What does it mean when you were buying a mobile home and the seller states that the home that they are selling is being sold in “as is” condition?
Although this question may seem very direct in its initial answer, there continues to be quite a bit of misunderstanding from both the Buyer and the Seller out in the field here when referring to a home being sold in as-is condition.
With continuing real estate prices throughout the area and nationwide every Seller wants to take advantage of this hot market in order to try and make a profit off of the sale of their mobile home.
One of the most common questions mobile homeowners will have is; whether should they go ahead and sell the home in “As Is” condition or should the Seller look to fix every little thing that is wrong with the property in order to get the most money possible for their mobile home?
“As Is” condition is the term that is used in the mobile home industry as selling the home exactly the way it sits. Nothing is going to be fixed, no warranties of any kind are provided or implied and there will be nothing negotiated in the purchase agreement that will require the Sell to have to do anything to the property once it is sold.
To put it directly, in an As Is mobile home sale, what you see is what you get.
Many times we see Sellers want to sell their home exactly the way it sits. If there are issues or repairs that need to be done or furniture that needs to be replaced or, even totally removed, they are not usually willing to do these actions, as they are selling the home exactly the way it is shown.
This does not mean, however, that the home and the price are being sold as is.
What I mean by this is that many times when the Seller states that the home is being sold as is, they are usually willing to do some type of price concessions, also known as discounts, for the items within the home that may be damaged or on the verge of needing to be fixed.
If you are looking to sell a mobile home in as-is condition, but have informed your sales agent of any problems within the home that you are unwilling to fix, that’s totally fine. Just make sure you inform the agent of what the problems are, so they can point them out to the Buyer.
We at The Mobile Home Dealer always want to provide a totally transparent experience for both the Buyer and the Seller and we will rely 100% on the Seller to inform us of any and all issues that exist within their home prior to taking on the home as an active listing within our brokerage firm. We will then disclose all these issues to the Buyer so that they know exactly what is going on with the home prior to them making an offer on the property.
Most Sellers when they are looking to sell their homes are not looking to put any money into the property to get the home sold. Sure, some of them will clean it out a little bit or maybe do some general upkeep to the property. But that’s about it. If there are other issues with the home such as appliances that don’t work, windows that don’t shut, or some soft spots in the floor, generally speaking, don’t expect those items to be fixed by the Seller for the new Buyer.
Mobile Home in Florida
When you are looking at buying a mobile home, it is important to know that many times when you’re buying a property in “as is” condition, you are saying that you are okay buying the home as it sits and is okay taking on some of those repairs.
We feel it is a good idea, however, to work with the Seller on the actual price of the home you are going to pay if you are going to go ahead and fix those items and you know that within the purchase price. Here, perhaps a price concession, a little bit of a discount, or some other items will be able to be negotiated.
We, at The Mobile Home Dealer, feel that this is the best way to work with both Buyers and Sellers, as just being the straightforward, honest approach so that everyone knows what they are getting involved in before any offers are made on the mobile home.
The reason why we support the idea of selling the home in As-Is condition is that many of the fixes that the Seller may feel they need to do will not translate into any more money for them at the closing table. Many times the Seller feels that if they go forward and fix worn-out or broken items throughout their home not only will they get back 100% of the cost of these repairs but also look to profit from them as well.
Just last week we had A Seller who decided to rescreen their lanai and when they did they not only expected to get all of their materials and labor reimbursed but then decided that they wanted several thousand dollars on top of these amounts because it was a new upgrade to the home whereas their neighbors did not have these upgrades done.
This is false thinking and something that will not lead to the home selling any faster regardless of what type of market the mobile home industry is currently in.
If there are issues with your mobile home when you go to sell the property make sure you communicate these issues with your sales agent so they can clearly communicate them with the Buyers in order to properly present the property. Being upfront with your sales agent will help them explain the pros and cons of your home to all the potential Buyers.
Working with each other in an open and honest way will immediately create a win-win situation for everyone involved when buying a home in as-is condition.
This is Mark Kaiser with The Mobile Home Dealer and we help mobile home Buyers and Sellers get to a better place in life.
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