Mobile home park - 7 lots

[Dave Kent]

I am evaluating a 7 lot mobile home park and am interested in everyones thoughts. I am concerned that the location of the mobile home park is declining making long term tenets challenging. I live about an hour and a half from the MHB so am not 100% familiar with the area. In my research phase I have found that the overall population has declined by 11% since 2010. What would your next thoughts or questions be?

Facts about the property: 

-Asking price is $140,000

-Recently had all mobile homes removed. So the site currently consist of 7 lots that all have separate water and electric. Cable is also ran to each property as it was an existing MHB up until about 2 years ago. It has sat empty for approximately 2 years and has been on the market since Feb of this year. They have reduced the price by $40,000 over the last few months from $180,000 to the current listing of $140,000

-It is on city water and sewer

-located one road over from the Potomac river

-all lots are approved by the county to continue to be used for mobile homes and the seller informed me they have documentation stating this. I will verify if I decide to purchase. I have spoken to a few mobile home sellers in the area and can secure the mobile homes to place on the property and sell back to the new mobile home park residents. 

I have thought about making some mock post to put on social media and other housing platforms to better gauge the demand. Does anybody have any other thoughts on how to determine if the market will justify these 7 new lots in a very small community? Any other thoughts people feel are crucial to not overlook. 

Thank you in advance.

[Matt McCurdy]

1) I would inspect all utilities.  Ensure all are in good condition and up to code to hook up new MH's if you find some to move in.

2) I did that very thing by using some pictures of a mobile home and listed it to create a "buyer's list" and gave them some timeframes of when they could look and expect to move in by.  This is definitely a good way to gauge interest and pricing structures.

3) Reach out to the city and become engaged with them to see if there's any plans to turn the -10% population growth around with new jobs, etc?  

Remember:  cities around the country are scrambling for affordable housing options.  A MHP is that answer, so as long as it's still zoned a MHP, they should be receptive to your questions and due diligence.