All Forum Posts by: Edward Hamill

This company is notorious for this! I worked with 27 of their communities in Florida, placing new homes in the community...and even then, it took forever! You would think they would want to accept rent on an EMPTY lot, but it was not uncommon that after approval, during construction of the home, which customer already paid for...something would come up, putting their approval in jeopardy! Needless to say, I avoided these communities at all costs!

@Jackie P.

I may still have some info for some internal Sr Management... let me check my old computer and shoot you a PM if I find anything.

Although I am in Florida now... I spent the first 30 years in Connecticut and YES, uneven floors and too short doorways are actually looked at as character and "part of the life story"... much like well worn wooden steps. To me, worn down steps are a trip hazard...to someone buying an old colonial, they show the love and wear of a family going up and down the stairs for years. Age sells in New England!

Me... I would leave as much "old bones" as possible in the old house. If it is not a structural issue, it may be the little extra that sells the house.

Couple of random thoughts...

Is this home on the inside street of the park? The only "unit 28" I can find is actually off Sinepuxent Ave and appears to be 3 houses in.

Is the bump-out in the back new? How about the deck? If yes, were they permitted? Too often people think "its just a trailer, I don't need a permit" but that is not the case. Based on a few satellite images, they don't seem to have been there long... Did they replace the floor when they added new cabs and granite countertops? The age of the home suggests that it was not built to handle the extra weight. Also, are the tie-downs up to code?

Lot rent - what does the lease say about annual increases? Is there a cpi cap, percentage cap or nothing at all?

@Lisa Miller

Awesome! A parent being a parent and teaching their kids how to be successful in life! That is one common thread I am finding on BP!!

I recently went to a container auction and bought 2 4'x4'x4' cardboard boxes full of amazon return goods...cost me around $250 total by the time I got it home. The last few weeks, my 8yr old daughter and 10yr old son have inventoried, tested and photographed every item in those boxes and starting on March 1 will be opening their eBay store...why? because they watched me work hard to make my own money and want to do the same! My in-laws (and my wife) think I am crazy and that they wont make any money...my thought? Who cares! They are working towards a positive goal (new iPads) and have pride in what they are doing! And, if they fail, what better way to learn that they need to dust themselves off and get back in the game (that and I already took some items and sold them at the pawn shop...made back my $250 investment)!

Proudest moment as a dad?Last month, my son was teaching his sister how to make paracord bracelets to sell (he has a deal with a few local sport shops that buy and resell his bracelets). My father asked "if you teach her how to make them, wont you have to share more of the profit?"... The look in my sons eyes when he replied with my favorite line was priceless... "Sure, but like dad always says, we can't reach success until we teach success!" And that is something that @Lisa Miller is definitely doing!

@Toni Fowler ,

@Andriy Boychuk hit it on the head... Mobile Home is outdated and was legally changed to Manufactured (after new regs came out in late 75). A manufactured home typically has a metal eye-beam frame system that it is built on for shipping and it stays with the home forever. The home can be installed many way (tied down, stem wall, piers) and is built to the HUD code (which is actually harder than conventional built homes - must withstand wind gusts (speed based on area) for up to 3minutes straight where conventional is 3 second bursts (like a hurricane with asthma)).

Once tied down, the home is overseen by DMV unless you pay to turn it into Real Property.

A Modular Home is built to DCA code (same as a stick built home) and is usually removed from the metal frame it is shipped on. These homes can be multi-level and as large as the lot can handle... I have done as small as 400sqft and as large as 8,000sqft. Once set, this home is deeded as Real Property and is considered a stick built home for tax purposes.

Whenever possible, avoid buying a home on LEASED LAND... you have little/no control over the cost and what you get for the money...if you can buy a lot and place a home on it, you are better off...

Hope this helps...

Another great way is to be around dealers and communities...Join their association (http://www.mtmhrv.org/) and put the word out that you are a buyer.

Pocket listings are very popular in this industry. In my experience, an owner would tell me (the manufacturer / dealer) long before telling his realtor or attorney! That is why getting in with the Association is always a great way to start (and learn a ton about what you will/are up against in your State)

@Mike Ryan

I read a great article about that once on containerauction.com

The article says it is possible as long as you are "on the grid" so it is considered a more permanent structure.

http://containerauction.com/read-news/financing-a-container-home

(I have no connection to that site, author, advertisers, etc... just a passing interest of mine and a pretty interesting site)

@Joseph Borges , I am assuming you mean "making it Real Property" and not just "Homestead". If that is the case, in my experience (Florida based), when you apply for a "Real Property" sticker (couple hundred dollars) it turns the home from a motor vehicle into real property, attached to the dirt...so now, instead of paying a small DMV registration fee, you pay property tax on the home. On a positive note, you can then apply for homestead, conventional mortgages, etc...and the insurance tends to be a slight bit better (pennies...not dollars).

From a sales standpoint, I found both to be successful, depending on your market.... leaving it under the DMV allows you to sell just the home and "rent" the land under it to the owner, reducing upfront money, but bringing in rental income with no upkeep (they own the house... you just own the dirt and the systems leading to the home). This also allows the home to be easily moved off the lot to another property so you can build something new on your lot...this also allows the buyer to walk away from the home for you to foreclose and sell again (I know someone who has sold the same multi-section 2 or 3 times already due to owners just walking away a year or two after paying a couple of grand for the home...he tells them "turn in the title and I wont chase you for lot rent anymore" and they usually do.)

Making it real property allows for easier financing and a broader sales pool, but the home is now in a fixed location (until, as the nay-sayers will say, the next hurricane/tornado blows through) and can be opened up to additional code requirements.

@Chris Adams

It is absolutely a regional item. In Florida, our modular and manufactured homes are both made with 17-20% more lumber than stick built. Manufactured (what used to be "mobile" is actually built to a stricter code that stick built, which causes a need for more wood).

Most modular home companies use the same building materials as a conventional stick built home...mainly for ease of repair and ordering materials. Although there are companies who use lower standards (paneled walls, presswood floors, etc), the companies I have worked with in Florida use higher end materials like tongue and groove plywood floors, 100% drywall construction with 2x6 walls, spray foam wall insulation, granite counter tops, etc...and then we delivered them in 2 pieces via semi truck (or as many as 8 pieces depending on size and number of floors). This is the same whether we are building a "double wide" that gets put on blocks or a modular home set by a crane on a foundation.

One of my last projects before changing industries was a 2 story modular home that was built on spec...and then sold for roughly $1million dollars within a few months...(granted, the land was 50% of that... but the investor walked away with a nice 6 figure profit and never had to pick up a single hammer)

As a reference, I made my living as an RVP/General Manager for one of the largest Manufactured and Modular home companies in Florida and specialized in both high end modulars as well as "Mobile Home Park" turn-arounds.

I heard...kind of sad, but the owner was not a "good" man...leave it at that. I used to own the New Horizons Computer Learning Center across the street (1 Valley)... Have not been back in 10+ years!

Sorry to hijack... now, lets get back to those strippers!