Old Mobile Home Is On Its Last Leg. Help!
I have a mh that is over 20 years old. It is falling apart. when we moved in 5 years ago, it was only worth $10k. We've had to replace the stove, fridge, kitchen cabinets, and completely rebuild a rotted, moldy bathroom. We still have a mold problem, a rotten floor at the backdoor, a broken heater/ac unit, and some of the blocks underneath are broken. To top it all off, we have leaks everywhere. I really don't want to put another dime in the house. I have insurance, but have never filed a claim, and don't know if its possible to get the agent to "condemn" the mh. I'm afraid of wording my question in a wrong way. Please advise as to my options. I can't sleep at night for worry. :-(
Sounds like you have alot on your mind. I have had clients in your same position. Here are a couple of ideas.
Have you thought about trading it in on something newer? Most dealers will be able to give you enough money to cover a 5%20% downpayment so you don't have to come up with any cash out of pocket. The dealer should also include the delivery,setup,skirting and hookups along with the pull off of your trade in.
(Now, of course this all depends on the laws in your state.)
Now, it you don't want to go fiance try to sell your home outtright. Go online to the NADA website and try to bookout your mobile home. You might be able to get enought cash + some of your own and buy a mobile home in better condition.
And of course you could just call and speak with your insurace rep and just discuss the matters with them and get an idea of what they may be able to payout of they total your mobile home. They may want you to get an estimate for repairs and compare that against totaling it out.
When calling mobile home dealers, ask friends and family who they bought from and what thier experience was like so you know who to stay away from.
Again, just some ideas.
Good Luck!
A question for you. Do you have the mobile home in its own land or in a park?
If its own land try to give it away for free(the fire service for one accept old mobile homes for their training and demo). It will probably sell for 500 but if its in its own land then you can forget people buying it and moving from your property as it takes 2000-2500 to move a trailer and for 3000 you can get really good double wides. Once you have the trailer taken care of,you can get reasonable bank repoed(pretty recent trailers) and have one setup in your land. Remember though,like the other poster said,to negotiate on the delivery and setup and skirting of the mobile home is included in your purchase price and negotiate a good deal that way
If the trailer is in a park,
1.try to see if you can place an ad in the paper saying its for free or probably for a few hundred bucks. You will probably be able to sell it that way
2.See if the park can haul it away for you.Some Parks do and some parks dont. If they do,they may charge a few hundred bucks. I had one mobile home actually broken down and junked for 800
3.is ofcourse the option i mentioned earlier donating it to the fire service. you can have it as a tax write off
Good Luck[ Edited by Samw on Date 06/11/2004 ]
I don't understand this. Why do you think this is an insurance issue. These items are normal wear and tear and maintenance of a house.
Appliances wear out. Count on replacing them every so often. Roofs wear out. You don't say if yours is metal or shingle. Seal it or replace it. Furnaces wear out. 20 years is a good lifespan. Replace it. I am sure you got a good price when you bought the home to compensate for these things.
If you are on a limited budget, you will save the most money by fixing the things and living there. If you can afford a nicer home, with newer features, buy it.
Most mobile home owners I work with (I own a mobile home park) seem to think that they never have to do any maintenance. Every dwelling has to be fixed and kept up. Thats NORMAL.
Good luck!
I don't understand this. Why do you think this is an insurance issue. These items are normal wear and tear and maintenance of a house.
Appliances wear out. Count on replacing them every so often. Roofs wear out. You don't say if yours is metal or shingle. Seal it or replace it. Furnaces wear out. 20 years is a good lifespan. Replace it. I am sure you got a good price when you bought the home to compensate for these things.
If you are on a limited budget, you will save the most money by fixing the things and living there. If you can afford a nicer home, with newer features, buy it.
Most mobile home owners I work with (I own a mobile home park) seem to think that they never have to do any maintenance. Every dwelling has to be fixed and kept up. Thats NORMAL.
Good luck!
I'm curious..by any chance are there companies that buy mobile homes for scrap? :-?
I just received a call from someone in a similar situation. She attempted to trade it in, the the dealer told her it's worth less than $2,000. She is hoping to get something...anything for it.
pointafter,
where I live we found that one scrap metal recycling place will take the trailors under certain guidlines(must be dismanteled, only flooring, frame, wiring, etc) We also have another place that will take it wholeBUTyou have to get it there! Both will give you money!
you can call around in your area for scrap metal recycling places and recycling centers, etc....
Hope that helps
overbeyro
KC36613 and Pointafter,
Could you tell me where the Homes are?
If your motivated to sell them, would you be willing to take pictures of the Homes and send them to me?
I have had homes like this... some I walk away from others are worth dealing on, they still got some life in them yet.
If nothing else I might can at least give you some ideas of what you can do!
I would just put an ad in the newspaper and try to sell it for really cheap if its in a park. If its on its own land then just sell it for land value as is.