Thinking of Buying a Mobile Home Park as an investment

[Mulligan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by daylatedollarshort Mobile homes are a very cost efficient way to live. I have wondered if the negative connotations we sometimes see in the media are more marketing oriented because the homes cost less to build and are smaller, which means less to furnish and less hyperconsumption overall. They may end up being a good source of housing for aging baby boomers who have no savings other than SS. I don't have the personality type to run a mobile home park, but I think a 55+ park could be a good investment, especially in areas like California where regular housing prices may be unaffordable for seniors living on SS alone. How the Trailer Park Could Save Us All http://www.psmag.com/books-and-cultu...e-us-all-55137 "A healthy, inexpensive, environmentally friendly solution for housing millions of retiring baby boomers is staring us in the face. We just know it by a dirty name."

I hope they are in pleasant weather areas or they are better built now. I remember in the late 80s just starting my career and being "trailer trash" with 2 other guys. The damn heating bill in winter was about $400 a month. Thank God the bill was split 3 ways. It was higher than the rent! Almost 30 years later my home heating bill never peaked above 1/3 of that and I live in same area.


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[retirementguy1]

When I read Millionaire Next Door I remember the author mentioned that there were many millionaires that made their fortune from mobile home parks. They didn't own one though, they had 12, 24, or 100 parks. I'm guessing you really need to turn it into a conglomerate to make it profitable. You need to start a property mngt. company, have a lawyer on retainer for evictions, your own repair/rehab men etc. The list goes on. I have no immediate experience so YMMV


I do love trailor park boys though.

[Walt34]

I suppose it depends on the clientele and the management. A few miles from us are two trailer parks, across the street from each other and what a study in contrast they are! One is the stereotypical "trailer trash" type place and where they get the photos of them from. When I drove through the place (out of curiosity) I wanted to be carrying a weapon.

Across the street is another, well kept one. Neat as a pin, all are clean and well maintained, paved streets, lighted at night, no trash or toys left out overnight. I mentioned to DW that if we ever had to seriously downsize I wouldn't mind living there, other than the lack of a garage. One could certainly do worse. If there is such a thing as an upscale trailer park that place is it.

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mulligan I hope they are in pleasant weather areas or they are better built now. I remember in the late 80s just starting my career and being "trailer trash" with 2 other guys. The damn heating bill in winter was about $400 a month. Thank God the bill was split 3 ways. It was higher than the rent! Almost 30 years later my home heating bill never peaked above 1/3 of that and I live in same area. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Not long after we were married my wife and I were spending a day at Pismo Beach, a really beautiful spot. She had taken her ring off and put it in a shirt pocket so she could dig in the sand. I believe we were running and at one point she realized that her ring was gone. We both felt awful, but she managed to turn around and retrace her steps, down to remembering when she had jumped over something. She got down and started digging in the sand, and unbelievably there was her ring! Ever since I have had a good feeling about Pismo Beach.

I read the article that Mulligan posted. It's very good. One thing it mentions as a drawback is the poor leverage that people who own a unit but rent a space have. It's a bad situation. Unlike in an apartment, a reasonably priced move is all but impossible if the rent gets raised. Recently a park near Kirkland WA changed hands. But the new owner didn't stop at raising rents, he was going for highest and best use, which in this case is an array of luxury apartments or condos. Typically the residents cannot afford to walk away from their units, and the whole area is undergoing upscale makeovers. There are no other trailer parks close to the job market that served these residents.

I am past the stage of my life where I would want to take on a park as an investment. But I think even to become a resident I would want congruence of lot and home ownership. Either both are rented, or both are owned in fee, or perhaps the lot on a very long term price controlled lease.

But Pismo Beach would be hard to beat. And the very social style of living described in the article would be fun.

Ha