I am wondering if you guys would mind sharing which methods you use to attract owners to move their homes into your parks. I am offering to pay to move homes into mine (up to $5000), however, the homeowner needs to enter into a three-year lease contract.
Is there any information you can share about working with a company which would move homes in and then finance or rent them out?
I have read to not touch GT with a 40 foot pole, but are there others that are better to work with?
For reference, my park is in eastern Iowa.
Thank you.
You are in the exact same spot all owners are in right now – you have demand for homes but want to figure out how to fill that demand without actually buying the homes. We offer similar move-in programs, but they do not draw very much business, as most mobile home owners don’t want the hassle of moving their homes, regardless of the offer. It is equally hard to find “Lonnie Dealers” today because of the SAFE Act and the general lack of performance on that investment niche unless you own the park. So the only option is to bring homes in yourself to fill those vacant lots. Legacy Homes has a program in which you buy a new home from them and they essentially finance 2/3 of the price (contact Mark Ledet for more details and minimum requirements). There are other manufacturers who are rumored to be close to introducing home finance programs on new homes. There is also a healthy selection of repo homes, as well as old homes that can be bought yourself from newspaper ads or home brokers. But all these steps revolve around capital, so you should put some effort into figuring out what your tools are to access that capital. Self-directed IRA investments from friends and family might be one option.
Thank you very much for your input. Yes, it’s really hard to see putting the capital into purchasing a home and then having it moved in, and then “gambling” on an applicant who will make the investment worth it.