Question for Mobile Home Investors!

[Ryan Sajdera]

Do you prefer to own the mobile homes and rent them out or do you prefer to just have the land underneath? Curious to hear your thoughts!

Ryan

[Jack Martin]

@Ryan Sajdera it depends on your overall strategy.  If you are seeking to build a portfolio that has the intrinsic ability to create cash flow capable of weathering a recession, you don't want to own the homes.  If you are seeking to potentially create more cash flow, you can own the homes and rent them out.  Personally, I much prefer the residents own the homes. 

The beauty of owning a park where all the the homes are owned by the residents is that they have a vested interest in the park.  

• They take better care of the home because they are the one maintaining it.  
• There is far less resident turnover because they are a homeowner, not just a renter. 
• They take pride in the community and if you care for them properly you will find them naturally policing the park like an owner. 

Having all resident owned homes creates a much more stable investment, residents stay WAAAAY longer, and it's a lot easier to manage.  You will find all the major players in the business prefer to do it this way. 

However, if you just want to rent out the homes you can operate that way.  Just beware that you will have much higher turnover, high maintenance costs, a lot more drama, and a tougher job managing the park.  As a comparison, a park with all park owned homes is essentially an apartment with mobile homes as the units.  

All the best,

Jack