No Need to Reinvent the Wheel

Last April, I purchased a foreclosure at a great price. I spent three months fixing it up looking great. Then I put it on the market. To make a long story short, I FINALLY closed on Dec 12th. I still made money, but I had so many headaches–home inspections caused numerous delays, had to go FHA and could not sell “as is,” etc.

I found my way onto Bill Barnett’s website because I had purchased his book. I discovered that there was a section about investing in mobile homes. I immediately purchased both of Lonnie Scruggs’ books, Deals on Wheels and Making Money with Mobile Homes. I read them both, started looking around for a “Lonnie Deal,” and then read them again just to make sure I had not skipped over anything.

I simply did what Lonnie said to do and did not try to reinvent the wheel. I drove around all the mobile home parks in the area and started talking to people. I remembered never to offer any numbers to the seller. I was surprised how quickly the amount goes down with only a quizzical expression on my part.

When the ideal deal came in front of me, I was ready because I had paid my dues and done my homework. I found a 14 x 70 (3-bedroom, 2-bath) mobile home that was extremely dirty. I actually filled up a full-sized garbage bag with everything you can imagine from under the heat registers! I KNEW that I was making the money when buying the home and NOT when selling it.

After a couple weeks it was ready. With new paint, carpeting, and 3/4 inch plywood replacing the floors’ soft spots, all I then had to do was some simple “staging.” I watch HGTV often and know that a few well placed items make a home seem inviting and desirable. I advertised in the newspaper and got many calls.

I had to tell all applicants that the park must approve their occupancy before I could sell to them. This actually worked in my favor because only a qualified candidate would bother filing out an application when there is an application fee involved.

I took another step that is not mentioned too often during the selling process. Having had all the headaches with the previous house and home inspections, I insisted that the home was to be sold “as is.” Now I can sleep at night.

I have saved a list of potential buyers for my next deal, which I will be doing very soon. I made sure to give a fair price and not get too greedy. I have a very happy buyer who will hopefully refer me to a friend.

I paid $1,500, put in about $1,700, and sold for $6,000. While a few thousand dollars in a short time will not make you rich, to me it is GOOD ENOUGH! I knew where I stood financially during the entire process.

I would suggest to someone who is sitting on the fence to just jump in. You will have all kinds of “experts” telling you why you should NOT do the deal. Afterwards, they will say how lucky you were. Just smile and say to them; “The harder I work, the luckier I get.”

By CREOnline Contributor

A content contributor to the original CREOnline.com.