Expert: Michael McClure - 9/9/2010

Question
QUESTION: My parents signed a contract with the owners of their 55+  park to sell their mobile home. The contract basically says that they must continue to pay the space rent until the home is sold. In addition, they must pay a $2000.00 fee to the park owners for their services in selling the mobile home. Now they also want them to sign an acknowledgement that the agent handling their home will be acting as both buyer and seller agent.

The home is worth only about 6000. So this means the most they can net even if there are no other seller costs and it sells at full price, is 4000, minus the 475/month space fee. They also told me they simply "list it" and show anyone who is interested.

This sounds very fishy to me in that there does not appear to be any built in safeguards: meaning the very same people who are selling the home are getting rent every month. They have a guaranteed $2000 no matter when or for what price the home is sold. They could easily drag their feet in selling, gathering monthly fees, then talk my parents into accepting a low offer just to sell it and get their fixed commission.

Is this a common practice? My parents are elderly I feel they have been taken advantage of. I personally would NEVER have signed a contract such as this. The company told me "they signed it, we felt your mom to be competent and there is no recourse."

I need to know if this arrangement meets the standards of practice for mobile home park sales.

Thank you for your time

ANSWER: Hi Kathleene
I will be happy to help out, but please answer these few questions first:

1. What state?
2. Is this a nice park?
3. Exactly what has been signed so far.
4. Is this on leased land?
5. Is the title clear?

Get back to me ASAP, and we'll get started...."~ M

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

QUESTION: This is in a 55+ park in AZ. Not a fancy park but clean in a low income
area of Phoenix. Park is owned and operated by a property
management. Company. I haven't heard the title not clear

Answer
OK...obviously I am NOT an attorney, but this is a contract with definite conflict of interest. Unless the PM company has a sales, or dealer license they can't do this sort of transaction. A $2000 comm. is good, and is not based on the home sale price, but are they going to advertise it, or otherwise solicit the sale...or just wait until someone comes along and asks?

My suggestion is this: find out which dealer(S) install new homes in this park, or the vicinity.  Call several and tell them that you have a "pull-out" for sale and are taking bids.  We do this all the time, and if it's in a desirable park, they may get twice the $6000!

I am assuming that they still live there? If so it would be advisable to stay until the sale...they would have to pay rent anyhow.
See the length of the contract, it must have a time frame. It must state the proper serial #S, and other identifying #S, size, year, etc.  If you can sell to a dealer, I'm sure they would be silent about this "iffy" contract, and they would have a nice improvement to their park.

Let me know what happens...good luck, "~ Mike