I have a few questions about repairs as we decide on a price we are comfortable with offering.
First some details:
it's a 1999 fortune
4 bedroom 2.5 bath
Master bedroom has a library/office connected to it (technically cant be called a 5th bedroom because no closet- but its large enough to be one)
The home is over 2100 square foot.
We've gone to look through the home twice now, and one time I brought my brother, who is a builder. So far everything is look good. There are obviously some minor cosmetic details - but they are cosmetic so no big deal. Structurally, the roof appears in good shape etc... (from what my brother could tell).
So a few questions:
1) The furnace and water heater appear to be original (or at least they are def. not new). Several other homes we looked at that were built in the late 90's mentioned that they had recently installed a new furnance/water heater. What is the average life span of water heaters and furnaces in mobile homes?
2) The home has down skirting, and in the back of the home near one of the corners there are a few holes in it. While it has the appearance of a house with siding down to the foundation, the holes are all in the area where traditional skirting would be. What would I expect the cost of fixing it to be? (I have attached a photo- you can see where the holes are on the left side- they are 'accidental' holes and do not appear to have been put in on purpose to put wires through or anything).
3) This is a harder question, I know. I have been searching comps, but am having trouble finding any 4 bedrooms from the same year for sale or that have sold recently. There is virtually nothing. I have found two comps- one is on the lot at dealer- I've actually looked through it and really liked it, but we werent able to get the financing through them, so didn't end up purchasing it. It's almost the exact same floor plan, except there is no bonus room off the master bedroom) they were asking $39,000. There is actually an exact duplicate down the road from the one we want to offer on, same floor plan and everything, except outside is a different color and it has air conditioning. It sold for $32,500. The home we want has an asking price of $37,500. I don't know the blue book value of it or anything (and I know comps are a more reliable source). The home on the dealer lot was a 1996 and more expensive- because it's on a dealer lot. LOL How the heck do I even know if the price is in the ball park?
4) The home also says "new flooring in kitchen/family room and dining room". However, the vynl flooring is popping up in the seams- so obviously was installed as a crap job. The register covers are missing where the new flooring was installed, and the flooring is peeling up there/ripped also.
5) IN the "bonus room" off the master bedroom someone put in a shelving unit- and cut part of the wall out. It looks great, except on the side of the wall in the master bedroom- the wall/drywall is cracked around the outline of the shelving unit.
This is also why I am asking about the repairs- to try and factor those expenses into our asking price when we figure that out. Compared to the other two homes we've viewed that are comparable, this home looks more 'beat up' and not as 'polished' as the other ones were. But then again, these are all cosmetic things, but in overall appearance compared to the other homes, it makes me feel like it has less value.
I am attaching some photos. Hopefully soon I will be saying we got the house and can post before and after photos of improvements we've made =P
Floorplan (it is not to scale at all- just something i threw together)
This is the backside of the house- you can see towards the bottom left the holes I was talking about in the siding.
This is the front of the house
Dining Room (red carpet area) & into the kitchen, breakfast nook and 2nd family room
Cut-out/built in shelves area in the "bonus" room- on the other side around the border edge the drywall is cracked all the way around.
One of the living rooms with wood burning fire place
Missing register in "2nd family room" where you can see the flooring is ripped. On the other side in the kitchen there is a seam where they flooring is all popped up too.
dining room from the kitchen
Other side of the kitchen - on the very left bottom, you can see where they had to seam the flooring and where it's coming up.
I'm not going to post all the pictures, but you can tell from this one, for the most part things were taken care of and it is pretty nice. this is the sink in the master bathroom
