Selling a manufactured home may appear easier than selling a home but you’ll be sadly mistaken. The reason for this is the sales data for used mobile homes doesn’t exist so it’s very difficult to determine the value of the trailer and finding a willing and able buyer to pay full price with no financing is next to impossible.
It’s important to note, mobile home pricing has no standardization and new model pricing varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. Feel free to look online but you’ll be hard-pressed to find used prices because the listing directories only show list prices, not actual sold prices.
Plus, pricing varies from state to state and the quality of the park can add or take away from the price.
So, you have two choices, you can sell your home to an actual homeowner or you can sell it to a cash buyer.
Selling to an actual homeowner is difficult because it takes 60 to 120 days to sell and that’s considered a fast sale. Don’t forget that if your mobile home is located in a park than the buyer will need to qualify with the park as well. You’d be surprised how many people get declined by the park.
Selling to a homeowner, How does a retail offer work?
There are two ways to sell to the actual buyer of the home. You can list it yourself on Craigslist and MH Village or you can work with the park and have them sell it on your behalf.
Working with the park will lead to a faster sale but you’ll have to pay a brokerage fee which is 8% of the sales price. If you’re not in a big hurry to sell then selling it yourself might be a better option.
Mobile home values can and will vary widely and you need to be careful when establishing your sales price. If you’ve done any research then you know by now that determining the price of your mobile home is difficult. Older units can go for as low as $500 and newer units sell for $5,000 up to $25,000 depending on size and condition.
If you bought your manufactured home new from the dealer and financed it then you’re probably upside down in the property unless you made a large down payment at the time of purchase. I see this problem all of the time when speaking with sellers.
When you’re upside down in the property then you only have two options. Stay in the home and pay down the mortgage or rent it out. These scenarios are not ideal but they’re your only option unless you want to default.
13 Things You Must Consider Before Selling Your Mobile Home
Using a Realtor: If your mobile home is personal property then a Realtor can’t really help you because they tend to sell real property only. Plus, they don’t have a ton of knowledge about manufactured homes because no one tracks the sale price of used homes. You might be better off working with the sales office at your local park.
Paperwork: If you don’t fill it out correctly and have all of the items done before you go to TDHCA then this step in the process will be a real headache because you’ll have to make a couple of trips to the tax office and TDHCA.
Pricing: The best place to determine pricing is online because no one tracks sold prices of manufactured homes. Don’t be fooled by asking prices that you see online. Especially if the home has been for sale for more than 90 days. Obviously, it’s overpriced because it’s sitting on market while other homes are selling.
If you want to be an expert on pricing then I’d suggest watching your local market for 60-90 days. See which ones sell and which ones don’t. You can go a step further by looking at the photos to determine condition and upgrades.
Supply vs Demand: If you’re in an area with a large number of for-sale signs then you can expect your home to take quite a long time to sell unless you’re the cheapest property on market.
Age: If your mobile home was built before 1992 then it will be pretty difficult to sell unless it’s in perfect condition or it’s been renovated perfectly. My advice to sellers with older homes is to take whatever you can get for it and move on.
Model and Manufacturer: Some brands are more appealing than others because of the build quality. Higher quality manufacturers like Clayton homes produce higher quality homes that will last longer than cheaper alternatives and they tend to hold their value as well.
Dimension – The square footage, number of bathrooms, bedrooms, and living space will change the sales price.
Upgrades – These vary widely but if you’re leaving the appliances, large shed and carport than the home is worth more.
Type of Park – The park’s lot lease cost will affect your ability to sell because the potential buyer will have to pass a background check and financially qualify.
Local community – A top-quality neighborhood will increase the selling price for your residence, so make sure to tell potential buyers about all of the amenities and services offered by the park.
Days on market: A fast mobile home sale is 45 to 60 days and an average sales time is closer to 6 months or even a year.
Financing: Generally, it is extremely challenging to acquire financing for any used manufactured home. If you broker the home through the park then you might have a chance with setting up financing for the new owner. The top 3 lenders in the USA are 21st Mortgage, Triad, and Ditech.
Potential problems: If you have a mortgage lien on the mobile home then it’s extremely difficult to sell because of the paperwork issues. The other major issue that I see sellers run into is when they need the mobile home moved. You’ll have a hard time getting any money for the home unless you find a buyer that has land that they can move it to. Keep in mind that it costs about $5,000 to move a single-wide and $10,000 for a doublewide.
After reading the information about and you still feel confident that you can sell it on your own then, by all means, feel free but there’s an easier way to sell mobile homes. Keep in mind that you might not receive the highest price but you’ll be eliminating all of the issues and headaches that come with selling it your self.
Selling to a cash buyer or investor, How does a wholesale offer work?
Selling to a local investor is the easiest way to sell your manufactured home but you need to make sure that they deal in mobile homes first.
Instead of waiting months for your home to sell, you’ll have your home sold within 48 hours.
13 Cash Buyer Benefits
Paperwork: The investor or cash buyer will handle the paperwork and it will be processed by TDHCA.
Pricing: It will vary widely depending on condition but keep in mind that cash buyers will buy it in as-is condition.
Condition: Overall condition doesn’t matter because investors will buy the home in “as is” condition.
Supply vs Demand: Investors are always looking for more homes to buy so the overall supply doesn’t matter too much.
Age: If it was manufactured before 1992 then the sale of your home will be difficult to impossible.
Model and Manufacturer: If you have a mobile home manufactured by a high-quality builder than you’ll receive more for the home.
Dimension: Doublewides will always sell for more than single wides.
Upgrades: It really depends on what type of upgrade. In my opinion, your appliances will help you receive a higher offer.
Type of Park: Higher-end parks will ensure that you receive more for your manufactured home while low-end parks will make it difficult for you to sell.
Local community: If you’re located in a city where jobs are bountiful then the value of your home will be higher due to a larger buyer pool.
Days on market: Cash sales happen in 48 to 72 hours. So, you really don’t need to worry about other mobile homes for sale or how long it will take.
Financing: Doesn’t matter because a cash buyer will pay cash for the home.
Potential problems: Don’t work with crooks or scam artists and they’re easy to spot if you know what to look for. When selling your home the cash buyer or investor should take over the lot rent. Don’t allow them to persuade you in keeping the lot rent in your name. That’s the number red flag when looking for a scam buyer.
Need to sell fast? One of many largest advantages of working with a local investor is that they can buy your home within 48 hours. This can solve quite a few problems that manufactured homeowners run into when trying to move or relocate.
Sell Your Manufactured Home to EZ Mobile Home Buyer
A three-step process to sell:
Selling to a cash buyer provides the easiest way to sell a manufactured home or trailer. You might not receive top dollar but you’ll remove all of the issues when it comes to selling to a homeowner.
Step 1 – Fill out the easy online form at the top right of this page or call us directly 512-377-1196.
Step 2 – One of our mobile home buyers will call you to learn more about the home and why you’re thinking about selling.
Step 3 – EZ Mobile Home Buyer will make you an all-cash offer and handle all of the paperwork as well as property taxes on your behalf.
It’s that easy!
EZ Mobile Home Buyer is based in Austin, TX, and we are actively looking to acquire existing RV Parks, RV Resorts, and 
Here at EZ Mobile Home Buyer, we will buy your RV Parks, RV Resorts, and Mobile Home communities.
Most of the time the dealers won’t pay true market value for the home. Instead, they use the 
When trading in your home, you’ll need to factor in the cost of hidden fees which can vary between manufacturers.
