Newbie found off market deal

mobile home university
1

Looking for input on first mobile home park deal (redevelopment + land contract?)

Hey everyone — I’m a newer investor looking at my first mobile home park and would really appreciate some honest feedback.

Deal overview:

- 21 licensed sites

- City water, sewer, and natural gas already in place

- Currently only 2 homes occupied (owner-occupied), 19 vacant pads

- $950/month current gross

- Asking price: $400k (~$19k per pad)

-Seller open to land contract (terms TBD)

- ~4.7 usable acres total

What I’m seeing on-site:

- Only ~1.3 acres are actually developed

- I can only clearly identify ~17 existing pads

- Roads and layout seem outdated — likely need repaving at minimum - Honestly feels like it may need a full redesign to do it “right”

Why I’m interested:

- Utilities are already in place (big value)

- Large amount of unused land = potential upside

- Could be a strong redevelopment play long-term

My concerns:

- I don’t have the capital for a full redevelopment right now

- Filling even the existing pads feels like a heavy lift

- If roads/utilities need major work, this could get expensive fast

- I’m worried this might be more of a “developer deal” than a beginner deal

Questions:

- Does this sound like something a beginner should even touch?

- Would you try to stabilize what’s there first, or is this clearly a scrape-and-redo situation?

- Rough ballpark — what would a repave + infrastructure refresh cost on something like this?

- Is a land contract enough to offset the risk here, or not really?

- Biggest red flags I should confirm before going any further?

Appreciate any feedback — I’d rather pass on something than get buried in my first deal.

2

This deal sounds like something that no one should touch, beginner or seasoned mhp investor. Yes, this will bury you.

You make great points on why you are interested. But how long will it take to have cashflow? And how much money will it take to have cashflow? During this time you will be paying the lender, taxes, expenses, etc. All of your concerns are valid. If you have the time to turn this around, have the seller bring you in as a partner at no cost to you, have him pay all of the expenses, and have him pay you 50% or more of the proceeds when it actually makes money.

You can find on-market deals at $400k that are actually making money.

3

I wouldn’t touch this deal near $400K. Using a 9% Cap rate even if the place were 100% occupied with a 40% expense ratio I get a value of $650K and your a LONG way away from that kinda of value.

Without know what area of the Country you are in I have to make a few assumptions. Based on the low occupancy and low rent, you are in a small market, thus a 9% cap is justified. I also assume the worse case scenario for lot prep. IE Frost line issues, which greatly increases the cost to install a MH, many park in the North require excavation down below the frost line, new base, and a slab. Easy $10K per pad.

Also you are going to lose money on each home your bring in. Assume $10K per home in loss.

I ran some numbers with various costs for Lot Prep and Home loss. I get a MAXIMUM purchase price for you of $200K and a minimum at $5800. I know not very helpful….

Here are the numbers I ran:

MAX VALUE Today if Full
Gross Rent $ 8,550.00 Value 9% CAP Lot Prep Home install Loss Value Your Time Offer Price
Vacancy 5% $ (427.50) $ 649,800.00 $ 170,000.00 $ 85,000.00 $ 394,800.00 $ 100,000.00 $ 294,800.00
Effective Gross Rent $ 8,122.50 $ 649,800.00 $ 170,000.00 $ 136,000.00 $ 343,800.00 $ 100,000.00 $ 243,800.00
$ 649,800.00 $ 170,000.00 $ 170,000.00 $ 309,800.00 $ 100,000.00 $ 209,800.00
40% expense Ratio $ (3,249.00) $ 649,800.00 $ 170,000.00 $ 204,000.00 $ 275,800.00 $ 100,000.00 $ 175,800.00
NOI $ 4,873.50 Value 9% CAP Lot Prep Home install Loss Value Your Time Offer Price
Annualized $ 58,482.00 $ 649,800.00 $ 204,000.00 $ 85,000.00 $ 360,800.00 $ 100,000.00 $ 260,800.00
$ 649,800.00 $ 204,000.00 $ 136,000.00 $ 309,800.00 $ 100,000.00 $ 209,800.00
$ 649,800.00 $ 204,000.00 $ 170,000.00 $ 275,800.00 $ 100,000.00 $ 175,800.00
Value Full $ 649,800.00 $ 204,000.00 $ 204,000.00 $ 241,800.00 $ 100,000.00 $ 141,800.00
Cap Rat 9% $ 649,800.00
8% $ 731,025.00 Value 9% CAP Lot Prep Home install Loss Value Your Time Offer Price
7% $ 835,457.14 $ 649,800.00 $ 255,000.00 $ 85,000.00 $ 309,800.00 $ 100,000.00 $ 209,800.00
$ 649,800.00 $ 255,000.00 $ 136,000.00 $ 258,800.00 $ 100,000.00 $ 158,800.00
Lot Prep $ 649,800.00 $ 255,000.00 $ 170,000.00 $ 224,800.00 $ 100,000.00 $ 124,800.00
17 $ 10,000.00 $ 170,000.00 $ 649,800.00 $ 255,000.00 $ 204,000.00 $ 190,800.00 $ 100,000.00 $ 90,800.00
$ 12,000.00 $ 204,000.00
$ 15,000.00 $ 255,000.00 Value 9% CAP Lot Prep Home install Loss Value Your Time Offer Price
$ 20,000.00 $ 340,000.00 $ 649,800.00 $ 340,000.00 $ 85,000.00 $ 224,800.00 $ 100,000.00 $ 124,800.00
$ 649,800.00 $ 340,000.00 $ 136,000.00 $ 173,800.00 $ 100,000.00 $ 73,800.00
Home Install Loss $ 649,800.00 $ 340,000.00 $ 170,000.00 $ 139,800.00 $ 100,000.00 $ 39,800.00
17 $ 5,000.00 $ 85,000.00 $ 649,800.00 $ 340,000.00 $ 204,000.00 $ 105,800.00 $ 100,000.00 $ 5,800.00
$ 8,000.00 $ 136,000.00
$ 10,000.00 $ 170,000.00
$ 12,000.00 $ 204,000.00
4

What utilities do you think you have in place? If your electric svc poles are 100amp you’ll need to upgrade each to 200 or limit size of home. Will the local utility upgrade for free including new 200amp meter set? If not figure minimum $2000 per upgrade. Do the 15/17 pads have functioning sewer stubs? Water meters? Maybe the only true value here is the approved /licensed spots. If it’s scape and new start you’re spending $15l per lot before infill. Your seller seems confused about what he’s selling.