All the information I’ve been able to find regarding mobile investing and if they’re profitable or not is info that seems a little swayed. So I have a few questions for investors that invest in mobile homes.
Are they as profitable as many people on the net make them out to be? How do they compare to SFH in terms of profitability?
How much does location play a part in investing in mobile homes? If location is key, what should I be looking for?
Most of the mobile home parks in my area are on the outskirts of the main city or in other little satellite cities surrounding the main city. Could this be a problem if the mobile home parks are not located within the main city limits?
There will ALWAYS be an endless source of renters because in today’s market, affordable Housing is A VERY SCARCE RESOURCE. This fact will not change, regardless of how the economy is doing.
Mobile Home Parks are the Scapegoats of the Real Estate Investment Community. Hell, land deals are sexier. This means you won’t be stepping over countless, professional investors in your market. In other words, you’ll actually be able to find screaming deals.
Have you ever seen a mobile home that couldn’t use a makeover? Buying turnaround projects insulates you from market fluctuations and enables you to fill vacancies and immediately raise rents. Both of which equate to substantial equity gains, even when using a conservative Capitalization rate.
I can see that mobile home investing is an opportunity that’s highly profitable, yet not understood by many. The only home millions can afford is a Mobile Home. There are a lot of owners of older mobile homes have a real challenge when it comes time to sell them. And that’s where the opportunity comes in. There are investors that are scooping these up for pennies on the dollar…turning around and selling them for big profits while at the same time creating incredible incoming cash flow streams. Below are sources that will show you exactly how to take advantage of the mobile home situation in your area…
Ok I have some proof of mobile home profits. Not withstanding my other post and forgetting that I may get sued over it ( this suit has nothing to do with buying low and turning around to sell, by the way). But here is what I did about 4 years ago. I found 2 park owned singlewides. They wanted around $6400 and $6900 for them. They were 2001 models, and very cvlean-0 tehy needed absolutely nothing. They were park rentals to college kids before I bought them. I couldn’t handle two- as they were park restrictions for rentals( they didnt allow them). I flipped the one is less then 2 weeks and made about $2000 profit.
The other one I noted out and made around $12000 profit.
I guess hte thing you have to always remember is that trailers are like autos. They deproiciate quickly. Many times I have seen singlewides for $30,000 or more. People buy them, realize they over pay or are getting raped on interest charges and have to get rid of them. Never buy those. You want to focus on teh newest home possible at least under $10000. Personally I wouldn’t be interested im anything over $6000. Remember, the seller swill ask $10, $15Kfor one , but you can always low ball because they are hard to lend on. So unless the seller can get a full price cash offer ( which is highly unlikely), you always have the upper hand. I would never think twice about offering $5000 to somone that wants $10k or $12k for their home and putting a “time is of the essence” offer into it. (For example, I will offer you $6000 on Monday, and the offer is only good until , say Wednesday at 5 pm. ) Tell them the mobile home market is wide open with sellers that need to move their home- and you wouldnt be lying, its the truth- and you can’t be tied up with someone that can’t make up their mind.)
I invest in MH parks which can cashflow like crazy, if bought and run right. I started out with Lonnie Scruggs books and still use the techniques therein to buy cheap MH’s to fill my lots. You will need to learn how to manage a certain breed of low income people. They do not take care of things and will do nearly anything (except get a job) to avoid paying. You have to be able to tell deadbeats from decent people and need to be very firm in managing either. If they smell a sucker for a sob story, you will get paid only half the time, and what payment you do receive will be late and incomplete. You will also need to do your part and keep things in shape. Slumlords generally get the tenants they deserve.
I have been looking to purchase a mobile home park and almost all of them have park owned units. Isn’t this asking for alot of work as it seems the units would require more work than an apartment building? Would you be better off to sell the units to the tenants?
Yes, investing in mobile homes can be very profitable. Like any other area of real estate, it also must be studied. It’s more of a people business than anything else. If you’re interested in mobile home investing, I’d start out reading Lonnie’s books - they’re great! Hope that helps!