Posted by Steve Enlow on March 27, 2002 at 06:24:47:
Thanks for all of your sage advice :>
Steve-AZ
Just posted about first deal and now… - Posted by AW_(WI)
Posted by AW_(WI) on March 26, 2002 at 13:02:36:
Park manager at the park I am doing deal calls me and asks if I want one there for free. I say only if it can stay in the park. It was going to be removed as it is vacant, but after hearing about what I was doing the pm called the owner and the owner says I can have it! Of course I want to see it. I go over during lunch and seems park manager forgot to tell me he doesn’t have a key! My question though is it still a good deal? Why? It is a 10X55, needs a furnance, other work. The furnance part doesn’t scare me off it is the 10’ wide part. I keep hearing on this board to stay away from these. I do not want to get tied into anything that I have to keep paying lot rent on. Oh, pm also walked me over to another 10X50 that the guy said he will sell for $750 and everything works. Looking at it from outside it probably needs a thorough cleaning inside. I would probably pay $250 for it tops. Of course you can’t do that…
Anyway, if someone can offer advice about doing 10’ wides. Very little to no $ up front and I bet I could advertise as ‘handy man’ and get $150/mo for 24 months (that is my initial thought). Worth it?
Santa’s sleigh is only an 8 wide - Posted by Dr. Craig Whisler CA
Posted by Dr. Craig Whisler CA on March 26, 2002 at 13:48:34:
AW, I usually make a deal with PMs re freebies, even if they are only 8 or 10 wides. I offer them a commission of about $200 if and when I can resell these slummobiles. No space rent until then. I then run a quick ad in a Spanish language weekly paper (the kind in magazine form). The ad say something like “Only $995 full price 10 x 50 mobile, 2 bedrooms. Must be moved”. The reason that I use a Spanish language paper is because we have a lot of farms and ranches in CA. Agriculture is our bigest industry in California despite what some people think. These mobiles usually disappear in 2-3 days for cash and I generally get 10-15 calls. Never finance a cheap pull-out. This wouldn’t work in NY city maybe but it will work in many areas. These mobiles usually end up on some farm or ranch for farm labor housing or as storage buildings. Having a good clear title is never a question since these mobiles usually also disappear from the tax rolls. In large metropolitan areas near suburban farms and ranches you may be able to get 25-50 or more of these deals per year if you work at it a little. To stay on good terms with the PMs I require that the buyer leave a $100 refundable lot cleaning deposit with the PM. PMs are not usually overpaid and they appreciate not having to spend a hour or two cleaning up the spaces after a pull out. In fact I take the buyer down to the PMs office and discuss this with all three of us present. There should be no misunderstandings this way and the PM sees how hard you are trying to protect his or her interests. This also helps GREATLY in cases where you don’t get any kind of title documents. The buyers may at first wonder it this is a legimate deal since you have no title. When you take your buyer to the the PMs office he or she can explain why there is not title etc. This satisfies the buyer and the PM. It also promotes frequent future referals. I usually pay the PM with a couple of hundred dollar bills inside of a standard stationary store thank you note. There is something about getting a couple of nice new crisp hundred dollar bills that is unforgetable. PMs ALWAYS save MY phone number. I bet they throw most of my competitors cards in the trash. In places like the Los Angeles area you could make a good living doing nothing but reselling freebie mobiles. Think how low your risk is with free mobiles and free space rent for a couple of weeks. What a GREAT way for newbies to get started, with no money except the $30 or so cost of running the ad. Remember, I don’t pay the PM until AFTER I have been paid by my buyer so I don’t need any working capital.
Regards, doc