The Manufactured Housing Forums

We have a buyer for our manufactured home who wants us to take it off market with the agreement of $500 earnest money and contigent upon the sale of their current home. I am in process of writting up a contract. With the contigency of their home selling, should I put in a time frame for that (I don't want to indefinetaly take it off market if their home doesn't sell in a couple of months or so)? They plan to pay cash for the mobile home after the close of their current home.

The mobile home is currently located in a park and they plan to move it to their own property. Any other suggestions you could offer to include in the contract to protect ourselves would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Valarie

Hi Val,

How long have you had your home on the market? I wouldn't recommend that you accept a contingency offer unless you have had difficulty selling your home, and this is the only serious offer you have had. It also depends on how motivated you are to sell, taking your own circumstances into account.

If you do decide to accept such an offer, it should be limited to a specific period of time, and not open-ended. Depending on the market factors where they are selling their home, whether their asking price is fair, etc., 60-90 days should be a sufficient amount of time to sell their home. If they think it will take significantly longer, then you'll have to consider whether you want to bet on their ability to sell their home, or on your ability to sell your own.

Hope this helps...good luck.

-GW

For $500 earnest money I would not stop showing it, for $5,000 maybe. You can continue to show the house and take wither backup offers or give this buyer a first right of refusal. If you take it off the market for 90 days and the deal falls through than you are back to square one. The best time to sell a house is in the spring/summer and that is only 45 days away so 90 days should be adaquate.

Never, never take it off the market and especially not for $500 measly bucks! You can always have back up offers, giving them first dibs for a certain period of time.