When it comes to selling mobile and manufactured homes in Tucson, some people choose to use an agent. But many more, and more independent-minded, people sell their mobile homes themselves. Still, that route is littered with obstacles and pitfalls for the unwary. So let’s take a look at 4 common mistakes people make when selling their Tucson mobile homes.
1. Not Checking Out the Local Market and Negotiating Poorly
Pricing real estate for a sale is usually pretty straighforward. Typically, it involves a comparative market analyses, which yields a fairly accurate assessment of a property’s fair market value. Using that, sellers have a good idea of how to price for a sale.
But with mobile homes/manufactured homes (especially Tucson, AZ, mobile homes) it’s not quite that easy. For there are special circumstnaces to take into account.
The first of these is whether you own the land your mobile home sits on. And the second is the fact that typically land appreciates while manufactured homes depreciate. This means, then, that you simply must find out what’s going on with the local market.
The difficulty here lies in the fact that in most areas there are few mobile home authorities who can help sellers with pricing. In most cases, sellers are limited to handful of agents or mobile home park managers/owners. The typical result is that sellers wind up overpricing and then ruining their chances of a quick sale.
A related mistake is that sellers often, after receiving an offer, either fail to negotiate at all or negotiate too rigorously. And either of these extremes can cost sellers a lot of money. Of course, if you need to sell your Tucson mobile home fast, that plays a huge role in how much and how hard you should negotiate.
A great option for many mobile home sellers is to go through a reputable Tucson mobile home buyer. This can eliminate much of the guesswork and potential error, as well as ensuring that you get a fair cash offer.
2. Ineffective Marketing
Another of the major mistakes people make when selling their mobile homes is just poor advertising and marketing. You can’t sell your manufactured home if people in the right target market don’t know it’s for sale.
Efective marketing consists chiefly in casting a broad net while also being highly targeted. Typically, this means listing your mobile home on all the top listing sites and advertising on all the local venues such as newspaper classifieds and local bulletin boards. And don’t forget the effective old-school strategies like flyers and a for-sale sign out front.
An effective marketing campaign also demands compelling listings, and these involve (at a minimum):
- A description of the home’s strengths and features
- Showcasing of these features
- Careful crafting to appeal to the right target buyers
- Top-notch, professional quality photos
- Compelling and irrestible listing descriptions
But, again, if you don’t want to hire a professional photographer and a copywriter, consider a Tucson mobile home buyer.
3. Not Staging
Multiple studies over several years have shown time and again that staged homes – both manufactured homes and traditional site-built homes – sell faster and at a better price than homes that aren’t staged. In the face of such undeniable evidence, then, it’s a huge mistake not to stage your mobile home.
Keep in mind, though, that staging is as much art as it is science. Effective staging requires good helpings of both skill and experience. The goal of staging is certainly to make your mobile home look as nice and as appealing as possible. But the real aim is to create a blank-canvas effective so that potential buyers can envision the mobile home as their own home – so that they can actually imagine living there with all their own belongings in place.
So for staging, then, it’s best not to try to do it on your own. The better course is to hire a professional staging company – if, that is, you want to sell faster and for more money.
4. Failing to Get Inspection and Appraisal
This mistake is understandable, but it can also be disastrous. Most commonly, it happens when people need to sell their Tucson mobile home fast. And this mistake is failing to get a thorough inspection and an appraisal.
Even though the buyer will get an inspection, you should have your own inspection done before that. You need to find any problems with the mobile home and fix them before the buyer’s inspection discovers them. In fact, this should be among your first steps in getting ready to sell.
The buyer, especially if she is getting financing, will have an appraisal performed. But, again, it’s a good idea to get your own in order to know what your mobile home is really worth. That way, you can be sure to price competitively.
A related mistake people make when selling their mobile homes is failing to make a full and honest disclosure. It’s not that sellers are deliberately dishonest or deceitful. It’s just that some things don’t seem (to sellers) really worth mentioning. But that can be a big mistake.
The standard rule here is: “When in doubt, point it out.” Doing so can help you avoid potential legal problems down the road, as well as making you appear to a buyer as an honest seller. One thing you can do is just offer the full inspection reports or any buyer who requests them.
Tackling It All on Your Own
Maybe the biggest mistake people make when selling their Tucson mobile homes is trying to do everything themselves. Actually, most people are better off hiring professionals to help: agents, photographers, stagers, inspectors, and so on. The drawback, though, is that this can get pretty time-consuming and expensive – especially if you need to sell your Tucson mobile home fast.
But there is an alternative – one that allows you to sell fast, easily, and at a fair price.
Check out the premier mobile home buyer in Tucson that guarantees a fair offer, allows you to choose the closing date, and pays the costs involved in selling. To discover more about how to easily sell your manufactured home – and for cash – just call 520-413-1314 or fill out the easy online form.