We live in Indiana.
My husband and I want to buy a new home from a builder in a year. We currently live in a "manufactured home community" and have a mortgage on our mobile home, which is three years old. We would like to get rid of this house and get into the new one but it looks like there are problems ahead and we need some direction.
Our mobile home was owned by the park, which is owned by a finance company. We paid the mortgage and lot rent in the same office on site until a third party took over the mortgage (the office was keeping all the money for lot and not paying the mortgage, resulting in near foreclosure for about 100 residents). We now pay lot rent in the office and send our mortgage off to Colorado.
We were told several things by the original on site agent (who is no longer here) that we now find are not true when we signed a new contract, which we were told was required as per Indiana law:
Original agent said we could move the house to another location if we wanted, like another park or a piece of land. Now we are told we have to pay off the loan in full (with a huge penalty) if we want to move it anywhere (there goes our idea of buying a piece of land or getting better and cheaper lot rent). Plus we'd have to get park approval to move it and they are not too helpful.
Their company will not buy it back from us or help in any way for a sale, including listing it in their office along with the other vacant houses, and most real estate agents won't list a mobile home. We were informed that the park will steer potential buyers to one of their own homes for sale. We have to sell it ourselves.
If we do find a buyer they have to front all the cash or secure their own financing.
They moved our $12,000 downpayment from the front of the loan to the back (balloon payment).
Our APR is 4% but will jump up to 12% in two years.
Mobile homes depreciate in value like a car.
We cannot rent or lease it out because it is against the contract.
This account isn't on our credit report, although we receive statements every month.
So basically we feel very stuck, like we have no reasonable options and are being forced to stay here lest we suffer some legal ramifications. We feel this park has set it up so that we either have to stay here indefinitely or hope someone wants to shell out enough money to pay off the loan completely, which is about $60,000. Do we have a way to get out of this that I can start working on it in the next year so there will be no delays in getting a new house?
What choices do we have? What would happen if we just moved out and left it? If we need to sell it ourselves and plan to be in a new place Aug 2009 how soon should we put it up for sale? If we need to put it for sale, how do we calculate a reasonable selling price (we are willing to break even on it)? What if we only pay mortage or only pay lot rent and not the other?
My husband and I want to buy a new home from a builder in a year. We currently live in a "manufactured home community" and have a mortgage on our mobile home, which is three years old. We would like to get rid of this house and get into the new one but it looks like there are problems ahead and we need some direction.
Our mobile home was owned by the park, which is owned by a finance company. We paid the mortgage and lot rent in the same office on site until a third party took over the mortgage (the office was keeping all the money for lot and not paying the mortgage, resulting in near foreclosure for about 100 residents). We now pay lot rent in the office and send our mortgage off to Colorado.
We were told several things by the original on site agent (who is no longer here) that we now find are not true when we signed a new contract, which we were told was required as per Indiana law:
Original agent said we could move the house to another location if we wanted, like another park or a piece of land. Now we are told we have to pay off the loan in full (with a huge penalty) if we want to move it anywhere (there goes our idea of buying a piece of land or getting better and cheaper lot rent). Plus we'd have to get park approval to move it and they are not too helpful.
Their company will not buy it back from us or help in any way for a sale, including listing it in their office along with the other vacant houses, and most real estate agents won't list a mobile home. We were informed that the park will steer potential buyers to one of their own homes for sale. We have to sell it ourselves.
If we do find a buyer they have to front all the cash or secure their own financing.
They moved our $12,000 downpayment from the front of the loan to the back (balloon payment).
Our APR is 4% but will jump up to 12% in two years.
Mobile homes depreciate in value like a car.
We cannot rent or lease it out because it is against the contract.
This account isn't on our credit report, although we receive statements every month.
So basically we feel very stuck, like we have no reasonable options and are being forced to stay here lest we suffer some legal ramifications. We feel this park has set it up so that we either have to stay here indefinitely or hope someone wants to shell out enough money to pay off the loan completely, which is about $60,000. Do we have a way to get out of this that I can start working on it in the next year so there will be no delays in getting a new house?
What choices do we have? What would happen if we just moved out and left it? If we need to sell it ourselves and plan to be in a new place Aug 2009 how soon should we put it up for sale? If we need to put it for sale, how do we calculate a reasonable selling price (we are willing to break even on it)? What if we only pay mortage or only pay lot rent and not the other?
