Chapter 10 of 16
Evaluating inquiries
Distinguishing buyers who can actually complete from those who cannot, before you take the home off the market.
2 min read
Not every enthusiastic buyer can complete, and in manufactured housing the failure rate is higher than in residential real estate for two specific reasons: financing, and community approval. Establishing both early saves you weeks.
On financing, ask how the purchase will be funded, and if it involves a loan, ask whether they have been pre-qualified for this type of home. That qualifier matters: pre-qualification for a mortgage does not mean a lender will write a chattel loan on a home of your age on a leased lot. Buyers frequently do not know this until they apply.
On community approval, if your community screens buyers, encourage them to begin that process immediately and in parallel with everything else. A buyer who cannot be approved cannot buy, however much they want to, and discovering that after a month off-market is costly.
The signals worth attending to: a buyer who has read the listing carefully and asks specific questions about the roof, lot rent, or title is usually more serious than one who is broadly enthusiastic. A buyer who asks nothing about lot rent has probably not understood the total cost and may withdraw when they do.
Be straightforward about your own timeline and constraints. Manufactured-home sales run on the slowest of several parallel processes, title, financing, community approval, and a buyer who understands that up front is less likely to walk when it takes longer than they expected.
Key points
- Ask specifically whether a buyer is pre-qualified for THIS kind of home.
- Start community approval immediately, in parallel with everything else.
- Specific questions signal a more serious buyer than general enthusiasm.
- A buyer who never asks about lot rent may not have understood the cost.
Watch out
Do not take the home off the market for a buyer who has not been pre-qualified for the right kind of loan. Enthusiasm is not financing.
Questions to ask
- How are you planning to fund the purchase?
- Have you been pre-qualified for a loan on a manufactured home of this age and situation?
- Have you started the community approval process?
- What is your timeline, and is anything driving it?