What do you look at first when evaluating a mobile home park investment?

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I’ve been spending more time learning about mobile home park investing and due diligence, and it seems like three areas can tell you a lot early on: infrastructure, occupancy, and the local market.

Curious what everyone here looks at first when evaluating a potential investment. Is there one thing you’ve learned to check immediately that newer investors tend to overlook?

I also have access to a free Mobile Home Park Passive Investing E-book that goes deeper into the basics. Happy to share it if anyone here would find it useful.

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When evaluating a mobile home park, the absolute first thing to check immediately—and what newer investors almost always overlook—is the condition of the underground infrastructure, specifically the water and sewer lines. While it is easy to get distracted by cosmetic details or the number of occupied lots, old galvanized water pipes or failing clay/cast-iron sewer lines can lead to catastrophic five- or six-figure capital expenditures right after closing.

Always review historical utility bills for unexplained spikes that might indicate major underground leaks, and budget for a professional scope of the sewer lines before moving forward.

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Spot on advice. I also verify whether the city or tenant pays trash and water directly. Shifting those utility billing responsibilities can instantly bump your net operational income without big capex.

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Absolutely. Utility responsibility can make a huge difference in the numbers. We look closely at who’s currently paying for water, sewer and trash, how it’s being billed, and whether there’s an opportunity to improve that structure. Have you seen submetering work well in the parks you’ve looked at?

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Great point. Who’s responsible for utilities can have a major impact on expenses and NOI. Definitely something that can get overlooked during due diligence. Have you seen tenant-paid utilities make a noticeable difference in a park’s performance?

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Does it pencil. No wishful thinking or 'if’s, but’s, candy or nuts. What’s the real dollar number you are putting in your pocket every month.

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I disagree with the utility infrastructure being the first thing to look at. That is expensive to look at. The absolute number one thing to consider is THE MARKET. You can do your market analysis online for free in a few hours time. It costs you nothing and you can do it before visiting the property or submitting an offer. Once you are ok with the market, you can proceed.

Utility infrastructure is important to review, but it is costly to review and should only be undertaken once the cheaper things are done. In our due diligence checklist, it is probably ranked about 30 of about 75 items. Some other top items that you can check that are free include:

Occupancy

Rent Roll

Aged Receivables

Financial Pro Forma

Don’t start spending $1000s on inspections until you are comfortable with the easy free stuff.

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Market analysis is more important than infrastructure, but once the top line number make sense then infrastructure moves up the list quickly. Utility, Water and sewer are a couple grand per hookup so even the best infrastructure can be expensive if the park has low occupancy and or old equipment. A park ready for infill with overhead lines that are 100amp loops may all need to be replaced with 200amp loops, and the utility may require you to bury the new lines. Some utilities offer a discount or free burial up to 100’, on a new or upgraded service. They may or may not be willing to bore below your street or they may require you to cut the road and pay for your own expensive conduit. “Upgrades” can get very expensive very quickly. If that’s the case consider how to use the existing 100amp over head loops by buying smaller homes or all gas homes assuming you have the gas infrastructure.

Also converting park paid utilities to tenant paid can also be time consuming expensive and difficult as meters / installation, aren’t cheap and tenants resist those expense and don’t want to take in utility expenses that used to be included

Start with market analysis then major infrastructure.

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Thank you all for the awesome replies! Another thing I found that has helped me is this free guide for beginners if anyone else would like it:

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I am a CPA with CRE background, not an operator. From my perspective, the biggest blind spot for newer buyers is underlying utility infrastructure. A clean trailing P&L and high occupancy can easily mask major capital traps.

Check these three things immediately:

  1. Master Meter vs Submeters: Compare total water usage to billed tenant submeters. Old lines with subsurface leaks will quietly bleed your cash flow.

  2. Utilities Type: Private septic, lagoons, or wells in secondary markets can trigger massive unexpected CapEx.

  3. POH Ratios: Park-owned homes turn passive land-lease investing into high-turnover apartment management.

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