Buying used home - Inspection Checklist?

Hi all. Looking to fill my vacant lots in Iowa, so I’m hunting for used homes.
I’m running the park remotely, so I can’t physically go look at the used homes. I’m willing to pay someone to go do that, but I’d like to give them a checklist of things to look for as part of the inspection. Would love feedback and additions to what I’m thinking so far:

  • Size, know the true box Length x Width.
  • Axel/Hitch/Wheels - Do any of these exist? (My mover requests this)
  • Under home condition
  • Exterior Condition - Make sure it matches the initial advert
  • Interior floor condition
  • Interior wall condition
  • Any strong smells (pet, smoke, etc.)
  • Water damage evidence (Ceiling, near windows, etc.)

Does anyone else do this remotely? What systems do you have in place to make sure you’re getting a unit in relatively good shape?

It is very challenging, so we stopped buying used homes from outside the parks years ago. Only go with brand new homes now. Problem is your list is not detailed enough. For example, you wrote “under home condition.” That would mean some manager spent 10 seconds looking under the home and saying “looks good.” You need more detail like:

No insulation is missing
No pipes are hanging down
All underbelly is in place
No water is contained in the underbelly.
Duct work is intact and not stuffed with debris.

Likely, you will have to accept the fact that your inspector will not discover every flaw, and you will get to the point where you just have to consider it a cost of doing business that $x,000 in unidentified defects will be in the average home.

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Try to find someone who has rehabbed homes - or, ideally, mobile homes. You’ll also want to know if the furnace and a/c work (these are expensive). If there is a room (like a sunroom/mudroom/add on), you’ll need to know if it is in good enough condition to be transported (I pass on homes with these extra rooms). Decks are expensive to transport and set, about the same price to build a new one. You’ll have to clean the lot after you move the home. It could cost $1000 to have someone take the deck, old shed, add-on room, skirting, etc to the dump.

Like mPark said, you’ll need a detailed checklist. Definitely consider bringing in new homes because unless you are buying a home that is in pristine condition or you are paying less than $3000 for a semi solid home, you will be lucky to break even on the sale. If you decide to buy new homes, get your order in now because I hear there is a backlog.