GETTING READY TO SELL The park or storage facility needs to be clean and free of debris. Patch holes in the roads. Do all the little things that you have been putting off. Be sure your sign does not need repainting. Are the restrooms and showers clean?
Drive up to the property as if it is the first time you have seen it and see it in the eyes of the buyer. You see this property every day and over look things that a buyer will notice. WHAT THE BUYERS AND I WILL NEED Financials for 3 years or as long as you have available. This includes gross income and expenses. Do not forget management, insurance, and Property taxes. If you do your own taxes the buyers financial institution may want an Accountant to sign off on them. You may need 12 months of bank statements especially if it is a large park. If you are a mom and pop operation and have held back some of the income, tell me up front. You may elect to run another year and keep good records to get the complete value of the park. If you have septic system and/or water well have all past 3 years documentation of inspections and work done on them.
BUYERS TEND TO BUY USING THE NUMBERS AND NOT THE VALUE OF THE LAND. You will also need the rent rolls for possibly 3 years or as far back as you have them. An appraisal would be great but not absolutely necessary at this time. It can be done later. The appraisal needs to be done by a commercial appraiser.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A BUYER DECIDES TO BUY
This does not always happen in this order but it is the usual order of things. The buyer may not have even seen the property but be interested enough to send a letter of intent to buy. After he sees the property he will want to write a contract to buy. He should include some escrow money at the time he writes a contract. He will allow some time for him to do his due diligence (check out the financials, the septic, well, environmental, etc). This may be 15 to 45 days according to his schedule. All of this is negotiated in the contract. There will be a deadline for the appraisal, survey, financing commitment, and title search and commitment from the Title Company. Then there will be a time set for closing. This is all in the contract. Most closing will take place within 3 months of the contract date. Some very experienced buyers will negotiate a contract to buy, after you have disclosed the financials, before he even sees the property. The above is just a rule of thumb, sometimes things move very quickly and differently. As you can see, the more things that are already done, the faster the deal gets done. Download these tips
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