New to MHP investing and wondering what size park is too small

We recently attended the MHU in Charleston SC and have begun the process of looking for a park to buy. I did do a search on the forum but there wasn’t an actual answer as to what would be considered too small of a park to even really consider if there is such a thing. We have previously invested in small multi family units so this is totally new to us. We are looking at a park that has 14 spaces that looks fairly decent but I’m just wondering if I should pass on something so small. Also what about the resale on smaller parks does that seem to be an issue?

Thanks

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I think the numbers tell the story, It’s mobile home parks and you will most likely not be placing a large picture of it over your fireplace. If the numbers work for you then that is a park you should consider. As I learned earlier this week, smaller parks need to have public water and sewer as a small park will not be able to provide the capitol for a new well or septic system. So if it’s a 1 space mobile home park but the cash flow is at a level you want and the purchase price is right, buy it.
Please be advised that this advice is free and from a novice and is guaranteed for the exact price of the advice with no ancillary attachments allowed.

Mike

There is no such thing as a 1 space park; that is a mobile home on land (read: a glorified SFH). If investing in SFH’s is your thing that’s fine, but they are pretty much the polar opposite of MHP investing and offer none of the benefits that make MHP’s so lucrative.

OP, generally people go with a minimum of 25 spaces (though many go with 35, or 50, or even 100). It’s really up to you how low you want to go; you’ll have a hard time making the finances work if it’s under 25 though. Resale is one of the multitude of disadvantages of very small parks. Your buyer pool would be limited to the local area (unless you find a sucker) and that buyer will struggle to find a bank willing to lend that small an amount.

The one major exception about small parks that’s worth noting is when you own a larger park nearby. Flying to visit a 20 space park? That’ll kill your cash flow. Flying to visit a 50 space park and visiting your 20 space park while you’re there? Different story. Jefferson likes to mention he happily bought a 20 space park - with the caveat that it’s by one of his current parks and he got it for ~nothing down.

The smallest park I’ve owned is 15 lots and Dave’s is 10. That being said, the only reason we bought either one was price and terms. I bought my 15 space park for $60,000 with $5,000 down and the seller carried the paper. Normally, small parks are sold at crazy low prices and often with seller carry. They have to, because there are not a lot of buyers of for them. I sold that same park for $120,000 – which is not really that much for a park of that size (a mid-teens cap rate) but, again, there’s not that many buyers so you have to price them very effectively. But that equates to $60,000 profit on $5,000 down, which is really good. So the answer is that small parks are fine as long as you understand that they are very illiquid and hard to finance and you have to buy them extremely cheap to make any money.

I would stick with parks that are more like 25 lots and up for the following reasons: 1) that results in a finished product value of around $500,000, which allows for a decent base of buyers and lenders 2) gives you the scale you need to make decent money operationally (a $50 rent increase puts $15,000 in your pocket annually) and 3) it gives you the ability to get a decent on-site manager ($250 per month plus lot rent) who might actually do their job. In those tiny parks, you can only afford to give them lot rent and nothing more. The quality of what you get is pretty atrocious. My story of Denise, the manager who did not even know how to use a telephone (she was a hillbilly who had never seen one) stems from my 15 space park.

The moral on tiny parks (one more time): buy them EXTREMELY cheap and with seller financing. Otherwise, find something else.

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Great, that was kind of my initial thought to look at 20+ lots. We found one that’s 15 spaces but well and septic which really kind of worries me.

Thanks again.