Expert: Dick Dennis - 3/25/2008

Question
Dick:  My husband and I live in Index,Washington, a great mountain town nestled in the Cascade Mountains. We have 1/2 acre of land with a run off pond that is only full in the winter,if it rains to much. The property has all that is needed, shed, septic,water,telephone,power,cable and internet service.  We have cleared and landscaped some and have a great firepit in the front for late night fires, one in the back yard too. We are current on our payments but behind in property taxes,(we pay just enough every year not to foreclose) about 2600.00.  We want to sell asap, we only owe 56,000.00 on it and zillow.com has appraised it at 168,000.00, and the homes/mobile homes in the neighborhood are going for the same amount.  The problem is when ever I mention that we live in a 1964 Champ double-wide mobile,nobody wants to buy it.  It has been partly remodled and we are willing to do more before we sell,we have replaced inner paneling with knotty pine and put real cedar logs as beams in the house, we have lived in it since 2001, it cant be that bad, but it is old, and anyone could pull it out and replace it with another one or build.  We are willing to sell for alot less, if we can pay off the note and walk away with 60,000, we would be happy. Can we list it with back taxes? and how do we list it? Do you know a business that buys land with mobiles on it?  Help!

Megan and Ron West


Answer
Probably the most glaring negative fact, Megan, is that 1964. At that age, mobile homes have very little, if any, value. What you need to do is to actually check with your favorite title company to ascertain the actual sales prices, within the last six months, of comparable properties. Any buyers would do that, so you might as well do the same so you can answer that question outright. My guess is that the value of your property is not much more than your unpaid balance, not counting the unpaid taxes. What is the monthly payments on the loan? What is the interest rate on that loan? What is the unpaid taxes? What is the yearly taxes? And finally, why are you selling? By the way, you do not say how large the mobile home is, BR, BA, sq ft.

I suggest you contact a knowledgeable real estate broker in your area. If he/she is the one who has already told you about the negative info that you told me, then that is what the market is these days. I do wish you well.

Dick Dennis    dixiedee13@aol.com