should I buy or not?

[buck]

Hello All-

I'm trying to decide if I should purchase a friend of mines manufactured home. But here's the deal its a 28 x 50 3 bedroom 2 bath doublewide Shult thats about 2 or 3 years old. He's never lived in it yet due to some family issues, its out on the country on some land (with its own small lake with fish!!) he will sell it reasonably priced in as in condition, There is a leak at the shut off valve in a laundry/mud room area so that would have to be replaced, there could be pipe problems too as he doesen't know if he was able to get all the water out of the pipes, he shut the water off and had the facets on to try and get rid of the water (its in Minnesota) he did have RV antifreeze in all the traps and toilets.
There was some mice in it to begin with but he got that all taken care of (they were getting in next to a hose by the furnace) however there still could be some in the ductwork.

I'm trying to decide if I would just be buying a mess of problems with the pipes and what not, or a good deal. I'm not the greatest handyman in the world...

[buck]

I forgot to mention all the waterlines are PEX pipeing

[JD]

I think the pond, I mean home, could be a good purchase. It all depends on the price and comparables. The plumbing in itself should not be a deal breaker But you would want to know if you are talking about a repair or two or if you are replumbing the home. Still, either way, it should not be a deal breaker. You just want to know how much you are spending to live in the house.

When living in the country, mice issues are an ongoing thing. Keeping a clean home and stay on top of the critters is your best defense. Having good skirting and good underbelly is the first thing you try to do, but even then they can find their way in if they want to.

[Yanita]

Hi,

I tend to agree with JD, LOL, the pond does not seem to have problems so lets talk about the home itself.

First off always treat this action as a business transaction. I know you guys are friends but this will be an investment, so treat it as such.

If you are truly interested then hire an inspector that is familiar with MH inspections. This is to benefit the both of you and may give you some negotiation room.

On the main page of the repair forum you will see the "stickies", I have put together an article about purchasing a USED MANUFACTURED HOME.

Also in the BOOKS/PARTS link we sell a Repair Manual, this is a great resource for any repairs you may come across. Even if you are going to hire out any repairs/remodels at least you will have the knowledge to over see the job.

You say this home is in the country, well is it on municipal water and sewage or is there a well and septic, if so these need to be inspected as well.

Good luck and keep us posted. Look forward to helping you in the future.

Yanita

[Greg]

Buck, Hi & welcome. The best thing you can do is grab a good flashlight and some clothes you don't care about getting dirty and do a full inspection starting under the home.

Yanita has a list of of things to look at at the start of this forum. You will need to weigh the price against the work needed. Greg

[Dean3]

Man alive! Mention money and zoom zoom zoom,the moderators come rippin outa the woodwork! That's good tho,very good on a site like this!

I tend to agree with the replies that amount to "it depends on the purchase price". How is the rest of the home? How many acres? Who plows snow and what shape are the property roads in? Most of that is contained in the "inspector" suggestion tho.Of course if it is a good report and Your friend sees it the price might stay up.Then there's the kicker question--Has the market hit bottom or can You get it for less if You wait? Friends are friends-money is money.

Now if the "pond" is able to support muskie or if one of the '10,000 lakes' is nearby that could jack the price a bit,other fish are good but muskie is the prize in MN. Of course a spring-fed pond with trout might be best for Your grill,,yummy.

When You get into the hills and woods of MN it is beautiful country and no mistake.

Dean

[Greg]

Man alive! Mention money and zoom zoom zoom,the moderators come rippin outa the woodwork!


Hey dean, don't you have some digital TV work to do??? Greg

[Dean3]

LOL alot!! Yes I surely do Greg!

Dean

[Brenda (OH)]

mentioning money...

is your friend wanting an outright sale, or is he going to take payments from you? are banks in your area financing mobile homes on land, if he later on would want you to cash out?

cash... most times, you get a big purchase price discount for cash, or for a hefty downpayment

terms.... interest rates are low, but I am getting more than 10% interest when I provide the financing on a deal, but these are for loans of less than 6 years....

I too love the idea of a a personal fishing pond, but ponds require maintenance too probably, everything in life seems to lately lol

Brenda (OH)

[Greg S]

From your original post Buck there is no indication as to whether you even want to live there.
If you are seriously interested in buying the property spend some money. Have a real estate agent appraise the property, a qualified inspector check it out and a contractor give estimates on repairs.

However first get it under contract. Make an offer based on conditions of inspection and appraisal.
Once you have all the info make a counter offer in line with the value and costs.
If you want to live there make a reasonable offer based on what you can afford.
If it's an investment offer at least 30% plus repair costs below market value.