What to look for in a mobile home for sale
Jeremy and Samera Harvey of Phoenix, Ariz., look at a lot of mobile home listings. As a husband-wife team operating Dayo Properties, the couple finds they ask sellers many of the same questions when searching for a mobile home.
Here are just a few examples the Harveys offered up:
What to ask a seller when looking at a mobile home for sale
What is your situation?
Often you can get a feel for how accommodating the seller might be when you have a better understanding of their motivation. Each situation is unique, but there are some common themes.
“We do get a lot of people who are moving for health reasons, for work or because they’re moving the family into a larger home,” Jeremy said. “And then there’s the people who are downsizing into an apartment.”
A seller’s motivation in listing their mobile home for sale can be an indicator of how urgent the sale may be, and how negotiable the price.
What type of home is it?
Each buyer will have a preference, such as a double-wide mobile home for sale, or a single-section home in a community. And individual makes and models, or the year the home was built might be preferences.
Jeremy and Samera deal in all vintage of homes, but often are looking for late ’80s to mid-’90s homes.
“We like Palm Harbor. That brand sells well here in Arizona, as well as Fleetwood, Schult and Champion,” Jeremy said.
“We sell a lot of Cavco, too,” Samera chimed in.
Where is the park?
There are a number of reasons you want to understand where the home sits. Perhaps it’s not far from you, or it’s in a new area you might like. You could simply buy the home and reside in the community.
If the park is in a location that doesn’t work for the buyer, there’s always the option of moving the home, which Dayo Properties has handled for a client or consulted with them on how to have a home moved.
Understand that some homes are too old or in too much disrepair to move safely and cost-efficiently. If the bones of the home are solid, and the seller is able to contract a good mobile home transport company, the home can be placed in a new community or on private land.
Are there big ticket repairs?
“Many homes need new carpet, a repair to the AC and some minor plumbing issues,” Jeremy said. “That’s standard maintenance.”
If the mobile home roof is in good shape, there’s no problem with the chassis and the condition of the windows is good, you may have found yourself a winner.
About Samera and Jeremy Harvey of Dayo Properties
The Harveys are mobile home specialists.
The couple met in Tampa, Fla., and moved to Phoenix with an interest in the housing market. Jeremy has a masters in business administration from Florida Gulf Coast. Samera studied at University of New Mexico and is a certified public accountant. They learned about manufactured housing from John Fedro, and went into business on their own.
“We kind of were tired of the 9 to 5 and the glass ceiling,” Jeremy said. “We wanted to get out and do more, do something on our own and do more to help people.”
The High Demand for Manufactured Housing
Samera said they saw the giant demand for affordable housing and took a leap. “We just jumped right into it and it’s been great,” she said.
The do a lot of work through client referrals, and word of mouth. They said the most difficult part is not selling the home, it’s find the good home to sell.
“We’re building relationship with community owners, largely by introducing ourselves when we identify a home we want to buy in a community,” Jeremy said. “We let them know who we are and how we do business, and tell them they can keep us in mind for any time a home comes up for sale.”
Dayo initially would purchase, fix and list a manufactured home for sale with payments. Then they moved to a more extensive rehab and outright sale.
“Sometimes the buyer wants to come live in the community, and sometimes they’re looking to take the home to their own community or private land,” Jeremy said, which started their business toward a brokerage and consultancy.
In the last 18 months, the couple has sold about 80 homes.
“We’re transformed in that way, brought in some team members to help and really have been able to scale our business in a way that provides the greatest amount of flexibility for the customer’s needs in terms of schedule and home maintenance,” Samera said.
Ready to learn more? Read our manufactured housing expert’s guide to buying the perfect mobile home
