Looking to build a MHP from scratch

[John Carpo]

So a little background on me I have about 20 SFR's that I rent out now. Looking to possibly start a Mobile Home Park. Wanting to buy some used trailers and put them in, start renting them to a new influx of migrant workers coming to the area. The local rental market is very tight and I think this would be a great opportunity to build it up and get it rolling, then possibly sell it off in 5 years time..

Thoughts and advice please!!   Would like to buy 20 acres and just start the process. Would rather be out of town aways but also like the idea of city sewer and water hookups.

[George N.]

20 acres probably means +/- 125-150 spaces. Have you looked into what a sewer system costs for something like that? Quite expensive. Then there's land, roads, water lines, gas/electric, permits, testing. Zoning is an issue, most localities don't want a park and ordinances are pretty restrictive as a result. The further out of town you go likely the better but at the same time your location gets worse as a result.

Then there's the holding costs while you fill the park. And filling a park that large is  expensive/time consuming. There are a lot park owners trying to find decent priced good quality used homes. Filling 125 plus lots will take long time even in a tight market and at the end of the day you'll own all of the homes until they're paid out which means you will be a landlord to mobile home residents which is always an iffy position to be in. So this project is pretty risky and extremely capital intensive. I'm sure smarter people than me can make it work but there's also probably a decent reason so few new parks come on line.