Mobile Homes- Young and looking to get my feet wet.

Mobile Homes- Young and looking to get my feet wet.

Real Estate Agent · Portland, OR · Member since 2015 · 70 posts · 24 votes

Hi everyone! 

I have some questions regarding mobile homes. I'm currently 21 years old, and "living" in the Portland, OR area. I currently travel for work 8 weeks on 1 week off as an engineer. I've been reading articles a lot the past year on flipping houses, especially here on biggerpockets, and i'm excited to get the opportunity to flip my first house down the road. But that is a huge step, and I could risk a lot of money, especially at a young age without much to fall back on. I currently have a small savings and I was thinking about getting my toes wet by maybe flipping a mobile home and seeing where it takes me. I know everyone immediately thinks of the stereotypical mobile home they see in their head, but i've seen a lot of good come out of them. I come from a family of construction, builders, and art and faux and i've watched them do some pretty amazing things. My aunt is very "conservative" with her money lol, and bought a mobile home for her first home, she does art and faux for a living doing acid stain concrete, cabinets, concrete counter tops, etc. and she made her mobile home look INCREDIBLE. I wish i had pictures, when you were inside you wouldn't have a clue it was a mobile home... I think over all she bought it for 12k and invested about 15k into renovations and sold it for close to 60, these numbers could be way off, this is just what i remember. Then there is my mobile home experience.. I was 18 at the time, picked up a 1960s mobile home that sat for 25 years in a field in Montana, mostly gutted, bad plumbing, etc. for about 550 dollars. I ripped out the skirt, took out the "belly" of the MH and re did all of the plumbing with PEX tubing instead of the old galvanized crap that is notorious for cracking, installed new toilets, and finished gutting the interior and sold it as a "fixer" to an old work partner for 2700. Overall made about 1700 for a miserable learning lesson, and pretty horrible plumbing experience in the -15 Montana Winter weather... I've learned a lot since then, and would never make the mistake of buying something that old, and worn down again. Aside from that he actually made it look amazing when he was done with it. But that is a different story.

So, now i'm back, a little older, a lot of lessons learned, and looking to invest. I'm tired of having one source of income, I've always had 2 or 3 sources through rentals, office cleaning business, my HVAC business, etc. And I was wondering if the more experienced members here think this is an ok idea to get into? And if so, should I go into flipping them, or renting them? Right now the housing market in Portland is BOOMING. The cheapest rent you can find right now anywhere near Portland is 850-900 a month for a semi decent 1 bedroom apartment. I have the renovations experience, though i'd probably have contractors do most of it since i travel (i.e. drywall or the counterpart for mobile homes, electrical, etc.) I have family I can pay to do the art and faux, for the cabinets, concrete counter tops, backsplashes, trim, carpeting, windows, etc. 
And I could do the HVAC, plumbing, appliances, trim, painting, siding, skirts, insulation, drywall or counterpart if needed, laminate/ vinyl floors, etc. I also have my aunt as a real estate agent. 

Also on another side note, I was curious about getting my real estate license? I have no idea how hard it is. My aunt just recently got hers so she could clip along with art and faux, and she said it was pretty easy overall to get. Obviously selling real estate would require A LOT of legality you have to learn, paperwork, shortcuts, etc. but do you guys think it would be a good idea for me to look into this? I have plenty of time on my days off and evenings to take classes, and learn, read, educate myself, etc. I wouldn't want to do real estate full time, but just to save on costs when flipping houses in the future.

As far as having someone in Portland to manage things while i'm gone, I have one very very close friend that is extremely responsible and willing to help out whenever needed. And I also have my fiancee that travels with me part time and would love to get into flipping houses also, and can manage things while i'm gone. 

Best Regards

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Flipper/Rehabber · Vancouver, WA · Member since 2013 · 328 posts · 252 votes
9y

@Shane Short  Craigslist and Zillow are fine. You can definitely start with 4-5k cash. You'd need more money to work with mobiles with land. Rentals are tough in the Portland area. Most parks require residents to be purchasing or have purchased the home. Flips are best in my experience.

Depends on what your goals are. Bigger paydays or cash flow?

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  • Investor · Portland, OR · Member since 2016 · 213 posts · 60 votes
    9y

    @Shane Short that was a brutal ramble to read... and after it all, i have no idea what you are ask for advice.... good luck.. I am sure you will figure it out 

  • Flipper/Rehabber · Vancouver, WA · Member since 2013 · 328 posts · 252 votes
    9y

    @Shane Short

    Welcome to the club. I'm across the river in Vancouver, WA.

    There are lots of us who like (to love) the mobile home business. I wholeheartedly agree with your estimate of the potential business.

    Portland area housing is booming. Inventory is still low till construction catches up. In our area - Lots of folks are paying up to half their take home pay for rent. Partial solution is buying a mobile home. If they buy on land similar problem to buying a stick built house. They can buy in a park to have affordable housing that doesn't break the bank. They still have rent in a park but once the home is paid off, they pay around half of what apartment rent is going for. And they have more privacy, a yard, their own 4 walls, roof, private parking, etc.

    Stick built investing is very lucrative but takes much bigger dollars. To make $25k-$30k you would need to turn $100k or more. Sometimes a lot more. You can make the same net with mobiles with very little invested most of the time.

    I've done investing since 1999 and usually a real estate license is unnecessary to a hindrance.

    Good luck in the biz and yell if you have questions.

  • Real Estate Agent · Portland, OR · Member since 2015 · 70 posts · 24 votes
    9y

    @Bill Neves Awesome, I appreciate it! What is the best way to search for mobile homes? Craigslist? Zillow? And with 4-5k of cash to play with, do you think that would be enough to get started with one small flip or rental? And which do you prefer? Rental or Flip.

  • Flipper/Rehabber · Vancouver, WA · Member since 2013 · 328 posts · 252 votes
    9y

    @Shane Short  Craigslist and Zillow are fine. You can definitely start with 4-5k cash. You'd need more money to work with mobiles with land. Rentals are tough in the Portland area. Most parks require residents to be purchasing or have purchased the home. Flips are best in my experience.

    Depends on what your goals are. Bigger paydays or cash flow?

  • Real Estate Agent · Portland, OR · Member since 2015 · 70 posts · 24 votes
    9y

    @Bill Neves Sweet, I really appreciate it. I'll definitely keep doing my research. I'm about to go to Taiwan for work, but hopefully when I get back I can get in touch and get some advice. I'd like to do a flip over the summer and see how it goes. 

  • Flipper/Rehabber · Vancouver, WA · Member since 2013 · 328 posts · 252 votes
    9y

    Overseas travel is great. Have fun and yell when you get back.

  • San Antonio, TX · Member since 2009 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    9y

    It really depends on your goals and how much time you have to devote to the business. Mobile home investing definitely takes up a lot of time. It's more of a people business than anything else. Unlike other areas of real estate investing that have branched out online, the best deals and finds as a mobile home investor come when you can get in front of others face-to-face and build relationships in person. Good luck! 

  • Investor · Ormond Beach, FL · Member since 2016 · 37 posts · 17 votes
    9y

    Regarding Mobile Homes in Communities, best deals are usually doing drive-bys FSBO, and calling the community office to find out if they have any homes that they had to "foreclose" on because of non-payment of lot-rent. There is also MHVillage.com, where you will find listings w/sales agents & communities. Many times they will have one that needs fixing. But beware...the lot rent is killer if you don't fix it up quickly & getter sold. In my experience, floors, roofs, plumbing & electric are more important than new kitchen/bath...and every community has it's own personality. Some are all-age communities, that tend to buy & sell higher (although they don't look as nice) & others are senior communities (usually must be 55+ to buy/sell and do so lower than the all-age communities). As far as the senior communities go, Lot Rent (& what is included with the lot rent) is more important to a buyer than a brand new kitchen.

    Best of Luck!

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