While mobile home park investing may not sound attractive to many, it can be a rather lucrative investing strategy when done properly. So don't discount adding this investment vehicle to your portfolio until you learn a little more about it here.
When considering types of investing to pursue, we think of a lot of things like, "What kind of buildings do I like?" And we think of the sleek, modern skyscrapers with our name plastered across the front just like the guy in New York, famous for his hair, ego, and real estate investing fortune. But as we build our master plan for investing, we start to look for opportunities having to do with the bottom line: cash and cash flow.
As I researched different areas of investing, I realized a potential great cash flow producer in my area of the country, South Carolina, was mobile home parks. Now, it didn't fill me with excitement at the thought of telling people I know, "Hey, I own that park...no, not the one with the skyscrapers next to it...the other one, with the trailers on it." It did, however, appeal to my sense of pursuing what makes sense right now.
South Carolina is a huge mobile home manufacturing area and mobile homes, or when in very bad condition, trailers, are everywhere. And just so you know, around here they are very affordable housing. Compared to a new conventional home, the figures run approximately $90 per square foot compared to $32 per square foot respectively.
Before really checking into this area of investing, I did pursue buying a mobile home that had some damage, but was very nice inside. It had a fireplace, spa tub, 5 bedrooms, and it just needed carpet or flooring, appliances, and the toilet reinstalled. This mobile home was on an acre of land and was worth around $50,000 minimum, probably more after the modest updates and repairs.
Here was the plan for that deal, and why mobile homes can be such great money makers. I offered $7,000 as a bid to a bird-dog or middle-man to present to the seller. I already had a buyer lined up with $2,500 down and a $600 per month payment. I had planned to use private money to buy the mobile home, and then sell it on owner-financing to my buyer. Also, I would help the buyer file for the first-time home buyer tax rebate available at the time, and get another $4,000 to add to the down payment. Thus, I would have $6,500 basically upfront, and could have my lender paid off in about a month.
This was such a good deal, and although my focus was on single family homes, I was ready to take the plunge into mobile home investing. Certainly, nothing like free cash flow with almost no risk! If the buyer defaulted, I would just take back the home and resell it again to make more money. Unfortunately, in my opinion, my bird-dog moved too slowly presenting my offer and I lost this deal.
The mobile home was purchased by someone else for $11,000. Still a great deal and one I would have pursued, even at the higher price. And although I lost this deal, I did get the name of the original seller from my bird-dog's e-mail, so that was a little consolation. No more losing out from slow bids to this investor again!
Up till now, the idea was just about one single mobile home deal, but the cash flow idea is the same. What if mobile home park investing became a strategy I would pursue. What if I can get the mobile homes rather inexpensively, resell them, and also collect rent for the space where they are located. Ah--ha! What if there are 25 of them? Buy each mobile home for $10,000, resell on owner financing (mobile home financing is still pretty tough to get) for $40,000, and collect $300/mo for the home and $200/mo for the space rented totals $500/mo per home. Now, 25 spaces x $500= $12,500 per month. Not too shabby and actually pretty sweet.
Of course, if you own an entire park there will be some operating expenses you will have to take into consideration. Grounds maintenance, management fees, and perhaps a few others, but still a great investment vehicle with a lot of potential if done properly. Perhaps, you can now see how mobile home park investing can be appealing once you look into it a little further.
So if you found this information interesting, look for more of my articles where I will explain more about owning a mobile home park and the pros and cons of this investing strategy. Although, in my humble opinion, there are a lot more pros than cons when done the right way.
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