Selling A Mobile Home

When selling a mobile home, it's crucial to present it in its best possible condition. Performing needed upgrades and repairs can certainly result in a better profit margin, especially as, unlike traditional houses, mobile homes tend to decrease rather than increase in value.

The decision to sell a mobile home yourself or hire a real estate agent often depends on whether it's on your private property or in a park pad rental situation.

Preparing a mobile home for the market is just as important as it is in selling real estate. If you are diligent in your marketing efforts and show the home in the best light possible, you should have no trouble selling it quickly. Here are the typical steps to take:

Set the price. A competitively-priced mobile home will sell faster than an overpriced home. Visit some mobile homes for sale in your area to see how they compare to yours and price yours accordingly.

Decide between making needed repairs or lowering the price to compensate. If you need to sell the mobile home quickly, lowering the price or offering cash at closing for necessary repairs provides an incentive for buyers.

Check that your home is properly leveled. The last thing you want when showing the home is for the floor to creak or to have doors that won't stay open. If it's not level, call a professional home leveler to do the job or ask for an estimate and lower the home price to reflect that cost.

Pressure wash the outside of the home. Rent a washer or hire a professional cleaner. Paint the steps and wash the windows. Remove any dead or dying landscaping and display pots filled with bright flowers.

Clear the clutter from the interior. Box up knick-knacks, family photos and religious ornamentation and put it in storage. Leave only decorative items. The more items you remove from the home, the larger the rooms will appear.

Limit yourself to only the basic furniture pieces and a maximum of three or four accessories such as lamps, throw pillows or a decorative bowl in each room when you're ready to sell a mobile home.

Clean the interior. Clear away cobwebs, dust baseboards, wash panelling and walls. Focus especially on kitchens and bathrooms, as those areas are particularly important to buyers. Scrub the toilet and tub. Set out your best towels, launder the shower curtain and place fresh flowers on countertops.

Straighten all closets and cupboards. Deodorize the interior of the mobile home. If your budget allows, replace anything dated, including appliances, and give eyesores such as faux wood paneling several coats of fresh paint.

Market the mobile home online and with fliers placed in a box on the property. Take photos of both the interior and the exterior of the home and post them on websites that specialize in mobile home listings, such as mhvillage.com and mhbay.com. Post as many photos as the site will allow.

Turn on all the lights and open all curtains prior to showing the home to a potential buyer. Try to make the interior of the home as bright as possible.

Show flexibility where price is concerned. If your only offer is close, but not quite what you're asking for, it may be better to take what you can get at that time than to keep the home on the market for an undetermined amount of time in the hope of getting a slightly better price. I once made this mistake and eventually took $20,000 less than the original offer, 6 months later.

Depending on where you live, a real estate agent may not want to try selling a mobile home that isn't on privately owned land. The reason may be that the landlords of the park in which the home is placed on a rental pad are the ones who have the control over the choice of new tenants as well as other aspects of the sale.

In many mobile home parks with pad rentals, the owner who is selling a mobile home is legally required to inform the landlords as soon as possible. The landlord will have to have the new owner sign an agreement to pay a specified amount of pad rent each month. Many mobile home park landlords also do a criminal record check on new tenants.

If you'll be selling a mobile home yourself, it's important to check with local government offices for laws concerning the sale. You may need to have a fire inspection certificate or other official documents before you can legally sell a mobile home.

You'll likely have to provide potential buyers with a form containing required information such as the mobile home manufacturer's name and the year it was made. You may have to list any repairs or remodeling completed as well as any work done to the roof. The age of the appliances and water heater may also be needed.

As always, if you have questions or comments about selling a mobile home by clicking here.

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