Expert: Dick Dennis - 6/21/2010

Question
QUESTION: My husband and I own a mobile home in a mobile home park in north-central California. It has a mortgage balance of $28,000.  Info on this home is as follows: 1988 Fleetwood; 1680 sq. ft.; 3 bd/2ba; updated and move-in ready. We're asking $29,900, but have been advised that because of the current economy we won't be able to get this price. We've accepted offers of $25,000 from two different buyers, but both sales have fallen through.  We recently purchased another home so we REALLY NEED to sell this one.  Obviously we're willing to make up the difference between our sale price and the mortgage balance. Weeks have gone by and...nothing.  We've put out ads weekly on our local Craigslist; an ad in the local paper; we held an Open House--not one single person came. We've posted flyers and talked to everyone we know about this home. It's beautiful and has been highly complimented by our neighbors, the park management, etc. We've been on the market for three months. Right now we are at our wits end as to what to do to get this home sold so we can move on. If we had known it was going to be this hard we would've waited before buying another home. Do you have any suggestions? We can't financially carry two homes for very long.  We don't want to abandon it.  And the park doesn't allow us to sub-lease. The mortgage company won't allow a new buyer to assume the loan unless we remain as co-signers--which we do not want to do anyway.  What can we do?

ANSWER: Yes, it does seem you have painted yourself into a corner, Vikie. But it can be solved. It is just going to take some time. Highly experienced Realtors all over the country are having trouble selling their listings and owners are getting frustrated in this economy. Further, mobile homes are probably the hardest to sell . . . especially those without title to any land. The killer in that kind of ownership is that the owner does have to pay rent on the lot, too.

I get the impression that your double-wide is located in a very nice park, since they do not allow any tenants. That's good for the park owner but a bugger for you. The biggest bugger is that you went out and bought yourself another home (I hope it was a regular one and not a mobile) before you had a certain sale (made sure the buyer could qualify for a new loan) on your mobile. I presume you have been using a Realtor to help you sell. If not, go get yourself one that has much experience in selling mobile homes. Ninety days so far is nothing when you realize it is taking at least six months for most properties to sell in this crazy market. Unless you're willing to take a much bigger bath by selling your mobile at an even lower price, you're just going to have to wait for that one special buyer. And make sure you have a GOOD Realtor, one with a good track record. I do wish you well.

Dick Dennis
CA RE Broker #00349415
dixiedee13@aol.com

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

QUESTION: Thank you for your response. Yes, we made a a very premature decision when we bought our house before our mobile home sale was concrete. It was actually a short-sale home that was supposed to take about six months to come through--which would have given us some time to sell our mobile--but it came through in five weeks, catching us off guard.  We decided to go ahead with the purchase.  My follow-up question is: HOW do we find a Realtor who has a good track record with mobile home sales--one who will ACTIVELY promote our home?  We've interviewed three local agents--two of whom don't care to pursue our mobile sale unless we pay 10% commission and one who is willing to represent us but is so busy and difficult to get a hold of that it makes us uncomfortable. Could you recommend someone in our area?

Answer
First of all, Vikie, if you are not willing to pay 10% as a commission to a good Realtor, you had better be a very lucky person or go out and knock on doors and advertise and attend meetings and read books and, well, you get the idea. If you're expecting to find a good Realtor who knows the mobile home business, to get the job done, you might even offer that person TWELVE PERCENT. Anything to get the job done. In my 40+ years as a California broker, I have never known commissions for selling mobiles to be anything else but 10%. Same thing for vacant land.

If you are looking for a Good Realtor, you can start with the manager of your park there. I will bet he/she will be able to lead you to one who knows the mobile home business. If that doesn't work, then go talk to managers/owners of other mobile parks in your town until you hit pay dirt. Again, I do wish you well.

Dick Dennis