Inherited property often comes with emotional and financial complications that make it a mixed blessing. If several beneficiaries are involved, there may be disagreements concerning what to do with the manufactured home. Heirs may lack experience in tax matters, and even sole beneficiaries frequently have internal conflicts about what to do with the property.

7 Things to Consider When Dealing With Inherited Mobile Homes

Talk With a Real Estate Tax Professional

The first step after you inherit a property should be to talk with an experienced real estate tax professional. Estate taxes can be hefty as well as complex, and understanding potential tax burdens associated with the various available options helps heirs make better choices.

Sell the Property

If you live in another city or state and have no desire to move, selling the inherited mobile home maybe your best option. If other beneficiaries are involved, coming to a mutual agreement on a minimum price will prevent possible conflicts down the road.

Move Into the Property

Many people who inherit manufactured homes from their parents decide to move into the property themselves. This makes sense if you are already living and working in the area. Those who establish an inherited property as their primary residence will become exempt from capital gains taxes when they eventually sell the home.

Rent the Property to Another Party

If the real estate market in the area where the house is located is depressed, renting the property out to another party will generate revenue while waiting for more favorable market conditions to develop. You’ll have to change the insurance policy on the home to a landlord policy that covers legal liabilities in case a tenant has reason to sue. Depending on the individual laws of your state, you will also receive tax benefits from renting out the property. If you or one of the other beneficiaries has landlord experience, you may also benefit from managing the rental yourself rather than contracting with a property management service.

Turn the Property Into a Vacation Rental

Privately-owned vacation rentals have become big business in recent years. Many travelers prefer the option of staying in an actual house rather than in a hotel. Keep in mind, however, that unless the home is located in an area that’s popular among vacationers, there’s no real guarantee that going this route will generate significant income. This also provides you with the option of using the home yourself during certain times.

Donate the Property

Donating the property may be a good option if the trailer has significant damage or if it’s in disrepair.  You may be able to donate it directly to the charitable organization of your choice. Laws governing the charitable donation of property change frequently, however, so be sure to consult with an experienced real estate attorney or tax professional before coming to a firm decision.

Act Relatively Quickly

The important thing to remember when you inherit property is that you have many options. In most cases, you will have to act fairly quickly because daily holding costs can rapidly devalue a property. However, you should take enough time to make the best possible decision for everyone involved.

Most people find that once they come to a final decision about what to do with an inherited property, the associated stress and emotional baggage are substantially reduced. After everything is settled, most recipients also enjoy financial benefits no matter which course of action they decide on. This is particularly true for those who seek the advice of experts when making decisions concerning the property.

#1 Buyer of Inherited Mobile Homes

EZ Mobile Home Buyer is actively buying mobile homes in Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio on a monthly basis so that you can sell your home in a timely manner.

We make the process simple and headache-free because we purchase properties with cash and can close quickly.  Don’t worry about the paperwork, repairs, or home inspections.

First off, we’re the actual buyer of your home,  we don’t play games like the other companies or individuals.

We are professional mobile home buyers based in Texas and offer a unique home buying service so that you can sell your mobile home fast and no longer have to worry about it sitting on the market until the “perfect buyer” shows up.

Mobile home parks provide an excellent opportunity to create consistent cash flow and a business that is recession-proof.  You’ll notice that I used the word business and not “investment”.  Parks are more like a business and less like an investment because you actively manage the mobile home parks and if you want to extract the most cash flow than you’ll have to be actively involved.

Now some people will argue with the statement above but keep in mind the best mobile home parks to buy are ones that are mismanaged by lazy owners which means they don’t actively work in the business.

 

Is owning a mobile home park a good investment?

In my opinion, the answer is yes but it’s not for everyone.

First thing you should do is determine if you want to be actively involved in this industry or do you want to be more passive.

If you choose to be active then you’ll find great returns on your money but you’ll need some patience when it comes to acquiring your first park.  I’d recommend that you take a class on mobile home park investing and then branch out from there.

If you’re more of a passive investor then I’d look to partner with an active investor and provide debt or take an equity position in an opportunity.  There are pros and cons to debt and equity and you’ll have to do your own research to determine which one works best for you.

If you’re unable to find a trustworthy partner then you can look at REITs.

 

How much do trailer park owners make?

The answer to this question is pretty hard to answer because it depends on quite a few variables.  You’ll need to know how big the park is, how much lot rent is charged, operating expenses and so on.  In my opinion, you can earn above-average returns in the mobile home industry but it’s not passive income.  You’ll need to be active in your investments if you want to extract the most out of them.

 

How many mobile homes can you put on an acre?

It depends on the zoning rules in the county or city that you’re investing in.  The best way to determine how many manufactured homes you can put on a parcel of land is to meet with the local land management office.  They’re very easy to work with and they’ll do their best to answer all of your questions.

 

Mobile home park management

Hiring the right management company for your park can be difficult because you lack the knowledge of how to interview them correctly.  Asking the right questions and listening to their answers will help you navigate this important part of the business.

What will or does the property management company do for its management fees?

Strategy – What value are they bringing to the table and can they articulate it in a simplistic way?  If management talks about NDAs and proprietary tactics than walk away.

Operations – Do they have a dedicated regional manager, administrative staff, bookkeeping, and HR specialist to closely oversee and monitor your property?

Marketing – What types of marketing do they do?  You need specific activities, not general speak.  If they can’t speak to online marketing initiatives then I’d look elsewhere.

Technology – What type of software do they use to manage the park and do you have access via a client portal?

Communication – Will they provide an account manager and monthly KPIs?

 

Management activities

Collect rent – The mobile home park manager should have the skills and temperament required for collecting rent.  From the start, they’ll need a robust process that you want them to follow.  Don’t depend on them to create and implement a process on the fly, it won’t work.

You should consider electronic rent payments and a client portal for tenants to utilize.  This makes collecting rent much easier and you’ll wind up collecting more rent by making it easier for the tenant to pay and you remove excuses that they can use to not pay or pay late.

Conflict management – It’s very common for a manager to have to act as a mediator between park tenants and sometimes between their own management staff.  You need to remember that a park manager’s job is a thankless job.  A lot of responsibility falls on the manager’s shoulders in day-to-day decision making. While everyone expects the manager to have answers, no one really cares about their experience or particular skill set. A tenant who got bit by their neighbor’s dog or has noise complaints will be banking on the manager’s authority to remedy the issue.

Schedule maintenance – Since most mobile homes belong to the park residents and not the park, the manager probably won’t have to deal with home repairs. However, they’re still held responsible for issues involving utilities like water, sewer, power, lawn care, etc.

Not all issues will require a professional, and park managers will end up saving a lot of money for the owner if they can make a quick fix themselves.

Leasing & Sales – Park managers may need to find new residents in addition to managing the current tenants. This can be a lengthy and complicated process because most managers don’t know how to market via online methods.  I’d recommend that you work with a digital marketing agency to build a sales funnel for your manager.

This will allow them to be great at operating the park while the online marketing plan does all of the heavy lifting when it comes to driving homeowners to the park.  You’ll also need to ensure that you have the appropriate licensing from the state in which you operate.

 

Make life easy with mobile home park management software

Quickbooks – First on the list is Quickbooks. It is one of the most popular software setups for managing finances, including employee payroll. Notably, Quickbooks will help you manage the finance side of your mobile home park business and make it easy to share information with your accountant.

Rent Manager – Rent Manager features all sorts of tools to help you run your mobile home park in one software. It’s customizable and it adapts to businesses of any size.

Among its various features, you’ll find that it works for accounting and electronic payments. Additionally, mobile and online editions of the software are available for users.

Property Tracker – If this is your first mobile home park purchase then you might have an interest in Property Tracker’s evaluation tool but keep in mind there’s nothing better than doing your own due diligence.

Besides evaluating a park, Property Tracker will help you keep an eye on your current portfolio. It leverages built-in analytics to assist you in identifying ways to increase profits, lower taxes, and manage maintenance costs.

Cozy.Co – Very easy and straightforward user experience.  Tenants will love it because they can set up recurring rent payments or one-time payments. Plus, Cozy will stay in communication with your tenants on your behalf.

Once you get comfortable with the software you’ll notice that it cuts your workload in half by helping you with tenant screening, listing the mobile home, managing tenant applications, managing tenant requests and communication.

 

The mobile home park business offers great opportunities

In closing, we hope we’ve helped you identify some mobile home park software that can change your business for the better. Most of the software we’ve listed here will offer you a free demo or trial on their website. Check it out, try each one, and see which benefits you the most.

If you understand how to manage a mobile home park yourself, you’ll have greater success finding the right candidate. Ultimately you’re looking for the person who can help your park thrive. As the park owner, you still have responsibilities but a good park manager can help shoulder the load.

If you’re thinking about selling your RV and mobile home park then contact us today for a free cash offer.

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!