own the mh's or just rent the space?

Question

I'm looking into a space where i can put mobile homes and eventually having a small mobile home park.  Is it better to have the mobile homes and rent them out, or do seller finance where they eventually pay for the mh but still rent the space...

Ken Rishel · Answer

Kurt is close to 100% correct. There are very few land lease communities being developed from scratch. It can be done, and a few people are doing it. The zoning is now a very workable issue if you do it right thank to some (sigh) more government regulations on Fair Housing. The big problem is the costs taking to long to recover in many people's minds when contrasted to buying an existing community and either keeping it like it is, or upgrading it.

I would never do rentals which is an opinion, but, an opinion of someone who has been doing this since 1975. I would also never develop using anything but new homes that were specifically selected and designed based on the results of market research.

The other issue is your use of the term seller finance. Extending credit legally as a lender has a fairly sizable upfront cost to get legal and depending on the state, some ongoing costs every year to continue the license, the MLO license, and the required ongoing training. If you really are planning a small community, I would first try to determine if there is an outside lender or lenders who might make the loans to your buyers, or if your customer credit quality is too low, look at a couple of legal joint venture relationships you might explore.

Curt Smith · Answer

#1 you need to contact the county zoning AND your local county board rep.  Very low chance you have proper zoning to put mobile home(s) on land.

Fact as I hear iit:  there has not been a new mobile home park permitted in the last 20 years (what I hear at the MHP trade shows).

TX counties might be more open... TBD you need to spend time at the county offices.

Ken Rishel · Answer

Sorry Curt for the misspell of your name. I know better but I had just been communicating with Kurt Kelly.

Jeff B. · Answer

Mobile homes are a real pain to maintain as there's no such thing as a "standardize part".

own the mh's or just rent the space?

Most Popular Reply