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4 More Reasons NOT to Invest in Mobile Homes Inside Parks

John Fedro
3 min read

Personally speaking I believe that clarity is immensely underrated in today’s world.

Without clarity we find ourselves drifting through life, love, and business unclear about our next moves.

Even worse we move forward with false ideas or misunderstood directions that may cause us to fall and stumble in confusion and costly errors. Clarity in any new business venture can likely be discussed for hours and hours concerning the ins-and-outs of every particular step of the business in which you begin.

This article comprises another quick list of 4 more reasons why some real estate investors may wish to steer clear of investing in mobile homes for profit. As a mobile home investor for the past 11 years I have come to understand both the positives and negatives of the manufactured home investing business. Below are some negatives.

1. Your Reputation Will Change

In my experience it is best to commit to one or two niches and be very well known for these properties. Becoming an expert in everything leads to a watered-down image people have in their minds of you. When you let investors, Realtors, bird-dogs, and others know you invest in mobile homes you will be labeled as a “mobile home investor”. If you do not feel comfortable having others knowing you are associated with mobile homes this business is likely not the best fit for you.

2. You Will be Spending Time Directly with People

Mobile homes require that you speak directly with sellers and buyers. More than a real estate business mobile home investing is a people business. If you would rather work deals with a Realtor and/or simply stay behinds the scenes this business is likely not the best fit for you. With this statement said this is only from the experience I have had, perhaps you are able to generate significant profits not interacting with mobile home owners, however in my deals the best profits are the ones made directly with mobile home sellers and buyers.

3. Your Friends will Laugh at You in the Beginning

When the money starts coming in you will be the one laughing. Until then however many of your friends and even family members will question and even laugh at you for starting down this business path. Mobile homes obviously have a reputation of being less valuable than traditional site built homes, and in many respects they are. To many folks this translates as mobile homes being less profitable and therefore less worthy of respect. In reality however mobile homes, mobile home buyers, and mobile home sellers are just a worthy of our time and respect as anyone else needing help.

4. You May Need a Co-signer

While purchasing a mobile home attached to land may not require a credit and background check many mobile home parks will ask to verify your credit and background history prior to you investing and owning within their park. This makes common sense as you are renting land within their park and the owners would like to know your past history.

If you have less than fair credit you may be asked to have a co-signer with you on the lease agreement until you resell the home. If your credit or background is shaky a few hundred extra dollars extra as a deposit may help to mitigate the park risk to lease to you. These requirements and criteria will vary from community to community. Over the years I have found that “honesty” speaks just as loudly as your history. Be honest and up front with park managers as to what they will find and why. Lying about your history will almost always make things much worse than the honest truth.

While I do not wish to deter anyone from their personal income goals and/or getting started with mobile home investing I would rather be frank and upfront with everyone rather than painting a rosy picture that mobile home investing is all smooth sailing. Over the past 11 years I have loved mobile home investing and it has been worth every moment of ups and downs.

Love what you do daily,

John Fedro
Photo Credit: Seán Venn

Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.