3 Pros & Cons Of Mobile Home Investing (No Sugar-Coating, No BS)

We’ve completed well over 300 transactions in the past few years. And trust us when we say that we’ve seen a lot of good and a lot of bad. We want to tell you all about that as well as what you should be prepared for on this new journey. So here’s our list of 3 pros and cons of mobile home investing.

Pro #1: You can get started with less than $5000

One is that you don’t really need a lot of money to get started and coming from the real estate world when we first entered mobile homes investing, we were like “Whaaat?! You can buy a house for under $5000?”

But it’s true! For most of our ideas, we’re not spending more than $5,000 on the purchase of the property. So, you really don’t need a ton of money, or to leverage debt and all that stuff just to get started. As long as you’re constantly getting out there and looking.

We say at least have somewhere between $2000 to $5,000 to start with. That’ll set you off on the right foot. Then just add gas, a cell phone, and a will to win. You can be in our position in no time.

As for the repairs, this is another transition we had to make from the real estate mindset. We’re spending the least that we can because we’re not trying to repair the whole thing to brand new standards. We’re just getting all the main structural things done.

So those repair costs go all the way down too and you just don’t need a ton of money. You can get this done and you can be frugal in this business for sure.

Pro #2: You can turn a profit really fast

The speed is what we absolutely love about the mobile home business. You can do transactions super-fast because you’re not dealing with title companies, you’re not dealing with inspections and appraisals – none of that stuff that can hold up a deal.

All of this happens at the DMV. It’s very similar to buying and selling a car. And so, all of our transactions usually happen in under 30 days. Which is awesome, awesome, awesome! That’s the purchase, the rehab, the resale. All of that under 30 days.

Last week we actually purchased a home on a Saturday. We purchased it for right around $2,000 and we waited. Then we sent it out to our Buyers List on Monday, and we sold it for $12,250 in two hours. It was so fast! The check that we purchased the home with didn’t even clear and we got paid for it already by Monday.

And no repairs were needed on this house whatsoever. It was awesome. So, we love the speed and love how quickly you can get cash in hand. That is why we love mobile home investing.

Pro #3: You have low competition right now

The great thing about mobile home investing is that it’s real estate’s best-kept secret. The majority of the time when you go into real estate investment meetings or conferences no one’s talking about mobile home investing. They’re all talking about wholesaling or fixing and flipping property.

So, there’s no one else around when you’re competing for these mobile homes. What we like to say is where everybody’s running away from you should run to it, because you want to be an expert.

You want to find a niche that nobody else is or there’s not a ton of people in there. There’s not a ton of competition, so you can easily stand out as the local expert. And not a lot of people know what to do with mobile homes. But you will. And that’s pretty awesome.

Con #1: There’s a lot of driving involved

Depending on the area you’re investing in, when you’re going to see the property for the first time, meet buyers, or possibly meet with a handyman, there might be a lot of driving involved from your home to the property and back. So, get comfortable.

Make sure you have a good audiobook in your car or something to listen to you because depending on how big your area is you could be in the car quite a bit. And big up to Jay he’s our in-the-field guy so he knows a lot about that. If you have any questions about making the drive comfortable, definitely hit up Jay. Haha!

Con #2: Some Park Managers can be difficult

All the people out there that have dealt with mobile home park managers before, you know what I’m talking about. Some can be super sweet and very helpful, and others can be like Satan pretty much. But you have to deal with them if you’re going to work in mobile home communities.

So, the best thing is to try to make a good relationship with them. Try to make it easy for both of you. We’ve dealt with park managers that have been very nice and very kind and they know the value that you’re bringing – they really just want to decrease their vacancy rate.

But I’ve seen others that absolutely hate investors and any mobile home that comes up for sale in their community. They want them all to themselves.

So go in there, be professional and try to build a relationship. A lot of park managers will help you but be prepared because there are some out there that might just hate your guts.

Con #3: Finding spare parts for fix-and-flips can be difficult somtimes

Considering that a lot of these mobile homes were built in the 80s, or even in the 70s, they just don’t make those mobile homes parts anymore. Whether it’s finding a door, a ceiling panel, or even a window, trying to find an exact match can be kind of hard with mobile homes.

What’s been the hardest part to find in our career is the ceiling panels. The 1970s and 80s homes have this paneling on top of the roof. And they don’t make them anymore anywhere. They’re so hard to find, so you have to get super creative.

You have to find a handyman that’s good with piecing things together to make it look okay. But it doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be safe, and it has to not look like a disaster. Some of these handymen are able to go in and do ultra-deep research and find these parts. You’ll be surprised.

So, find a handyman that’s able to customize some parts, especially door panels and even windows. It’s going to cost you a little bit more, but it’ll save you a lot of time if the handyman is able to do it and you’re not trying to do it yourself.

Want To Become a Successful Mobile Home Investor?

If this video and post have you interested in becoming a successful mobile home investor, you might want to check out our free case study.

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