All Forum Posts by: Rachel H.

@Sumitro Samaddar You'd probably have to confirm those rents during the due diligence process. 

Also, the rent amount may include the lot rent if these homes are in communities or land/lots where you pay rent for the home to sit there as well. In these types of cases, the lot rent may be quite high depending on the area. 

Hope that helps! 

@Carrie Herring The mobile home is very old, so you'd be looking at the land. Before you make an offer, it's best to figure out your exit strategy. 

I'm not sure if you're planning to buy and hold or fix and flip. If you're planning to buy and hold, then you'll have to check with the city and/or county to see what restrictions (if any) exist for that piece of land. You'll need the legal description and address for them to look it up. 

Sometimes, if you plan to put a newer used mobile home on a piece of land or lot there may be restrictions (i.e. size, age, condition, etc) depending on the city and/or county. Your local zoning department will be able to tell you what you can and cannot do with that piece of land. 

If you're planning to flip the land (with or without the mobile home), then you'll have to figure in the value of it and submit your offer accordingly to make sure there's room for you to make a profit. 

Best of luck with the deal. Hope that helps! 

@Garry Dhaliwal From my experience talking with other investors including others who have done it, it's a lot of time and work to develop mobile home parks from the ground up. They require a lot of capitol as well as cooperation from the local city and/or county. 

Most I know who've done this in the past say it's not worth the time and money. The majority of the advice out there is to work existing parks and/or lots or land with infrastructure in place.

Hope that helps! 

@Sean Hayes Very cool to hear! I've actually heard of families owning dealerships and then buying mobile home parks (instead of the other way around). 

Interesting to hear about your business model! Yes, I have the same question as @Rudolph Shepard Jr . Are you selling new or used homes (or both) through the dealership? 

Thanks for sharing! 

@Andrew Bonavita I think the most important part of this business is to take the time to learn your market. In the beginning, I visited around 200+ mobile homes parks in my area. I met with sellers on a regular basis (both in parks and on land). I really got to know the niche as a local investor. That would be my best advice to you. 

Other than that, it's important to have an exit strategy. Know exactly what you're looking for. If you've done your market research and know the market, when opportunities come your way then you'll already know what to offer and how much work is involved if you have the right team in place to help you fix up the homes. 

Personally, I've been in the mobile home investing business since 2007. It does have its ups and downs like any other niche in real estate. Overall, it's been pretty profitable. With each deal you do, you'll get more experience and knowledge which will help you be successful over time.

If you have any other questions or need any recommended resources, feel free to DM.

Hope that helps! 

@Fiona Brown I've never heard of this group. It might be best to hold off until you hear of other BP members who have experience with them. 

Feel free to keep us updated on your findings here. Thanks for sharing! 

@Dee Mandrekar Yes, definitely check with the zoning department per the advice of others here. You'll need your address and legal description so they can look it up and tell you what you can and cannot do with the land in terms of zoning. 

Hope that helps! 

@Sean Gammons If your land is zoned for up to three mobile homes, then you should be able to file a permit to put another septic tank on the land if that's what you want to do. This is something you can double check with the city. 

Also, when talking with different septic companies you can also bring this issue up as I find contractors to be very helpful when it comes to permits and the city or county. They may be able to give you some input and feedback based on their experience. 

Hope that helps! 

@Matthew Scott The first question would be to check the zoning. If the home is OK to be zoned for used mobile homes, you'd have to check on any restrictions (i.e. size, age, etc). 

From there, you'd have to figure out exactly the sizes of the homes you want to bring on the land and how far you want to space them out. The smaller the home, the harder it is to find a good, used home in decent condition (in general). 

Personally, I've known mobile home park owners with this challenge when trying to find smaller mobile homes to fill their lots. Another option is to fill the space with RVs. Though, you'd have to check to see if there is enough demand. 

If you need more guidance when it comes to moving the homes and what's involved, you may want to talk to a few local mobile home dealerships. In the past, I've found them to be good information for market insight and referrals. 

Before you spend any money, you just need to price everything out (i.e. cost of homes, moving costs, installation, hook ups such as electrical, water, etc). 

One last thing, if the land is not developed and does not have the proper infrastructure in place the project will be more costly. Usually, it's best if there is existing infrastructure in place when taking on this type of endeavor. 

Hope that helps!  

@Michael J. As in any area of real estate investing, it's best to pick a niche and learn it. From there, it's just a matter of learning the market and picking an exit strategy that works for you. 

In the beginning, I started out as a bird dog and then wholesaler finding deals for other investors in the single-family home space. Once I built up enough cash, then I became a buy and hold landlord of single-family homes. 

From there, I sold my entire portfolio of single-family homes and got into mobile home investing. I started out buying and holding and have expanded to wholesaling mobile homes. 

When it comes down to it, it's just a matter of finding something that works for you and sticking with it. With each deal you do, you get experience and knowledge which takes time. 

Hope that helps!