#1. I see several post from new Mobile Home Park owners wanting to
fill their spaces and just are interested in getting the lot income,
not making income on the mobile home. It seems to me you could
just offer free space rent for say 6 to 9 months to a customer that
is living in another park that wants to move but did not want to
put out the money for moving the mobile home. The free rent would
pay for the moving or part of the moving cost. Why do not
Moble Home Park owners do this?
#2. If you can pruchase a brand new mobile home for $21,000 why
could you not sell it retail for say $35,000? I know everybody
preaches buy very low, repos etc. but I personally know several
people that purchased mobile homes for over 40K used from a
private owner in a mobile home park. If you could offer a new
home for less it seems to me you could get the sale? In these
two cases one got bank fianancing the other paid cash.
Sly
There are communities that are doing those things, but its not a panacea.
Many communities will waive lot rent for a period of time for someone who brings in a new home. However, most MHCs don’t have a large clientele that has the $1500-2500 cash it would cost to move a SW (and even more for a DW). One of the reasons investors are attracted to MHCs compared to apt bldgs, is the relative inelasticity of its residents (small price adjustments do not produce large changes in demand).
As repos get scarcer, MHCs will increasingly buy new homes to fill their empty spaces. But the margins on new homes are smaller than repos. Its more profitable to buy a late model repo for 8k and sell it for 24k than to buy a new home for 22k and sell it for 35k. Not to mention the capital expenditure is less (3 repos for the cost of 1 new home). And the monthly payments are more affordable for the buyer- therefore bigger target audience. One more angle to consider, DW vs. SW- I’d sooner spend 15k on a DW repo in move-in condition than 22k for a new but basic SW.
Daphne,
Thanks for taking the time to reply to my two questions.
Sly
*I think Daphne is a cute name, my daughter has a habit of
picking up stray cats, I will suggest she name the next stray
kitten Daphne.