Can I put a mobile home on an empty lot?

Question

I purchased a rental property (Indianapolis) coming with an empty lot nearby. The neighbour who lives there told me that there was a house before on the lot and was fully damaged by fire and the house was demolished leaving only the lot. I am thinking what's the best use of that lot. The rent of SFH is $900 and the houses nearby are worth around 60k to 80k. I think it's not worth building a new house on the lot to collect rent. So I am thinking if I can put on a used mobile/manufactured home on the lot because it should be much cheaper. Is this allowed and a reasonable solution? Need a permit? Expensive?

I guess the original empty lot should still have the place to connect electricity, gas and water. But I have not checked out yet. Not sure if it's costly to reconnect the utilities. Or I can split the current rental property's utility into the mobile home?

A lot of questions, any suggestions are welcome! Thanks.

I guess the original empty lot should still have the place to connect electricity, gas and water. But I have not checked out yet. Not sure if it's costly to reconnect the utilities. Or I can split the current rental property's utility into the mobile home?

A lot of questions, any suggestions are welcome! Thanks.

Lei L. · Answer

Thank you very much for your thoughtful suggestions! @ Charlie MacPherson

I will start calling the government agency first to gather some information.

The neighbourhood is not high-income area and that's why I think it's not worth building a new house there because I can't charge high rents.

I thought of self-storage too, but not sure about the cash flows or the building cost of it.

Any ideas?

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say the SFH has a rent of $900, how much will the Mobile home/modular home get normally with the same size of the lot respectively?

Charlie MacPherson · Answer

@Lei L. There are two places you should check for restrictions.  The first is the city's zoning office.  If they prohibit MHs, you could try to get a variance, but that's a long road.  The other solution might be a modular home.  Higher cost, but much more sturdy.  Plus, unlike MHs which depreciate over time, a modular will appreciate like a stick-built home.If you're in an area of nicer SFRs and the abutters have to approve your project, you can expect a LOT of push back.  MHs are generally an indication of a poorer / low income area.The second place to look is the deed.  Here in Maine, I see a lot of deeds that prohibit mobile homes.  In fact, that's the case for my own home here in China.  Some will also have minimum standards for homes built, such as minimum sq ft of living area, maximum height, etc.Another thing to consider is building a self-storage facility - again, if zoning allows it.  Those seem to be very popular wherever I look.

Good luck!

Adam Sankowski · Answer

Great thread!  I'm an investor in Indy as well and recently bought a duplex with an empty lot next to it and thought the same thing.

Or what about a modular/ tiny house route?  There has to be some start-up company somewhere with super cheap modular housing that goes up quick?  If there was ever the time to put up some very affordable units?  I've never tried permitting anything in Indy though... def. following this post!