New to the site have a few questions that maybe you can help me with

mobile home university
1

Hello everyone,

The website looks to be very helpfull and informative, as i have been reading alot of your posts on the forums.

I have not purchased the books yet so i know that will probaly be your first answer to my question.

I see on the forums the majority of the transactions being disscused are mainly about owning MHP but i was curious on the buying and selling of mobile homes / renting to make money.

I currently own an electronic distribution company that supports various different manufacturing facilities such as military,medical,automotive, etc…

I am currently looking to build a residual income. I have owned my business for 7 years now and like any business it has it’s up’s and down’s i am looking to build a base income off of rental’s and also sell when the unit is right.

When i was 19 i gave it a whirl down in fla. i owned 5 singlewide units all older models that needed extensive work which i did when i got home from work but it didnt pan out there wasnt enough money to be made after the lot rent was taken from my gross rental amount so i sold them to break even on the amount that i invested and repairs so it wasnt a loss except the time i worked on them.

Anyways i’m 32 now and i would hope quite abit smarter lol and i know there is potential in making money. I currently live in the thumb area of michigan and i am seeing quite a few deals on double wide’s one of them i am looking at is a 2001 shultz 28 x 60 3b 2 bath cost is 10k, but all the deals i see i would need to move them to a very nice family park i have chosen due to the growing population and excellent schools in the area.

I’m not sure how much the fee would be to break down and setup fee’s etc to move about 70 miles to the park.

If any of you could give me alittle insight on how you got started and how some of the process works as i’m alittle leary of buying the unit moving it there fix up anything that needs to be done and selling it as far as turn around time goes. The park that i want to move it too the lot rent is 300 a month I think that I would be able to rent homes out this size for 600-700 a month leaning more towards the 700 would net 4800 per year minus any maintenance.

I was thinking the total cost to buy move and rehab the unit around 15-17k

Which i would like to sell the 1st unit so i dont tie my money up on the 1st one then wash repeat the cycle and keeping a few rentals in between sales. And of coarse my main goal would be to own a mhp down the road.

With those figures on a similar deal after i was able to sell the 1st one taking $4800 per year minus any repairs that may arise would take roughly 4 years to see roi would that be a safe investment as i know alot of the mfg. homes loose value in parks alot more then mfg. homes that are on land.

Thank you for your time in reading my questions, and i hope that i can begin to grow a retierment plan.

Best Regards,

Jeremy

P.S. If this double posts my appologies the internet was acting up when i submitted it.

2

Jeremy,

First off I am going to say exactly what you said we would… You need to get the book, specifically “Deals on Wheels” by Lonnie Scruggs.

However, since you have already been there done that on the repair side of mobiles, and have apparently successfully run your business I would say you are set to do well in this business.

One thing I would say though is you DO NOT want to do a mover on one of your first deals. There are to many variables that enter the picture that you will be better prepared for latter on that can sink you in the begininng.

I could go on and on but unfortunately don’t have the time right now so I will just say don’t do anything till you have the above book and have read it at least twice.

Just my thoughts,

Jad

3

Hey Jeremy,

Overall, I like your plan. I would make a couple of suggestions, though. I’ve been doing lonnie deals on a part-time basis for about the past 4 years. During that time I also kept a few as rentals in someone else’s park. What I learned is . . . DON’T! There’s really no advantage to renting the home if you don’t own the dirt.

You said it would rent $6-700/mo w/ lot rent costing $300/mo. That leaves you $3-400/mo cashflow w/o taking into account taxes, insurance & maintenance. The maintenance alone is reason enough for me not to do it. Why don’t you consider SELLING the home on payments instead of renting it. $3-400/mo is a reasonable payment amount for the home - probably even more, actually, for a home this new and large - so you will cashflow the same each month w/o the hassle of maintenance & etc.

That has been my experience. As leases end I’m phasing out all my current rentals and transforming them into lonnie deals.

Now, if you could pick up some private lots at a good price and set these d/w’s there as a land-home package . . . that would be another story. I also recommend Tony & Scott’s “Investing in Mobile Homes w/ Land” which can be found at:

http://www.creonline.com/catalog/c-229.html

Regards,

Michael(KCMO)

4

Thank you for the advice i purchased and read Deals on Wheels very good book and it showed me a better outlook then renting the units i am looking at another unit on site at a park 1988 14 x 76 with the following

3 Bedrooms 2 Bathrooms Color: gray Shingled Roof Vinyl Siding Soft Panel Ceilings Papered Walls Storage Shed Deck Patio Thermopane Windows Ceiling Fan Walk-in Closet Oven Refrigerator Clothes Washer Clothes Dryer Lot Rent: $390 Utilities: $25 water

It’s listed for $2900 obo also its a forced sale they need to move. So i would assume that i can pick it up around 2k or under the only problem i see for the lonnie deal on this is the high price on the lot rent of $390 per month I didnt have a chance to call on the unit as I was reading the book, but i know a lot of the other parks in our area north of this park includes the taxes etc… in the lot rent.

Any info or suggestions on this maybe as a 1st deal rather then the doublewide i was looking at.

To give you an example of the park that I wanted to move the dw in previous post they are trying to sell older models for around 50-60k also offering owner financing just saw an add for a 4 bd 2 bath for 900 a month for that park.

I’m also seeing in the local paper some pretty high pricing for an example 14-70 91 model 3b 2 bath for 13k so i’m assuming that if i can get some lonnie deals there would be plenty of room for neg. and contract prices.

My only thought is that i will have to bring most of the units into my area. i.e moving expensis. or should i just try to leave them in the parks they are at and take a lower return i know some of the area’s are quite rough not sure about the parks but flint michigan is a tough area. but so many deals to be had including house’s. in that area and surronding counties.

I live about an hour north of flint in a very nice country area with double a schooling so it is very attractive to alot of families living in the city working factory jobs to move to our area. and the price difference is astonishing on used mobile homes and the cost they are charging in this area.

I guess though it only matters if those units are selling anyone can put a price on a unit the key is to get the phone ringing and close the sale :slight_smile:

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Best regards,

Jeremy