives me the sellers/home's history before I even make an offer. The only thing is that you will usually have to do a deal or two to prove yourself to the park manager before they become as helpful but once they are, it's definitely worth the wait. Basically the parks want to make sure you're not a polished turd. So if you plan on visiting a bunch of park managers, it might be helpful to bring a recent (as recent as possible) credit report and background on yourself. That should at least get you through the door. Once you find your deal and want to buy it then they will probably want you to pay the money and go through their process but no biggie. I certainly wouldn't pay the application fee every deal I did though. Once is understandable but not jumping through hoops each and every time.

If you want to build a strong relationship with anyone, the key is face to face. I would strongly suggest if you find a park you want to work in and grow that you meet the park manager. If you are short on time you can call and talk to the park manager, tell them what you would like to do in their park. A good park manager will appreciate someone who takes vacant or soon to be vacant homes and puts paying tenants in them. If they are short with you, or close minded and say they don't allow that sort of thing then politely get off the phone, and find another park. It can't be emphasized enough how important a good relationship with the PM is to your success in the park. On the same note, if they aren't on board with you it can make your job much harder getting buyers approved to buy a home in their park. I'll give you an example of a PM making our jobs easier. I got a phone call from a gentlemen who said 'I heard you buy mobile homes'. So I talked to him for a bit, got some information about him and his home for sale. He said his home was a '82 or '83, paid 5k for it and can't take less then $2,500. So I went to see my favorite PM and asked her if she knew this David fellow and told her about our conversation. She said 'Oh really? Let me tell you about that home. It's a '79, not an '82 or '83 and we (the park) GAVE that home to him free and clear, fixed up and all. Now any time you are negotiating price with someone, it helps to know that it was free to them. So I went to see him as I told him I would, walked the home with him. He told me again that he HAS to have 2500. I told him $2,500 is a fine RETAIL price but I have to buy at wholesale, so I can retail it and make money, otherwise it doesn't make sense to do all this work just to break even. I find that works great with people as I am not devaluing their HOME or telling them that's all their nicest home they have owned is worth. I am simply telling them where I need to be for the numbers to work on my end and leave it at that. He told me maybe he can do $1,500 but he doesn't think his wife will do 1,000. I gave him my number again, politely told him to call me if he has any luck talking to his wife, shook his hand and left. Whether he calls me back or not remains to be seen. If he's motivated he will, and if he's not he won't. The good deals are to be found dealing with motivated sellers. The key is to make offers that work for YOU. You're not going to land every deal but the ones you do, will make you money. Throw offers on the wall, and see which ones stick! Remember, they have to sell but you don't have to buy!

First Lonnie deal.. on the right track?

Johnny P.

Real Estate Broker · Orlando, FL · Member since 2008 · 181 posts · 66 votes

16y

Is it in a family park or 55+. 2k for that home looks great to me! It's in nice condition, i WISH i could find something here in Orlando for that price. I saw one sell just the other day for 1,500 that was in terrible condition. I think you will have no problem selling it, just keep marketing it and push the $189 per month

First Lonnie deal.. on the right track?

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