Mobil Home..Is This A Good Deal?
I have never done a deal for a mobil home. Just had a call from my ad. Has a 3 bed 2 bath mobil home 3 years old. Owes 33,000 will take 26,000 for it. Lot is rented. $210 a month payments on trailer are $341. I have never ever done anything with Mobil Homes.(Did I say that already)
I think in Minnesota the trailer is register like a car not with a deed. I know if I told him I would take over the payments he would give it to me. (Moving out of state)
I just don't know enough about trailers. I do know 3 bedroom 2 bath house in this area rents 850 to 1300. What questions should I ask what should I look for? Please please help.
Thanks James
Mobile homes are ok for temporary housing but remember when you buy one without land you are making a monthly payment on a property that is depreciating daily.
Thanks Scott,
If I can rent it is it worth doing? If this was a house I would know what to do Sub to it and sell on contract. Again thank you
If you can buy a MH on land get positive cash flow and wait on the land to appreciate I would say yes. If you are buying the MH renting the land then the only person coming out in the long run is the Land owner who is renting to you. Even if you can get the cash flow to work now (short term gain) the repairs $$$ will quickly add up. You said Home rentals on average go for 800+ mo check the comps on MH rentals I suspect the are much lower (usually half in our area). I have done some MH on land owner financed till they could get traditional financing and made some money but on MH even with land I like to get in and get out before the repair costs go up. The only other question you have to ask yourself is are you ready to be a landlord ?
Hi James,
Before you do the deal with the seller,check with the park if they will let you do deals in the park.Some parks maybe restrictive.But usually they will work with you if they know you are giving business to them.
26000 for a mobile home without land seems to be a bit www.high.I think thats the price you should try to sell at (retail)if you are going to buy it from(wholesale).Is that a doublewide or a singlewide?
Let me give an example of a home I bought..it was a 95 fleetwood a 4bed 3 bath doublewide which i got for 11000..I would be comfortable to buy mobile homes in that price range.But thats just me.
Also check for the usual softspots in the floor or see if there is any other repairs to be done .
just a few pointers.Hope this helps
Thanks guys,
You both point out very good points. Scott I am already a landlord so yea I know the ups and downs. I have to do more DD but right now I am looking at it as probably no.
When I was in college I lived in a rent trailer and it was great my brother owned one in the same park. But this is a whole different kind of animal. A little more thought.... Again Thanks
JamesStreet (Scott),
How are things going in Elgin?
Anyway, I am new to the Mobile Home arena as well. After recently exposing my myself to a CD which was entitled "The Great Debate" and hearing some things, if you want to expand your knowledge of investing in the Mobile Home department, I would recommeded picking up Lonnie Scruggs Material. This guy is the King of Mobile Homes and the costs for his material is minimal. I have just ordered it myself.
It would just broaden your investing knowledge and if deals come your way such as the one you just ran into, you can give yourself a chance to capitalize on it if it is in fact a deal. You never know what the future holds, but if your prepared for it, you can take advantage of an opportunity if it comes your way.
Why pass up a deal if you don't have to?
All My Best!
HBG
Brandon
Brandon,
Long time, How have your investments been going? Did you get that email I sent you. So you say that course will help. May have to check it out. Just got back from AZ (Wish I was still there). That market is very hot. Like the area around Tuson. Let me know what you think of the course.
James (S)
Here's a post that might help a little:
http://www.thecreativeinvestor.com/ViewTopic2053-21-3.html
A couple things I've learned about investing in mobile homes that may or may not be of use to you.
For some reason very few banks want to give loans on mobile homes whether they are "attached" to the lot or not. Also, any mobile home built before 1987 can be more difficult if not impossible to get financing --- the manufacturers tag has to be still attached or you can practically forget about financing altogether no matter what year it was built. Also if there is any equity, you can't pull any out of it for one year and I haven't found one bank yet which will give an equity line of credit on a manufactured home even if it's on it's own piece of land and you have 80%+ of equity-- you'll have to do a cash out refi to get any of the money out of the property and very few lenders will do that. If you're taking it sub-to, obviously none of this matters.
In CA, it is treated like a car sale (without a deed) if it is not attached to the land i.e. no foundation-- but I'd have to double check on that as I have not bought one unattached to the land.
Also, don't expect to get as much rent on a mobile home --the park, like a neighborhood, will effect the fair market rent. You could move it to another park should this park not work out for whatever reason, but expect to dish out some serious bucks for the move.
Overall if the deal makes sense , go ahead and do it. Personally, I try to avoid mobile homes for long term investments since most of them are manufactured so poorly that they practically fall apart before you eyes.
Best of luck on your purchase!
I love this site just ask and people help. Thank you to everyone who helped me. I think I may have to pass on this just because it will lose value not gain value and a flip with no land won't make me a profit.