Should I buy a Mobile Home as First Investment?

Question

Hey I am a new REI and for my first property I thought about buying a Mobile Home and placing it on the lot I just bought. Now I’m stuck at trying to find a Mobile Home I can buy for cheap and fix up. Any suggestions on where I should look for a MH.

Natalie Kolodij · Answer

Craigslist dude.

People are constantly selling them super cheap or giving them away because they bought land with one- and now want to replace it with a stick built house.

I had a deal in Seattle where someone was giving away a nice 1998 single wide for free you just had to move it- I just literally couldn't find a MHP with space or land that was hook up ready at the time.

Account Closed · Answer

Contact a manufactured home dealer. You'll want to buy straight from the factory or a dealer. If you move the manufactured home from a park, you may run into issues selling it to a buyer that needs to qualify for financing if you ever decide to sell the manufactured home with land.

Rachel H. · Answer

@Jeremiah Belin The first thing you need to find out is if the lot you bought is zoned for mobile homes. If it is, then you need to find out if there are any restrictions regarding the age and size of a mobile home your place on the lot. Your local zoning office will be able to tell you what restrictions exist on the lot (if any). Hope that helps. Good luck!

Frank Rolfe · Answer

Another idea would be to buy a repo mobile home off of one of the repo lists on MHVillage or MHBay. These homes are typically from the 1990s or newer and look similar to brand new homes as far as floorplan and exterior but at a fraction of the price -- but they will need work to make them in the right condition to sell or rent. Additionally, there are home "wholesalers" in most markets, which may have homes going back to the 1980s at even lower prices. But don't forget that homes prior to 1976 do not have HUD seals and cannot be brought into most cities (and for safety sake, most buyers don't buy anything from the 1970s due to not only the seal but the fact that the home designs were not very appealing in that decade). The 1970s may have been good for music, but they were lousy for mobile home design.

Sid Montero · Answer

Account Closed I am also thinking of getting my feet wet with RE investment by starting with a manufactured home.  It’s in a park (3bd 2 bth) selling for $64k and only three years old.  The park provides financing. Any tips you can provide?

Account Closed · Answer

@Jeremiah Belin You'll also want to ask yourself if you ever want to be able to sell this home to a retail buyer in the future. If so, many times with lenders, they place restrictions on lending on manufactured homes that have been moved more than once before it is placed on a plot of land.

Account Closed · Answer

Sid what state are you in?

Account Closed · Answer

@Frank Rolfe - Nice to see you around BP. Long time no chat! @Jeremiah Belin can buy a used manufactured home from a wholesaler, but I have seen issues when retail buyers try to secure financing to purchase a manufactured home that was purged to the land if the manufactured home was moved more than once.

Frank Rolfe · Answer

You're 100% correct -- you should never buy any used home without a title in hand. If the wholesaler has no title but simply a wants to use a bill of sale, then move on to the next deal. Getting a title to a mobile home in almost every state is a total nightmare.

Should I buy a Mobile Home as First Investment?

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