Do $2,000 mobile homes still exist?

General Landlording & Rental Properties
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Do $2,000 mobile homes still exist?

Sean Dezoysa
Investor 路 Toledo, OH 路 Member since 2012 路 292 posts 路 34 votes

After reading "deals on wheels" and "mobile home wealth" I was determined to scour all the local parks to find single wides with $5000 asking prices, and negotiate them down to a $2000 cash sale.

However, my experience has been quite different from what I've read in the books. I can't find any single wides with an asking price of less than $13,000.
The range seems to be from $13,000-$25,000. I was very surprised by this, since what I read indicated that the lack of conventional financing is what allows you to buy a these homes for so cheap.

When I called several local mobile home dealers, I found out that 15 to 20 year loans are available for mobiles. And the houses do seem to be moving fast, since vacancy rates seem to be low at the parks I visited.

have things changed or am I just looking in the wrong areas?

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Rob Gillespie
Specialist 路 Cleveland, OH 路 Member since 2011 路 1k+ posts 路 852 votes
13y

Sean, 2000 dollar actual single family homes exist! LOL!
Mobile homes are next to nothing in some parks. Look on craigs list. I just saw one for barter that a guy wanted a quad or dirt bike for his single wide and it was pretty nice.
Personally, I would just do single family homes. this is a nice era in time that you can buy property for less than a car.
Good luck!

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  • Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
    Real Estate Consultant 路 Summerlin, NV 路 Member since 2014 路 45k+ posts 路 66k+ votes
    10y

    @John Turner  nope hauled them to the dump 

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  • John Turner
    St Thomas, Ontario 路 Member since 2015 路 136 posts 路 33 votes
    10y

    Thanks @Jay Hinrichs

    I know they are out there and I have found some but I think I need a partner to do the inspecting, fixing and selling as I am located in Canada. 

    We went to NC and looked at 5 units but have decided to partner with someone in the future,

    0Reply
  • Bill Neves
    Flipper/Rehabber 路 Vancouver, WA 路 Member since 2013 路 328 posts 路 252 votes
    10y

    Yes they are out there. We've taken them over for free, $300, $500, $750, $1000, etc.

    Some needed a lot of work. Others not much.

    We've found that working with park managers/owners yields some of these deals. 

    Looking for motivated sellers (tired and want to move) yields some too.

    Have one right now, mother passed and son doesn't want it. He's cleaning it out and we take over the 15th of the month for a few thousand dollars. Needs some work but not a ton.

    Just have to look. As mentioned, Craigslist is a gold mine. Stay in the low to mid rent range for the area and you'll stay out of trouble. Meaning it's slower to turn them in the higher rent parks.

    Have fun!

    0Reply
  • Steve Vaughan
    Rental Property Investor 路 East Wenatchee, WA 路 Member since 2014 路 10k+ posts 路 16k+ votes
    10y

    Just wanted to say thanks for the reminder of this niche, everyone!

    How quickly we forget our roots.  I started with a couple mobiles, then went to single-family, then a plex, a commercial mixed-use.....

    Will keep an eye out for more mobiles!  Is anyone still buying cheap for cash and carrying the paper?  @Bill Neves?

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  • Account Closed
    Investor 路 Central Valley, CA 路 Member since 2012 路 6k+ posts 路 3k+ votes
    10y
    Originally posted by @Steve Vaughan:

    Just wanted to say thanks for the reminder of this niche, everyone!

    How quickly we forget our roots.  I started with a couple mobiles, then went to single-family, then a plex, a commercial mixed-use.....

    Will keep an eye out for more mobiles!  Is anyone still buying cheap for cash and carrying the paper?  @Bill Neves?

    Dodd Frank and the CFPB regs have made seller financing to owner occupants way more challenging and risky, with some investors completely eliminating this strategy. There are now servicing requirements, limits on balloons, and qualifying the buyer's ability to pay.  That being said, if you only plan to do a few a year there are some exemptions from some of the requirements.  There are lots of threads here on BP about seller financing in this new era. 

    1Reply
  • Account Closed
    Investor 路 Central Valley, CA 路 Member since 2012 路 6k+ posts 路 3k+ votes
    10y
    Originally posted by @Todd Fithian:

    I myself just came across a few for $500 to $3000 in decent neighborhoods in southern California believe it or not. You can definitely find them, but i was having much better luck talking with the owners face to face. One owner was selling his for $5k, and just by shooting the breeze with him he said he'd get rid of it for $2500 if someone came along. Without even haggling him! So yes I'd definitely keep lookin :)

    No shortage of cheap mobiles in So Cal, but they come with high space rents and/or bad areas.  Curious about your strategy with these mobiles.  Resale is difficult when buyers willing to live in them can't qualify for the park.

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  • Bill Neves
    Flipper/Rehabber 路 Vancouver, WA 路 Member since 2013 路 328 posts 路 252 votes
    10y

    @Steve Vaughan

    They're out there AND you must follow Dodd-Frank guidelines. Check other threads on it. It's been discussed in volumes here for months.

    Have fun!

    0Reply
  • Milagros Rivera
    Jacksonville, FL 路 Member since 2017 路 1 post 路 0 votes
    8y

    Good morning everyone...I live in Jacksonville, Fl and there are MH's for $2000-$3000

    They do sell fast. I just filled out an application to be a resident in one of the communities. The lot rentals here is between $500-$550. I seen a $7000 MH that need fixing and a $8000 just need painting. I'm not an investor or real eastate agent. It will be my first home. I'm going to offer $4000 for the $8000. They may counterback. 

    But those cash MH's do exist. So wish me luck with the $8000 MH 馃槂

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  • Natalie KolodijBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Tax Strategist| National Tax Educator| Accepting New Clients 路 Member since 2014 路 3k+ posts 路 4k+ votes
    8y

    I paid $50 for my last single wide and resold it for $15k the next day. The deals are there it's a numbers game. 

    My prior Dead I paid $6k for and it was listed on MLS for $30k .

    List price doesn't matter- call and ask questions and make orders just like any other deal.

    Set up your craigslist alerts. Run CL ads for people to call you. Send out direct mails to your target parks. 

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  • Lonnie C Ryan
    Member since 2018 路 1 post 路 0 votes
    7y

    want to buy a 3bdr mobile home for$2000

    0Reply
  • William W.
    Rental Property Investor 路 south Alabama 路 Member since 2018 路 121 posts 路 88 votes
    7y

    There are a lot of cheap ones in my area, BUT most have to be moved and are not allowed to remain where they are. So, factor in a couple grand in moving costs, and then you have to find somewhere to put it, which is not easy. 

    Seems like trailer parks are getting less common, the ones here have less and less trailers every year. As they burn down or get demolished, they aren鈥檛 replaced by new ones. 

    0Reply
  • Matt Bonestroo
    Flipper/Rehabber 路 Phoenix, AZ 路 Member since 2017 路 75 posts 路 44 votes
    7y

    @William W. out of curiosity... where are you located? Are there family parks or 55+? 

    @Lonnie C Ryan Thanks for digging up the thread. I would be interested to hear input from other BP members!

    Yes, that might be true in some cities; however, there are still areas in the country where $2000 mobile home deals still exist. I picked up this 2 Bed 2 bath home by paying off a tenants lot rent... 

    . 

    1Reply
  • William W.
    Rental Property Investor 路 south Alabama 路 Member since 2018 路 121 posts 路 88 votes
    7y

    @Matt Bonestroo

    I鈥檓 in south Alabama near the FL panhandle. I think a big part of the decline is how tough it is to get financing and insurance for new mobile homes now. I remember years ago there were mobile home dealers everywhere around here because lenders like Greentree would give loans to anyone with a pulse, but many of those dealers have now been forced to go out of business. Many of the older parks are gradually shrinking as the older homes fall into disrepair and get hauled off.

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  • Matt Bonestroo
    Flipper/Rehabber 路 Phoenix, AZ 路 Member since 2017 路 75 posts 路 44 votes
    7y

    @William W. That is very interesting. Slightly different trend in Phoenix... local investors are buying the mobile home parks to put in apartment complexes and SFH.

    As for the lending, there are now three separate lenders that offer affordable housing loans in the Phoenix market - will lend between $5,000 - 50,000. They run the same background checks as the parks, and they work with tenants that get paid with cash. There are also a surprising amount of cash buyers in our market... 

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