Re: Dealer Status? - Posted by Susan
Posted by Susan on February 09, 2001 at 19:27:44:
Re: dealers in WA - help!
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Carlene,
I posted a “dealer status” dilemma a few days ago but buried it back down the line…am re-posting with this string because it’s all the same topic: what do we do when state dealer licensing laws are designed (seemingly) to prevent doing Lonnie-type deals? This is creative real estate right??! I’m new, I’m trying to be creative, but obviously Washington isn’t the only state with strict requirements. Are there ways around it or not? I just want to know so I can refocus on another are of CRE if I must, but I’m reluctant (can you tell?) to let this area go. Do folks just choose to risk it, not being licensed? Am I missing something?
As promised (below), I spent three hours on this site yesterday reading all about L/O, ordered course/tape/books, and am curious to hear if this indeed can get around the requirements (they are outlined below).
Even though state restrictions differ in the specifics, are there any general recommendations for how to get around the notion that only licensed dealers can sell to the public? I don’t want to beat a dead horse, but I am asking for some direction, especially from those in the group who are doing the deals in such states.
Thanks in advance - this site is so amazing for all its energy and creativity!
Posted by Susan on February 07, 2001 at 15:54:03:
In Reply to: Re: dealers in WA posted by Larry-WA on February 05, 2001 at 19:53:07:
Larry and others,
Thanks for the response/details on dealer license requirements in WA state. This is a bit disheartening, so I’m calling on the creative brain energy of the group for a solution!
I did call the appropriate state offices and ended up speaking with the “investigations” office division of the Dept. of Licensing for the state. The woman I spoke with had a lot of good information, but most of it was discouraging. Yes, it’s true that in this state, to obtain a mh dealer’s license one must have a commercially zoned office space, open between the hours of 10-4 (minimum) with a sign displayed (Also, $30,000 bond, background/criminal check). These requirements are designed to discourage “curbside” dealers from operating from homes, mobile offices, etc. The logic is that “the public” wants to be able to trust dealers, be able to contact them, see their operation, etc., and that this level of trust and professionalism can only be accomplished within the confines of a traditional business operation. Now, I can understand some of this logic, specifically, if my neighbor decided to deal in used cars, had them constantly parked all over the neighborhood, attracting a lot of non-residential traffic and clutter, I’d be an unhappy neighbor. But there seems no way around these requirements, even when the mh’s would never be on my personal, residential or neighborhood property, and even though the people I buy from/sell to would not ever be coming to my own residence. It’s just my computer and fax machine that are at home. (Actually, I’m hoping to never have to even move a mh from one park to another.)
Honestly, I’ve been really excited about trying “Lonnie deals” in my area (seems ripe for them, really). Now, it seems that my options are limited to (1).operating without a license (not too comfortable with that one) or (2) avoiding mh business altogether and sticking with traditional “real estate” and wholesaling/rehabbing. Is there anything more to try?!
One wild thought…can lease/option to purchase technique get around the “sale to the public” classification that gets me defined as a dealer? I don’t know much about the lease/option thing (although I’ll be doing a lot of reading on those as-yet-unexplored parts of this website immediately to remedy that!), but can anyone point me in a more encouraging direction? I have no desire to attempt to evade or ignore state laws, but I’d really like to try some of these mh deals!
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!