Selling And Renting Your Home In Sarasota? Should You Try And Rent Your Sarasota Mobile Home When Selling?
Should you have your mobile home rented when you’re trying to have it sold at the same time?
This question was posed to us this week when working with a home our sales team has not yet sold.
Selling a mobile home in Sarasota County is a relatively competitive task, as, at any one time, there are several dozen homes for sale around the Gulf Coast of Florida.
It is also common practice in the mobile home space for each park to increase its lot rent at the start of each year, as discussed in previous videos.
So, with raising lot rent in a home that is not being sold as fast as you like, should you go ahead and rent the home while trying to sell it?
I mean, getting double your money is the best way to do this, right?
As previously discussed, it is imperative to get your home sold fast to make it as easy as possible for the Buyer to buy your mobile home.
At no point in time do you ever want to make it a challenge or a headache for the closing to occur between you and your Buyer.
I have seen where a Seller made it so difficult for a Buyer to buy their home it turned out to be a disaster.
Another thing to remember is that potential buyers may be put off by the fact that the property was previously rented out. They may be concerned about potential damage from past tenants or general wear and tear. If you’re unwilling to make any repairs or cosmetic updates before selling, it’s probably best to avoid renting out your mobile home first.
In this situation, the contracts were all agreed to, the park approval was done, and the money was about to exchange hands, only for the Seller to pull a rabbit out of their hat and change the agreement at the last second. The pre-approved Buyer walked, and the home sat for an additional month on the market with no further interest whatsoever.
I hope this story illustrates that the Buyer does not have to buy your home, but the Seller usually has to sell. Renting your home should cover your lot rent payment at a minimum, which could reduce the stress of having a mobile home for sale within a mobile home park.
When looking at renting your home while it is for sale, I feel there is a right and a wrong way to do this.
Let’s go ahead and cover both now so that you have a better idea of how to handle whether you should decide to rent your mobile home while you’re trying to sell it.
In our opinion, the right way is to ensure the renter knows the home is still for sale during their rental period.
In the rental lease that you have with the renter, make sure they know that there will be showings and that it is their responsibility to not only keep the place cleaned up but also to leave the property when a showing is scheduled to take place.
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This will allow the potential Buyer to see a nicely presented home that is clean, safe, and ready to be moved into upon their closing.
In our opinion, the wrong way to do this is to have the home still on the market but not require the renter to be available to clean up the home for a showing or leave the premises when a showing is scheduled. I have personally been involved in one of these in the past, and when I went to show the home, it looked like a bomb went off right before we walked into the property!
You guessed it, the home was not sold with this showing.
We all strive to maximize our income potential, and when selling a mobile home, you should consider doing the same.
However, we suggest that you be cautious of just how you do this and who you rent your home to, as the quick cash of having a renter could seriously backfire when you go to try and sell the home should the renter not be able to show the home.
Although renting your mobile home while in the process of selling can generate extra income that would covet its lot rent, there are also some disadvantages that you, as the owner/seller, must be careful with.
Assuming there is a buyer, is the 30-day moving period enough for your tenant to prepare to move and look for another place to live?
Renting a mobile home for sale could also attract fewer renters than those not for sale because living in a house for sale means the renter may not have peace of mind knowing they could be asked to move out at a moment’s notice. This is the burden that every renter must carry while living in a home on the market. Some renters don’t want to get disturbed, so finding someone to rent in a “for sale” mobile home could be challenging.
Remember, guys, always make it easy for the Buyer to buy your home, not difficult!
The Mobile Home Dealer is a licensed mobile home broker in Sarasota, Florida, and the surrounding areas. We provide professional buy and/or sell assistance to our clients. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us by clicking this link. You may also visit our Facebook Page and send us a message.
This is Mark Kaiser with The Mobile Home Dealer. We help mobile home Buyers and Sellers improve their lives.
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