Curious about Mobile Home & RV Park Development

[Evan Markley]

I've been a BP fan for years but I've never leveraged the resources of this great community.  So here goes...  (Point me in the right direction if I've posted in the wrong section or if there's existing threads on this.)

Can someone with experience with mobile home or RV park development process elaborate and add to my beginners assumptions below?

Find land - does the land need to be zoned for RV/Multi family dwellings?  If it isn't already, is that a straightforward process?

Secure Lending - I assume there's numerous types of loans, but is there anything unique to RV parks or mobile homes?

Permits/Licenses - Guessing this can vary drastically by state, but what's common? 

Develop - Utilities, roads, Lots, Mobile Homes... this is an area I'm completely uneducated on, are there major construction considerations?

Market - Getting tenants

Manage - Who's responsible for upkeep? Do tenants typically own their homes, does the park owner own them?  

I have a feeling it may be more feasible to buy an existing property vs developing, but I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Many thanks in advance!

[Rachel H.]

@Evan Markley Most who branch out into this niche to mobile homes with land tend to start out with a small piece of land already set up with the infrastructure in place. Many times, these are small pieces of land with a mobile home or two already on top of it (usually vacated and inhabitable). 

Either the investor fixes up the home(s) already on the land or bring in their own homes on the land, depending on how much room is available and the deed restrictions of the land including zoning requirements.

Usually, those who pursue this strategy already have experience in mobile home investing (starting off by investing in parks). So they already have the experience, network and resources to pursue these types of opportunities. 

Regarding upkeep, it really depends on your exit strategy. If you intend to rent, then usually you're responsible for the overall upkeep of the home as a landlord unless you state in your lease what the tenant(s) is responsible for or not. On the other hand, if you sell using owner financing then you're considered a lender and the buyer is responsible for the overall upkeep for the home.

Hope that helps!