First off, congratulations to Ranger, he was our 15th emailer yesterday! I will be making arrangements to get the book out to him, ASAP! 

   OK, I have another set of used mobile homes or “Wobbly Boxes” as I’ve seen them called over the years, to show you today.  Two of the homes are from my local area here in Seattle but a third came in from Sean, a reader in Arizona. At least the mobile home’s in Arizona, Sean didn’t actually say where he was? Again, these are just examples of what I’ve been talking to you about. I haven’t done my homework on these beyond exchanging an email or two.

   The most important thing to remember is that these homes are indeed available. These places are all still a bit older than I would like, ideally… However, if I was seriously looking for a place to call home on the cheap, I’d check on anything that looked even the slightest bit hopeful.

  I have copied the text from the corresponding advertisements, these are the sellers words regarding their homes, not mine! The ads are all fairly recent so if they sound interesting to anyone, I included the phone numbers so give the sellers a call.

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Example #1

 

#1

 

Nice 1971 Home, in a nice Senior Park (55+). Located on bus line… close to lakes & shopping. 2 Large storage buildings/workshops, 1 with roll-up door. $7,900

 

Features include:

 

Central Heat & Air
Extra Insulation under floor
New Vinyl Windows & Sliding Glass Door
New Vinyl Flooring bath, kitchen, entry
All Appliances including Washer & Dryer
3 Large Porches
Dish Network Satellite Dish, also Wired for Cable
Fenced rear Yard with Gate & Pet Door to kitchen (pets welcome)
2 Car deep driveway with Carport
6’ x 11’ Storage with Shelves, Work Bench & Outlets
Separate 11’x 16’ “out building” with roll-up door, work benches, shelves & outlets.

 

R/V Storage Space is available in park

 

Space rent of $330.00 includes water, sewer, garbage.

 

Owner Financing with Flexible Terms w/substantial down. Discount for “all cash offer”.

 

Call anytime 253-312-3334

 

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Example #2

 

#2

 

Three bedrooms, two bathrooms nice and pretty big extra wideshed, I added it for a wreck room. I’m trying to sell fast so I can get right again for the holidays that’s why it’s so cheap. Look, own your own home for $6,000 that’s a deal and for a nicer place you seen most mobile homes posted, most are really old looking, not this one! I’m also willing to work out deals depending on what you got? Like I will take $3000 cash and a trade for something like a nice running car or truck that’s deals right there so don’t wait soon will be to late who do this , I’d hurry before it’s to late call Jon (206)-403-7621

 

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Example #3

 

#3

 

Trailer for sale year is 1989
3 bedrooms and 1 bathroom
11,000 in payments
but 9,000.00 CASH!
OK condition
Needs work in kitchen and bathroom
Please contact Vanessa at (520) 336-8550

 

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   There you have it… 3 possible homes that could possibly be turned into productive homesteads. All of them could be had for cheap to free, depending on how good at dickering you are. I’m going to just give you my initial thoughts on these and the kind of actual purchase price you might expect for each of these homes…

 

#1- These folks said specifically that there would be a discount for cash… I’ve seen this ad on craigslist for a couple of weeks now. If I were going to make them an offer it would be no more than $5000, it might actually be no more than taking the title and paying them a couple hundred to leave the house clean when they left. It’s a 1971 and therefore could present some issues when getting it moved. It’s in a rural senior park so it’s probably quiet, a person so inclined could possibly just live in the home where it is and bank the rent/mortgage money while they save their cash for something better or to maybe move this home to some free and clear land! $330 space rent, including water, sewer and garbage – not to shabby?

 

#2 – I emailed this gentleman and he is very interested in dealing… This is a 1985 home and he claims that it has 2×6 exterior walls and is sheet rocked on the interior. If it wouldn’t be to far to move to my BOL, I would at least take a long look at this one… He apparently is in need of $3000 cash, from what the ad says, so that’s all I would probably have to pay. $3000 cash in hand and this guy would sign anything I asked…

 

#3- This is the home located in Arizona. I can see from the photo that it would be a fixer. This alone wouldn’t scare me away as long as it has a solid structure. Believe me going through a small home like this with new flooring and paint just wouldn’t cost much… For someone that was handy, a few thousand in fix up money could go along way. Plus, you would have the benefit of de-scuzzing the place at the same time. They have already played their hand and said that they are willing to deal. $2000 off the purchase price for cash would probably mean a cash buyer could get this one for $5000 or maybe even less since they admit it needs work? It’s a 1989, so this one is another I would definitely dig a little deeper on if it were located nearer to me.

 

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   In closing today, I want to remind you that I DO NOT advocate lowering your standard of living by living in a mobile home. I actually think that many of our lifestyles would improve if we had lower overhead. These homes can be fixed up VERY nicely and be quite comfortable. I realize this plan wouldn’t work for everyone but shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand because of any self imposed stigma associated with a “Trailer House”, I speak from personal experience here! I will continue to show all of you what the Prepper family is doing with our MOBILE HOMEstead and try to lead by example, showing everyone what’s possible!

 

Prepper

 

   I asked you guys a while back to start watching the local papers to see if you could spot any deals on used mobile homes in your areas… Did anyone find anything? I have yet to receive any input from the peanut gallery? Oh well, I watch my Craigslist ads within 100-200 miles of my place in the city, almost everyday. The market is real thin around here right now, I’m guessing? I haven’t found any that were a sure thing but I thought I would share a couple of ads I did find this morning…

   These are shown as an example only, I am not saying that these are homes I would personally purchase but these things are still out here, even in a thin market… I’ll post the few pictures and details I have and then make my comments at the end – Take a look!

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Ad #1 -

FREE FREE FREE MOBILES HOMES, DOUBLE WIDE AND SINGLE WIDE

MUST BE MOVED NOW

CALL ROB 425-879-3081

 

Craigslist Ad

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Ad #2 -

 

2BR 2BATH double wide NICE Mobile home!!!MAKE AN OFFER!!! – $1 (Federal Way)

 

1981 Fuquah Parkway model – doublewide

 

We are selling our 2 bed 2 bath mobile home that we recently remodeled. Remodel included, new shag carpet (stain resistant) new flooring in the kitchen bathrooms laundry room, and second bedroom. New Paint through out entire house. New toilet, new hardware and paint on kitchen and bathroom cabinets, new lighting, newer fridge. This house comes with all appliances. It has one huge master bedroom with master bathroom, and one large second bedroom with big closet! Vaulted ceilings, and other misc. upgrades. We really need to sell preferably by the end of the month so will consider any reasonable offer. asking $26,000.00. Please call me at 253-569-8012 or e-mail the craigslist address above. more pictures available upon request. thanks for looking!

 

 

Dining room - double wide

 

 

 

 

Bedroom photo

 

 

 

 

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Ad #3 -

 

Single Wide Mobile Home – $100 (Echo Lake Area)

 

1986 14′x66′ 2-bedroom, 2 full bath mobile. Never been smoked in. Has never leaked. I had this posted a while back and no one wanted to pay the estimated $4k to move it. It might cost less to move but I don’t know. Needs new carpet and vinyl (or not, depending on how picky you are). Stove, fridge, washer, dryer, pellet stove negotiable. Perfect for Mom or Dad as temporary housing on your property (check your zoning first!). Write back with phone number if you are serious. I will call you right away.

 

**No photos available yet, I have requested them from the seller… I will re post this ad, if they are sent to me!

 

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   Alright, whats my point, other than to make you look at some bad pictures of some old wobbly box mobile homes? The point is that I took a quick look at what was on the local Craigslist section for Seattle and came up with 3 ads for MOTIVATED mobile home sellers… 1 ad said the home was free but had to be moved, another said $100 and the home had to be moved and the last was showing signs of becoming desperate and their price will certainly drop like a rock once they hit that stage.

 

   Again, your thinking “So What!” I know none of my readers would even briefly ponder this route to home OWNERSHIP… I say this in jest, I’ve had email discussions with several of you that are doing the same thing I am out at the BOL. An older mobile home that you can own free and clear, sitting on paid for land.

 

   Sometimes a fixer/upper is a bad idea but in this case it could actually be in your favor. If the structure is sound and it would have to be to go down the road to your land, you at least have a foothold into a free and clear house. The idea about it being a fixer upper is that when you’re done de-scuzzing the place, you end up with something you can be proud of that is exactly the way you choose to have it set up! I have been to see many of this type of home and if they’re ugly they’re cheap. Often they can be had for just the trouble of getting them off the sellers land. An additional thing to remember is that just like beauty, ugly is only skin deep. A few repairs and some new surfaces and you have what looks like a fresh clean little condo. I might be over simplifying this but you see what I driving at, right? 

 

  The seller will have one of several different motivations in getting out from under these places. Sometimes the county is sweating them to get it moved because their new home is built and they can’t keep both places on the same piece of property. Another thing I see in my real estate related business is the heirs of a deceased older person are needing to dispose of their relatives prior home.

 

   As a side note, since I brought it up… The last scenario, heirs of a deceased home owner are probably the best people to buy from. They have no financial interest in the home other than maybe keeping whatever money they can get you to pay. Even more of a factor is that the heirs are saddled with the monthly space rent for the home while its for sale. We often see these places come on the market with a realtor who prices the mobile home fairly but on the optimisticside. A month or two will go by without a buyer and the seller is out the space rent which would typically be $400-500 or even more per month. You would think that this was their last dollar! It feels like a huge burden to these folks as they are trying to do the family a favor by taking care of the last details after the death but they just get to write a monthly check… See where I’m going with this?

 

   I have seen cash buyers pick these homes up for as little as $2500 bucks. I do know that you can get these homes for free but I wouldn’t see them come across my desk, since they wouldn’t go through a real estate agent, I didn’t want to say specifically something I haven’t personally seen for myself… There are even investors that work specifically in this field and see these homes as the “Gold Mine” they can be! Lots of money has been made with these little treasures!

 

   If you’re willing to do a little research, I’ll bet you can find a diamond in the rough right in your own back yard. It will probably be a distance from where you would ultimately want it but that’s what mobile home movers are for. I have said it before, our 200 mile move with breakdown and reset on the other end was only about $6000! Yes, that’s alot of cash to pull out of your pocket but it’s not expensive, considering what you end up with.

 

   Do us all a favor and take a look or keep looking if you’ve already started and email me what you find! I’m kind of on the “Mobile Homes for Freedom” kick lately… I hope that this subject doesn’t bore you, I would like to have more time to devote in this area. I would even encourage a business minded individual to think about these homes as an investment opportunity? I will pick this subject, the investment idea, back up again in a future post. I haven’t decided if I want to give away what I think could be a lucrative investment idea? Time will tell…See ya tomorrow!

 

 

Prepper