Curious about Mobile Home & RV Park Development

Curious about Mobile Home & RV Park Development

Westchester, NY · Member since 2016 · 3 posts · 0 votes

I've been a BP fan for years but I've never leveraged the resources of this great community.  So here goes...  (Point me in the right direction if I've posted in the wrong section or if there's existing threads on this.)

Can someone with experience with mobile home or RV park development process elaborate and add to my beginners assumptions below?

Find land - does the land need to be zoned for RV/Multi family dwellings?  If it isn't already, is that a straightforward process?

Secure Lending - I assume there's numerous types of loans, but is there anything unique to RV parks or mobile homes?

Permits/Licenses - Guessing this can vary drastically by state, but what's common? 

Develop - Utilities, roads, Lots, Mobile Homes... this is an area I'm completely uneducated on, are there major construction considerations?

Market - Getting tenants

Manage - Who's responsible for upkeep? Do tenants typically own their homes, does the park owner own them?  

I have a feeling it may be more feasible to buy an existing property vs developing, but I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Many thanks in advance!

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San Antonio, TX · Member since 2009 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
3y

@Evan Markley Most who branch out into this niche to mobile homes with land tend to start out with a small piece of land already set up with the infrastructure in place. Many times, these are small pieces of land with a mobile home or two already on top of it (usually vacated and inhabitable). 

Either the investor fixes up the home(s) already on the land or bring in their own homes on the land, depending on how much room is available and the deed restrictions of the land including zoning requirements.

Usually, those who pursue this strategy already have experience in mobile home investing (starting off by investing in parks). So they already have the experience, network and resources to pursue these types of opportunities. 

Regarding upkeep, it really depends on your exit strategy. If you intend to rent, then usually you're responsible for the overall upkeep of the home as a landlord unless you state in your lease what the tenant(s) is responsible for or not. On the other hand, if you sell using owner financing then you're considered a lender and the buyer is responsible for the overall upkeep for the home.

Hope that helps! 

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  • Henry ClarkPro Member
    Developer · Member since 2020 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    3y

    Look under commercial then Mobile home subcategory.  Read all the posts, buy the books, watch the podcasts.

  • Investor · Vermont and New York · Member since 2023 · 308 posts · 309 votes
    3y
    Quote from @Evan Markley:
    ...

    I have a feeling it may be more feasible to buy an existing property vs developing, but I'd love to hear your thoughts.

    THIS ^^^
  • San Antonio, TX · Member since 2009 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    3y

    @Evan Markley Most who branch out into this niche to mobile homes with land tend to start out with a small piece of land already set up with the infrastructure in place. Many times, these are small pieces of land with a mobile home or two already on top of it (usually vacated and inhabitable). 

    Either the investor fixes up the home(s) already on the land or bring in their own homes on the land, depending on how much room is available and the deed restrictions of the land including zoning requirements.

    Usually, those who pursue this strategy already have experience in mobile home investing (starting off by investing in parks). So they already have the experience, network and resources to pursue these types of opportunities. 

    Regarding upkeep, it really depends on your exit strategy. If you intend to rent, then usually you're responsible for the overall upkeep of the home as a landlord unless you state in your lease what the tenant(s) is responsible for or not. On the other hand, if you sell using owner financing then you're considered a lender and the buyer is responsible for the overall upkeep for the home.

    Hope that helps! 

  • Westchester, NY · Member since 2016 · 3 posts · 0 votes
    3y

    Thanks everyone!

  • Investor · Member since 2022 · 2 posts · 4 votes
    3y

    @Evan Markley there are quite a few resources out there for mobile home park investing, but I’ve found a lot of good info here: https://www.mobilehomeuniversi...

    They offer paid bootcamps to ger started, but the free podcasts and forums are also full of good info. I’m not affiliated with them, bit I did the boot camp a couple of years ago and found it worthwhile. They also host a virtual Affordable Housing Summit each year, whoch has some interesting guests and panelists.

    These same individuals host http://mobilehomeparkstore.com where you can look at parks for sale around the U.S.

    Hope that helps a bit.

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