Looking at mobile homes for sale? -A must see guide

So you are in the market and looking at mobile homes for sale. There are a few things you need to know before going out and looking at homes!

Here are the top tips from someone who has purchased and sold more mobile homes than you will in a lifetime:

Number 1

ALWAYS evaluate the mobile home park first. You may wonder why this is rule number 1 if you are going to be buying the home. Well, when you purchase the mobile home you are still renting the lot the home sits on. In some cases the mobile home park has strict rules as to who can live in the park and who can’t. You NEED to make sure you qualify to live in the park before you had a seller $5,000+ cash for their home. *I have seen this many times! Someone buys a house on the weekend and goes to qualify to live in the park the next Monday, guess what, they didn’t qualify! They now own a mobile home on a lot that they are not “qualified” to rent.

Number 2

This also has to do with the mobile home park itself. You need to check how long the current owner has owned the park and how long it has been since the lot rent has been increased. It is important to know how long the park has been owned because if the park has just been purchased, you can expect the new owners to be increasing the lot rent within the next 12-24 months. That is just the nature of owning mobile home parks.

Number 3

Understand that you will NOT be able to find financing for a used mobile home. It just doesn’t exist in this economy. This is a positive and a negative. This is good because the person selling the home has very few buyers that can offer cash for their home. There may be an opportunity to work in owner financing on the mobile home for sale. The down side is you will need the full amount in cash, unless you can negotiate terms with the seller of the mobile home.

Number 4

NEVER give a seller cash unless they have the title to the home IN HAND. This is another big mistake I see. Before you even begin negotiating on the purchase price, make sure you confirm the seller has CLEAR(no liens) title to the home.

In this market, if you have some cash and are a decent negotiator, you should be able to work out a very nice deal for you and your family on your next mobile home purchase.