Preparing Your Mobile Home For Sale From Top To Bottom

Selling a mobile home can be just as tricky as selling onsite-built homes. It might look daunting at the beginning with so many different moving parts. Not to mention, you probably want to sell your house as quickly as possible for as much money as possible. Don’t worry! There are several steps you can take to try to make this possible. A crucial part of reaching these goals is to get your home ready.

You need to make sure that the house resembles something that a potential buyer would want to spend money on. If you are planning to sell, take a look at this guide on preparing your mobile home for sale from top to bottom.

1- DIY inspection

So you have made the decision to sell, but where should your preparation start?

Your first step should be to take a careful look at your mobile home. It is essential for you to comb it over from top to bottom. You need to find out if any issues affect its value, or put off potential buyers.

This means that you might need to take an outsider’s perspective to your house. You can get so used to looking at your place that you might miss a few issues. It may help to take someone else along.

Begin by making a checklist of the different rooms in your house and the various features of those spaces. Take this list with you on your inspection. Make notes on anything that you see and want to change.

Remember to check the interior and exterior with the same care.

Here is a list of some common things to look for:

• Damage to the siding and paneling
• Cracked or worn out paint
• Water damage or stains
• Mold
• Cracks or weathering on doors and window sills
• Loose fixtures
• Damaged or loose roofing

2- HUD code

To be able to sell your home, it is usually necessary to make sure that it HUD compliant.  This code for manufactured homes was set out by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to regulate their quality and safety.

Many buyers won’t even consider a home that is not up to code. And if they are willing to, they might not get financing if it isn’t compliant.

This is why people typically have a certified inspector inspect their home before selling. You might want to do this once all your repairs are complete.

On the other hand, if you aren’t familiar with the code, consider getting an inspection at the beginning. The inspector can tell you if there are any repairs or changes that you need to make.

Here is a detailed explanation of what the HUD code entails.

3- Make a plan

Once you’ve done your inspection, you’ll have a pretty good idea of where to go. An excellent idea for the next step is to work out a loose plan for what you want to do. Look over all the things on your list and decide in what order to tackle the process. For example, something like repairs should come before painting.

This step is going to help prevent you from becoming overwhelmed. It can also help you in making sure you get everything done.

4- Repairs

One of the most critical steps in preparing your mobile home for sale is to tackle any necessary repairs. If something is broken, you need to fix it before listing your house. Otherwise, it can severely impact the value of your home and your chance to sell it.

Go through the items on your list one by one. It can help to go by solving the room by room or space by space.

Yes, this will probably mean spending money. But in terms of raising the value of your home, it can really benefit you in the end.

Avoid covering up any issues. Quick fixes are not necessarily always the best. Potential buyers may request to inspect the home themselves, and if they spot those issues, it could create problems.

5- Decluttering and organizing

Clutter is one of those things that can really put off potential buyers. Even though they know it will be cleared out once the house is sold, it can be challenging to visualize yourself living there if it is unorganized.

It is vital that you make sure that everything has a place and nothing is lying around when you put the mobile home on the market.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• When was the last time you used the object?
• Do you still want it?
• Do you know someone that might have a better use for it?

You don’t just have to throw it away. If you want to, you can try to sell some of the more valuable items. You can also donate things that you don’t have a use for anymore.

Or if you don’t want to let things go, you can put it in storage until you’ve made the sale.

When all of the non-essential items have been cleared out, you should focus on organizing the rest of your belongings. This is one asset that you will be able to take to your new home. Invest in some smart storage solutions like baskets that look as fantastic as they are useful.

It sounds simple. However, this can be a massive challenge for many people. Luckily, there are many creative ideas on how to reduce clutter.

6- De-personalize

Preparing your mobile home to sell is all about convincing a buyer that this will be the ideal purchase for them. Part of this is to encourage them to be able to visualize themselves living in your house.

But this can be difficult for them to do if your home is too unique and too personalized. In a sense, you should try to create a blank canvas.

During the time your home is listed, it’s best to store your personal effects. Pack away family photos or any unusual decorations.

This is also the reason why experts recommend that you paint your home in neutral colors.

Even though bold colors can look fantastic, it might be too much for potential buyers. Instead, lighter colors can help to make your home cleaner and neater and gives more potential for the buyers’ imagination. This counts for the interior and exterior of the house.

This doesn’t mean the house can’t have character – but it shouldn’t shout it at you either.

7- Make it sparkle

Don’t even attempt to list or value your mobile home before you have cleaned it thoroughly – top to bottom. This is crucial for selling any house.

You need to clean out every nook and cranny even ones where you don’t think people will look or see. The exterior and interior both need to be taken care of.

The list below gives several steps to cleaning your mobile home:

• Dust off all the surfaces in your home including fireplaces, window sills, and light fixtures.
• Vacuum all the floors and carpets in your house.
• Wash down the walls in the interior of your house.
• Pack out all your cupboards and clean them out by wiping them down with a wet cloth.
• Clean your upholstery like your couches and chairs.
• Use a high-pressure hose to wash down the outside of your home.
• Clean your windows on the inside and outside.
• Sweep any decks, porches or walkways on the outside of your house.

This list doesn’t include everything. What you need to do dramatically depends on the layout and content of your home.

You might need to repeat steps throughout the process. But It is clearly much more straightforward to attempt this if you have already decluttered.

8- Smell the roses

Nobody likes to admit it, but unfortunately, unpleasant smells often linger in our homes. It might be caused by mold, pets or refuse. Common origins are bathrooms, kitchens, drainage, carpets and litter boxes.

No matter the source, you want to get rid of any strong odors in your house if you are preparing your mobile home for sale.

The first step is to locate the source of the smells and try to address it. You might need to throw some things away or clean up the cause.

If the smell still lingers, open up all the windows and doors and let your house air for a couple of hours.

After this is done, you might want to replace the unpleasant smells with lovely fragrant ones. One idea is to place little bowls of vanilla essence in each room in your house and allow it to diffuse. Another tip is to spray room with linen mist on your curtains or blinds so that it spreads every time a breeze flows through.

Here are some more solutions to eliminating those nasty odors.

9- Renovations

It might sound counterintuitive to fix up your house when you are planning to sell. After all, this will mean that you won’t have much time to enjoy it. However, it can really help to increase the value of the home and get it sold.

So if there are any renovations you have started but haven’t finished, now is the time. Or for example, if your kitchen cabinets are looking a bit shabby, you might want to replace them.

One easy way to redecorate your home is to give it a fresh coat of paint. It is a relatively inexpensive way to change the appearance of the house. This can make it look like a completely different home. It is also a brilliant solution to get rid of any stains on your siding that you just can’t clean off.

It is an excellent idea to paint both the inside and outside of your home.

10- Curb appeal

When it comes to buying or selling a home, first impressions matter. It can influence potential buyers’ complete perspective on the property. And the first thing they would see in this case is the outside of the house. That is why when you are preparing to sell you should pay attention to its curb appeal.

Your home should look attractive if you view it from the street. The following list gives changes you can make to create a real eye pleaser:

• Paint the siding on the exterior of the home as well as window sills and shutters.
• Install a beautiful walkway to the front door or porch.
• Add light fixtures to the outside of the house.
• Conceal any unattractive items like power boxes.
• Put some hanging plants or flower pots on the front of your house.
• Get a new welcome mat for the front door.

All of this can help you to make your look more inviting from the start.

11- The lot

Just one of the many things that make manufactured homes unique is that they can be moved around. Unless you install specific foundations, it doesn’t have to be permanently connected to the same piece of ground for its lifetime.

So depending on your situation, you might own just the home, just the ground or both of these. When it comes to selling the home, you may have the potential to sell the lot as well, or extend the rental of it to the future owner. If this is the case, you will need to get it in tip-top shape.

Preparing the lot comes down to landscaping. This is an excellent job for anyone with green fingers. You could plant some beautiful beds or just do some maintenance on any existing ones. If there is a lawn, you should make sure to mow it neatly.

Don’t leave things like tools unnecessarily scattered around the yard.

On the maintenance side, you want to assess the state of infrastructures like any taps or water connections. Also, take a look at any fencing or borders to the property.

Even if you are selling the house separately from the lot, it is still recommended to revitalize it.

Journey to selling your mobile home

Preparing your mobile for sale can clearly take some time and effort. You’ll probably need to make changes throughout the house to get it ready. But believe us, this is one of the best ways to get your home sold fast for the right price.

Although it is essential, it is only one part of selling a property. If your home is a double wide, read our ultimate guide to buying and selling. It can also be a great idea to check out the key factors that impact your mobile home’s value.