Posted by Dirk Roach on April 20, 2000 at 13:21:14:
Hi Chuck,
My advice is to hold the phone!!! You need to read Lonnie’s books before you buy anything, or formulate your game plan. You don’t want to go and taint your rep, by going in and talking to a PM and not know what your talking about first.
As far as your info about the San Diego Mobile Home market, your information is WRONG!!!
Again I would say learn your market, but at this stage you don’t quite know how to do that yet. Never fear though, I’m sure that in a week or so, after you’ve received Lonnie’s materials and have Read them, It will all seem to make much more sense.
It sounds to me that the SD Market info you are getting is from either a dealer, or a realtor. Sad to say. But often times they simply do not understand or know the “Lonnie” Market.
And even so, most times dealers and the like are going to be a little less than accommodating in dealing with future competition.
Anyhow, wait for Lonnie’s materials, I would hate to see you make a mistake.
Hope this helps,
Dirk
Posted by C. Herman on April 20, 2000 at 12:33:00:
THANKS TO ALL WHO RESPONDED TO ME ON MY LAST POST (shouts of adulation (: )
Lonnie?s books are on their way to me, but in the meantime, I already have some mobile homes lining up. I have a couple questions:
Is determining the market value for a mobile done in the same way as with other types of RE (comps, title company reports, etc.)? Is there some little catch with mobiles? I am told that here in San Diego sellers are pretty much getting what they ask, and if you get a 5% discount, you are lucky (I know that much better deals can be found). However, I don?t want to overpay!! (:
How do you present yourself to the park managers? If I understand this right, there are 2 types of owners with a mobile home (and I guess with all properties), and they aren?t always the same person. There is the legal owner and the registered owner. And it is the registered owner that the parks put leasing restrictions on. As a legal owner, I should have very little trouble (with the parks) buying and then selling to someone else and holding the note. Is this correct?
The best advice I can give is for you to wait for the books. They will contain and explain the different issues you have brought up. I would suggest you not start any negotiation with sellers or park managers until you have read the books. You need the education and experience these books represent. Lonnie does a fantastic job of helping us avoid the pitfalls.
Until they arrive, keep in mind that we are dealing with motivated sellers. 5% discount is not a motivated seller. These sellers are sellers who would LIKE to sell but don’t necessarily NEED to sell.
We buy from people who NEED to sell. That is how we make our profits…going into the deal.
As for the park managers. They have a very big say about you buying and selling in their parks. They have a great impact on your business in various ways. The best deals I do come from park manager’s because they know who the motivated sellers are. They know what is motivating these sellers. Most of the people the park managers refer you to will not even have posted a For Sale sign in the window. You would never have know about this home if not for the park manager. The park manager’s will also hold you accountable as a home owner or lien holder. Sure you can buy a home in their park, but that does not mean it can stay in the park. Chances are, if you have not already established a good rapport with the Park Manager, they won’t accept your business plan and can require you to move the home. This is going to cost several thousand dollars to tear down, move and set up.
As stated above, we make our money going into these deals. An unexpected couple grand for moving expenses could easily sink a good deal not to mention a 5% discount deal.
Lonnie will cover all of this in detail and put you in the driver’s seat. Wait for his material. It will save you great heartache and expense. I am also willing to hazard a guess that when you get done with his book, some of those deals won’t look like deals any longer.