Deal or No Deal: 3/2 Doublewide Mobile Home In a Park

Since I’ve received a lot of requests for more case studies, I thought I’d make up another post for “Deal or No Deal.”

This one is for an early 1980s, 28×48 doublewide mobile home in one of my favorite parks. Like many of my deals nowadays, this lead came through a park manager. No one knew it was for sale and I was the first one to go check it out.

As it turns out, this particular seller was looking to upgrade into a new home on land. They were willing to sell the home for what they needed for a down payment on a new home and just wanted a quick sale. Though the home looked decent on the outside, the park manager told me the inside may need some work.

(Note: Usually when leads come my way via park managers, I try to get a feel for their thoughts on the condition of the home. A lot of times, park managers know the history of the home from conversations with owners over the years. This is why it’s extremely important to have a strong network — information is power.)

In any case, the park manager gets me a meeting with the seller who turns out to be a resident I’ve had a few conversations with over the past few years. So, it was a very warm lead versus a cold lead having met the seller in the past.

(Note: Many times I’ll be in the office talking with a park manager when residents come in. These are opportunities to meet those living in the park and to get your name and face out there. Usually, the park manager will introduce me and we’ll have a short conversation.)

Upon meeting the seller at the home, my first impression from the outside was that it had very good curb appeal. Though, when I went inside the home it was another story. To be honest, it seemed like a completely different type of home being on the inside compared to the outside.

Here’s what I found:

Floor work needed due to water damage throughout the home

Dip in floor under dining room table (found by a contractor)

Large hole in floor covered up in bedroom

(Note: Notice the wavy and uneven floor.)

Floor damage near ac window unit (due to moisture and condensation issues)

Bathroom flooring issues (uneven and soft spots due to water damage)

Common area for water damage near toilet

Common area for water damage near tub

Central heat and ac issues (not working, new unit needed)

Plumbing issues (leak in kitchen sink)

Ceiling issues (water stains on the ceilings)

Exterior siding needing replacing (rotting wood due to moisture and condensation issues with water and window ac units)

Exterior siding needing replacing (due to no maintenance of properly sealing loose boards and cracks due to moisture issues)

(Note: Replacing the exterior siding was needed all around the home due to the water damage from lack of proper maintenance.)

Roof issues (shingles missing from top of roof resulting in water damage and mold to exterior)

All in all, when everything was said and done the contractors who had come to inspect the homes (in their particular areas of expertise) confirmed my findings — this was not a deal for me. The cost to do all the fix-up work would be more than the actual value of the home itself. Plus, many of the contractors had warned me there could be other issues found if the project had been taken over (i.e. like peeling an onion, you never know what you’ll find!).

Though the outside of the home had curb appeal, the home definitely had more issues upon further investigation. Again, this is why it’s so important to have a good team of experts to help you!

To make a long story short, I gently told the seller I’d have to pass on this deal as it just involved too much work. As it turns out, the park manager told me the dealership didn’t even want to take it as a trade-in after I went through it!

The lesson learned here is to always confirm your hunches with your experts — that’s why they are there. Every deal is a learning experience. And, that is priceless.

I hope you enjoyed reading this case study of “Deal or No Deal.” I hope it will help you to better understand the thought process when evaluating potential mobile home investments.

Happy investing!

p.s. Feel free to leave comments on any post either here and/or my Facebook Page. Comments are always welcome, thanks for reading!