I'd like to be your San Marcos mobile home buyer

So if you are living in San Marcos and would like to sell your mobile home for cash, I'm here to help. I'd like to be your San Marcos mobile home buyer. How it works is pretty simple.

1. I come look at your mobile home
2. I crunch my numbers
3. I make you a cash offer

Most of the time I can make you an offer right on the spot. My rule of thumb is I pay about 70% of the home's worth in move in ready condition. So any repairs I need to make will be subtracted from my offer. I am definitely not the best paying option for you but I am probably the fastest option.

So if you are looking to sell your mobile home fast, I am the person you should call at 512 534 8040. If not then you could either have me broker the sale of your mobile home, or I can show you how to do it. My goal is to help you solve your problem.

Below is a quick video of what I can offer you.

Now a common question I get from people looking for a San Marcos mobile home buyer is “what is my home worth?” This can be a tough one to answer as that usually depends on where it is. As much as people want a simple “blue book value” for their mobile home, the location plays a big part. Even if the mobile home is on rented land, it still depends on where that land is. Mobile home parks can vary quite a bit in quality even if they are right next to each other.

Why use me as your San Marcos mobile home buyer vs selling yourself?

Basically this comes down to a choice: do you want to sell your mobile home for the most amount of money or do you want to sell it quickly? Using me as your San Marcos mobile home buyer should not be your choice if you are looking to get the most amount of money out of your home. I can help broker the sale of your mobile home, but for me to buy the home it has to be at a discount. Typically I pay about 70% of the market value of the home when it’s in move in ready condition. So if it needs repairs I will subtract that cost from my offer.

The upside is, I can buy your home quickly. Often times we can put it under contract immediately and as soon as the home is vacant and you’ve removed all your personal items I can buy it. This has happened as fast as 48 hours. So if you need a San Marcos mobile home buyer to take your home off your hands quickly, I’m that guy.

Attention Austin: a new kind of awesome is coming your way! The 78757 dog walker is here!

So I'm a little excited. Someone close to me is doing something awesome. And it involves dogs, so that's even more awesome. Anyone who lives in the lovely Allandale neighborhood of Austin who is looking for a 78757 dog walker need not worry any longer: Sniffs & Wags is here! They are run by an awesome lady who makes her living as a writer but wants to get out and feel the summer sun on her face as well.

She has two dogs and is very experienced handling all types of pooches. Thus she decided why not walk local dogs in the neighborhood? Thus Sniffs & Wags was born. And now anyone looking for a 78757 dog walker is in luck! Because she is taking new clients!

Wouldn't you like your dog to be getting the daily exercise he or she needs? Studies show that regular walks reduce stressful behaviour, calm their disposition, and increase their overall health! Most dog owners know this but it can be hard to give your dog regular walks during the week. Most of us barely keep our head above water during the day. And the thought of rushing home during lunch break seems almost impossible. And let's face it, right now it's too darn hot to walk anyway!

Luckily the 78757 dog walker has a flexible schedule. She can walk your dog when you can't. And if you'd like your dog to have a more vigorous job, she'll do that too!

Your pet will benefit from regular walks in many ways – here are three biggies!

1. Reduce Stress, Anxiety, and Destructive Behavior

Dogs chew to relieve stress. And when they’re home alone for long periods of time, they start to get stressed… Then they go looking for your shoes.

Regular walks can help reduce or eliminate any destructive behaviors like chewing, digging, jumping, scratching, and more.

2. Calm Disposition

Walks can help to alleviate extra energy your dog may have, calming them down and reducing hyperactivity, excitability, and even nighttime restlessness.

3. Overall Health

Exercise is good for humans as well as dogs, and any sort of sedentary-related health problem humans can get, dogs can get too.

Daily walks provide many health benefits. They help keep your dog agile, limber, and mentally stimulated. Walks help young pets burn off pet up energy and older pets stay spritely. Regular walking also helps maintain a healthy weight and overall bodily constitution.

So call Sniffs & Wags today at (512) 827-7861 and tell the 78757 dog walker that Carter sent you!

A new place for Austin SEO help

I'm starting a new venture that I"m really excited about! So without further adieu let the world be on notice that.... 

Austin SEO help is here!

Do you want your Austin based business to rank on Google but have no idea how to do it? It sounds like you need some Austin SEO help!

I was in the same position a few months ago, and when I looked for practical, real world help, I couldn't find any. I either got really generic advice from people who didn't want to learn about my business or I was flooded with information about keyword searches, pay-per-click, and all this other information I didn't need. I just wanted to be at the top of a Google search when people typed in "Sell my mobile home in Austin," and no one seemed to be able to do that for me. So I learned how to do it myself.

The hardest thing was wading through the sea of information. It seems to me that most Austin SEO people want to make everything overly complicated so that people are willing to pay more for something than they should. It reminds me of why you always need a friend who knows about cars when you go to the dealership. If they sense you can be intimidated, they will flood you with information and pressure you into paying too much for things you don't even need.

I knew I didn't want to use pay-per-click (PPC) ads even though all the Austin SEO people I talked to tried to convince me that I should. I had tried PPC ads before, and my only conclusion was that PPC was a great way for Google to make money off me! While you may not know much about SEO or anything like that, ask yourself this question, "How often do I click on a Google ad?" Most of us skip right over them and look at the "real" Google searches. Don't ignore your own common sense and life experience just because someone is pitching you something you’re unfamiliar with!

Video marketing: The key component to Austin SEO success!

One thing I realized pretty quickly is that video marketing, specifically YouTube marketing, was a hugely important component in getting ranked with Google. It makes sense. as Google owns YouTube! But while being #1 on Google is nice, what's also important is to have a direct "Call to Action" for whoever sees your video. Or ideally, they don't even have to watch your video in order to see this call to action. One thing that many Austin SEO people might not get is that you are not trying to rank on Google to show off to your friends – you're doing it to get more business! So the Google ranking needs to directly affect the number of leads you are getting.

In my case, I wanted people to either call me or fill out their information in a contact sheet. I'm in the mobile home business. I buy and sell them through my site, Carter Buys Mobile Homes. My goal was to have videos for every city and county within a two hour drive for things like "Sell my mobile home in Austin." When I checked with other Austin SEO people about how to do this, they only seemed interested in telling me how many people a month searched for the term "mobile homes" and things like that. They just didn't take the time to ask me about my business and think about what most people would type into Google.

So if you are frustrated the way I was, enter your information in the ATX SEO Help website contact sheet, and we’ll get started right away. If you'd like an informal demo of what we can do for you, watch my Austin SEO video down here. And feel free to Google "Sell my mobile home Houston" to see how my video is doing now.
Don't worry, I"m still going to be buying, brokering, and selling mobile homes all throughout Texas. And I won't be shy about letting you know! But I also won't let you be shy anymore either!!!

Sell my mobile home in Houston!

I need to sell my mobile home in Houston!!!

Houston we have a problem! You need to sell your mobile home! What do you do? Being a little biased, I recommend you call Carter at 512 534 8040 because I can help you with the sell my mobile home Houston dilemma in two ways. Number one, I’m a cash buyer for mobile homes. And number two, I’m a broker for mobile homes aka I can find you a cash buyer. Both options have some pluses and some minuses so let discuss them!

You can watch the official Sell my mobile home Houston video or read below!

The Cash Buyer option to sell my mobile home Houston

When I buy a mobile home in cash, it’s a three step process:

Step one: I come look at your home. I’m looking at two things – the condition of the home and the location. I need to see what type of repairs are needed on the home and I also need to see the area surrounding, whether it’s in a mobile home park or a neighborhood. Obviously if the home needs to be moved, that’s a different story but then I’ll need to factor the moving costs in.

Step two: I crunch my numbers. Once I know what repairs need to be done to the home and the costs of either keeping the home there or moving it, I now have to figure out the numbers. By this I mean I need to figure out what the home will be worth once I fix it up. This is called the After Repair Value (ARV). I normally pay between 60-70% of the ARV minus whatever expenses are involved.

Step three: I make you a cash offer. Once the numbers are crunched I show you what I can pay (that 60-70% of ARV minus expenses).

This is a good option when you need your mobile home sold quickly. I am a reliable cash buyer and I will never make you a cash offer if I don’t have the funds immediately available. However, as you’ve probably guess, even though you might be telling the world, “I need to sell my mobile home Houston you might need to get a higher dollar value than I can pay with this strategy. One of the main reasons why is I am going to re-sell your home after I buy it. So for there to be some “room” in the deal, I need to buy your home at a discount. So if you need to get a higher price and you can afford to wait a little longer, then you should consider my brokering option.

Brokering Option – I help sell my mobile home Houston!

If you’d like to get closer to a market value for your mobile home but you’re really not sure how to sell it and would like some professional help, then my brokering services should fit your needs. I started Carter Sells Mobile Homes for this purpose. Here’s what you can expect from my brokering services.

Marketing

Marketing is what I do best in business. I have sold mobile homes from San Marcos, Texas to Yucaipa, California and many places in between. I understand how to market a mobile home so it will sell. If you are reading this post, then you know my marketing works. When you let me broker the sale of your mobile home, I will handle all the online marketing for you.

Experience

I have been in the mobile home business for over six years full time and in real estate for over nine years. I am a licensed manufactured housing (mobile home) retailer and broker in the state of Texas. I can handle all the paperwork and since I live in Austin, I have access to the home office for the Manufactured Housing Division for the whole state of Texas.

Fair Commission

A lot of brokers will charge you a flat percentage fee. I don’t do this because I don’t think that it’s fair to you, the seller. The reason being is simple math. An 8% commission on a $10,000 sale is $800. On a $20,000 sale it’s $1,600. While this is twice as much, it’s also only $800 more to the broker but $10,000 more to the seller. Can you really trust that a broker will work their hardest to get you that much more money when they are only making $800 more?

What I do instead is to find out what your bottom line number is. Whatever I can get for you above that number, we will split 50/50. This way we are both motivated to get you the highest sale on your mobile home. So if you are dealing with the sell my mobile home Houston dilemma, give me a call at 512 534 8040. I can help!

Conroe, Texas we're coming to your town!!

So Conroe Texas, get ready. The Carter Buys Mobile Home team is coming to your town. So if you're asking yourself, "How can I sell my mobile home Conroe?" this Conroe fellow should answer, "Call Carter at 512 534 8040!" The longer answer is I am a reliable, fast, cash buyer of mobile homes and I'm also a licensed manufactured housing broker. So basically if I can't buy your mobile home, I can find you a buyer!

The process is pretty simple:

Step 1: I come look at your mobile home. I need to see what repairs need to be done to get your home up to its "After Repair Value" (ARV for short!)

Step 2: I crunch some numbers. I figure out all the repairs and costs to get to that ARV number.

Step 3: I make you a cash offer. Normally my offers are between 60-70% of the ARV minus repairs.

Now of course my cash offer is not a market value price so if you need that and can afford to wait a while, then I would be happy to broker the sale of your mobile home. I have over 6 years of experience in the mobile home industry in Texas and am very knowledgeable in the real key to selling, which is marketing!

Heck if you're reading this, you know I know how to market! My services are free until the home is sold. What we will do is figure out your "bottom line" price. From there, anything above that price we will split 50/50. I find this works much better than the standard percentage or flat fee commission because both of us make more money if your home sells for more. I believe that business has to be a win-win agreement.

So if this sounds good, hit me up at Carter Buys Mobile Homes or call me at 512 534 8040!

Carter Fisk
Hycreek Properties, LLC
RB36360
512 534 8040
www.carterbuysmobilehomes.com

We buy mobile homes in Waco!

Ah, Waco Texas. A town that doesn't get a lot of love and maybe still lives in some infamy from the events 20 plus years ago. While that is something I can't control, what I can do is tell the world that I buy mobile homes in Waco! So if you are asking yourself, "How can I sell my mobile home in Waco?" the answer is simple: call Carter at 512 534 8040! As you can see from my video it's a simple 3 step process:

Step 1: I come look at your mobile home. Basically I am evaluating the condition of the home and the location that it currently sits in. Both issues determine what I can pay for a home.

Step 2: I crunch some numbers. I determine what's called the After Repair Value (ARV). I then figure out the expenses involved in getting the home to that value.

Step 3: I make you a cash offer. I normally pay between 60-70% of the ARV minus expenses.

Now as to why I'm picking Waco to talk about, I'll let the good people at Wikipedia answer that question a little bit better for you!

In 1866, Waco's leading citizens embarked on an ambitious project to build the first bridge to span the wide Brazos River. They formed the Waco Bridge Company to build the 475-foot (145 m) brick Waco Suspension Bridge, which was completed in 1870. The company commissioned a firm owned by John Augustus Roebling in Trenton, New Jersey, to supply the cables and steelwork for the bridge, and contracted with Mr. Thomas M. Griffith, a civil engineer based in New York, for the supervisory engineering work on the bridge.^[11] The economic effects of the Waco bridge were immediate and large. The cowboys and cattle-herds following theChisholm Trail north, crossed the Brazos River at Waco. Some chose to pay the Suspension Bridge toll, while others floated their herds down the river. The population of Waco grew rapidly, as immigrants now had a safe crossing for their horse-drawn carriages and wagons. Since 1971, the bridge has been open only to pedestrian traffic and is in the National Register of Historic Places.

In the late 19th century a red-light district called the "Reservation" grew up in Waco, and prostitutionwas regulated by the city. The Reservation was suppressed in the early 20th century. In 1885, the soft drink Dr Pepper was invented in Waco at Morrison's Old Corner Drug Store.

In 1845, Baylor University was founded in Independence, Texas, making it the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of Texas. It moved to Waco in 1886 and merged with Waco University, becoming an integral part of the city. The university's Strecker Museum was also the oldest continuously operating museum in the state until it closed in 2003, and the collections were moved to the new Mayborn Museum Complex. In 1873, AddRan College was founded by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark in Fort Worth. The school moved to Waco in 1895, changing its name to Add-Ran Christian University and taking up residence in the empty buildings of Waco Female College. Add-Ran changed its name toTexas Christian University in 1902 and left Waco after the school's main building burned down in 1910. TCU was offered a 50-acre (200,000 m²) campus and $200,000 by the city of Fort Worth to relocate there.

In 1894, the first Cotton Palace fair and exhibition center was built to reflect the dominant contribution of the agricultural cotton industry in the region. Since the end of the Civil War, cotton had been cultivated in the Brazos and Bosque valleys, and Waco had become known nationwide as a top producer. Over the next 23 years, the annual exposition would welcome over eight million attendees. The opulent building which housed the month-long exhibition was destroyed by fire and rebuilt in 1910. In 1931, the exposition fell prey to theGreat Depression, and the building was torn down. However, the annual Cotton Palace Pageant continues, hosted in late April in conjunction with the Brazos River Festival.In the 1890s, William Cowper Brann published the highly successful Iconoclast newspaper in Waco. One of his targets was Baylor University. Brann revealed that Baylor officials had been importingSouth American children recruited by missionaries and making house-servants out of them. Brann was shot in the back by Tom Davis, a Baylor supporter. Brann then wheeled, drew his pistol, and killed Davis. Brann was helped home by his friends, and died there of his wounds.

On September 15, 1896, "The Crash" took place about 15 miles (24 km) north of Waco. "The Crash at Crush" was a publicity stunt done by theMissouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad company (known as M-K-T or "Katy"), featuring two locomotives intentionally set to a head-on collision. Meant to be a family fun event with food, games and entertainment, the Crash turned deadly when both boilers exploded simultaneously, sending metal flying in the air. Two people died and six were seriously injured.

How to sell a mobile home

So I buy, sell, and broker mobile homes. I've been doing this for over 6 years in Texas and California. I've looked at a lot of mobile homes and met a lot of mobile home sellers. One thing that's struck me is that very few people know how to sell a mobile home. And why would they? It's not a clear cut path like it would be to sell a site built home. In that case you usually contact a Realtor and have them handle everything. Realtors do handle mobile home sales in some areas, it's not all that common. And while there are brokers like me who will help you sell your mobile home, we're a rare breed as well. (If you live in Texas and need help selling your mobile home call me at 512 534 8040!)

So for the most part, if you're selling a mobile home, you're going to have to do most of it on your own. And that's a scary thought for most people. But it doesn't have to be! There are some basic steps you can take to stack the deck in your favor and allow you to sell your mobile home. You can watch the video below or read my summary of 5 tips to help sell your mobile home below that.

Step 1: Declutter your mobile home. Without a doubt one of the best things you can do to help sell your mobile home is to declutter it! What I mean by this is get rid of all your junk and as many personal items as you can. Put it this way: if you haven't used it in the last year, get rid of it! You can have a yard sale, give things away to friends, put items in the "For Free" section of Craigslist or use a junk removal service like Got Junk.

Step 2: Talk to your park manager. Obviously this only applies if you live in a mobile home park but most sellers I talk to are in this position and very few of them talk to the park manager. This is a big mistake! The park manager talks to potential buyers all day long. They constantly have people coming in the office, calling them, and emailing them. Don't let this resource go to waste! You can even have the park manager broker the sale for your mobile home for a commission. I've done this several times and they found me a good buyer quickly because they were motivated to make some extra money themselves.

Step 3: Be realistic with your selling price. I've watched many a home stay on the market month after month because the seller wouldn't budge on the price. You need to find out what homes have sold for (not what they're listed for, but the actual selling price) in your area or park. From there you price your mobile home accordingly. Keep in mind the painful reality that a mobile home is a depreciating asset: it loses money over time. So while you may have spent $10,000 redoing your kitchen, that doesn't mean your home is now worth $10,000 more. It's a tough pill to swallow but it's better you do it now.

Step 4: Advertise your mobile home online. The very fact that you're reading this proves that online marketing works. Most statistics I've read state that over 80% of people looking for a home start their search online. This number will only go up over time. The best places to advertise are Postlets and Craigslist. They're both free sites that will get your mobile home in front of a lot of eyes. You don't have to put your home address on the listing if that bothers you.

Step 5: Put a For Sale By Owner sign on your yard or your home. This might seem really obvious but you'd be surprised how few people actually do it. Most of the time you will sell your mobile home to friends or family of people who live near you. But this can only happen if they know your home is for sale. So tell them!

That's it for now. If you live in Texas, I can help you sell your mobile home, so don't be a stranger! Carter Buys Mobile Homes

Austin mobile home broker

So I'm excited to announce that as of March 19, 2015 I will be an Austin mobile home broker! Now I should say that the correct term is manufactured housing broker, but most people don't know what manufactured housing means. The more common term is mobile homes although that term is not technically correct. After June 16, 1976 all mobile homes built in the US were now subject to new standards and were renamed manufactured homes. But for some reason, almost 40 years later the term hasn't stuck. But many times people don't even know what a mobile home is either. So let's discuss!

If we look mobile homes in trusty Wikipedia we get the following:

In the United States, this form of housing goes back to the early years of cars and motorized highway travel.^[1] It was derived from the travel trailer (often referred to during the early years as "house trailers" or "trailer coaches"), a small unit with wheels attached permanently, often used for camping or extended travel. The original rationale for this type of housing was its mobility. Units were initially marketed primarily to people whose lifestyle required mobility. However, beginning in the 1950s, the homes began to be marketed primarily as an inexpensive form of housing designed to be set up and left in a location for long periods of time, or even permanently installed with a masonry foundation. Previously, units had been eight feet or less in width, but in 1956, the 10-foot (3 m) wide home ("ten-wide") was introduced, along with the new term "mobile home".^[2]

The homes were given a rectangular shape, made from pre-painted aluminum panels, rather than the streamlined shape of travel trailers, which were usually painted after assembly. All of this helped increase the difference between these homes and home/travel trailers. The smaller, "eight-wide" units could be moved simply with a car, but the larger, wider units ("ten-wide", and, later, "twelve-wide") usually required the services of a professional trucking company, and, often, a special moving permit from a state highway department. During the late 1960s and early 70s, the homes were made even longer and wider, making the mobility of the units more difficult. Nowadays, when a factory-built home is moved to a location, it is usually kept there permanently and the mobility of the units has considerably decreased. In some states, mobile homes have been taxed as personal property if the wheels remain attached, but as real estate if the wheels are removed. Removal of the tongue and axles may also be a requirement for real estate classification.

Technically, a mobile home and manufactured home are different entities. A mobile home is always constructed prior to June, 1976. Homes constructed post June 1976 are almost categorically known as manufactured homes, meeting FHA certification requirements, and come with attached metal certification tags. Mobile homes permanently installed on owned land are rarely mortgageable, whereas FHA code manufactured homes are mortgageable through VA, FHA, and FNMA.

Many people who could not afford a traditional site-built home or did not desire to commit to spending a large sum of money on housing began to see factory-built homes as a viable alternative for long-term housing needs. The units were often marketed as an alternative to apartment rental. However, the tendency of the units of this era to depreciate rapidly in resale value^{[citation needed]} made using them as collateral for loans much riskier than traditional home loans. Terms were usually limited to less than the thirty-year term typical of the general home-loan market, and interest rates were considerably higher.^{[citation needed]} In this way, mobile home loans resembled motor vehicle loans more than traditional home mortgage loans.

Mobile home vs Recreational vehicle
The thing that gets most people confused is they think a mobile home is a Recreational Vehicle (RV). Many times when I tell people I buy mobile homes, their first question is, "Aren't you scared they'll just drive off with it?" I always smile at that idea because while a mobile home can be moved, it costs thousands of dollars to move it and thousands more to set it up somewhere else.
Once again from Wikipedia:

Most modern dictionaries give one of the meanings for the word caravan as "a camper equipped with living quarters". They in turn give one of the meanings for camper as "a recreational vehicle equipped for camping out while travelling". The earliest caravans were used for practical purposes rather than recreation, such as providing shelter and accommodation for people travelling in search of an audience for their art, or to offer their services to distant employers, or to reach a new place of abode.

In Europe, wagons built to live in, rather than just to carry persons or goods, were developed in France around 1810. They were used in Britain by showmen and circus performers from the 1820s; but Romani people only began living in caravans (vardos) from about 1850.^[1]

The covered wagon that played a significant part in opening up of the interior of the North American continent to white settlement from about 1745 was a type of caravan. A well set-up wagon provided its occupants with living quarters as well as a means of transportation for themselves, plus their supplies and equipment.^[2]

In Canada, the earliest motorhomes were built on car or truck bodies from about 1910.^[3] By the 1920s the RV was well established in the US, with RV camping clubs established across the country, despite the unpaved roads and limited camping facilities.^[4]

In Australia, the earliest known motorhome was built in 1929. It is now in the Goolwa Museum, where it has been partially restored. It is recognized by both the National Museum of Australia and the (Australian) National Motor Museum as being the first motorized caravan in Australia.^[5]

Between the late 1920s and the early 1960s, some South Australian railway maintenance gangs working in country areas where they were required to live on-site, were accommodated in caravans built by the department instead of thetents they had previously used. These caravans were built like short railway carriages, about 6.1 metres (20 feet) long; but had wooden wheels with solid rubber tyres and ball bearings.^[6]

In the US, the modern RV industry had its beginnings in the late 1920s and 1930s (shortly after the advent of the automobile industry), where a number of companies began manufacturing house trailers or trailer coaches, as they were then called. Often, these started out as mom and pop operations, building their units in garages or back yards. (One of these early manufacturers, Airstream, is still in business today.) Though tied to the mobile home industry in the early years—when few units were longer than 9 metres (30 ft) long, and thus easily transportable—the 1950s saw a separation of the two, as (what are now referred to as) mobile homes became larger and more immobile, and thus largely became an entirely separate industry. During the 1950s, in addition to travel trailers or trailer coaches, manufacturers began building self-contained motorhomes.

Mobile home vs modular home

Mobile (manufactured) homes and modular homes are very similar in that they are both built in factories then moved on site (vs a traditional house that is framed on site).

Once again from Wikipedia:

Differences include the building codes that govern the construction, types of material used and how they are appraised by banks for lending purposes.^{[citation needed]} The codes that govern the construction of modular homes are exactly the same codes that govern the construction of site-constructed homes.^{[citation needed]} In the United States, all modular homes are constructed according to the International Building Code (IBC), IRC, BOCA or the code that has been adopted by the local jurisdiction.

Your Central Texas Mobile Home Buyer

So I buy mobile homes in central Texas. And I feel the need to write about this to let people doing some type of sell my mobile home central Texas search know that I'm the guy they can contact for such things. Now this might not be too interesting to must people. So feel free to watch the video below instead. It might not be too interesting either, but it's short.



It's a quick and hopefully relatively painless 3 step process for me to buy your mobile home.

1) I come look at the home. This is basically a chance for me to evaluate the home and the location. Most of the homes I look at are in mobile home parks. So the park itself is very important in determining the home's value. I also need to see if any repairs/renovations will need to be done on the home.

2) I crunch my numbers. This basically means I figure out what I think I can re-sell your home for then work backwards. I subtract the repair costs, the holding costs, and the profit I would like to make from the anticipated re-sale value. From there I have my offering price. I'm always willing to show you all the numbers I'm working with so you can at least see where I'm coming from with my offer.

3) You decide whether we do a deal or not. At this point you are in the driver's seat because it's up to you to say yes or no. I'm not a high pressure sales guy so if you need time to think it over, that's fine by me. I've had people wait almost a year before accepting my offer and I still paid them the same price I had given a year earlier.

As far as where I buy mobile homes or what exactly I mean by central Texas, I live in Austin. So anywhere within a 60 mile radius of there is fair game. And starting in mid March, 2015 I will also be offering mobile home brokering services anywhere in Texas. So I can help you sell your mobile home anywhere. I really think my ability to sell homes is what I"m best at. I'm really looking forward to expanding out into the brokering world very soon. And like I said, this will be offered in all of Texas, not just central.

When I start brokering mobile home deals what I will do is figure out what your bottom line price is. From there I will offer than anything I can get above your bottom line we split 50/50. I think that's pretty fair and it motivates us both to get the highest price possible for your mobile home.

That's all I've got for now. Take care until next time!

R36360

Bastrop you're on my radar....and how mobile homes are a combination of a house and a car...sort of....

So I've been spending some time looking at the lovely town of Bastrop, Texas. I will admit for a long time I felt like Bastrop was the last spot of civilization on the drive out to Houston. Or it was where my friend Bob lived. But I haven't been to Houston in years and Bob moved out of Bastrop, so for a long time it just hasn't been on my radar. But as I mentioned in another post, part of my new strategy for this year is to start investing in land. And Bastrop has a lot of land!

I guess what I'm saying is, if you're asking yourself that age old question of "How can I sell my mobile home in Bastrop?" the answer is now pretty simple: call Carter! (512 534 8040 btw)

Now part of me realizes by writing posts like this I'm coming dangerously close to becoming a "Better Call Saul" type of guy. I think I'm okay with that although if I meet a guy with a pork pie hat and a German name, maybe I'll change my tune.

But anyway, I get asked how the "process" works and "what can you pay for my mobile home?" I think sometimes there's confusion on what mobile homes are worth because we tend to look at them as a combination of a car and a house.

The Car Part

So we tend to see a mobile home as a car for one main reason: they lose value over time. There's an old saying that when you drive a new car off a dealer's lost it immediately loses 30% of its value. Sadly this is true with mobile homes as well and was one of the factors in the 2008 economic meltdown as well as a reason why mobile home lenders tend to go out of business every 10 years or so and also why it's almost mathematically impossible for a mobile home to not be under water or upside down or whatever term you want to use to describe a home where you owe more than the home is worth. That was a long sentence!

The point is mobile homes lose value and many times they are bought at dealerships. Because of this, people start to think that they can "look up" the value of a home like you'd look the Blue Book value of your car. The problem with thinking this way is they're only looking at the "car" part of the equation. And to tell what a mobile home is worth, we need to remember the "house" part as well.

The House Part

There's yet another old saying that I'm sure you've heard about the three most important things in real estate: "Location, location, location". This is true with mobile homes as well but for some reason people tend to forget this when they start talking about what they're mobile home is "worth". The problem is what a mobile home is worth very much depends on where it is.

Now what makes mobile homes unique is this is true even if you do not own the land the home sits on i.e. the mobile home is at a mobile home park. So a mobile home can be worth one amount at Park A and the exact same mobile home can be worth a different amount at Park B. And what makes mobile homes unique is Park A and Park B can be right next to each other. Every mobile home park is essentially its own neighborhood.

Now where people get tripped up is they remember the "mobile" part of mobile home. Although you can move a mobile home it's an expensive process. The home not only needs to be loaded onto a truck and moved, it also needs to have all the teardown and setup costs which end up being anywhere from $3000-6000!

What I can pay for your mobile home

So when people say their mobile home is "worth" a certain amount, it has to be what that home will sell for right where it sits. As I've mentioned above, the home's value depends on the park or location. I can usually pay about 70% of what the home would sell for in move in ready condition. This means with new flooring, new paint, and everything else in good working condition. As my rambling in this post makes you realize, that 70% can vary a lot. So you'll need to call me and I'll come look at your mobile home. I probably just should have said that from the beginning, right?

Finding that "great" contractor - my experience with this necessary but un-fun adventure

So finding a contractor can be a tough endeavor. I guess I should say finding a good or even great contractor is the real challenge. Most people rely on word of mouth or possibly sites like Yelp or Angie's List. I wish I had some miracle solution that bypassed these obvious ones but I don't. In fact, for the first few years I lived in Austin I had a slew of bad contractors. So rather than tell you how to find the good ones, I'm just going to show some of the signs that you have a bad contractor. (Incidentally if you need a great contractor in Austin you should call Yamil Exposito at 512 483 1115. Check out my video at the end of this article. But okay back to my list of signs you have a bad contractor.

#1 The person who you explain the job to is not the person who does the job
This is a very common situation with some of the larger companies I've dealt with. I noticed it mainly with plumbers and electricians. I would lay out the details of the job, where I wanted things etc. to one plumber/electrician. He'd get to work but the next day there would be a different guy that showed up and I'd have to explain everything all over again. This happened with one company multiple times over a few jobs before I finally stopped using them. You shouldn't have to explain your plans more than once unless something changes in your plans.

#2 The contractor doesn't show up when building inspectors come by
This is something I put up with when I used to flip houses and looking back I have no idea why I did. Part of a contractors job is to do things up to the current housing codes and you should put this in writing on any contract that you sign. I would often times need to write down everything the inspector said needed to be fixed so that I could relay that information to the contractor who would then do the work and charge me more for it. Don't make my dumb mistake! Make sure you have it in your contract that all work done must pass all building inspections or the contractor will re-do at his expense. It's amazing how much better someone's work becomes when they know it has to pass an inspection.

#3 The contractor claims he can "do everything"
There's an old saying that goes, "A man can do anything he wants but he can't do everything." This is absolutely true in construction as well but people still fall for the "We do it all" types. The "do it alls" simply charge a premium then hire sub contractors to do the actual work at a discount. As a result you are never meeting or paying the actual people who are coming into your home and doing the work. Not only is this a little unnerving to most people it also costs you time and money. The reality often times is the "do it alls" will charge you double of what they will pay the subcontractor. I've had some of these guys even admit this to me directly. I would rather pay the person doing the work more and cut out the glorified middleman posing as a contractor. Pay people directly and you will get better work at a more affordable price.

#4 The contractor gets paid by the hour
While I tolerate this is rare instances for the most part I believe in paying someone for the task and not by the hour. The reality is, if given the option of "milking the clock" most people will. I had one group of contractors who would show up every day, then have to drive back to the office to "pick up supplies" on a job they had already been working on for over a week. Of course they wanted to claim that this driving time was "on the clock". Needless to say that was the last job they worked on for me.

#5 The contractor stops communicating
Things happen in life. A contractor not being able to show up for a few days is fine as long as they let you know about this ahead of time. What I can't (and you shouldn't) tolerate is contractors just disappearing without any explanation or warning and then re-appearing. I have some theories as to what the contractors I had hired were doing during that time but if this happens I recommend firing them right on the spot even if you're not getting all the work you "paid" for. It's better to cut out the cancer early than to let it fester. If a contractor disappears on you once I can guarantee they will do it again after you've paid them even more money. Don't make this mistake.

As I mentioned up above if you're looking for a great contractor in Austin, Texas call Yamil Exposito at 512 483 1115!

Land buying in central Texas or my new adventure for 2015!!!

So 2015 is a year of new adventures for me. While some might look at adventure as jumping out of an airplane or going on a safari, I look at it as trying something new business wise. That could just make me boring but I'm going to pretend it doesn't!

Over the last six years I have bought and sold mobile homes in mobile home parks. This has been a very interesting business but I’m seeing things start to change. One thing I’m noticing is it’s becoming increasingly harder to find good deals. This may just be in the Austin market where everyone and their mother is moving here. What I am noticing is a lot of people want to move their mobile home onto land. So I am putting the word out to all the sell my land for mobile homes in Austin people is that I’m a reliable, fast cash buyer for mobile home lots (and mobile homes!).

Now the reason this is important is there are A LOT of tire kickers in the mobile home world. Anyone who’s ever tried to sell a mobile home knows that they will have to show their mobile home to tons of people and will hear “I love it I want to buy it” over and over again from people they will never see again. This is an extremely frustrating situation. And people who want to sell their mobile home or their land for cash know that many of the people who call on the property will ask if they’ll take payments. It’s a frustrating experience.

So what makes me different is, first off, I’m reliable. If I make an offer, I intend to buy your property at the price I offer. I know a lot of investors make offers in a “shotgun” type of approach. That’s not me. I’m more of a sniper!

I also don’t make offers that I cannot afford. One thing that’s very common in the investing world is for people to “wholesale” property. This basically means they get your house under contract for a certain price, then advertise it to cash investors at a slightly higher price and pocket the difference.

So many of these “we buy homes in cash” people don’t really buy the homes, they simply find people who actually have cash. Any offer I make you can rest assured that I have that money in my bank account at that moment.

I’m also a fast buyer. If I’m buying a mobile home or land I can close on the property as fast as legally possible. This usually means about a week although sometimes it can be a little faster or slower.

The downside is I’m not able to pay full price for your mobile home or your land. The Carter Buys Mobile Home business is predicated upon being able to buy property at below market price, then re-sell it at market price. Simply put if you want top dollar for your mobile home or land and are willing to wait, then I’m not the guy to buy your home or land. I can always help you sell them though so don’t be shy either way. Just call me at 512 534 8040 and we’ll talk!