All Forum Posts by: Terry Drake

***UPDATE***

For the past week or so I wasn't feeling right about the deal. Half of me was thinking "Just do it" and the other half thought "don't jump into a bad deal to prove a point".

Then I remembered something that I read. "IF you are NOT excited to go to the closing table, then it's probably not a deal."

So I called the lady with a few days left on my contract for inspection period and asked her to meet me there. When she showed up I walked it with her and showed her my concerns. I told her I can pay for the lot rent, repairs, and pay her $1,000 cash. Needless to say she wasn't very excited. She said 'well we did the floors and I don't think it's going to cost that much to fix this place, and you already talked me down from $3,500 to 2k.' She countered at $1,200.

I told her that the problems I may find in this home were a concern for me and have been on my mind a lot lately. I also told her (in a nice way) that my money sitting in the bank account hasn't worried me at all, no surprises, no lot rent, no vandalism and no vacancies. That I'm offering to buy her problems from her for $1,000 cash.

She agreed.

I thought she was going to be offended and mean but I think what I told her made sense.

Cost so far out of pocket:
$1,000 - MH
$ 364 - lot rent for Feb - March. (if I sell soon, I will get some of that back)
________
$1,364

Repair cost:

$200 to handyman for labor + $200-300 for materials = $500 for repairs

Total estimated cost: $1,864 ($1,364 + $500 fix up cost)

My good friend and handyman will tackle repairs on Friday and should have it done, shined up and ready to sell by Saturday or Sunday.

Needless to say I was excited about closing this deal and glad I listened to my gut! I think she was happy to walk away from this little box of headaches and have $1,000 cash in her pocket to boot.

I will update as this deal progresses for those following along.

1. Yes, it's best to be straight forward and honest about your intentions and what you're doing.

2. Usually a background and credit check. I will ask What percentage or how many people out of ten do they approve to give me an idea how strict they are. I also ask about the pet size limit since it seems most people have dogs to bring with.

I am assuming that when you said that you WOULD start dumping money into it, you mean wouldn't right?

The park is in pretty decent shape. They are pretty strict on the background check so not many hoodlums.

I have walked 3 or 4 couples through it. The first couple said they liked the home but it was a little too far from their jobs. The second guy I walked through commented on the one soft spot in the pergo floors and offered me 2k cash. I walked through with a lady tonight and she likes it and is applying to the park tomorrow. The only thing is she has an American bulldog as a pet which exceeds the parks 15lb and under rule. We will find out tomorrow.

Other then that I give people the combo to the lock box and tell them to walk through and call me if they like it or have any questions/concerns. That is most often because the park is a 45min haul from where I live/work and that's a long way to go for a bunch of lookie loos (I could be wrong). I figure if they like the home enough to buy it, they will call back and if they don't then it's not the right home for the right buyer.

I have not worked in this park before but I have met and spoken with the park manager several times. She is a sweetheart and has already tried to throw a buyer my way and told me about a resident that needs to move ASAP and told me she would probably take 500-1000 for it.

If I had to guess, I would say the lot rent seems to be turning people off at 364/month + water and elec. but I have seen parks with no pool or amenities going for 320+/month.

Lately I've been marketing like this over the phone/in person. I explain that yes the home does need some touch up work but I haven't done anything to it yet because I find that most people would rather take the discount and do the work themselves. So I have been giving them a price fixed and painted, or an as-is price (usually 1k less then the fixed up price) or a cash price which is usually 1k less then the AS IS price.

Thanks Jorge. I will put that on another sign and see what kind of response it gets.

Although I have gotten a good response from both the sign and craig's list, now I am starting to think that the majority of people on Craig's list are lookers and not doers.

I am going to try putting in ad in the news paper and the penny shopper. Something tells me I will have better luck with the people that actually have to leave their house to go buy the paper or shopper versus just clicking around on CL.

I also think the curb appeal might have something to do with it. It's an older mobile and two different blue colors. I am contemplating pressure washing it, and painting it a tan or something more modern/appealing.

Yes, I've listed it on craig's list. I have gotten a ton of calls from CL and from the bandit sign I placed at the intersection. I know my CL is getting hits because I put an invisible counter on it. Here are the hit stats for the past week. (between 150-200 hits/day) I don't know why the image uploaded so small but here it is..



Like you have said, I have noticed a large number of people from out of state interested and coming down.

I also have great report with the park manager and she calls me with potential buyers but she is also trying to move her mobiles in the park.


What's the average holding time for a 2 bedroom for everyone else?

It's in a family park. I am kind of staying away from the 55+ for right now. The biggest reason is I am still learning the market and don't want to get stuck with a $600+ lot rent. Once I move a few mobiles and feel more confident about getting people approved through the park and getting them in a home I will spread my wings a little more. Thanks for your feedback.

Would any of you paint it right away?

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.

Cole, to do a straight sale and file a lien on the title, who do I file the lien with? The park manager AND the DMV or just the DMV?

In the case that there word "OR" was NOT there, I would tell the seller to get the title transferred to her name before we can move forward, right?