New Manufactured Home Selling Pros? Cons?

Question

I've been looking but haven't really come across the info I'm looking for. Does anyone here buy land and have new manufactured homes put on foundations, and then re-sell them? Is it profitable? What do you look for? Any creative ideas for financing a project like that? On a side note, does anyone buy manufactured home duplexes to use a rentals?

The prices of homes in our area is going up rapidly (Idaho Falls ID) and folks that could have qualified a few years ago are now getting priced out of the market. It seems to me that it would be cost-effective to offer manufactured homes on foundations, turn-key. You can still buy a brand new townhome in an HOA for under $200,000 but not for much longer (They'll be over that threshold within the next year or so). The homes I've been seeing in the area under $200,000 are old and in rough shape.

I visited with a dealer last week and I'd be around $130,000 maybe a little higher, to get a lot, bring in utilities, pour a foundation, etc. for a 3 Bed 2 Bath home that would be brand new. They'd sell for $160,000-170,000, maybe a tiny bit higher, if it had a basement.

Thanks for your thoughts and suggestions!

Don Spafford · Answer

@Ashley Byington I've also thought about that for quite some time, the problem is that no matter how nice it is, it is always going to be considered a manufactured home, which so far never sells for as much as a built house. However, they do sell well if on substantial land. My wife has a client who flips mobile homes that sit on around an acre. But that is of course buying them low, basically the value of the land plus a little more for the poor condition property, and then making it look new and selling for the $160k range you mentioned. I imagine placing it new won't sell for much more right away since you are buying at cost. I don't see a problem with renting it just the same as any other home of that size. As long as it fulfills the needs of the tenant, that shouldn't matter as long as it is in a good location.