To Mobile Home...or not?

Question

Hi All,

I bet I know the general concensus on this question but since I am in the mobile home capital, Florida, I'm wondering if there is any reason to, or not to, purchase mobile homes for rentals? I know most are in parks with crazy high lot rents and others are 55+ but there are some that are reasonable and in very nice parks. Has anyone tried this before and what are the pitfalls I'm not thinking of (besides them getting blown away in a hurricane!)? I know you don't own the land they are sitting on (hence the lot rent) but I'm still thinking it may be a good source of senior housing. Any input is welcomed!!

Thanks!!

Gina

Gina Shields · Answer

Thanks for all the great insight. I am going to start looking in my area and see what I can find. Very new to this and already got burned on my first foreclosure purchase (still trying to work that out) so maybe MH's are a better way to go for me. I now know to do ALL of my homework on liens and mortgages..lol!

Gina

Carol Venolia · Answer

Hi Gina,

I buy, fix, and rent out mobile homes in California, and so far they're doing fine for me. I've even found some rare parks that allow subleasing and have low space rent, which makes for great ROI when I can buy cheap.

I strongly advise following John Fedro, who knows it all in this arena (

http://www.mobilehomeinvesting.net), and watching the Mobile Home forum here on BP.

Mobile homes are fun, and with a little due diligence you may prosper!

Sharon Mihalyak · Answer

@Jeret Foshee  Thanks for the heads up on the insurance issue. I am also thinking about mobile home rentals / purchasing a mobile home lot and am investigating the Daytona Beach area. It's so strange, until you start looking, you don't even notice how many mobile / manufactured homes are around.

@Gina Shields keep us posted on what you decide to do. Much luck!

Jeret Foshee · Answer

@Gina Shields I own 1 mobile home on a piece of land in North Florida. I got a great deal on it and got it rented out in just a couple weeks with multiple hits. There seems to be this stigma about mobile homes but I don't think people have a problem with renting a mobile home. Vacancies is normally the one issue to avoid on any buy and hold property so if you are in a Landlord friendly area I don't see a problem with it. The one thing I would caution you about is insurance. Make sure you have a company that will insure a mobile home….they are a lot harder to come by, especially in Florida. I probably talked to 15 different people/companies before finding one that came close to what I needed. Best of luck to you!!!

Gina Shields · Answer

Bill & Paul, thanks so much for sharing your insights and experience. The snowbird issue is real down here but I did not think about the vacancy side of it, good point. I was thinking that many seniors that live here full time are struggling and if you offer a decent, affordable place to live, you may find loyal renters. I think I'll try 1 and see what happens.

So many good, knowledegable people on here, this is great, thanks!!!

Gina

Bill Neves · Answer

I've done 1 on a lot and on my 29th unit in various parks in 3 states.

Caveats: 1 - If you do them on lots you can rent. Most parks require residents to be owners.

2 - If you do them in parks: They're cheaper because you're not buying the land. Test one in a park, if you do any there, before you do more - could have a renegade park manager or owner. I had a major issue in 1 park and almost moved 2 units because of it.

3 - Be aware of seasonal population in senior 55+ parks in the south. Snowbirds can mean a park is vacant for a portion of the year. i.e. one park I stayed at in Mesa, AZ is 95% vacant from May to Oct. That can mean paying park rent with empty units during the summer.

Have fun!

Paul Ewing · Answer

I do them in Texas, but so far all are on their own lots and not in parks.  I have thought a bit about purchasing a small park but am not sure if I would want to deal with a house in a park I didn't control.  So far they are doing very well for me and I get mostly good tenants in them.  Actually better than I had in my standard house.