pianotuna wrote:
Hi,
Look for any water damage.
Look harder for any water damage.
Look ever harder for any water damage.
If you see any. Walk away.
I agree with the point about water damage and to be very cautious about it but I would not immediately run away from every unit that you notice some kind of water damage. At a $25K price point you are going to have to be realistic.
Water damage is the foremost killer of class c's but not all water damage spells disaster for the unit. My recommendation at this point is to educate yourself on the various class C construction techniques (see previous posts from Ron Dittmer) and where the vulnerabilities are.
The location of the water damage is important, as is the source (outside vs leaky pipe inside), the age of the damage is also important and whether any repair attempt was made.
I really think the most telling thing for a buyer is the way the overall MH was maintained, damage or not. I have personal experience here as I just sold my class C. It had some water damage below the back window and a bubble in the rear wall. The leak occurred suddenly in year 3 of ownership and I immediately removed and resealed the window only to find the spot grew. I then realized it was the back-up brake light (my mistake of course). I fixed the source and left the bubble as is for the next 5 years. I sold the MH and it was in perfect condition with the exception of this small damaged area. It was a great deal for the buyer!
