Posted on 02/11/2017 10:40:46 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
The mobile home park has been around as a real estate sector for over half a century. However, it has remained in complete obscurity except for a few lucky investors and such heavyweights as Sam Zell. But 2017 is the year in which mobile home parks will finally be identified for the wonderful business models that they are, as well as the prime solution to the affordable housing crisis in America. And this attention is coming from a number of sources.
The U.S. government
After being ignored by the Federal Government for the past 50 years, that period of silence is ending. In 2016, Congress passed H.R. 3700, which will allow Section 8 vouchers to be used to buy mobile homes beginning in mid-2017. That’s a huge step, as there are roughly as many people in Section 8 apartments in the U.S. as there are in all of the mobile home parks in the U.S. combined. In addition, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have introduced new programs to finance mobile home parks that are more attractive than any other offering. Finally, there is talk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may start working on making it easier for first-time homebuyers to buy a mobile home, by taking a more active role in re-purchasing these loans. It’s a great year for the industry legislatively.
The media
Although the media has for decades relegated the very concept of the mobile home park as something to ridicule – through such shows as COPS, Myrtle Manor and Trailer Park Boys – that attitude is shifting as a result of the very serious issue of housing those of lesser incomes. The affordable housing crisis in the U.S. is a huge news story, and the nation’s newspapers, magazines, television stations and on-line sources are beginning to look past those old stereotypes and see the bigger story: that mobile home parks allow people to be homeowners and have a nice yard and neighborhood for a fraction of the price of single-family and multi-family options.
Private investment groups
There were three $2 billion transactions in the mobile home park sector in 2016: 1) the sale of Carefree to SUN (a U.S. REIT) 2) the sale of Northstar to Brookfield (a Canadian REIT) and 3) the sale of YES to GIC (the sovereign nation fund of Singapore). Clearly, the mobile home park industry is poised for massive consolidation. The Carlyle Group – the largest private equity group in the U.S. – already owns over 3,000 lots and is buying more. These transactions give incredible credibility to the industry and helps it become more mainstream.
Conclusion
2017 is looking to be a pivotal year for the mobile home park industry. It already has the highest yields of any form of real estate, but it has long lacked respect. This year that missing element is coming into focus, and it’s an exciting time to be involved in the birth of a mainstream real estate investment arena. If you are not currently investing in mobile home parks, you should definitely investigate this opportunity before it’s too late.
Nope. We sprinkled some seeds on the ground, added water and fertilizer and grew our home naturally, the way God intended.
It seems like to me converting a shipping container would be more durable. Not as mobile however.
They have the tiny house show on TV but not sure how many are actually built. They seem very expensive and I wonder how water tight they are after a few trips. The bus conversions seem to be more reasonable and water tight. An old camper trailer, like some here have purchased, seem to be a much better buy. Buy one for less than $5,000 and put the $40,000 to $95,000 you save in the bank. You’ll be a lot better off in 5 years.
When Hubby and I first got married we bought a mobile home in a park. All we could afford. 4 years later I figured out that for $100 more per month we could buy a real home that was more of an investment. The 4 years we were in the park the space rent just kept going up.
We rented out the mobile home to a nice older couple that stayed in it 5 years. We weren’t really making any money on nit. They moved and while we were getting it ready to rent again junkies broke in, left a candle burning, and burned it to the ground. We took the insurance and ran.
Marina Park in Ventura is right by the ocean. They’re not quite that expensive. lol I was just recently telling hubby we should sell our huge house and buy a mobile there. I’d be perfectly happy there.
I do. Small, but comfortable and affordable, on my own land. Bought it ten years ago, and I’ve since gotten a better job and doing okay- but I just don’t see any reason to move out of it (and moving my workshop would be a nightmare).
Just make sure it’s on a masonry foundation with support piers in the crawlspace, with tiedown straps for protection in high wind. If it doesn’t have a good foundation with tiedowns they’ll roll or go airborne pretty easily in a downburst or heavy straight line wind. You want a pitched roof, too, otherwise you’ll be dealing with leaks eventually. You can find such properties all around the south in more rural areas for a pretty cheap price, but you don’t want one that’s been heavily neglected. If it looks too cheap compared to comparable properties for sale, there’s likely a very good reason.
We started our marriage out in MH park. It was a really nice park with pool and community center. We lived there for a few years then bought our home. For us, it was good experience.
My lovely daughter and SIL bought one, a 10 yr old unit in excellent condition. The main drawback with with them, fire. My wife volunteers for the Red Cross, on night we responded to a family whose mobile home had a small fire. Even thought the damage was confined to the kitchen stove and the rest of the house looked in good condition, the fire marshall condemned it and said it was beyond repair. The fire compromised the unit’s structural integrity.
I paid the tax lien on a property a few weeks ago. For $762 I got an acre of land and a trailer with a permanent structure built on. It’s been abandoned for a while. I can’t yet go inside so I’m not sure if it can be salvaged, but outside actually looks good with very minimal rot. Of course there is a 3 year right of redemption so I can’t rally do anything to the property until then but still a good investment.
If I try to get my husband to get rid of, or even organize his stuff, he gets anxious. He’s probably not a true hoarder; certainly not to the degree one sees on T.V., but we live in a very tiny house, and there’s no place to put everything. Although, I know some people who are so organized, they probably could make sense of it. He’d still have a cow, though. And did I mention we’re both lazy, to boot?
Some old family friends have done very well acquiring properties via purchase of tax lien certificates, but I’ve never paid attention and probably should have. So, if the individual currently holding title pays you for the lien plus interest within the three years, all you get is the interest, correct? If not, then what, you have to foreclose?
That is correct. They can redeem by paying me all taxes plus 12%. At the end of three years I turn in the tax certificate and get the title, but I’m sure I will have to get a lawyer for that. There are some people who do this as an investment hoping the owners redeem. Where else can you get a 12% return? The interest rate is different for each state, though.
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