Posted by Karl (Oh) on January 21, 2002 at 23:15:01:
Steve,
No. I only run an ad for the newer homes I?m selling that require bank financing. For every three or four Lonnie Deals I do, I sell a newer one for cash by helping my buyer get a bank loan. I have to advertise to get these to sell, because there are fewer qualified buyers out there who can get their own loan, so it?s a lot more work. The reason its so expensive is because the paper realized after awhile that I was a business, not a private seller, and the price increased drastically.
As far as Lonnie Deals, I don?t really need to advertise. I generate a few leads from the ad above, but almost all of my buyers and sellers come to me through the park office or referrals from folks living in the park trying to earn some referral money. But it took time to get there. When I first started, I ran the classis ?I buy, sell, and finance used mobile homes? ad, and got a lot of calls.
I?m not doing anything unique, just following the plan right out of DOW?s.
What form of marketing have you found to be the most effective… i.e. newspaper ad, flyers, business card?
Also I currently live near a few smaller parks (15-40 lots). But their are some larger ones 40 minutes to an hour away(>100). Should I concentrate my efforts on the larger parks (more lots means more oppurtunities) or the smaller, closer ones?
Any feedback, personal experiences, or insight is greatly appreciated.
This would be my suggestion: talk to all the park managers and find out who wants to work with you, and concentrate on the park where management is going to be the easiest to work with.
If all the managers are welcoming, then look at the condition of the park and the cost of space rent.
MH’s are going to be easier to sell when people walk in to the park and say “this is nice. I wouldn’t mind living here”. Anything that makes sales easier is good.
The lower the space rent, the easier it will be to sell the MH, so space rent should be considered too.
And then, the closer to your home the better and the easier it will be to manage the MH and the sale.
Balance those factors and the parks should sort themselves out.
Re: General Question for those with experience… - Posted by Karl (Oh)
Posted by Karl (Oh) on January 18, 2002 at 22:26:37:
I run an ad in the big city paper. Its expensive, but a million people read it a day (or so they say), and I get pretty good results. Sometimes I have dry spells, but just when I start to think its not worth the $300 per month, the ad generates a couple buyers or sellers. I tried ads in the local penny shopper, the community press, etc, and got zero results. I?ve made flyers with pics of my homes many times and put them at the nearby grocery stores and laundromats, again with zero results. By far the best form of marketing has been word of mouth inside the park. Most of my buyers and sellers got my number from someone I bought from or sold a home to, or referrals from the park office. I hand out business cards like crazy. I stamp ?bring me a buyer or seller, get $100? on the back of the card (thanks John Hyre). Tonight I sold a home to a guy for cash. He let me know that several people in the park told him if you want to buy a used trailer, you gotta talk to Karl. I can?t pay enough for that kind of advertising. Now I just have to figure out who?s going to get the $100 referral.
I?d recommend working as close to home as possible. Several small parks might be plenty to get started. Down the road, you can always expand your area if you can?t find enough deals. I drive a half an hour in two different directions to get to my parks. Its no fun. I know some other investors here who drive much farther. Stay close to home if you can.
Re: General Question for those with experience… - Posted by M Trouth
Posted by M Trouth on January 18, 2002 at 22:09:17:
I’ve used a “for sale” sign that I had made at a sign
company. It is the standard size used by real estate
companies. Has the wire stand so it can be stuck in the
ground. I used the same colors as the for sale signs
you buy at a store. You know, white border, black back
gound, “for sale” in bold red letters. House hunters
recognize this format from a distance. The clincher on
my signs is my message printed in a white block in the middle of the sign…WILL FINANCE…LOW DOWNPAYMENT…FLEXIBLE PAYMENTS…NO BANKS…Call myn-umber. I put one sign in the yard and one in one of the
MH windows. I thought I’d try this for a week, then use
newspaper and/or thrifty nickel ad. I didn’t have to
spend any money on ads. This sign sold my mh in three
days. (this sign is a play right out of the DOW play book) By the way, my first deal using this sign was a
classic “Lonnie Deal”…bought for $2,000…sold for $5,500…got $1,000 down and 42 payments of $127…115% yield.
As far as size of park to deal in, doesn’t really matter. It’s wherever the motivated seller lives or owns the home that’s for sale. I prefer to deal relatively close to home. This affords more control. When your buyer knows he may see you in his neighborhood often, he seems to be a little more responsible. Maybe this is subliminal…I don’t know.
Karl-Is your $300 per month ad the classic “We Buy-Sell
& Finance used mobile homes. Call XXX-XXXX.” If not,
I’d be interested to know what works for you.