Posted by Jerry Freeman on January 29, 2002 at 06:53:30:
It was my first deal. I found it the first day I talked to a park manager. Told her what I was doing, right out of the book. She offered me a free trailer they had. I looked at it, and it was so bad, I said, “I might be interested in the spring, but it would be too hard to rehab in the winter.” (That was my diplomatic way of telling her I wasn’t interested.) Then I asked if she knew about any trailers in the park that might be for sale. She told me about two – a 12-wide that had been abandoned (not interested) and a 14 X 70 3BR that was vacant but the owner was still paying lot rent. She told me the only way to find the owner would be to send her a letter to the address of the trailer and it would be forwarded, since she didn’t know how to get ahold of the owner. I went home and used the US Search website, with no success. Then I called the US Search customer assistance number, and they came up with the correct spelling of the owner’s name and a phone number. I called the phone number, and it was out of service. Then I called 411 and guess what? They had the current phone number. I called the owner and told her I was interested in buying her trailer. She said, “I’ll GIVE it to you.” She didn’t explain, but I figured out eventually that her 19 year-old son had been hanging out and doing drugs there. She had a good job, didn’t need the money, and there were a lot of water with the trailer that she had never been able to fix, so she didn’t realize that the trailer was worth something.
Posted by Richard on January 27, 2002 at 23:02:45:
Hi everyone. I am brand new to the MH biz and need help. I’ve just finished DOW and am half way through MMWMH and I’m very excited about the opportunity.
A park in a town near me is apparently upgrading their homes and is selling some older homes in the park for 1$ each. I have not seen the homes so I don’t know what kind of shape they are in. They have to be moved from the park, that’s the catch. I have arranged with the owner of a local park to rent spaces if I need them. I know that the HVAC units are a consideration and the moving and setup costs also(I am a contractor by trade and am familiar with codes, repairs, and setup costs). I’m sure some repairs would be needed but is this an opportunity to get started off right in the business? Please help.
Yes there are such things as $1 mobile homes. As far as a/c units go, don’t worry too much. Most a/c installers can find you a used unit for a song. If you really want to get some a/c units cheap got to a manufactured home dealer that sells a lot of repos. They will have lots of 1-3 year old units for sale. Cheap.
I still say the single best way to buy homes is to befriend m/h dealers in your area. During the course of a year they will take many homes in on trade. They do not want to mess with them. They are considered a liability. We don’t have the financing to get rid of them. Many will already be set up in parks and other rental lots. Even if they have to be moved it still works out great. If the delivery guy already has to move the trade-in he will give you a great price on re-setting it.
Posted by richard on January 28, 2002 at 20:21:35:
I found these homes in Bowling Green Ky. One of the nicest parks in the area has a new manager.(She started in August) She is now trying to get some of the homes in the park up to par. I mentioned last night that the homes had to be moved. Today when we met, she said they don’t have to be moved if I would paint the outsides and fix them up. I bought two homes today for two dollars. They both need some repairs, duh, but nothing major. It’s mainly paint, carpet, and afew windows. She is delighted with our arrangement and said thatshe will alert me to homes that are availble, people looking to buy, and reposessions. Her goal is to keep the park nice and the lots rented. I think my wife and I are going to love the MH business.
Cold weather paint & other trailer paint tips - Posted by Jerry Freeman
Posted by Jerry Freeman on January 28, 2002 at 20:56:50:
Most paint specifies that you shouldn’t paint if the temperature gets below 45 or 50 degrees. ICI Dulux makes a very good exterior paint that will work in temperatures down to 35 degrees. ICI Dulux is the parent company of Glidden and has professional paint stores. Look in the Yellow Pages. I’ve used it on a trailer in the winter, and it not only works well in the cold, it’s great all-around paint. Goes on very well and covers great. By showing my business card, I was able to get the contractor’s price of $16 and change per gallon. The paint covers so well, that was very economical. I expected to use about 3 1/2 gallons on the siding, and it took less than two.
I’ve found that a one-inch thick roller cover works best on aluminum trailer siding because it’s fluffy enough to get into the “in” parts of the vertical siding contours.
Also, I do the edges of the trim where it meets the siding at the top using a painting shield that slips between the top trim and the siding. I make the painting shield out of a piece of aluminum or skirting that I can bend so it wedges itself to keep from slipping down. You can paint a trailer really fast with a fat roller, painting shield and four-inch brush.
I also paint the edge of the roof where it comes down above the “J-channel” rain gutter. It looks better if that’s the same color as the trim. If it’s not painted, it looks old and dirty.
Some trailers look a lot better if you add shutters, available at a Home Depot or the like. You can paint the trim and/or shutters to match. I’m convinced that curb appeal that can be added cheaply does make a difference in selling price/profit. (I bought my first MH for a dollar on October 17, sold it Friday for $12,400 cash. I did spend about $4K in lot rent and materials and more time than I care to admit, but it was good enough.)