D-man,
Whoever said the two best days of your life are when you buy a boat and the day you sell that boat was NEVER a landlord. I hope to never do that again. Some questions and fleeting thoughts that come to mind;
-How did you, or they, determine fair market value? Even if they ordered an appraisal already, I would do a sanity check on it. Sales data is available from you county tax assessors office and is probably available online for free. Pull a sales report and look for comparable (comps) sales transactions within the past year.
-If they have had it on the market and have lowered the price, it suggests a little anxiety on their part. Have you considered an offer without the trailer? Let them sell and move it!
-You said you need the rental to make the mortgage, are you positioned financially to endure several months of vacancy? Possibly spend thousands on maintenance if a big ticket items goes ka-plooey?
-Are they using a realtor? When does their contract expire? When their contract expires they will be saving 5-10%, depending on the contract commissions. This should factor into your offer.
-If you’re going to be a landlord, you may as well go big time. Is it an option to rent a few more trailer spaces and let others park their trailers next door to yours? Your financial liability would be minimal but would enhance your revenue stream.
-When you make your next offer, do it with a signed contract and earnest money in hand. You know that old saying, “money talks and…..”, I forget the rest.
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