Any advice welcomed!

[ash]

Hello and thankyou for this great forum. I have learned alot already. We own a relatively new small business and were renting happily close by in a stick built home until the landlord suddenly sold it to his grandson. We are being forced to move and are considering relocating to a town only 5 miles away that consists of 90% manufactured homes.

We are looking to buy a manufactured home and lease a lot until we are more established financially and afford to one day buy our own land. Naturally we are still concerned the park owner could pull the rug from under us after what happened with our current landlord but I guess you have to suck it up and hope there are still some folks left in this country who won't sell their soul for $$$.

Are there any resources to gage what we should be paying for a 1996-1998 manufactured home? Maybe something like a blue book value? Or is the location tied into the value even though the land is still leased?

Also are there any checklists available we should go through when inspecting the home to make sure it is in ood condition? This is our first experience with buying manufactured homes.

Any advice on anything I have not even mentioned would also be most welcomed. Thanks again for this excellent forum.......Ash

[Peter]

Hi Ash,

Yes there is!

You can get a BOOK VALUE REPORT online at www.MobileHome.com/bookvalue

This service will give you a very economical evaluation of a home based on the information you submit. What you will get back is the typical resale value of that year, make and size home across the country for the past few months.

If your looking for a "ballpark" concept of the value of just the home you will find the cost of the Book Value Report very reasonable at only $29.95. To go to the MH BOOK VALUE page Click Here

[admin]

Here are a few places you can click thru that will help you in your housing decisions.Gather the information you need to start the purchase of your manufactured home here and NOW! You can know before you leave home which local sellers have the homes, locations and even finance programs that best suit your needs. If you’re a serious buyer just fill out the form you will find HERE
Manufactured Housing Multiple Listing Servicehas emerged as the web's number one most popular destination for buyers searching for a manufactured home You can get a very good picture of the prices for various homes in your area. The MLS includes listings BY OWNER, BY DEALER, BY BUILDER and BY FINANCE COMPANIES Listings are searchable by city, state, number of bedrooms and baths, manufacturer, year built and price. Each listing also auto-interfaces with Yahoo Maps. There is a MAP link included each listings individual page. Almost like magic, When clicked it will auto-generate a map of the location of the home for sale and the surrounding area.
The Complete Buyers Guide to Manufactured Homes and Land - E-Book Edition  is a no-nonsense, highly readable guide explains just how the manufactured home industry operates, exposes its secrets, and teaches you how to find a dealer worthy of your trust, how to make the right home selection, how to accurately determine the fair price of a home. Exhaustively researched, with extensive input from both industry insiders and consumer advocates, this guide contains much information that retailers, even the good guys, don't want you to know.
The Grissim Ratings Guide to Manufactured Homes Provides at-a-glance listings with key information home shoppers need to make an informed decision. This is the essential buyer’s resource, listing every builder in the U.S., their histories, products, price ranges, construction ratings, need-to-know information and much more. This guide will serve you well as a stand-alone reference for up-to-date information on the companies and the products they build. Plus!, an annotated construction rating chart with 56 criteria you can use to evaluate any home — before you buy. The Ratings’s Guide includes evaluations for All 79 U.S. builders including:

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"How To Buy A Manufactured-Mobile Home And Save Thousands Of Dollars" is another good place to start and it is available in our book store in both hardbound and e-book editions The author recently combined both of his best selling books, " How To Buy A Manufactured Home And Save Thousands" with his, "Manufactured Home Comparison Guide" into one book. It seemed many readers where interested in both subjects. Now consumers can learn how to save thousands when purchasing a manufactured home along with Randy Eaton's comparison guide, which rates over 50 of the most popular builders in the United States.

If your considering A modular home. Do some independent research. Read the    Modular Home Buyers Guide   You can get it in print or E Book versions

Home buyers MUST take responsibility for their home installation. If you want to enjoy your home for years to come the site prep and installation must be handled properly. Even if you're not planning on doing the work yourself, it is critical that home buyers understand the entire process.
The most effective way I have found to learn about the step by step process involved in properly installing a manufactured home is a great five-part video series with George Porter, the industry's most respected installation specialist. Mr. Porter leads you through a two hour viewing experience that will prepare you for the numerous operations and complexities involved in the installation of the modern manufactured home.
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