Practical Tips On Selling A Used Mobile Home (From The Experts)

Are you ready to let your used mobile home go?

Whether you’re selling it out of need or profit, you can benefit from expert advice to seal the deal. It can be an anxious and drawn-out process. Enough so that many people procrastinate starting it.

What you need are practical tips on selling a used mobile home. There are countless tricks of the trade that help you make a sale for the right price.

Unique challenges of selling a used mobile home

Each type of real estate has its own set of challenges. These can be barriers to making a sale and/or getting the price you want. 

Here are unique hurdles to jump when selling a second-hand manufactured house:

• Buyers will have fewer financing options.
• Homes could look outdated or even worn down.
• You might need to complete extensive repairs first.
• Unlike stick-built homes, they depreciate.
• Realtors probably won’t sell used mobile homes.
• It might not be up to the HUD code.

Unfortunately, some people might still be skeptical about used mobile homes. They might be worried that they are no longer structurally sound or look out of date. However, perceptions are changing at an ever more rapid rate. More and more people have begun to see the value in these unconventional gems.

Try to see these challenges as just another factor that needs to be addressed rather than major concerns. So keep your spirits up. The right buyer is out there, you just need to find them.

Now it’s time to jump straight into the different tips for selling a used mobile home.

Inspection

A great place to start any sale is by having the home inspected. You’ll want to check whether it is up to code or not.

The HUD code is a building code that sets out regulations to control the safety and quality of manufactured homes since 1976. It lays down standards for everything from size to construction materials.

You will clearly run into problems if the home was built before then. But issues can also arise if the house has fallen into disrepair.

If the mobile home isn’t up to standard, you could have trouble selling it. Buyers might not be interested, or even if they are, they will struggle to get financing.

So it will be excellent if you can officially have it checked. And if anything is wrong, you could perhaps have the chance to change it.

Have your home appraised

This can be a rather thorny issue for any potential seller. You obviously want to get the highest price that you can. Unfortunately, people often end up being disappointed by the amount they get.

Overall, it’s a risk you want to take. You will typically gain more than lose. So hire an appraiser or use an appraisal tool before you ever begin listing the property.

It can cost you a few hundred bucks. However, it can help prevent you from getting deceived by a buyer trying to convince you it’s worth less than it actually is.

And who knows. If it worth much less than you expected at that point, you could raise the price with a few high-value upgrades.

Note that there is a vast range of factors that could influence a mobile home’s price. It includes its quality, age, and model. The recipe can be a bit complicated.

Remember when you hire a pro to look for one with experience with manufactured houses.

Turning a new leaf

Depending on the state of your home, this step may be optional. The more modern and better maintained the property is, the less you probably have to do.

A bit of renovation certainly won’t harm the house’s value. And it can definitely help you find a buyer.

If you have limited time and limited resources, focus on the aesthetic changes that can make a huge difference.

Plain and simple, people want to buy mobile homes that look good. They want to be able to picture themselves living there and living well.

One of the most efficient renovations you can make is a fresh coat of paint. It’s cheap, easy, and quick to complete. In the end, it can help make your home look brand new. 

Overall, the best paint colors for trying to sell a house are neutral colors like cream. These shades will create a blank canvas for people’s imagination to play with. When you paint the walls, don’t forget the trim.

Of course, whether or not you do any remodeling, be sure to clean. Clean the house from top to bottom, inside and out. You don’t want to discourage potential buyers with clutter or mess.

Marketing the home

The next tip for selling a used mobile home is to work out a comprehensive marketing strategy. You should use all the resources that are available to you.

One of the marketing strategies is listing. But this deserves a discussion of its own. This is a whole different ball game which involves industry websites and professional services. So we’ll cover this next.

For now, let’s look at strategies that you can easily employ by yourself.

The key tools are:

• Flyers: You might think this one’s a bit old school. But you shouldn’t underestimate the power of a well-designed pamphlet. You can hand them out around the neighborhood. Or even ask some businesses if you can put them in their store.
• Signs: Coroplast yard signs are any seller’s friend. They can certainly help you draw the attention of passersby.
• Social media: Your site of choice can be the ideal place to advertise your home. Take Facebook, for example. You can post an ad on your own page, on the neighborhood’s page, and pages specifically aimed at real estate.

All of these can be a brilliant way to spread the word about your home. It can especially help you to reach a more local audience. They are great options if you want to work independently and shouldn’t take much effort.

List the home

Besides marketing the home with the above strategies, you should also list the house. Most realtors won’t get involved in selling mobile homes. That is why you have to turn to these alternative advertising strategies.

Thankfully, there are now many online sites and listings where you can promote your house. This will help you to reach far and wide.

You could possibly also list it in local trade papers and classifieds.

The more places you advertise the used mobile home, the better your chances will be at getting the right deal.

Get the documents in order

Preferably you should get this step out of the way as soon as possible. You will have to hand these over to the future owner of the home to seal the deal.

It can take some time to find everything and to get everything in order.

The following lists the crucial documents that you need:

• Titles: Because mobile homes aren’t classified as traditional real estate, their deeds work a bit differently. They are typically issued by the motor vehicle departments of the states in which the house is located.
• Bill of sales: Most mobile homes are considered personal property or chattel. In these cases, you and the buyer will need to write a bill of sale for the house.
• Certificate of occupancy: This will be required in most states but not all. It is a document issued by a building department or local government agency to certifying a building’s compliance with applicable building codes and laws. It’s proof that the home’s condition is suitable for occupancy.
• Proof of taxes: Like other types of property, manufactured houses are usually taxed in some way or another. Buyers will probably request evidence that they have been paid and that you aren’t running behind.

Make it easier on yourself by always keeping these documents together in one folder.  Try to keep them safe and secure until you have to hand them over.

Call the professionals

As you can see, selling used mobile homes work quite differently to stick-built properties. And like we’ve said traditional real estate agents probably won’t be able to help.

But an expert tip is to remember that you aren’t left entirely to your own devices.

It can be quite challenging to advertise and sell any property privately. 

One excellent option can be to contact, companies, like us at US Mobile Home Pros, who will buy the home directly from you and sell it. This can dramatically streamline the process.

The most significant advantage of this option is how much quicker the sale can be. This is partly due to the number of resources that these businesses have available. They have a whole team working on this and can often help you with several crucial steps like appraisal and moving.

On top of this, they are always looking for a variety of homes in all kinds of shapes and sizes.

Stage the home

Be prepared that sometime along the process, you will need to show the house to prospective buyers. They will want to inspect the property themselves.

Nowadays, one strategy that experts use is to stage the home. In essence, this means that you have to prepare the house. You want to make it as pleasant and attractive as possible.

We’ve already mentioned how important it is to clean and to do some necessary renovations like painting the walls. This is a crucial part of staging. But it isn’t limited to this. 

There are plenty of smaller steps you can take to complete the picture:

• You might love your home as it is, but not everyone will. It can help to pack away some of your personal effects and belongings. Something a bit more impersonal and minimalist could work better.
• Flowers can perk up any space. Set up a vase or two in key places in the home.
• In place of flowers, you can place a bowl of fresh fruit in the kitchen like lemons.
• We don’t just experience space with our eyes. Our other senses, like our sense of smell, can be just as important. It’s crucial that you deodorize the rooms and instead fill it with amazing fragrances such as freshly baked cookies. This expert trick really does work.

A bonus tip for staging a mobile home is to ask other people’s opinion. Your home might look perfect to you. But a friend or outsider might just spot an issue that you missed.

Say cheese!

Have you ever looked for a property through listings before? If you have, you probably know how frustrating it can be to look through the pages of mediocre photos. Potential buyers will often immediately skip an ad just because of the pictures.

This is one mistake you really shouldn’t make!

A bad photo can make it difficult to get an idea of what the house really looks like. But even worse, it can make the home look unappealing and even just plain ugly.

One of the most important tips is that you should take the time and effort to take fantastic photos. You could use a phone to take pictures but only if it has a really high-quality camera. Otherwise, see if you can borrow a camera from friends or family.

It could even be worth it to hire a pro. 

Besides the photo quality, you also need to try to make the rooms look as attractive and possible. Get some vases of flowers. And please don’t leave the beds unmade and dirty dishes in the sink!

In general, this trick is equally significant whether you are advertising online or in printed media.

Make the close

Getting the right deal for you is never guaranteed. But these tips can seriously help your chances. These are practical measures that you take to increase the value of your house and streamline the sale.

If you are beginning the process for selling a used mobile home, don’t miss our article on 7 key factors that can impact your mobile home value.