Looking into buying a mobile park home that a family is trying to unload. The rent on it would be crazy cash flow, but it is without the land and I have to fill out an application. The family said that the management group app states it has to be owner occupied, forcing me to not renting it out. Anyone find a creative way around this. I thought about talking to the manager and ask if I pay them 10% of my rent collected if they will do it. Any thoughts or experiences with this out there BP???

@Matthew P. I wouldn’t waste anymore time on this as paying them off probably won’t work Also were you including lot rent in your numbers ?

@Matthew P. probably not going to work, but anything is worth a shot.

Matthew there's posts here on lonnie deals and steps... and why not to venture into this deal type.  I'm hooking in the only guy I know who might help you.   My view is that if you bought that home you need to sell it ASAP for anything you can get.   This is EXACTLY why I always say to never buy MHs in parks.   Sorry, but its best that you know the truth so you can quickly dump that MH for what ever you can get for it.

Best of luck!

@John Fedro

Thanks for all the responses. There is a local bank who can loan on this. The land is $410 a month, mortgage after rehab would be $350 a month. I would at least charge $1100 after the rehab. The vacancy rate in this town is 0.1%. The numbers sounded good. I appreciate the honesty.

Thanks for the Lonnie reference. I had a buddy send this to me to look at buying. This is why I love BP.

Hi Matthew,

Great job being proactive and looking into this opportunity in the first place.

Chris, Jason, and Curt all give great advice above.

Most parks around the country will not allow renters inside of the mobile homes within their community. Most parks do want owner occupants to reside inside of the homes, versus renters. That said some park certainly do allow renters as well as owner occupants. Usually parks around military bases will allow renting more frequently than in other areas.

With regards to your questions about creative ways to get around the ability to not rent in the community, this is something we should try to address without being sneaky. I like your idea above with regards to the 10% extra management fee however in my experience this has a very very small likelihood of changing the PMs mind. Perhaps with a newer PM or a PM that wants extra money under the table, while I don’t think it is likely I do encourage you to ask out of curiosity and experience. Even then it would probably still not be wise to move forward if the park has a policy for no rentals.

Another strategy may be to talk directly with the park manager or owner to mention that you will pay an extra $100+ per month for the ability to rent out the mobile homes for a while. You will also put down a higher than usual deposit if that makes a park feel more comfortable.

Again, these are two strategies however I do not believe that they will work to convince the park to accept rentals. A park usually has its mind made up.

I regret being a wet blanket however it is certainly good that you are looking around for deals and opportunities. Keep asking questions and pursuing different avenues. If you have any follow-up questions never hesitate to reach back out anytime. All the best.

Talk soon, John

@Matthew P. Definitely talk to the park manager. Tell the manager exactly what you want to do. See if there's a way for you to do business in the park that can be a win/win situation for both you and the manager. If there are empty lots, they may welcome you doing business there if you can fill them. If you can't work in the park, I'd keeping looking for a park where you can do business in. Good luck!! 

@John Fedro Yes, definitely agree about not doing anything sneaky, just more so committed to finding creative solutions for deals. I can see why Brandon Turner and others have got into that space. I am making 2 offers a week, going to commit to making at least 4 offers next week and so on. Thanks for the offer of help, I’ll run a deal or two by you when they come to talk shop in the future.

One of my coworkers quit after buying a RV park in Montana just outside of Yellowstone by 30 mins. Her and here husband have had a great financial year so far wIth it. Networking with them opened my mind to the idea of something like that.

If you are looking to buy and rent MHs look at trailer parks. The lower quality communities will often/usually allow renters as they have very low standards. Any quality MHC does not want low quality renters in their community since the investor and their tenants never take adequate care of the lot. 

Don't waste your time trying to convince any community owner or PM that has a no renter policy to change. They have very good reasons for not allowing renters in their communities. No amount of money or promises will change a community owners mind...they know invesstors and their tennats will never follow through.