All Forum Posts by: Paul Johnson

**UPDATE**
Well they didn't move the home and the park is going through the process to seize it. Now we will wait about a month to see what they want for it. It would have been nice to just come in and give them the money they wanted for the back fees. But we'll see what this actually shapes up to.

Well now the owners are trying to move the home out of there before their deadline. I'm not really sure how they are getting the cash (maybe a wholesaler?) but it would appear this is on hold until we can see if they follow through.

I would say the one thing we should have done differently was not be so quick to walk away from their doubled asking price. We would not have paid it, we just would have seen it as an opening for negotiation. I guess we were a bit annoyed and didn't want the headache. A better business person would have saw it as an opportunity and not a headache. Well this will go into the "learned something" pile. We still may get this is things don't work out for the owner as they hope.

I don't want what I am about to report to discourage anyone, clearer heads will always prevail, but the deal has taken a definitely turn for the stupid.

We went yesterday to walk through and make sure they were out like they said they would be...I don't know why, but why is it people with money trouble can never move when they say they will. They either do it in the middle of the night or they drag it out forever.

So after knocking for 10 minutes they answer their door (it's a trailer, where could they have been?). The boyfriend who appeared to be the brains of the operation (I use that term liberally) sits down and starts to layout a story about how the park is screwing them out of money they owe so they have to raise the price. And this was after a considerable sob story about how they are victims.

We asked what the new price was and they doubled the original. I looked at my wife we took 2 seconds and we said "have a nice day" and got out of there.

Now I know some may say the deal went bad but I don't think so. They have until this week to find a buyer. And from what I can tell all there original interest was at the low price they listed for initially. So they are going to run out of options and lose the home to the park because of the big fat eviction they are going to get.

Our idea is to sit back and wait for the park to take the thing and just see what they will want for it. We feel we might pay a little more for the home, but at least I don't have to fork over 1 penny to "Captain-Double-Our-Price".

So the deal isn't dead, just on hiatus. I feel the person with the most options has the biggest advantage. If they had just been honest initially and told us about the issues with the park we could have worked something out. But when the boyfriend found out his GF agreed to let us pay the back-rent so they won't get an eviction on their record and we would get the trailer he had a different plan. Let me say also that he doesn't even own the thing, it's the GF's. But she is letting him speak for her, which is screwing her.

Afterward I thought maybe I should offer them a little something so that they feel they are getting something, but I just can't reward dishonesty. We were always truthful with our intentions and they should have been with theirs.

This part of So. Ca. has a lot of new shopping centers and is always developing. Looked at area house rents and they range from $1300 up to $2600 for similar setups. And talking to the park manager (who has been awesome BTW) she seems to say properly priced, sales are happening. Obviously it's in her best interest to get the place sold, but I get a feel for what's going on.

UPDATE

Well I checked it out and it's in great shape. The biggest prob i see is that the lot rent is about $1000. The park is really nice, but $1000 is a lot per month. We don't plan on asking a ton for the place, but do we risk holding it?

I'm going tomorrow to check out a double wide that seems too good to be true. Basically because the owner has an out of state job that they have to get to and MUST be out soon they are willing to take a HUGE bath on their home. And from pics and description the home is in good shape.

Obviously I'll be cautious and do my due diligence, but is there anything any of you experts can think of that I should look for? I think I know all the basics, but I don't want to miss something.
This deal seems way too good, but sometimes people have to make tough decisions.