Accept motorcoach as a payment on my for sale house?

[Solo_RV_Guy]

Originally Posted by Bigriver123

Yes, indeed, but that isn't always easy for people around here. I wrote a company called Spelling's in Tennessee (busforsale.com) to see if they'd be interested in a cash out. They seem to deal a lot with motorcoachs. Hope to hear from them after the weekend. Thanks for your reply.

The folks at busforsale.com are good people with a sharp pencil. Don't be surprised if they give you a purchase value of $20k or so. Older chassis coaches (more than 20 years) tend to have lesser value no matter the condition or quality of the conversion.


Pictures show an apparently nice conversion (love the upholstered bedroom ceiling, what a flash back that gave me!). Are you interested in keeping the coach or selling it? If you're wanting to sell quickly, figure discounting 20%-30% from appraisal, based on what I've seen on these forums.

[rk911]

Originally Posted by twogypsies

It appears to be a very nice motorhome but taking it as a house payment isn't wise unless you're really in the market for something like this. Cash is better!

agreed.

[Bigriver123]

His situation is that he lives in the motorhome with his wife and a one year old son. My old house needs some fixing, but not much to make it immediately livable. I have been asking 40,000 for it, the same he's asking for his motorhome. Most people who are in the income bracket to want my house have the same problem over and over again. They have to make a transition from selling their own home and then buying mine to move in. It gets very complicated. When I was in the same situation it was hard to find a bank to cover the transition with a short term loan. Overall, I agree entirely with what's been said. Both us and our prospective buyers are facing a winter issue. They need to move before winter and we'd like to sell it fast because we need the money for medical expenses. Life is complicated in the rural Midwest. The transition for most people also means they have to find a job in a new location. They are hard to find here. To everyone, please keep up the thoughts. It helps me to think through an area I'm not familiar with. Thanks to all.

[JohnRR]

One of your pictures show the listing as Sold how old are the rest of the pictures.

[rk911]

Originally Posted by Bigriver123

His situation is that he lives in the motorhome with his wife and a one year old son. My old house needs some fixing, but not much to make it immediately livable. I have been asking 40,000 for it, the same he's asking for his motorhome. Most people who are in the income bracket to want my house have the same problem over and over again. They have to make a transition from selling their own home and then buying mine to move in. It gets very complicated. When I was in the same situation it was hard to find a bank to cover the transition with a short term loan. Overall, I agree entirely with what's been said. Both us and our prospective buyers are facing a winter issue. They need to move before winter and we'd like to sell it fast because we need the money for medical expenses. Life is complicated in the rural Midwest. The transition for most people also means they have to find a job in a new location. They are hard to find here. To everyone, please keep up the thoughts. It helps me to think through an area I'm not familiar with. Thanks to all.

a couple of questions...

- if you need the cash for medical expenses and sell your home where do you plan to live?

- since you value your home at $40k and he values his MH at $40k and you trade your house for the RV where will you get the cash for medical expenses? if you plan to sell the RV where will you live? I suspect you will have an easier time selling your home than a decades old RV regardless of its condition.

- buying a home with a contingency of selling your current home first is very common. have you had any other offers?

- what needs to be done to put your home in a livable condition?

- you can likely make arrangements for a payment plan with your medical providers...also not uncommon.

good luck.

[Bigriver123]

Yes, that is odd. Thanks for pointing it out. I'l have to ask him about it. It could be he took it off of Facebook by indicating it was sold because he had to live in it. We will see.

[hohenwald48]

I think that "Mark As Sold" button on one of the pictures is simply a button for the poster to press to mark it as sold when it is sold.

Unless you're a vintage bus collector with lots of bucks and plenty of time to tinker with an ongoing project, I'd run far and fast from this deal. The market for a converted MCI bus that's nearly 50 years old is pretty small.

[JohnRR]

Originally Posted by hohenwald48

I think that "Mark As Sold" button on one of the pictures is simply a button for the poster to press to mark it as sold when it is sold

Looking at it for the third or fourth time your totally correct.

[StevL]

Run!

They were looking to sell a coach and buy a home, they would accomplish this with the deal.

You want to sell a house, I never saw where you said you wanted a coach? In this deal you just have something else to sell and this coach will not be easy at 40k plus imo.

Good luck,
Steve

[TJ]

The big question is "Would you accept $20K for your house?" That's a $20K (if that) converted bus that would have a very small resale market. Now, the bus owner can put any value he wants on it, just as you could price your house at $75K. In both cases, the real value would be far less.

While it can sound tempting to someone who needs to sell a house in order to raise some cash for medical expenses, taking the bus in trade would just be the beginning of your headaches. Lower your house price to $35K if you have to (and can), but don't make your situation even worse by taking an over-valued and difficult-to-sell item in trade. If that bus was easy to sell at $40K, the owner would have already sold it.

Good luck.

TJ

[Bigriver123]

Your questions are good. I have a home I live in already. The home I'm selling I haven't lived in for a few years. Little is required to make it useful. Negotiations are on the way with medical providers, but there are always many extraneous expenses, travel, care medications, loss of income, etc. Especially with multiple family issues. We are all older people. It's hard to explain the issues in shorthand without making full context tedious and long winded. I think so far the best thing I can do is offer the buyer a quick cash turnover price as a down payment. 20,000 down on 40,000 would be good. We could then arrange something like a balloon payment to let him get his feet on the ground. The remaining whole question is how quickly and easily we can sell it to a dealer and for what value. I'm waiting to hear back from the folks in TN. Thanks for your input. Please keep it up.

[TJ]

Originally Posted by Bigriver123

Your questions are good. I have a home I live in already. The home I'm selling I haven't lived in for a few years. Little is required to make it useful. Negotiations are on the way with medical providers, but there are always many extraneous expenses, travel, care medications, loss of income, etc. Especially with multiple family issues. We are all older people. It's hard to explain the issues in shorthand without making full context tedious and long winded. I think so far the best thing I can do is offer the buyer a quick cash turnover price as a down payment. 20,000 down on 40,000 would be good. We could then arrange something like a balloon payment to let him get his feet on the ground. The remaining whole question is how quickly and easily we can sell it to a dealer and for what value. I'm waiting to hear back from the folks in TN. Thanks for your input. Please keep it up.

Be aware that there can be expenses in selling a converted bus just like there can be for selling a house. If there are unknown or undisclosed mechanical issues with the converted bus, a potential buyer will expect them to be corrected.

A wise purchaser (and, this could include you if you decide to take it in trade) will get an inspection by a qualified mechanic. This can cost upwards of $500 for a thorough inspection. And, if the mechanic identifies significant issues, the seller would be expected to correct them, or to drop the price by the cost of the repairs.

Then, you will need to be sure that the title to the bus is clear and proper. This can sometimes be an issue with an older, converted vehicle. And, is the registration current? If not, it will need to be updated. The seller should do this as well. Sometimes, you can get a limited-time "trip permit" at a lesser cost that will allow the vehicle to be moved on the road during a specific time period. That is usually in the $15 to $40 range.

If you do take the bus as a trade...full or partial...be sure you have a signed agreement detailing who will pay for the various costs. Don't get stuck with a lot of expenses that you didn't know about. And, if at all possible, since you plan to sell the vehicle, have a solid agreement in place with the potential buyer detailing who will be responsible for what.

Good luck.

TJ

[Finance]

The pool of bus buyers is much smaller than the pool of home buyers. I know what it’s like to be stuck with a property you don’t need, but real estate holds value or appreciates. Vehicles depreciate. I would cut the price on the house for a distress sale before taking that old bus.

[MSHappyCampers]

I don't see any problem with posting details!