Lonnie,
Do you do deals in senior parks? I know the target market is much smaller, but I was wondering if you, or anyone else, have had any success in these parks. Senior parks out number Family parks in my area by about 5 to 1.
I was wondering if there is any money to be made by trying to sell mobile homes like a realtor would sell a house - say you find a mobile that is for sale by owner and you go to them stating that you can help them sell the home and you will collect a commission. I know there are already dealers that do this but I was jsut wondering if it could be lucrative as a side business to doing the regular Lonnie deals especially for those without much cash like me. just the fact that I am involved in the mobile home business as a Lonnie dealer should give me an inside track to buyers, parks, and lenders that will aid someone trying to sell.
Any thoughts from anyone about this?
Thanks in Advance,
Dan
We have a zillion MH brokers in my area, and I guess there are some deals made by a few of them. (Like RE Brokers, listing a property is the easy part.) But from what I see, at least in my market, it?s a tough way to make a buck. First, you will probably need a brokers license, so be cautious and check. Second, the brokers usually over-price the home and offer no owner financing, which is the real key to this business. And then do a poor job of marketing the home.
Now, for the good news. When a broker has the sellers home tied up on a 60-90 listing, over-priced, no easy owner financing, the seller is paying lot rent, and then no buyers, what do you have? You have a very motivated seller. And that?s when I want to talk with the seller. We?ve made some killer deals at that point. I just leave my card with the seller and ask them to call me if the home isn?t sold by the time the listing expires.
Rather than be a broker, I think you will do much better by finding such deals and tying them up with a purchase agreement, or a L/O agreement. Then either bring in an investor to fund the deal, if need be, or flip it to an investor for a fee if you need to. But it?s even better if you can keep the whole deal, rather than give part of your profits away.