Expert: Dick Dennis - 5/12/2010

Question
We own a 2 bedroom 1 bath mobile home which is paid off. We have had a realtor since 8/2009. We have not been able to sell our property. When we bought it 17 yrs ago we went through it inside @ out. Everything has been replaced with new. Our park rent is $525.20. The park is clean and quiet and is in Massachusetts. We want to move to Florida and planned on going by Aug.1, 2010 but we can't unload our mobile home. Do you have any suggestions that may help us? We started selling it for 43,000 but have marked it down to 20,000 just to get rid of it. Could we donate it to a charity or church ? We are getting desperate please help. Thank you

Answer
My guess is that you may be missing a bet, Barbara. Why not have your Realtor sell it for whatever the market will be . . . but since you own it free and clear, sell it with YOU BEING THE BANK! That's right, you carry the loan on the mobile. You can probably start out by asking a higher price than $20.000 because the buyer doesn't have to play games with a bank.

Of course, you will want to make sure your buyer's credit shows that he/she will indeed make the payments. Then after a few months, the more seasoning the better, you can sell that note (at a discount as they usually are). Or when you move down to Florida you might be able to use that note as part of your down payment on your next house, especially if the seller of that house is a little on the desperate side. Right now, prices are such that people would rather buy a regular house rather than a mobile home and ALSO have to pay rent.

The payments on the note could be $222 per month for ten years at 6%, as an example. After the buyer gives you, say, $5,000 as down payment. The Realtor could arrange the financing for you AND take back some of the commission as part of the payment on the note. That way he/she could keep an eye on the note for you, too. I do wish you well.

Dick Dennis
dixiedee13@aol.com