Someone is moving out of a mobile home in our park and wants to sell her double wide.
Her asking price is $35K. Our manager says it’s probably worth $20K or less.
Is there a tool/template/rubric that I can use to value a mobile home? I’d like to buy it on terms, then finance it with 21st mortgage and get someone new in there.
Greatly appreciate any thoughts.
Values of mobiles is entirely dependant on the location. Your best option would to visit other local parks in your area and find homes listed for sale. Contact the listing agents and have them assess the home you are interested in purchasing.
If all you are interested in is getting a new tenant you would be farther ahead to let the home owner sell it and you screen the buyer. Owning the home will be a wash as far as making a profit. The maintenance and upkeep generally cost as much as the rental income from the home.
Keep in mind that to any other buyer who intends to move it, they will have to pay a substantial amount for the move and setup. That gives you a pricing advantage since it is already setup in your park. Thus, you can offer less than other buyers and still get the deal.
21st will demand an appraisal, which will require a site visit and then a lookup in the NADA guide or similar for a best guess. You have the same option (NADA guide lookup) for a small fee without the site visit cost, but it won’t satisfy 21st (or any other lender) (the seller cannot provide the appraisal to the lender, that would be self-serving).
I presume you cannot buy it “on terms” and then finance it with 21st. You will have to own it outright in order to sell it and be able to transfer clean title in order to get 21st to finance the customer. I presume (not sure).
My experience has been the same as Brandon’s. It costs me around $15 for a NADA guide lookup. After I did this a few times, I now have a solid understanding of what homes will be appraised for. I recommend this route. It’s a cheap education.