Selling vs Donating Mobile Homes

Why Donating Your Mobile Home Can Actually Earn More Money

Recently, some of our donors were shocked to receive tax deductions of $77,000 and $54,000 by donating an old mobile home.  Surprisingly high but real, and not everyone knows this is possible or how to benefit from it.

Selling your mobile home might be the first idea that comes to mind, but it isn't always the best, and rarely the simplest.  Selling comes with strenuous tasks, such as finding a buyer and haggling over prices, while donating your mobile home‌ skips all these problems and could even make you more money through powerful tax savings.

If you use a trustworthy nonprofit like Banyan Mobile Home Removal, you'll unlock a hassle-free way to get maximum tax deductions, creating way more savings than the amount you might’ve received from selling. 

Get a tax write-off! Give us a call to learn more.

Selling Your Mobile Home Is Not As Easy As It Seems

How can you earn by selling a used mobile home? According to the U.S. Census Bureau, a brand new single-wide manufactured home cost around $87,000 in 2020.  In 2019, the cost was around $81,900.

Your mobile home is likely not brand new, and if you can find a buyer, how much you earn from selling it depends on various factors such as

• Age and how it’s well it’s been maintained
• The mobile home’s condition and aesthetics
• Its location and accessibility 

Chances are your mobile home is either single- or double-wide.  Did you know some donors are eligible for tax deductions of over $85,000 by donating?

What’s more: You forgo the burden of reselling it and avoid navigating combative legal processes and transactions or waste your time trying to lure in buyers on MHVillage.  Selling offers uncertainty and inconvenience while donating ensures maximal value with far less hassles.

Homeownership is great, but when it comes to selling your mobile home, former owners commonly experience challenges with:

1. Finding a genuine buyer quickly.  Most ‘buyers’ are not actually going to buy.  A recent study shows that, on average, you’d need to speak with at least 77 people to actually sell a used mobile home.   Unfortunately, most buyers do not reliably show up to scheduled visits, thereby wasting sellers time.  If the seller had a schedule, it was often in jeopardy of delays.
   
   
2. Being insulted by low offers on a home they care about.  Letting goof something with strong sentimental value can be difficult.  Buyers often low ball or point out the worst parts of the mobile home in an effort to whittle down your asking price.  Sellers were often challenged emotionally by the disrespectful comments, especially if they lived in the home, or it belonged to a loved one. 
   
   
3. Liability and risk management.  Most sellers may only sell one mobile home, ever, and therefore don’t know where to find strong legal documents or what risks to be wary of.  Scams and deception can be common in the mobile home space since the transactions are often so low that Realtors and title companies have no financial interest in helping.
   
   
4. To renovate or not to renovate the home before trying to sell?  Some mobile homes will not generate enough interest to sell unless they're in great shape, especially if they’re more than 10 years old.  Sellers often overhaul the home with updates;but not everyone has the time and money.  Those that do must be comfortable taking on the risk that repairs could get so expensive they weren’t worth doing.
   
   
5. Advertising the mobile home. It can take a while to get the best offers while you pay for ad placements.  Most of the well developed platforms for single family homes such as Zillow, Trulia, and the local MLS do not perform well for manufactured housing; and therefore sales could take longer.
   
   
6. Due diligence. This loosely involves informing the park manager or the owner of the land of your intention to sell and making sure all relevant paperwork is available (proof of ownership, a Notarized Transfer of Title, proof you’re up-to-date on your taxes, a Certificate of Occupancy (CO), a Bill of Sale, and other documents as requested by the state).
   
   
7. Going through the home inspection process. It’s beneficial to identify potential deal-breakers before the buyer conducts their inspection but finding problems can delay the sale.
   
   
8. Clearing title issues and liens.   Title issues are unfortunately extremely common in the mobile home space.  Old or current liens, lost titles, improperly transferred titles, old property taxes, divorce, and even inherited homes later sold from one person to another with little to no documentation.  These can be navigated successfully by experts.  However, if they are left as-is;  it often renders a mobile home extremely difficult or even unlawful to sale; and even harder to remove from your land.  These are the common struggles with selling a mobile home. If you decide to donate your mobile home, however, you’ll avoid these struggles while earning tax gains and doing something charitable for your community. Here’s how…

How Donating Your Mobile Home Could Be A Better Option

When wanting to let go of your mobile home, donating it might not be your first idea, but it can be the best direction to go because:

1. Mutually beneficial relationship (Win-Win) for all parties.  A traditional sale is a ‘win-lose’ relationship, one party must lose for another to win.  When donating, both parties get maximum value since it doesn’t cost the nonprofit anything to provide a maximal tax deduction and they’re already well staffed to manage all administrative duties required.
   
   
2. Maximum Valuation.  You can expect the absolute maximum deduction value for your mobile home when you donate — the money saved with a tax write-off is often similar to or higher than what you could get from trying to negotiate a basic sale. 
   
   
3. Gains Tax killer.  You legally avoid capital gains tax completely.  If you sell a home and incur a gain, that gain would be taxed.  Most sellers don’t realize this until it’s too late, but they don’t get to keep all of their sale price, they are forced to share a cut with Uncle Sam.  Donating your mobile home helps you reverse that by actually decreasing your tax bill instead of increasing it.  
   
   
4. Hassle prevention.  You have the choice to deal with a reputable, IRS approved 501(c)3 nonprofit, who you can entrust to perform all of the grueling tasks involved with selling. No advertising, no dishonest buyers, no meetings, no drafting and redrafting  endless legal documents, no dealing with tire kickers, no back-and-forth with buyers, no annoying price-haggling, etc.  These are done for you.
   
   
5. Financial benefit.  Although the tax deduction value isn’t cash in hand, it can often dwarf anything you might’ve gotten from a DIY mobile home sale (even more so after taxes). We’ve seen donor after donor  be pleasantly surprised by, for example, a $35k tax deduction, a $77k deduction, and recently an $84k tax deduction.
   
   
6. Time Savings.  Sellers often underestimate the hours and hours spent from start to finally completing a sale, and wish they’d realized early on there was an easier way.  Not only do you get to save costs in processing the sale of a mobile home, but you also save your valuable time and energy.
   
   
7. As-Is Condition is less critical.  You can donate a mobile home in a condition that would otherwise be too difficult to sell.  The majority of homes donated to nonprofits need rehab of one form or another and nonprofits like Banyan Mobile Home Removal are well prepared to handle these homes after removing them from the land lot.
   
   
8. Proper Documentation.  You can get help with the paperwork and have a stress-free experience donating your mobile home when you work with a trustworthy company like Banyan Mobile Home Removal. 
   
   
9. Lend a helping home.  The affordable housing crisis is crippling millions of families across the US.  Your donation would make an extremely dramatic world of difference by putting a roof over the head of an individual or family in need for years and years to come.  Earn the deep sense of satisfaction and sheer joy, knowing that your donation will go to supporting a great cause and help long term to combat homelessness in the United States.

Banyan Mobile Home Removal pursues the mission to provide a pathway to affordable homeownership, and is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

With us, you’ll get a stress-free, fair, and smooth mobile home removal and donation while also saving on your taxes by receiving a tax deduction for the highest appraised value of your mobile home.If you have a mobile home sitting in your yard and would like to donate it, contact us via phone call or email and get a maximum tax write-off today!