I'm not sure where to start

Good evening! I bought a home with a mobile home on the property (Western Nebraska). It’s a 10x40 office trailer that’s been converted into a 1br/1ba with finished drywall and other updates. I’d like to sell it. Where do I start? I should have no problem getting a title, either from the previous owner or a replacement. I have no experience selling mobile homes. Where should I list it? How can I determine the value? What steps need to be taken to prep for it to be moved? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Not sure what you mean by bought a home with a mobile home on the property. Did you buy a single-family residence on a plot of land that happens to have a mobile home in the yard? if so, this is really not the right forum. This forum is for people who invest in mobile home parks not people who buy and sell mobile homes.

That being said, if you have a 10 x 40 home on the property, the value is negative. A 10 x 40 is a very unattractive size to most people. Additionally, the home was conjured from an office and converted which means it is further compromised. If you are lucky, you can give it away for free but you or the buyer would have to hire a mover at about $5,000, which is why it has a negative value. Or, you could probably have it demolished for $5000. If it has been modified, it may be impossible to safely move it due to weight or structural modifications.

1 Like

Thanks, mPark. Your input was super helpful! I’m glad you took the time to type out that rude, crotchety response. Now I know exactly what to do.

1 Like

Great. Thank you for the insult when I gave open honest advice. I assume you were expecting somebody to tell you that a 400 sf office home was valuable.

Btw, there was a typo in my first message. I did not mean to say there was a mobile home park in the backyard. I meant to say there was a mobile home in the backyard. Perhaps that came across as offensive but it was a mistake.

1 Like

Sir, it’s basically a mother-in-law unit. In rural areas with limited housing, it’s not unusual to have an additional dwelling on the property to house farm workers or traveling laborers. That’s the purpose it served for the last decade. The man who bought it finished it out for his mother. Suggesting that I demolish a perfectly habitable mobile home is obviously unhelpful, and does not answer any of the questions I posed in my original post.

OK, maybe you feel my advice is not helpful. I believe you are not operating a mobile home park so your opinion may not be in line with others on this forum who do that exclusively.

My experience in mobile home parks is that when 10x40s go vacant, it is time to demolish them which is cheaper than moving them, then replace them with larger more modern homes (e.g. 14x70). Nobody wants the old 8 wides and 10 wides anymore. Standard minimum width is 14. We have several parks with small homes like that from the 60s and 70s, and we replace them with brand new homes as tenants leave through attrition. The result is that you get rid of the old inventory that nobody wants except miscreants and replace it with very desirable stock.

We also find that when we have tried to sell the old small homes for prices from $500 to $2500, we attract tenants who are undesirable, which again supports the need to demolish them.

1 Like

Take pictures, post it on Facebook and craigslist for sale for $1,000. If you’re lucky someone will pay you and move it off your property. If a mover won’t touch it (very likely, as mpark said) then you’re left either leaving it where it is or stuffing it in a dumpster.

2 Likes

Likely it’s illegal to Live in the Unit. Does it have an RVIA sticker anywhere on it? Or does it have a HUD Label on it? Does it have any permits or inspections?

If not then it’s most likely a death trap. Think of Fire and how would someone escape. Does it have egress? Are all the appliances rated for use in the unit? I know I am being pretty precautious here but the last thing you want to do is sell a death trap and a family dies inside of it.

Are there any Smoke Detectors? What about CO2 detectors? What is the fire rating for the walls? What about the exterior?

Would you let your 5-year-old kid live in it?

It’s one thing to convert a trailer for grandma to live in, it’s another thing to sell it as a Tiny Home.

Take some pictures and throw them up on the TinyHouse website. You should quickly find the value.
Start at the price you really want. If you do not get any takes then lower it by 10% a month until you get it sold.

There is a HUGE demand for Tiny Homes.
Find New Tiny Homes for Sale Near You (tinyhouse.com)

2 Likes

a 10x40 unit likely won’t need a licensed home mover to move. That feels like something that could be towed off without a commercial vehicle. If it’s finished inside, someone will pay you to take it off your hands even if it can’t legally be lived in. Plenty of people would buy that for personal use from your description as a hunting cabin, an office (I’d buy that if it was in Iowa as I need an office unit like that), or a hobbyist may buy it to screw around with over the weekend.

As for price, you could probably find others like it for sale on craigslist or talk to someone involved with shed sales to see if they have any ideas. Feels like $5-$10k, but could be more if its newer. You may even talk to park owners locally too. I’ve had a few parks with offices like what you describe. 1 room with a half bath.

You also aren’t a licensed retailer so a lot of the liability isn’t really there for you if it doesn’t meet all the codes for habitability. I’d advertise it with good pictures and a description that doesn’t suggest what a person could do with it. Pictures sell things more than words. That’s why they’re worth a 1,000 of them

“10x40 trailer for sale. Buyer responsible for moving. Finished interior.”

1 Like

Thanks for the input! It does have two doors, seven windows(three in the kitchen, two in the living room, and two in the bedroom), and three smoke detectors(one in each room). It’s all electric. It has a mini stove and a fridge. Those are the only appliances. I’m also considering just renting it out where it sits. Other than having an electrician look over the wiring, is there anything else I might need to inspect before I rent it? I have been renting out my main home as an STR and living in this trailer for most of the last two years. I haven’t had any issues with plumbing or electric.

Try selling it on Zillow or Realtor.com. Or get on facebook and join some hinting clubs. This might not be an ideal home, but it could i guess for a single person, but it may be a good little hunting camp trailer.??

Did you run down the title to see whose name this trailer was last recorded in? May not be who you bought the property from.

If it is in the previous owner’s name, and you can contact them, a title transfer should be simple enough.

If it is in someone else’s name that you cannot reach, you most likely have to do a legal eviction and get the court to award you the title. That costs money. And if the person whose name is on the title happens to be deceased, there are probate issues.

In my experience, if this is an older trailer, they don’t move well. Moved one that was 22 years old, and had to fix the walls, ceiling and roof after it was on its new site.

It will also need usable tires on it to be moved.

Trailers sell extremely well on Facebook Marketplace.

Nebraska has some good hunting. Maybe keep it and rent it out to hunters…

Prep the Mobile Home:
Clean and Declutter: Ensure the mobile home is clean and free of clutter. A well-maintained home is more appealing to potential buyers.
Make Minor Repairs: Fix any minor issues or damages. This can improve the overall condition and marketability of the mobile home.
If you large item movers look https://5points-moving.com/