Purchasing MH from Finance Company - need advice

Hey guys, I just found this site and it’s a great resource. I’m an investor in South Carolina and I have acquired a variety of different properties along the coast. One of these is a nice, marsh-front piece of land that has a mobile home sitting on the property.

The property was acquired from the county, but the mobile home that sits on the property is not attached to the property - they are separate. Because we bought the property and not the MH, we are now in the process of working with the owners of the MH and the finance company to try to come to some agreement. We have filed a notice of ejectment with the courts, and the current owners will have to vacate the property in 20-25 days. They can not afford to move the MH (no $$$, no place to put it). They bought it new in 2001 for $62K (it’s 1,768 SQFT) and they still owe $62K on it because they had an interest only loan. The NADA retail value of the MH is $38K, and it is a 68 x 26 2001 Fleetwood with AC. There are two nice decks attached. It’s a very nice MH that has been well maintained. The owner is currently making payments, so there is no immediate threat of foreclosure.

Here is the question - we are working with Green Tree Financial, and we need to make a short sale offer on the MH that will minimize our cost, yet convince them this is a good deal. Once the ejectment procedure is complete, we will file with the county to declare the mobile home abandoned and try to force a Sheriff’s sale. This will basically force Green Tree to work with us or move the home off of the property. We believe that Green Tree would settle with us, but we’re trying to figure out a good amount. If they had to foreclose and repo the MH, they would need to transport it from the coast to Columbia ($5K?) and then sell at auction to a dealer for a wholesale price ($25K-$30K?). To me, it seems that they are going to net $20-25K on the deal, and if we offer them something similar they would take the opportunity.

Does anyone have an opinion on the best way to proceed?

How long would a foreclosure take if Green Tree went that route, and if they did when would they legally be able to try and come take the MH off the property?

I look forward to the responses, and learning more on this site.

Thanks!