Hitting the right market

[David]

I have for sale this awesome almost brand new 2002 DW see here http://www.mobilehome.net/tx/307165/index.htm

Now it just went on the market 3 weeks ago.. I ahve had a copuple of dreamers call.. you know the ones that shop before they know if they can get the money!! of course.. but I wondering how long to expect a home like this to sell in Austin TX . I have had a few out of stater's call that want to move it.. due to price being so low... but not one person to come and see the home.. this is shocking to me. because it is listed with a realtor and on MLS.... Should she be fired or should she have a fire put under her butt? Is there a way to ghet to the people that buy manufactured homes? Not one website is big enough to charges what they charge for the listings.. hits on all of my ads, are VERY low.... and the home is oin one of the fastest growing most popluar city in Texas.... what gives???

How do I get this in fo out.... the home is valued at 52K and I have it listed for 39900..000 and would even go lower... I can not believe no one wants to see it!!!

[WendyCal]

Are you talking about the same Austin, TX WE live in??? The Austin, TX so many major employers are LEAVING??? The Austin, TX that you can drive through ANY Mobile Home Park and see a FULL 1/3 of the homes for sale??? The Austin, TX where the taxes and lot rents are SKY HIGH???

For our part, we haven't looked at ANY mobile homes listed with realtors because of the automatic increase in price (to pay the realtor's fee) and the automatic increase in the amount of time it takes to close on the deal.

i'm truly sorry for the problems you're having, but the fact is, the housing market for both site built AND manufactured homes here in Austin is glutted with really nice used homes right now, making it a buyer's market, and the buyers can be very picky about the options in, and the locations of, the homes they look at.

One last thing: Even if folks have their financing all figured out, it would certainly be in their best interest to keep that information to themselves, simply because they could come back with an offer that is the price they WANT to pay and say that THAT'S the amount they could get financed...

We wish you the best of luck!

WendyCal

[Kevin]

Hi David

Sorry to hear you are still having trouble selling your home. I'm not an expert about MH's, but I do have some thoughts.

To me I just don't think of Realtor's and MH's in parks, in the same sentence. I would think that most people that go to a realtor are looking for a site built home, or if a MH at all, it would be on it's own land. I have bought a couple of properties in the past using a realtor, and it is amazing that they get 6% or so, for the little work they really do, and with a chattel loan there would be even less, especially if the buyer had to find their own financing.

If it were me, I would have tried going to all the MH dealers (that are left) in Austin, and offered them an incentive to at least mention your home to potenial buyers. I'm not sure if there are any legal issues with this setup, so I used incentive, instead of commission. MH dealers are where the MH buyers go to look for MH's. Another possibility might be the employees at the park. Maybe offer them an incentive (under the table) to mention your home. I know that the park you are in had a DoubleWide for sale, that was only a year or two older than yours for 25k and I think it was 5% interest. We also looked at new DW's that would be comparable to yours that were in the high 40's to low 50's, setup and ready to move into your park, and those have a full warranty.

The dealers we have spoken to about repo's have all said that at any given time there are around 1000 repo's on the market in the Austin area, then figure in that aprox. 1/4 of the homes in a park are for sale, and another 1/3 of the homeowners wishing they could sell, but have given up, or know they are way upside down in their loan, so they don't even bother trying.

Something else to consider with a used home that we have heard (I have not really verified this, but have heard it a lot) when comparing used to a repo. The banks want the repos off their books, and offer downpayment and interest rate plans that are not available to the buyer of a used home. They also will usually relax their credit guidelines to help move these homes. It's one thing to get burned trying to turn a repo back into a positive, because they already own it, it is another to take a chance on buying themself another repo.

Have you considered doing a Lease/Purchase Option type of deal? Not sure if you would be in a position to offer this, if you do it, be careful, especially if you won't be living in the area.

Kevin

[rmurray]

If your real estate person had been honest..she/he would have mentioned that home sales often take time...months even for those listed at good prices...

It is not unusual for a dealer who spends thousands per month on advertising to have homes that take many months to sell...

...A good source of leads might be the park manager and neighbors...Often they know someone looking for homes..Also..most dealers find line ads..often free for individuals in local shoppers as a great source of leads...Good Luck

[jgn]

It will not be easy to sell a MH in a park unless you find someone who wants to live in that park. If someone wants to move it they will consider the moving costs which will include take down and set up plus the cost of the move. If a realtor sold your home for 39K and was not the sole agent she/he would make all of $700.00 so you can't light much of a fire (39000 x 6% /2 x 60%). You are probably looking at 3-12 months but all it takes is one person and they could come in today.
Every thing will sell given enough time.

[David]

WOW, sounds like your to be moving out soon.. ... All you said... goes to

price of this one home...


And I do not think I ever asked anyone HOW much they have or anything like that.. I really do not much care......


BUT

They shoudl not shop until THEY KNOW they can get financed.. that is what I say...

[David]

I am able to do a rent to own.. but not sure how to go about it.

Seems to me that owuld be better than owner finance a for many years..

Thought are like 5K down and 800.00 a month for a certain number of years..

Short term.

But also think I would need to fire realty company, since they are doing nothing at all.. But have it on MLS ...

[Kevin]

David

I hope you didn't mis-understand my post. I wasn't trying to put your home down, or the price you are asking. I was just trying to answer your question, based upon the research we have done, and from living in this area for the last couple of years. We started off looking at new homes, and have only looked at 2 used homes (the ones in your park where only because we were there to check out the park, and the office wanted to show them) and 2 repo's so far. When we saw your home we had been dealing with new, and figured we would do the financing when we found the home at the price we wanted, just to avoid the salesmen trying to sell to the upper ends of what we qualified for. Since we have started looking at the repo and used market we have applied for the financing, and have a buyer lined up for the MH we already own.

You mentioned using a rent to own type of setup, be careful how you word it to the park, I believe that park is Owner Occupied only, and I bet it is in the lease that they could force you to move the home out if they found out it was basicly a rental situation. It needs to show them as the new owners, and you acting like the bank. This is just information I had found on a MH investing forum that I used to go to awhile back. Hope something works out for you, and like another poster said, it could be the next person that comes along that will solve your problem.

Kevin

[jgn]

David: It would seem that someone who can come up with a 5K down and pay over $1100. per month ($800 + rent) would buy a larger home and just finance it. If your home stays in a park you cannot deduct the rent but can deduct real estate taxes which makes a conventional loan a more cost effective way for someone to go. I have seen homes in my neighborhood, not MH, take over a year to sell so I think you may be a little optomistic in your expectations.

[David]

HI, no not a problem at all... I did not think anything was a put down.. I am just bashing my head on how to move to where I wanted to move to in the first place.

I bought for a great price and am selling for what I bought it for.. not even adding the realtor fees in.. I will deal with that for a offer of 33500.00 .. but has not happened yet.

I would think I have to let the Manager know it is a owner finance, since in truth that is what it would be. I am holding the mortgage and they are paying me.

Right?