The Reality of Owning a Mobile Home
For some, homeownership is a source of stability and financial security. For others, it’s the exact opposite. Falling into one category or the other doesn’t make you a failure; it just means that it might be time to make a lifestyle change. The reality of owning a property is full of expenses, responsibilities, and time-sensitive problem-solving. Depending on your neighborhood, the condition of your mobile home, and your own DIY skills, this means paying for:
- HOA fees
- Professional repairs that require expertise, like plumbing, HVAC, and roofing.
- Remodeling and upgrades
- General upkeep, like cleaning and gardening
This can quickly add up–and get out of hand–if you’ve got a tight budget. What lots of people don’t tell you is that affording homeownership might sometimes mean having to make sacrifices in other areas of your life, like travel, eating out, and affording transportation. If you’re feeling concerned, discouraged, or overwhelmed by everything that comes with homeownership, know that you’re not alone–and there’s plenty that can be done to make your situation better.
First Things First: Is It Right For You?
Before you can take action, you have to determine whether owning a home is right for you. Do you want homeownership to continue being a big priority for you? Does owning a home bring you more joy and peace of mind than worry and distress?
If you’re committed to homeownership but concerned about its costs, you can take a few different courses of action:
Refinance
- If your credit score isn’t high enough to refinance, work with a financial advisor to figure out how you can raise it.
Speak to your lender
Make a strict monthly budget
Selling Your Mobile Home
You generally have two options when it comes to selling your mobile home: listing it on the market or selling it for cash. When you list a home on the market, you make it available for buyers (and their real estate agents) to see and place offers. You then get to choose from those offers, which gives you a good chance of getting a higher final amount. This makes listing their home an appealing idea for a lot of sellers.
However, it’s important to understand the downsides of listing a home traditionally. For one, it’s time-consuming: the average sale takes about three months in Florida. For another thing, it’s uncertain. Once you accept an offer, you go into escrow. This can take anywhere from one to three months, and it’s a process full of paperwork, negotiations, appraisals, and inspections. The offer can fall through at any given moment between acceptance and closing, leaving you back at square one. We’re not saying you shouldn’t list your home this way–just that, if you do, you should know exactly what the pros and cons are.
On the other hand, selling your house for cash allows you to reap the benefits of listing it without having to deal with all of the waiting, negotiations, and uncertainty. For this, the most important thing to do is find a reliable cash buyer: someone you can trust to give you a fair offer based on real market conditions, not opinions. When you find that buyer, you can count on getting a reasonable offer and closing in as little as one day. It also means you’re not responsible for any of the fees you’d have to pay in a traditional sale (closing costs, agent commissions, or potential repairs). What you’re offered is what you’re paid, plain and simple. If you’re looking for the fastest and easiest way to sell your mobile home, a cash sale is definitely worth considering.
