Are you thinking of selling your mobile home? There are similarities in selling a park home and selling a traditional brick-built home. However, as well as similarities, some key differences are specific to selling a park home.
In this guide to selling mobile homes, we will offer both general advice and specific advice on selling a mobile home. Armed with these handy tips, you should be able to achieve a (relatively) smooth and stress-free sale. You should also be able to increase the sale price of your mobile home. Below are the Sell My Groups top tips for selling your mobile home;
1. Think Curb Appeal When Selling Your Mobile Home
As we all now know, first impressions count. When selling a mobile home, it is essential to scrutinise the outside of your property. Look for issues which could impact on both the value of the sale and the attractiveness for potential buyers.
Firstly, think about functionality; does everything work? For example, make sure that fascias, gutters, drainpipes and exterior window fittings are all in good working order. If they don’t, we suggest you get them fixed as this will have an impact on salability.
If needed, paint the exterior of your park home. This will give the property added value and your mobile home some excellent curb appeal.
‘He Who Plants Gardens Plants Happiness’
Park home gardens have become increasingly important when trying to sell a mobile home. An area that provides a relaxing and attractive feature will make your park home more appealing to park home buyers. Think of your gardens as outdoor rooms.
Whatever the time of year it is when you are selling, the garden and patio area should at the very least be tidy. Sweep up leaves and debris regularly, keeping flower beds weeded, lawns mown and hedges clipped.
Also look to declutter outbuildings. Wooden sheds should need treating along with fencing. Greenhouse glass should be clean, and any broken windows replaced. Lichens and mosses can be slippery, as well as looking unsightly – remove it. Outdoor furniture should also be clean, even in winter.
Read our Guide; SELLING A PARK HOME; KNOW YOUR RIGHTS.
2. Make The Best Of The Inside Of Your Park Home
Here we look at what can be done on the inside of your park home to increase saleability and add value.
‘Your Home Is Living Space Not Storage Space’
An obvious one is to declutter! One of the biggest things to put buyers off is clutter. Thanks to mobile homes being relatively compact, even small amounts of clutter can stand out. Therefore, you need to make sure that you remove personal effects and items. Get rid of anything not in use, or which is helping to make your spaces look untidy or unkempt. Even a small stack of books can look slovenly!
As reluctant as you might be to remove family photos, our advice is to do it. It is perfectly acceptable to leave out a couple here and there, but if you have walls of photos, take them down and put up something attractive to cover the area. Buyers have to imagine themselves living in your park home. It is difficult to do this if photos of you and your family are on the walls.
Deep Clean
We can’t stress this enough! When trying to sell a mobile home, always thoroughly clean your interiors. Even if you are not living there, you need to make sure you maintain a level of cleanliness. You shouldn’t just run around with a vacuum cleaner and a cloth before a viewing.
Make sure your home is ready for viewing even when you least expect it. The park home needs to present its very best to anyone who wants to buy it—so clean windows, deep-cleaning carpets and removing stains. Also, avoid indoor smoking as this may devalue your home.
Carpets
If your carpet is worn or badly stained, replace it. Do not choose expensive carpet, but make sure that it looks reasonable. If your wooden floors need a good clean or are shabby, have them refurbished, but employ a professional company unless you feel confident about your skills.
If you’re after a quick fix, a new rug will cover a multitude of sins – but expect canny buyers to lift it to check what’s beneath.
‘Life is all about Seating and lighting’*
We often give this advice on selling park homes; good lighting is essential in living rooms. Central pendants with lampshades that show the light bulb are ugly and dated. Replace with chandeliers or more modern fittings; at the very least, replace the shade with an up lighter. Make sure that you have alternative lighting, such as standard or table lamps, which should be on to provide a flattering background light. Also, hang some suitable pictures or mirrors to make the room look bigger and brighter.
Soft furnishings are essential in living rooms because they can add colour and luxury, which will help make the room seem welcoming. New cushion covers will work wonders and needn’t cost a fortune.
Pets
If you have smelly pets, specifically large dogs, keep them outside in a kennel if possible or, at the very least ensure they’re not in the house when viewers arrive. You might not be able to smell them – or at least be used to their scent – but viewers will find it off-putting. Clear away any evidence of the – food, hair, dirt – and open windows to air the room
Read our Guide; DO YOU PAY CAPITAL GAINS TAX ON YOUR PARK HOME.
3. Fix Fixtures and Fittings
When selling a mobile home, buyers will want to see that everything works as expected. Check thoroughly for anything that needs fixing, adjusting, or replacing altogether. The less work a buyer has to do, the more likely they will be to put in an offer.
Check white goods, doorknobs, light fittings and plumbing. Think about anything that gets a lot of use, or wear and tear. These will be areas that buyers may worry. Put their minds at ease and if needed, instruct a handyman.
4. Be Aware Of Park Home Law
Preparing and staging your home is one thing, but how prepared are you as a seller? Changes to park home law in recent years has changed the way mobile homes are marketed. The most recent legislative change was the Mobile Homes Act 2013. As a consequence of the legislation, park homeowners have more rights in the selling process. Park owners now have a diminished influence on the sales of preloved park homes.
In preparation of marketing your mobile home for sale, we recommend that you read the government’s full guide on park home rights, which will give you an overview of your rights and obligations
5. Energy Performance Certificates
If you have sold a traditional brick-built residential property in the past, you would have to have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC).
However, the rules are slightly different for park homes. While some people prefer to know about energy ratings before they buy, you don’t have to offer an EPC. So to be clear, if you are selling a mobile home, you do not have to provide an EPC.
Read our Guide DO PARK HOMES NEED ENERGY PERFORMANCE CERTIFICATES (EPC).
6. Surveys For Mobile Homes
Once again, some home sellers may believe surveys are needed on mobile homes. A home survey will typically consider anything likely to lower the value of a home. For buyers, it is a way for them to see if there are any problems they may need to pay. Buyers may even ask for surveys when buying a mobile home.
There is no legal requirement for you to instruct a mobile home survey when selling a mobile home. Some people have felt pressure to do so through buyers, but you are under no obligation to get a survey. We advise against this.
However, if you would like to instruct a park home surveyor for peace of mind, Sell My Group recommends Clear View Park Home Surveyors.
7. Read and Understand the Paperwork
You should familiarise yourself with the forms required for selling mobile homes. These forms can be downloaded from the links below, note that Schedule 3 is not included as this refers to gifting a mobile home;
- Schedule 1 – Buyer’s Information form
- Schedule 2 – Notice of proposed sale form
- Schedule 4 – Assignment form
Keeping on top of paperwork is just good practice. What’s more, it could even prevent a potential buyer from getting impatient! If you can’t provide paperwork during the sales process, it could slow down the whole arrangement. You’ll need to admit to your buyers if you don’t have the right documents – it’s the law. Therefore, the same applies to the buyers’ information form. If this is missing or incomplete, you need to tell your buyer, and you need to explain why.
8. Be Open and Honest
Being honest and open seems like an obvious point, but it’s crucial. When selling a mobile home, you must always be honest. You don’t need an EPC, a survey or even site owner permission when selling sell mobile homes.
However, it is your legal obligation to inform buyers of what they can expect. If you answer any questions on the selling forms dishonestly, it is then that you will be breaking the law.
For example, what should you do if a buyer asks if your home has a valid survey? If it doesn’t, you should inform them as such. Therefore, a buyer can confidently continue or drop out of a sale if they want to. If you mislead or even lie to a buyer, it could cause you problems later on down the line. For example, what if you mislead a buyer about the quality of your fixtures and fittings? Consequentially, if anything you are dishonest about proves otherwise, you could face liability
9. Ask A Professional
Finally, it’s good practice to speak to someone if there is any aspect of the selling process you don’t understand. By law, you don’t have to seek legal advice, but if it’s your first time selling a mobile home, you might want some guidance.
There are a number of specialist solicitors that can help you with the process of selling, With a greater understanding of mobile home law, these specialist solicitors would be preferential to using a high street solicitor. Speak to us for recommendations.
10. Choosing Specialists to Help Sell Mobile Homes
According to Zoopla, most of us will move home around eight times. It can be something of a stressful experience. This is especially true when selling a mobile home, as these properties require knowledge that a specialist can provide. So what should you look for when instructing a company to help you sell?
Look For A Track Record Of Selling Mobile Homes
Before you decide to sell your mobile home, do your research and make sure that there is a track record of successful sales.
This means heading to their website and seeing what you can find out about the company history, experience, comments or reviews from other customers which will give some indication to the level of service provided.
A look at the website can also give a good idea of how well the home is shown. Ask yourself if you would consider buying a property from their site too.
This is especially important when it comes to park homes. If you instruct an inexperienced estate agent who has never dealt with park homes, you could find that they struggle to find you a buyer and don’t know where or how to market the property without that knowledge of the park industry.
Listing with a specialist portal or website, like Sell My Group, also means that they should hopefully already have a decent pool of potential buyers lined up.
Do They Have Links With Park Home Manufacturers And Parks?
In the case of park homes, it’s also handy to see if the website has any partnerships with any park home manufacturers or the parks themselves to help make the sale as smooth as possible.
Selling mobile homes isn’t like selling a traditional home, and if those within the industry recommend the website is a real seal of approval that shows that they know what they’re doing.
Don’t Get Short-Changed.
As important as everything else is, one of the first things that people always want to know is how much are things going to cost them.
An estate agent’s fee will usually be a percentage of the final selling price of the property. Still, there could also be other costs added on for services such as advertising and photographing the property.
Some agents will also charge a fee if you choose to withdraw the property from the market further down the line.
Before marketing, make sure that all of this is discussed and agreed upon upfront. This will avoid any nasty surprises.
Traditional Route Or Online?
Nowadays, one of the significant decisions you’ll have to make when deciding on selling is whether you want to sell your property through traditional means, or online.
While either way can work, the fact is that 95% of all purchasers start their search online.
The convenience and availability that the internet offers means that your property is available to view 24/7, with potential buyers able to book a viewing one night while sitting in front of the T.V. rather than having to wait until the estate agent on the high street is open.
Sell My Group is a specialist website portal for selling Park homes. Below we list the benefits of using Sell My Group.
Why Sell Through Sell My Group?
Sell My Group is trusted by thousands of buyers throughout the U.K. Here’s what we do;
We Create A Mobile Homes Listing
We understand what users want and care about and what they do on our website. We want their clicks, taps and scrolls – these are the most reliable indicators of buyers motivations and desires. You send us the make, model and size of your home and we will write your description (unless you want to write it!). You can take the photos, but we will chat and offer first. Alternatively, a professional photographer can be organised (at an extra cost).
Your listing will be ready within 48 hours. Once approved, we will market your property, including a listing on Rightmove.
We Deal With The Enquiries On The Mobile Homes
We will send you enquiries. Alternatively, we can post your contact details onto your listing, so the questions come straight to you.
*Quote from Graydon Carter