Hello all, I am new here and have been reading a lot. Thanks to all who are asking and sharing their experiences. I have been looking at MHP’s and it seems like a very expensive to infill with new homes and difficult to find older ones near by. What do you think about buying used RV’s and filling in with those and then offering to rent if they buy the RV? Thanks for sharing.
Infill IS very difficult in some smaller markets. Finding qualified buyers at high prices for the area. Some Parks are good with RV’s but many residents may not be as they aren’t attractive as non-permanent set-up MH’s homes are.
The hierarchy of filling a park is as follows:
- New Double Wide
- Used Double Wide
- New Singlewide
- Used Singlewide
- Park Model RV
- Fifth Wheel
- Tag-Along Trailer
- Motorhome.
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Local authorities may not allow you to put RVs in manufactured housing spaces. RV parks and manufactured housing communities may require two different licenses in certain jurisdictions, so that needs to be considered.
We have found that the easiest way to do infill is with brand new singlewides. RVs give a transient feel, and used homes are difficult to source and even more difficult to refurbish. If you don’t have the cash, for infill, there are programs available commercially through a variety of banks.
thanks good insights
thanks, I agree with this , it is just hard to find them without having to buy new.
I had not thought of that, I will make sure to check.
Thanks
Hey Ben,
I have had a lot of success in long term RV parks- both as stand alones and integrated into my parks. The power conversion is easy, the RV owners really appreciate the larger lot sizes allowing them to park more than one car and not having to feel sardined in as in most RV parks and you can actually charge more for the monthly pad rental than if it was an MH in place. Give each space a shed for additional storage and mandate skirting on the trailer.
I would caution you in buying these yourself and then renting or doing a rent to own. Most RVs are not built for rentors and are expensive and challenging to repair. The extra space is the key… we converted one of our MHPs into a 90% long term RV and we have no vacancies in two years, a waiting list a mile long and people who snow bird pay to save their spaces while they are gone. Put in a little single washer and dryer into an out building and pulls in an extra $400 per month.
As I said- converted one of our parks and am adding six LTRV spaces to my main MHP. This is the future. Make sure to get it OKd by your city officials.
Good luck and welcome to the group.
Roger
Thanks for the input. I like what you are doing.
thanks
Instead of searching for used homes, search for local outfits that buy used Mobile Homes and buy from them.
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Hey there, good topic. I have RV hookups in my park for 8 spots. I pulled a few old mobiles out and was able to retrofit the spots for RVs. Folks bring their own units. I have restrictions on the age and conditions of the campers to weed out issue units. I do month to month leases and provide an inclusive price to include everything…power, water, septic, internet, trash, and lawn care. I collect first and last month in case they pull out early.
I also own a couple tiny homes on wheels that we placed in service. They are basically 1 bedroom studios. I have about 20k in each one and they rent very easy and will last longer than any mobile home or camper I have ever seen ( Incredibletinyhomes.com). In my area rents are insane. My goal is to provide an environment to live where you work and do it in a cost effective matter. I have nurses, police officers, factory workers, and restaurant workers who live in our community with campers and have noted they are so happy to live in an affordable environment. I have a dog park for the pups to run off leash and laundry facilities for use for an extra monthly fee. I have access to movers if they dont have a tow vehicle. When I post an available spot it usually brings 20 plus calls in 72 hours on average.
Works for me.
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What a great idea that works! I’m also of the mindset that I want to provide an affordable living environment. Too bad I am not able to bring tiny homes in.
Just to add to the current comments by way of example we have a community in Illinois where “one” law (the one we knew about) allowed RV’s in MHP’s, and we started marketing for RV’s and getting ready to set up the electrical connections. THEN, out of the blue, we just received our Illinois MHP license renewal for 2024 and in that same envelope was a notice that was issued in April 2023 unbeknownst to us that said Illinois had two laws on the books and since they conflicted they decided to eliminate the one that allowed RV’s.
On the flip-side, we have a community in Oregon were we were given permission to allow up to 15% RV.
If your state will allow RV’s in MHP its a great short-term solution, but in terms of valuation the MHP’s would be preferred. Good luck!
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Remember state law trumps city ordinances. Lots of cities come up with these no rv ordinances then other cities cut and paste over the years. We had to reference the State code designating no differentiation between RVs and mobile homes to our city planning department to get them to back off.
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When I owned a park in Oregon, the RV in a MHP space came up. The locals were trying to say it was illegal. I contacted my MHP attorney, and he said to tell them to POUND SAND.
Below is the email response. Note that this email’s author is also the author of the state code. If anyone can offer code interpretation, he can:
You have forwarded to me a letter dated March 16, 2016, from Rick Hallmark of Coos Health and Wellness, stating that in order to have RV’s in your manufactured home park it be “correctly zoned for RV’s and issued a Recreational [Vehicle] Park License must be issued by the local public health department.” Mr. Hallmark’s letter does not comply with Oregon law, which clearly states that a local government “may not prohibit the placement” of RV’s in manufactured home parks. County procedures for rezoning and licensing necessarily provide for the county to “prohibit” the rezone or deny the issuance of a license, and therefore would be in violation of the following statutes.
197.493 Placement and occupancy of recreational vehicle. (1) A state agency or local government may not prohibit the placement or occupancy of a recreational vehicle, or impose any limit on the length of occupancy of a recreational vehicle, solely on the grounds that the occupancy is in a recreational vehicle, if the recreational vehicle is:
(a) Located in a manufactured dwelling park, mobile home park or recreational vehicle park;
(b) Occupied as a residential dwelling; and
(c) Lawfully connected to water and electrical supply systems and a sewage disposal system.
(2) Subsection (1) of this section does not limit the authority of a state agency or local government to impose other special conditions on the placement or occupancy of a recreational vehicle. [2005 c.619 §12]
197.492 Definitions for ORS 197.492 and 197.493. As used in this section and ORS 197.493:
(1) “Manufactured dwelling park,” “mobile home park” and “recreational vehicle” have the meaning given those terms in ORS 446.003.
(2) “Recreational vehicle park”:
(a) Means a place where two or more recreational vehicles are located within 500 feet of one another on a lot, tract or parcel of land under common ownership and having as its primary purpose:
(A) The renting of space and related facilities for a charge or fee; or
(B) The provision of space for free in connection with securing the patronage of a person.
(b) Does not mean:
(A) An area designated only for picnicking or overnight camping; or
(B) A manufactured dwelling park or mobile home park. [2005 c.619 §11]
There are many valid reasons for the enactment of these statutes permitting placement of RV’s in parks, not the least of which is making low cost housing available during the depressed economy, and allowing park owners to fill vacant spaces with affordable recreational vehicles rather than the much more expensive new mobile homes that people who are willing to live in older parks are unable to afford. There is a dearth of used mobile homes to replace the older trailers when they deteriorate to the point that they are no longer habitable. The enactment of this statute was intended to both supply affordable housing to the poor, and to allow the owners of parks, such as yourself, to maintain and economically viable business.
Should the local government attempt to maintain that subsection (2) of ORS 197.493 allowing “other special conditions” gives them authority that would, in effect, make placement of RV’s in parks economically impossible, thereby effecting a “prohibition” of the placement, that interpretation of the law would make subsection (1), which allows placement, meaningless. Such a construction of statutes has often been found “abhorrent” by Oregon appellate courts.
The author of the above statutes, John VanLandingham, Legal Aid attorney in Eugene, has stated his agreement with my interpretation. I copy his agreement in an email to me, below, from April of 2013, when one of the parks I trained had this same issue with Lane County.
"I read ORS 197.493 the same way you do. If one were to read the reference to “other special conditions” in subsection (2) to mean that the county or DCBS could completely prohibit placement and occupancy of RVs in parks, that would contradict subsection (1), which specifically allows placement and occupancy and disallows such a prohibition. The “other” means that the county can have some “other” restrictions, other than a prohibition. And my written testimony is consistent with that reading and explains what those other conditions could be.
Of course, as the author of the statute, I may be reading it as I intended, but still I don’t know how you could reconcile the two subsections any other way.
Hope this helps. John VL
John VanLandingham
Lane County Legal Aid & Advocacy Center
376 East 11th Avenue
Eugene, OR 97401
541-485-1017 x138 (w); 541-285-8445 (c)"
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We are fortunately in Ontario, Oregon and the City has very pro-development and supportive of the work we have been doing and has allowed us in writing to bring in a limited number of RV’s. I believe that locally they can become a pain, but if you have good local support it is really nice. 
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Thanks, Are you from this area? I live just across the Idaho Oregon board and am close to Ontario.