Expert: Dick Dennis - 4/30/2008

Question
QUESTION: I am trying to help my mother sell her double wide mobile home.  It sits in a mobile home park in Kentucky.  The lot is 100 feet wide and 200 feet deep.  The mobile home is a 1999 Clayton double wide.  It has 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, and a nice open floor plan.  It has a fireplace and nice sized kitchen.  She owes about $54,000 on her mortgage.  What are the differences in selling a mobile home in Kentucky as compared to selling a site built home.  Any suggestions about the sale of the home with some profit (she would like to make about $12 to $20K on the sale)?  What should we do to ensure a quick and smooth sale?

ANSWER: You don't say who owns the lot on which your mother's mobile home sits, Shane. If she pays rent on that lot, then she is going to have trouble selling it. Keep in mind, a mobile home on a rented lot is NOT real estate. It's the same thing as trying to buy or sell a car or truck. However, do not take my word for it. I strongly suggest you consult talking with a local mobile home broker in the area. My guess, you'll have trouble gaining 12 cents, much less $12,000. Go talk to that mobile home broker right away. I wish you well.

Dick Dennis

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: My mother owns the lot.  She had had another mobile home on the lot from 1976 to 1999 when she bought this mobile home and placed it on the lot.  What is a mobile home broker?

Answer
Usually, Shane, at least here in California, a mobile home broker will sell mobile homes and most times arrange for the placing of the home onto a lot, whether it is owned by the resident or the mobile home park. When a mobile home is placed on the lot that she owns, THE WHOLE THING BECOMES REAL ESTATE. It can be sold by a real estate broker or mobile home broker. Chances are prety good that when your mother bought her mobile home, she bought it from a mobile home broker. I would suggest you ask a Kentucky real estate broker AND a mobile home broker just how you sit and who should be selling your mother's property for you. Just be sure you get someone who has been pretty good at selling them. I do wish you well.

Dick Dennis