How to Negotiate the Best Deal for a New Mobile Home

By Jaye Lewis

Thinking of buying a mobile or manufactured home?  They are more popular than ever, especially in an increasingly soft new home market.  Mobile homes are your best all-in-one package, and they come in many sizes and shapes.  Of course there are the traditional single wide and double wide; however, today there are nearly limitless choices to choose from.  You can order a single-story ranch, an A-frame, a log home, a Victorian, a split-level, or even a two-story home, just to name a few.

You can spend as little or as much as you want.  You can opt for set-up in a manufactured home community or on your own land.  Your new home comes carpeted and completely furnished.  This is especially attractive for the retired couple or for a young family just starting out.  One sweet, complete package is pretty tantalizing, especially for those of us who would rather leave those details to others.

What is often not understood, however, is the negotiating power that a couple has when considering that purchase for their new manufactured home.  Just like a new car, you can negotiate price, style, and extras.  Oh yes, there are extras, and you will probably not even know if you miss them. 

Shopping for your mobile home is a lot like shopping for a new car.  If you want the lowest deal, you are going to give up your choices.  It’s amazing how many people are willing to insist on that little red car with the blue interior, but when they shop for a home they’re willing to take whatever is left on the lot.  You will spend more time in your home than you will in your car, so don’t fall for that old “this is the last model left!”  That’s nonsense!  What you are looking at are samples, just like the “model house” in a subdivision; and you hold all the cards.  Don’t be intimidated.  Negotiate for exactly what you want and how much you are willing to afford.

You can, and should, order your mobile home with all the features you want.  Here are a few tips for negotiating that new mobile home purchase:

•    Carpeting:  You are not shopping in a used car lot.  If you were buying in a subdivision, you would be able to pick out your carpet, including color, weave, and texture.  The same goes for buying a new mobile home.  Insist on viewing carpet samples, and choose what is right for you.  Carpeting is standard.  You should not have to pay extra.

•    Drapes:  This is a wonderful thing about a mobile home – drapes are included.  However, did you know that you can choose your style, color, and weave, just like you can carpeting?  Make that a part of your deal, and you should not have to pay extra.

•    Kitchen Appliances:  Today, there are so many choices in kitchen appliances.  Don’t settle for white, if you prefer almond; and don’t settle for electric, if you want gas.  Refrigerators can be ordered in exactly the style or size that you want, and you don’t have to settle for what you don’t like.

•    Bathroom Fixtures:  There you are in love with sparkling white, but the color scheme of the “on lot” mobile home includes olive green bathroom fixtures.  Ugh!  You’re going to have to live with this color.  Are you really going to like olive green in ten years?  Choose what you know you can live with.

•    Lighting:  This is so important for your new home.  You want exactly what you want, not someone else’s choice.  A reputable mobile home dealer will have a plethora of choices on overhead lighting, ceiling fans, wall sconce lighting, and that perfect bedside lighting for relaxing with your favorite book.  Insist on seeing all the choices, and choose what will make you happy.

•    Kitchen Cabinets:  Do you want low or high?  White or maple?  A walk-in pantry?  Glass display doors?  Or would you like a built-in buffet and hutch?  All these are negotiable items.  Insist on seeing every option, and don’t be afraid to ask for something special, while never forgetting to negotiate the price.

•    Bedroom Furniture:  You can negotiate for brand name mattresses and box springs; maple or pine furniture; bunk-beds for the kids; and king-size for Mom and Dad.  You can negotiate for desks, bed-side tables, chest of drawers, dressers and mirrors; and a reputable dealer will offer you a choice of brand names!

•    Dining Room Furniture:  Of course you want the best.  You’re going to live with this stuff.  There are choices of wood, finish, size of table, and buffets and hutches.  Do you want to seat four or six?  Do you want a round table with no extension, or do you want an oblong with two leaves?  This is your life.  Surround yourself with things that you love.

•    Family Room Furniture:  This is perhaps my favorite room.  It’s where my family gathers.  It’s where we lounge and watch movies.  Everything about the room must whisper comfort and style.  Do you like huge overstuffed?  Or sleek and modern?  There are many choices available for the serious mobile home buyer.  Make certain that you get exactly what you want.

•    Living Room Furniture:  Do you want pine or maple?  Traditional or formal?  This is the room where you receive guests.  You can negotiate for brand name furniture, including end tables, coffee table, lamps and sconces, sofas and chairs, and just about anything else your heart desires.

•    The Rest:  Other things that can be negotiated are how many fireplaces, and in which rooms, flooring, den furniture, and even floor plans.  Some dealers actually sell acreage, including available utilities, along with your specially ordered mobile home.  They include transportation and set-up, and sometimes they will include an outside deck.  It simply depends upon your dealer, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to ask. 

If you have good credit, the dealer, whose livelihood depends upon this sale, will be willing to deal for just about anything.  If you are financing your new mobile home, a few thousand dollars for furniture is not going to make a huge difference in your monthly payment over the life of the loan.  If you were to order a mobile home without furniture, you would not see any real savings in your overall cost.  Mobile home manufacturers buy furnishings at huge savings, and they can afford to pass the savings on to you.  So, it’s up to you.  Decide what you want and negotiate your deal.  This is going to be your home.  Make the most of it.    

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