Newbie Jumping In and Seeking Advice about Comps - Posted by Hau: San Jose, CA

Real Estate Investing Mobile Homes & Mobile Home Parks
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Posted by Hau (San Jose, CA) on January 08, 2003 at 14:01:16:

Thanks Montana,

I checked out nadaguides.com and the sugguested price was much lower than I initially considering. In any event, it will be a good reference tool.

Thanks!

Hau

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Newbie Jumping In and Seeking Advice about Comps - Posted by Hau: San Jose, CA

Posted by Hau: San Jose, CA on January 07, 2003 at 20:32:29:

Hi All,

I’m meeting the seller tomorrow and I wanted to ask a question about Comparable Sale Prices in my area, San Jose CA.

Some info I gathered over the phone:
The mobile home was built in 1972.
has 3 bedrooms and 1 1/2 baths.
located in an all family park.
is vacant as owner’s mom has moved.
has some floor damage and original carpeting.
owner is asking 17,000.
(I’ve seen similar homes listed for 35K-40K)

Now, let me tell you that I did not ask any questions to determine if the seller was motivated (so please excuse my newbie-ness) but I wanted to use this opportunity to gain experience in talking face-to-face with the seller.

However, ithe seller was willing to settle for a lower price, then my question would be 'how low should he go"? Obviously, I won’t know what price to accept if I do not know at which price I can sell.

I’ve checked the archives for comparable sale prices for used mobile homes but no such luck. For a begining investor, how would I know at what price this home would sell for if I had never sold one?

In any case, this is a good learning experience and I’m looking forward to trying out some of the negotiating scripts that I have gathered so far.

If anyone could assist me in determining a realistic resale price in my area, then that would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks all for reading!

Hau

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Re: Newbie Seeking Advice about Comps - Posted by Lyal

Posted by Lyal on January 08, 2003 at 13:17:44:

With all due respect to Montana below, do NOT use the NADA as a reference when you are buying homes. You should ONLY be talking to motivated sellers and the price is determined by Lonnie’s time tested question; (paraphrasing) “If I paid you cash today, what’s the BEST price you can give me??” followed later in the conversation by “Are you sure that’s the best you can do on the price?”. Never make an offer based on the NADA listing.
As far as actual selling prices in your area. They’ll be all over the map and in my experience, park managers are the best source for this info. Again, please, do not rely on NADA to set prices.
All the best, Lyal
PS: NADA values do have their place when you’re validating your price to a buyer. Also good when you stumble across that occasional buyer who want’s to finance it through a bank (CASH SALE to you!!). NADA has some software that you can use to make a real spiffy printout of the value that impresses the heck out of loan officers!

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Try This - Posted by Montana MH Newbie

Posted by Montana MH Newbie on January 07, 2003 at 22:52:20:

Try this site. http://www.nadaguides.com It’s like a “blue book” for Mobile Homes. It has helped me trying to define values in my area. Good Luck

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Re: Newbie Seeking Advice about Comps - Posted by Hau (San Jose, CA)

Posted by Hau (San Jose, CA) on January 08, 2003 at 14:06:23:

Hi Lyal,

I was very suprised that the sugguested price on nadaguides.com was much lower than what I had initially though to be a good deal. (I’m very new to this area, as you can tell)

But you’re right, I should only be talking to movitated sellers. However, I have to admit that I am very new and I am using this to gain experience and undestanding of the prices in my area.

I totally agree in your advice for using the NADA values to validate the your selling price.

In either case, I will continue to look for more deals (movitated sellers) and I will use the NADA values where they benefit me the most.

Thanks again for the advice!

Hau