Cash offer versus listing it: what do you actually keep?

A listing price is not what you keep

Every seller compares the wrong two numbers. They put a cash offer next to a listing price and the listing price looks bigger, because it is. What matters is what lands in your account after commission, repairs, months of lot rent or taxes, and the credits a retail buyer asks for at the last minute.

This calculator puts both paths side by side using your numbers. If listing nets you more, it will say so. We would rather you know that up front than find out after you have signed something with us.

The costs sellers forget to count

The repair and holding numbers are where a listed sale quietly loses money on a manufactured home.

• Commission on both sides of the deal, typically 5 to 7 percent of the price
• Repairs a retail buyer's lender will require, especially roof, floor, HVAC and skirting
• Lot rent, property taxes, insurance and utilities every month the home sits
• Buyer credits and price reductions after the inspection
• The very real chance a manufactured home buyer cannot get financed at all, which puts you back at the start

Why financing matters more on a manufactured home

A retail buyer for a stick-built house has dozens of loan options. A buyer for a 1996 single-wide on a rented lot has very few, and almost none if the home was built before June 15, 1976. That is why manufactured home listings fall through at a much higher rate, and why the months-on-market number in this calculator is often optimistic rather than pessimistic.

The break-even number to remember

The calculator shows the retail price your home would have to close at just to match a cash sale after the same repairs and holding time. Take that number to any agent you talk to and ask them honestly whether your home sells for it. Their answer will tell you everything.