Buying a used double wide , needs repair, need advice

[jstarr]

Hello,

I am looking to buy a double wide that sits on a corner lot in a park and there is some unknowns about this double wide and I am looking for advice and rough estimates or what to expect . Right now all I know is its a 1995 or 1997 and manufacture is unknown as the park purchased the home from greentree and they are waiting for the title. Its listed with a Realtor now and on the market for 29k as I assume its been repossessed. Its not know how long its been vacant or how old the roof/furnace or water tank is. The park's maint dept has replaced the carpet throughout the home and did some various painting. All the bedrooms are missing doors and will need to be purchased. I do not noticing any sagging or weak floor boards. Walls and windows seem like in good shape on a visual inspection. Storm door in the front needs replaced along with the back door. The floor in the master bedroom has a crease in the middle which I assume its due to a bad install. Master BD skylight shows signs of leakage and the 2nd bathroom skylight top glass is broken and they have a tarp over it for now and shows signs of leakage in the ceiling. What I don't know is how long they been leaking or addressed in the past to fix and didn't bother painting the ceiling . Also if you see on the back of the mobile home looks like the vinyl siding is melted looks like someone had a grill there at one point or another, outlet doesnt look burned. Some of the roof shingles are lifting too not sure why as well. Below are some links for pictures,You can go to http://i409.photobucket.com/albums/pp17 ... doublewide and see the gallery of pics of this property for a better view of what im facing here. In my honest opinion it looks like a good deal but it could be deceiving as I might end up sinking alot of money into it.

http://i409.photobucket.com/albums/pp17 ... G_3656.jpg
http://i409.photobucket.com/albums/pp17 ... G_3657.jpg
http://s409.photobucket.com/albums/pp17 ... G_3661.jpg
http://i409.photobucket.com/albums/pp17 ... G_3676.jpg
http://i409.photobucket.com/albums/pp17 ... G_3685.jpg

My q's:

Does the skirting look salvageable? If not what estimate would it cost to replace all of it .
How much do you think it could cost to replace both skylights and fix any possible rot from the frames?
Would it be best to call around and find a mobile home inspector to inspect this property before making an offer?
Is NADA a good site to get a value estimate as Realtor stats are saying around 28k for this place.

[jstarr]

I did get some info its a 1996 Dutch Mobile home 28x70

[Greg]

Hi & welcome. From what I can see the home does not look in too bad of shape.

Prices vary greatly from area to area so it is impossible to quote prices not knowing where it is located.

Yanita has a sticky post at the top of this section of things to look for when buying a used home.

As for price, you will find it is driven by the local market, but I will tell you that some finance companies are totally stupid when it comes to what they THINK a home is worth. We have one in our park that has been empty for at least 3 years, the roof is collapsed in 2 spots and they still want 20k for it. Now add in the fact that they are also paying lot rent every month. It MAY be worth $1000 as is. Greg

[jstarr]

Hi & welcome. From what I can see the home does not look in too bad of shape.

Prices vary greatly from area to area so it is impossible to quote prices not knowing where it is located.

Yanita has a sticky post at the top of this section of things to look for when buying a used home.

As for price, you will find it is driven by the local market, but I will tell you that some finance companies are totally stupid when it comes to what they THINK a home is worth. We have one in our park that has been empty for at least 3 years, the roof is collapsed in 2 spots and they still want 20k for it. Now add in the fact that they are also paying lot rent every month. It MAY be worth $1000 as is. Greg

Greg,

Yeah its located in waterford,PA . In your opinion would it be a huge expense to get those skylights repaired ? I know they need addressed im just not clear what the extent of damage there may be and the house has been vacant for 1year and water utils were shut off .

[DCDiva]

I looked at all the photos and I do not see and major repairs,except replacing the damaged sky light--you might replace both at the same time--skylights are famous for leaking--the water damage can be fixed with a few coats of Kilz primer and paint--the roof does not look like it is leaking--and if needed replaced an easy DIY project--one thing you need to add is a good gutter--I have all of my rentals have the seamless gutters--I have the guy come install them--they are priced by the foot--the last home I had done was @ $400 installed for this size home--call around--this is why your door was destroyed--I buy houses all the time--I would buy it--BUT negotiate--offer $ 24000 due to repairs needed--if they make the repairs needed then a higher offer--personally I might go as low as 20000 to start lol but I always low ball with a price I will accept in my head lol
Melissa inWV