Got mine from nadaguides.com. The software and book costs $150 and it gets updated 2 times a year, I think.
I use mine all the time. When buying, I plug in the values and get an idea of what the basic home should sell for and the discounts applied if I have to move it or leave it where it is.
I never let the book value influence what I pay for the home. That is driven by the market you’re in. I’ve used it when a home is grossly overpriced to influence the sale if necessary. One of the more handy uses is to give an appraisal to a bank if you have a home for sale to the public. Again, you still have to know your market.
The book makes a handy doorstop or paperweight if you are used to using the computer program like I am. Overall, I rate it a “Must Have” if you are dealing in mobile homes on a regular basis.
Posted by Sterling on September 04, 2004 at 05:21:18:
The National Automobile Dealers’ Assn (I think I have the name right)
publishes a book of wholesale/retail used car prices. You can buy it at
Waldenbooks. Does anyone publish a similar book for mobile homes?
Well if we are doing a lesson on what Nada means, here is a few for you.
Nada=Hope in Russian
and Treasure in Egyptian
Just in case any of you ever meet my wife that is her name, Nada. She is Australian and given the name that has a different meaning there, but obviously it has some meaning here.
If you want to score big points with her, call her treasure, but DONT say, “Hey do you know what that means in Spanish.” We were recently looking at making a large purchase and someone said that, well lets just say he lost the sale.
Charlie,
No correction necessary. You can indeed get a book as well as software that generates nifty estimate of value reports. Bankers etc love these things and they are great for justifying your sell price to a buyer but that’s all. NEVER use them for buying homes or you’ll get squashed before you start.
All the best, Lyal
I have a book, not that I have used it much. I got it when I started. A local dealer gave it to me because I asked. He had the most recent year, so he gave me the previous year. Not that it mattered much. The book was helpful for the first deal but after that if you are doing this right you really get a feel for YOUR MARKET. You get a feel for what a home is worth when you are buying it, because you know what it will sell for retail. I would recomend you go out there and cruz some speedbumps and get a FEEL for the values, put some adds in the papers.
There is ONE big use for the NADA guide, that I would recomend to anyone. I picked it up from a “lonnie dealer” back in the day. He would print off a copy of what the home was “worth” from NADA and use it to sell his homes. For example. I had a 1978 Shultz 14X70 in imaculate condition that I bought for $4,000. The value of this home in my local market was about $9,000-10,000, but NADA placed a value of about 14,500 on the home. I made a copy of that and it really gave the buyers that warm feeling that they got a killer deal when I sold it to them for 11,000 or so. I gave them the sheet and I am sure they could use it to brag to there family and friends at how they had pulled a swift one over me.