Business Model

Mobile Home Park

The mobile home park industry is one of the youngest niches in American real estate, having come into prominence in the 1950s and 1960s. It is also one of the most misunderstood sectors, with roughly 8% of Americans living in mobile homes that are spacious, private, and great housing values. Mobile home parks are very similar to single-family subdivisions, and have their own unique personality and come in a wide range of sizes and price points. By definition, a mobile home park is any tract of land with two or more mobile homes on it, but most mobile home parks have between 20 and 100+ units. There are roughly 44,000 mobile home parks in the U.S.

A mobile home park is similar in structure to a parking lot. You own the land and rent out the spaces to mobile home owners, being responsible for utilities, roads, common areas, and management of the overall community. Mobile home parks are remarkable for two key reasons: 1) virtually no city in the U.S. has allowed new construction of mobile home parks since the 1970s (leading to no danger of over-building) and 2) residents of mobile home parks are extremely stable, having a typical length of tenancy of around 14 years and this makes cash flows extremely dependable.

Pros

Limited supply (no new meaningful construction since the 1970s)

High yields

Just rent land so no toilets to fix or other repair items

Huge demand for affordable housing

Stigma against “trailer parks” means lower competition for buyers

 Lot rents have room for massive increases in most communities

There are roughly 45,000 mobile home parks in the U.S. and about 80% of those are mom & pop owned, and that allows for better buying opportunities and seller financing

Plentiful financing available on attractive terms

Ability to fill vacant lots with zero out of pocket cost through home manufacturer programs

Cons

Sometimes a “culture shock” from working with affordable housing tenants

Lack of liquidity in rural markets and parks with dirt roads and private utilities

Financing can be difficult to find on the smallest parks, except seller offerings

Market Research

Articles & Reports

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updates

Forum & Deals

Learning about and committing to investing in mobile home parks is only half the battle. The real challenge is finding the right deal to invest in. These resources will help you find the right deal to give a diligence focus and potentially buy. Remember that finding the right mobile home park is all about volume, so the more potential deals you look at the better your odds of finding the right one. Don’t just look at a few options, look at as many as you can find. Success in mobile home park investment revolves around making as many offers as possible.

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Education

Books & Courses

Before you risk any capital, your first step is to learn everything you can about how to profitably invest in this niche. To accomplish that, there are both free resources as well as books and courses to aid in your quest for mastery of this real estate sector. We recommend that you take advantage of every opportunity to learn as much as possible before you invest your time and money. The most important trait of a successful investor is being able to quickly separate deals into a “might be an opportunity” stack versus a “not an opportunity”, as well as know the steps to conducting superior due diligence. In niche investing, knowledge is power – so get as much of it as you can.

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Providers

Brokers & Lenders

No buyer can succeed without assistance from those who can source deals, as well as finance them.

Brokers are an important part of finding properties to buy. This is their specialty, and they typically have listings that are both “public” as well as “private” (those that they are not allowed to reveal to the public due to restrictions from the seller). Successful buyers contact all of the brokers in their niche to see what listings they may have, as well as to get set up in their email database for announcements of new listings. For a complete list of these brokers click the Learn More button below.

Lenders are the key to successful real estate investing, as it is through the sensible use of leverage that rates of return are maximized. Banks generally all follow the same basic lending principles, but there are certain facts regarding each niche that have to be explored. In many cases – on deals of $1 million or more – you should explore using a loan broker (also known as “capital consultant”) to obtain a loan for you for a fee. This is extremely important on CMBS “conduit” debt and Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac “agency” debt. On deals under $1 million, you should focus on seller financing as well as local banks that know the market and are aggressive in lending to their base. For a complete list of lenders in this niche click the Learn More button below.

OUR MISSION

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