As investors that purchase and resell used mobile homes one of our goals is to be proficient at attracting mobile home owners at the precise time they need to sell. If you talk to 50 different real estate professionals you very could receive 50 different methods to find sellers and their properties. Below are 5 great methods that are actually working in today’s economy to attract and locate motivated mobile home owners.
1. Real Estate or Website Expired Listings: To help sell her home, a seller may sign a contract with a Real Estate Agent or similar local company for a term of typically 90-365 days. If the seller’s Real Estate Agent cannot find a qualified buyer before the listing contract expires, then the responsibility for selling the property is returned to the seller. This is an excellent time for a smart investor to initiate conversations with the seller.
Ask a local Real Estate Agent for a list of mobile home properties both attached to land and inside parks (some areas will not list mobile homes in rented parks) that are 10 days away from expiring or that have expired within the last 90 days. Make sure to double-check that these properties have not been re-listed with another Real Estate Agent.
2. Back Property Taxes: Regarding mobile homes that are affixed to your private property; improved property taxes must be paid every year. A great signal to a homeowner wanting and needing to sell their mobile home in a hurry can be that the homeowner has the lack of money to pay their last few yearly property tax bills. If these back taxes are not paid within a certain amount of time (usually 1-3 years) the local government may foreclose on the property to compensate for the back taxes owed. Property tax liens supersede most first mortgages.
Go online to your local Property Tax Assessor's website to search for mobile home property with late property taxes. This search may have to be done manually. Mail your “we Buy Mobile Homes” letter to all mobile homes not owned by companies late on property taxes.
3. Networking with Other Investors: In your area there are likely dozens of active real estate investors marketing and advertising for winning deals on all sorts of properties. Many of these real estate investors will pass right by mobile homes without any thought for the cash-flow they may be passing. Other investors are a great source of mobile home leads! Tell every investor you meet that you are now purchasing all types of mobile homes. Pay a referral for any homes you close.
4. Park Managers and Community Leaders: Most mobile home parks have a manager or some type of community leader to help enforce rules and collect rents. These individuals have their fingers on the pulse of who is selling or about to sell their manufactured home in the neighborhood. Perhaps this park manager will give you a heads up on any mobile home owners inside their park that are behind on their monthly pad rent. Late lot rent is another great precursor to finding motivated mobile home owners. Many park managers may not give you this private information (past due lot rents) unless they like, trust, and have done business with you before. Begin slow and ask for any homes available for sale within their park or owned by the park from eviction or abandonment they are looking to sell, depending on the size of the park this may be often.
Be a seller's friend first, then see if you can help them.
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