Does this sound right??? - Posted by Bushman

Posted by Jerry Freeman on February 06, 2002 at 20:45:07:

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Does this sound right??? - Posted by Bushman

Posted by Bushman on February 06, 2002 at 10:58:28:

Just sold our first MH and going through the hoops of PM at this point. In their credit approval, we already have done ours on the buyer, they would like to know some information about the payment our buyers will be making to us.

I do not see a problem with giving them the payment and the number of payments, but they have also asked us to provide them the details of the agreement (purchase price, interest, etc).

They claim that all the banks are giving them this information now. I have my suspicions since they are dealers as well. They do not do financing but they certainly are competitors. I know they could probably get this information eventually by doing a records search with our Secretary of State, but should I be giving them this information up front?

We are going with the approach, for now, to just give them the pieces of info we think they need - payment and number of payments. But do they have the right to ask for the rest of the information surrounding the deal?

Thanks for the comments! - Posted by Bushman

Posted by Bushman on February 06, 2002 at 13:36:36:

Thanks for the input Gerry/Chuck…

Why would they need to know the down payment? Completely understand the overextension issue and wanting to know the payment, but the downpayment should not necessarily be relevant. Buyers can get this from anywhere and really does not have effect on the debt ratio calculations. I do not have an issue with supplying the info, per se, but now we are getting really close to that point of telling them everything…

Re: Does this sound right??? - Posted by GerryH VA

Posted by GerryH VA on February 06, 2002 at 12:07:04:

(First advice is to talk to PM first…I don’t know if you did this or not.)

My first response is WARNING… I have never had anyone ask the details of the financing except to ask the down payment and monthly payment. This is usually done for them to determine if the person is overextended on credit, bills, etc. Anything more than that is odd. Since you already own the mobile home, it is not like they can undercut you in this deal. They may be just gleaning info for thier own business. It has happended to me several times. They may also want to get in contact with your buyer if they have a better deal.

Since they got you on the line (ie, they can dissaprove every buyer you got), you better provide the info and see what they do. If they steal your buyer, blacklist the park. If they steal the way you do business, thank God for the competition, it keeps you honest.

Good Luck

Gerry H

Re: Thanks for the comments! - Posted by GerryH VA

Posted by GerryH VA on February 06, 2002 at 21:04:31:

I have also found that if they can’t come up with a couple hundred dollars for a down payment, then they do not have the financial finesse to come up with the payments. As soon as they begin to go through the mental gyrations of “well I could borrow from my uncle’s cousin’s nephew”, or “I could sell my big screen TV”, or my personal favorite “can you wait till Thursday”, I usually persuade them not to buy the home.
There are enough buyers out there so don’t get hung up with these folks.

Good Luck

GerryH VA

possible reason down payment is important - Posted by Jerry Freeman

Posted by Jerry Freeman on February 06, 2002 at 19:09:10:

I read somewhere that repossessions are in the 30% range for homes purchased without downpayments and only about 7% for homes purchased with a downpayment. It’s just another way to get a sense of how reliable the person is likely to be. Think about it – if they’ve put some money down, they’ll have to think twice before skipping out. That has just as much effect on the PM who wants to keep collecting lot rent as it has on you, who want to keep collecting your payments.

Best wishes,
Jerry

Re: Does this sound right??? - Posted by Chuck (AZ)

Posted by Chuck (AZ) on February 06, 2002 at 13:00:09:

Gerry hit this one right… they probably just want to make sure the buyer isn’t over-extending themselves.

Payment amount and down payment are reasonable questions to ask… I wouldn’t care personally as a PM or as a Park Owner, I’d be more concerned with the buyers credit/criminal checks and employment history.

Draw the line where you see fit. I would.