All Forum Posts by: Robert Blanchard

In the Summer months, sometimes a bit of landscaping can really add to the curb appeal to a house. Usually it doesn't cost too much but can bring a good ROI.

Were there any permits pulled for the basement finish?  What does the county call the house, IE: how many bedrooms?  If the basement rooms are not up to code (no closets or windows large enough for egress during a fire), they will not increase the value as much compared to if the correct permits were pulled.  Many times, homeowners will just add bathrooms or bedrooms without getting the correct permits since they do not want to pay for the permits.  This is not smart, since when they sell the house, the unpermitted improvements will come to light. 

Just do your due diligence on this property.   If they moved in just after the remodel, the person that did it might have done it properly since you stated the utilities has been upgraded at the same time.   

My Father had up to 18 MH private notes on his MH's at one time.  He got anywhere from $175 to $450 (those sitting on land) each month.   This was before the Dodd Frank act and his type of self finance would not be legal nowadays.

Here is a link to a thread of people that have financed MH deals themselves. 

http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/30/topics/1660...

Contact them to find out how they are Dodd Frank Compliant. 

Here is a website that has MH's that are for sale in all areas of the U.S, but most are newer than 1990.  Look to see what your competition is selling in your area:

https://www.mhvillage.com/

I agree, taking over payments is a bit risky.  I would call up the company that has the note on the MH and ask what the Cash payoff price is.  After you get that number, offer them less and see if they will take it.  Sometimes they will.  Once you get them to agree on a price,  pay them while including a copy of your Bill of Sale and Settlement Sheet so they will know why you are paying off the note for the person on the title.  The finance company should then get a new Title with all liens removed from the front of the title and then will send it to the Owner of record. Once you see that the title is "clean" with no liens, you will be able to have the seller sign the title over to you.  

 Make sure that if the MH has a Swamp Cooler or Air Conditioning, that it stays with the MH and is listed on the Settlement page.  Even Appliances and Water Heaters tend to walk off when MH changes hands.  It might not even be the selllers but neighbors that look when someone moves out to take things.   Your area might not have this problem but many MH Parks have a lot of police activity in them, even the ones in B neighborhoods. 

If the MH has a note, it probably is less than 10 years old, but in my State those MH's are worth  over $35K. 

Also, before you buy it, you will have to be approved by the Park Manager even if you plan to flip it.  If you want to rent it out, you also will have to make sure that the Park allows rentals.   You will want to ask the Park Manager if the MH has any write ups or back rent owed on it.  Write ups, could be something as simple as clutter on the porch or yard, or something more hard to rectify like skirting in poor shape or other cosmetic issues.

 Sometimes the water and sewer is part of lot rent other times it is not.  Make sure no bills are past due as they are usually tied to the MH and not the person, thus you would have to pay them off before getting the utilities into your name.  Also check the taxes on the MH are paid.  Usually you can do that via the counties website.

 Take a box of donuts or treats into the Park Managers office on the second or third visit.  Sounds stupid, but if you get in good with the Manager or the office people, they will steer some buyers your way and they are the ones that approve your buyers to live in the Park.  Make sure you pick up several Park applications and find out their application fee, so you will have them for your open house or showings.  The Managers also might give you leads of other MH's coming up for sale.   Offer a "Pick your Neighbor" finders fee if one of the neighbors refer a buyer to you that gets approved by the Park AND closes on the MH.  That $50-100 can be the best form of advertising in some areas.

Good luck on your purchase, and please keep posting updates on how things progress.

@Lyca Shan

 In the SW suburbs but the entry prices are north of $300K in the zips that I know , 80120.

Glad to read that you have found a different source of funding. 

I have a relative that buys SFH that he turns into rentals in the Toledo for under $40K. Where I am, you can not even go into C neighborhoods for less than $150K. I am still considering doing a house hack with a duplex but my w-2 income has been all over the place so Banks do not like that. Seller finance might be my only option.

If you need to haul lots of tools and supplies, look at getting an old Uhaul box truck.  You could put a generator in it if you work on houses without electricity.  Even a Step Van works.  Check your local Auctions and you might get a real good deal.  If you only use it for your rehabs,  you can write it off.  Check first that your neighborhood does not have any rules against parking a Box Truck or Van in your driveway.  I had to put mine in a storage lot, but it was only $20 a month so doable for me. 

Congrats!

Where you looking for MH on land, or did you come across this deal via your normal avenues of finding deals?

Do you use your own money or do you have investors that provide the initial cash outlay?

I did not know that Arlington was between Dallas and Ft. Worth, until I looked it up.

Do you usually buy within 50 miles of your home base?

Do properties on the MLS get sold within a few days like they do in the Denver area?

I realize that you probably rarely buy anything that gets listed but I am amazed at how fast houses are selling with multiple offers my area.  Almost like it was in the pre 2008 bubble era. 

As a long time user of web based chat rooms, I look forward to all of the real time info that will be posted in the BP chat rooms. 

I suspect that a few moderators will be needed to boot out the people like the one that posted all lose gain muscle posts in the RE Success Stories the other night.  

One suggestion is to have a room dedicated to people that have over 10 posts to weed out the "tire kickers". 

I did not even notice the white drapes on the black rods.  Looks like someone replaced the faucet with a nicer nickel finished one.  At least they chose black appliances instead of white.