Selling A Good Older Modular Home?

[Ann]

We are trying to sell our modular home in Crawfordsville, Indiana. We have employed one of the top Realtors - Remax. But there seems to be a bias away from modular housing, so they tell us.
Admittedly most of the local houses up for sale are site built, but ours compares well if not better than a lot of them.
We have 2.58 acres of land, wooded and cleared, a fenced in back garden. All the usual mod cons in the house. The roof and siding are new, so are the heating and cooling etc. all within the last four years. We have a huge garage and a concrete driveway, and we are, over all, quite proud of it.
However, we have had it on the market for two months now, and people come and look without us present, and go and buy some other house.
We are asking $89,000 for it, is this to much?
I need expert help here, our realtor is foxed by it. Our property is really a one off in the area. Although two or three new modulars have gone up over the past few years.
Regards
Ann

[Jon]

Ann:
Very likely, the problem you seem to be experiencing stems from misinformation and incorrect notions of what modular homes are. Too many people equate modular homes with manufactured housing, which is related to mobile homes, which are related to "trailers." To them, anything not built on-site is somehow inferior---even though reality frequently shows the opposite. Unfortunately bankers, attorneys and real estate people hold these antiquated ideas ... and your message seems to suggest you have found one of them.
The first thing you need to do is to be absolutely certain you have a modular home, not a doublewide manufactured home. If you have any doubt whatsoever, check the paperwork received when you purchased the home. If you don't have a document indicating your home is constructed to the building requirements of your jurisdiction, chances are you have a manufactured home. If your paperwork is inconclusive, or if there remains any degree of doubt, contact the retailer who sold the home to you, the manufacturer of the home and/or your building department.
In regard to the price you are asking: Its difficult to determine from a distance. Usually your listing broker will assist with determining a "good" asking price at which to enter the market. Since your comments make this appear to be unlikely, there is a way to get a rough and rudimentary understanding of home value. Learn the recent (six months or less is preferable but no more than one year) prices at which other homes (site-built or modular) sold in your neighborhood. These other homes should be as similar as possible to your house (size, style, etc.). The prices to which I refer are those at which those homes actually sold, not the asking prices. Consider those sale prices and try to objectively determine if the amount you seek is too high or too low. Put yourself in the place of a potential buyer: If you had the choice, would you buy your home at the price you seek, or would you buy another one in your area? Ask a friend to help you with this. After all, each of us have an emotional tie to our home which could easily "blind" us to the reality of the situation. Keep in mind though, this procedure is subjective and therefore not very reliable. It should only give you a rough idea on price.
The best way to obtain a good understanding of your home's value is to retain a professional appraiser for the purpose of preparing a market approach valuation report of your home. If you get a professional appraisal report you should share it with your broker. Remember: An appraisal report is only an educated estimate, not a precise measurement. But it is established according to prescribed rules and it is more objective.
Still, your asking price doesn't appear to be your biggest problem at the moment. Your statements indicate your real estate broker seems less than enthusiastic about selling your home. If the person showing and describing your home lacks confidence in the house, it will come through to a prospective buyer in many little, yet perceivable, ways. Should this be the case, imagine trying to buy anything from a person who seems disenchanted with or has a "ho-hum" attitude towards his/her product. Would you buy it? I doubt it. In fact, I doubt you would even inquire about the price because the demeanor of the salesperson would most likely have turned you off. The same holds true here. If your current real estate broker displays such an approach to selling your home, and if you have an "open listing" with your current broker that allows you to utilize other brokers and/or to sell the home yourself, consider enlisting the services of other brokers who are driven more by the prospect of making a sale and less by erroneous preconceived perceptions of modular housing.
Another point: When showing the home, or advertising it, simply state it is a home on 2.5 acres, etc., etc. Let people see the home on its own terms first. After they see the home, ask them what their reaction is. Then inform them it is modular construction. The point here is NOT to deceive anyone, but rather to allow prospects to view your home with an open mind. This suggestion is offered only to keep wrong perceptions from interferring before the home is even seen. If you tell them its a modular home before they view it, odds are they will see what their incorrect perceptions let them see. In other words, if you are in the market for a home and you go to view a type of house your preconceptions say you won't like, chances are you will not like it regardless of what actually exists. So let them see it first, then give them all the details immediately after they do.
Good luck.