Buy Lonnie’s books. Seriously. For both it’s about $68 with shipping. It is worth it. If you aren’t sure, just get the first one for $34 with shipping. It doesn’t cost any more to order them separately. However, after ordering the first, and getting the second after getting into a few deals, I wish I had gotten them together at once.
It is the best (and least) I have ever paid for an education in a money-making topic that is doable and really works.
In regards to valuation - you could find out some prices by visiting a dealer, who should have some used mobile homes. Incidentally, Deals on Wheels suggests this as a possible way to find cheap used homes - especially if you let the dealer know you are interested in taking their old, used trade-ins off their hands BEFORE they move them off the MH lot into their dealer lot.
On valuations, really the only way to know is to look in the paper, and call on the ads of dealers and others selling with finance. This is a vital point (again, buy DOW, it covers all this stuff!!!), but the CASH price you will be buying for (from motivated sellers, to boot) is very different from the FINANCED price you will be selling for. That’s part of the beauty of this business. Here in Kentucky, I can find homes for $2000-$5000 all day, and they will sell for $5000-$10000 with financing, because people can’t come up with the cash to pay up front, and there aren’t many financial institutions willing to finance used mobile homes. You are filling the void.
Good luck with your venture. Oh, and by the way, after ordering DOW online here, it should arrive in a week or less. I think DOW took 3 days and MMWMH took 4.
Where to find MH valuations in MO? - Posted by Tracy (StLMO)
Posted by Tracy (StLMO) on November 13, 1998 at 19:09:59:
Does anyone know??? I have no trouble finding comps on “regular” houses, but have no clue where to find out what a particular type/size/make/model of MH is worth. There are ads in my local paper constantly with prices $3000 and under and I just KNOW there are deals to be made here, but haven’t the foggiest of how to determine the actual value of the home. (Yes, I know I need to get Lonnie’s book.) But aside from that, can anybody help me out here? (We can afford to buy these puppies for cash if I knew I wasn’t making a HUGE mistake.) Is anyone doing “Lonnie deals” here?? Here is an ad I saw today: “1974 mobile home, all elec. 2 bd, $2500. Must be moved. Will help with cost of moving” or this one “1973 12x65, 2bd, 1ba, newly remodeled, appliances included, needs to be moved, must sell, make offer, asking $1500.” Come on!! There must be a deal in there somewhere. I will stop rambling now, waaayy to much caffeine today. TIA
Tracy
Re: Where to find MH valuations in MO? - Posted by Dan (NC)
Posted by Dan (NC) on November 14, 1998 at 09:55:16:
The most likely reason you’re seeing these “low” prices is that there are no parks willing to take, or keep homes this old. And trust the others when they tell you not to move a home! Unless you have a spot to set it, and the sellers give it to you, it will be an alligator.
Re: Where to find MH valuations in MO? - Posted by J.P. Vaughan
Posted by J.P. Vaughan on November 14, 1998 at 07:10:04:
Tracy,
Lonnie Deals are simple deals, but I suggest you read
Lonnie’s books before you invest any money.
The PARK where the MH is located is very important in
determining the value of a MH. In one park, the MH may
be worth $5,000, and a mile down the road in another
park, it may be worth $9,000. Big difference.
Also, when you sell a MH WITH financing, you can get a
higher price than if the MH is being sold for all cash.
In fact, one of the reasons we find Lonnie Deals is
because most people selling their MHs are trying to get
all cash, and they don’t find a buyer.
The park manager and others living in the park usually
know what homes have been selling for in the park. So
you need to make friends and ask around.
Re: Where to find MH valuations in MO? - Posted by Tracy (StLMO)
Posted by Tracy (StLMO) on November 13, 1998 at 21:23:04:
Oops, I guess I should clarify that not ALL of the ads that I have seen in this price range are ones that need to be moved. As soon as I finished sending that message, I realized my mistake! (Using 2 that have to be moved as examples.) I have heard some of the horror stories about moving them and it doesn’t sound pretty!
In any event, thank you for the advice. Would you recommend keeping some kind of a log on what homes are selling for what kind of price and in what park? I am thinking that this is the only way to really assess valuation.
