Where to now? ... - Posted by Mark

Posted by Philip on August 20, 2003 at 07:51:33:

Smaller deals are better. I would keep looking. The numbers have to be adjusted due to geographical area…BUT I bought a older mh for $1800.00 a few weeks ago, and it is ready to sell.
I do live in a low cost of living area…and yet some good negotiators could have bought this for a little less maybe.
Philip

Where to now? … - Posted by Mark

Posted by Mark on August 18, 2003 at 13:40:46:

After reading everything on this site for several months now, I finally went ?riding the speed bumps? (Dallas area) on Sunday afternoon. I saw many homes for sale and actually called on one of them ?

1991 Solitaire, 1,000 sq ft. Initial asking price $12,000. (Lot rent $340 ? seems high). I asked the question ?If I could get you all cash, what?s the least you?d accept?? Seller said he?d need to consult wife, then came back with $10,000. I mentioned that I buy and sell homes and would need to be able to buy wholesale. Seller asked what I would be prepared to pay. I did not name a figure, but left a business card.

MH had some water leak damage around door (i.e. floor section needs to be replaced), but I did not actually inspect home. It looked nice from the outside ? nicely sided, skirt in good shape, neat and tidy lot, etc.

This seems a bit too high for a ?Lonnie deal?, so is this one worth pursuing at all or completely outside the range? Comparing to some of the others, $12,000 appears to be within a reasonable price range for home/park/area.

Seller was very polite but did not appear overly motivated (yet!). Said they were buying a condo in 2-3 weeks (so motivation will probably change ? soon). Said they had only started advertising MH a week ago and mentioned about ?putting it up on the web?. Also said that park manager might sell home for them, but she was currently too busy.

When I was asking the questions, I did notice that a lot of the words just rolled off my tongue (after continually monitoring this site!).

I noted the details of all the others (about 20 in all), so will call on these too.

So ? what do you think I should do next? How can I elicit another price from seller? He said $10,000,which was only a $2,000 price drop, so what kind of a ?come back? should I use? Call him or wait for him to call me? etc.

Many thanks.
Mark.

Re: Where to now? … - Posted by Al (Wi)

Posted by Al (Wi) on August 19, 2003 at 12:06:46:

I’m just repeating what I saw in other posts here, I’m sorry I don’t remember the authors name to give them the credit they deserve.
“You have to have the ‘patience of death’ in this business”. Wait until the seller is making payments on 2 places. Don’t name a price until he shows you he is worried about his credit, or is willing to walk away from it. Yes, you will loose some deals to those willing to pay above wholesale, so ride the speed bumps again and find 6-8 sellers who are self motivating to a lower price as time and deadlines squeze them down to a price that qualifies as a Lonnie deal.

Re: Where to now? … - Posted by Philip

Posted by Philip on August 18, 2003 at 17:51:18:

Mark,
I am naturally a skeptic, but this was a good $30.00 spent. He gives you details that you should allready know, but that you forget or trivialize. And he gives it to you straight without showing off about himself.

I am going to get his second book, but right now my meager “book budget” has been spent on a negotiating book. (I am a weak negotiator)

I have done 3 deals and am in the middle of the 4th…in about 9 months.

If you haven’t read DOW you should.
Good Luck,
Philip

Re: Where to now? … - Posted by Tony-VA/NC

Posted by Tony-VA/NC on August 18, 2003 at 15:46:59:

Mark,

You mention that you have been reading the site for several months and went out riding the speed bumps.

Have you read Lonnie’s books? The answers are there and will tell you how to respond to the different negotations replies used by the seller and buyers.

For $30 each, you cannot go wrong. One or two posts that may answer a question for you here or there are not the same as having the whole education at your fingertips. Don’t cut yourself short. One mistake will cost you (thousands by the looks of your deal) that could have been avoided had you known what you “don’t now know.”

Best Wishes,

Tony

Re: Where to now? … - Posted by Mark

Posted by Mark on August 19, 2003 at 10:37:50:

Many thanks for your helpful post Tony.

I do have both Lonnie’s books … and have virtually worn out DOW. Maybe I’m just suffering from out and out fear.

I guess part of what I was trying to convey (based on other homes I saw) was that $12,000 seemed “in the ballpark” for a retail buyer, but what I needed to get was a wholesale price. I guess it all comes down to a seller’s motivation. Seller mentioned $10,000 … I said I couldn’t pay that … seller then asked how much I could pay … er! …

Does anyone know when Lonnie’s books were actually written? (10 years ago?) He talks about buying in the low single digits ($1,000-$3,000) and selling for double … but I wonder if that figure now needs to be adjusted upwards by some factor. i.e. in 2003, what price range would now constitute a “Lonnie deal”?

(As an aside, I did notice some homes had commercial looking signs in the windows, along with refernce numbers to quote when calling. I assume these were repos or something).

Regards,
Mark