Rough Single Wide Turned VRBO

[Collin Maher]

Howdy All! Im looking at a rough (1983) little (670sf) single wide mobile home on a city lot in a busy little town here in Texas. There isn't much of a VRBO presence here but theres a few chain hotels and many new apartments going in. Since this would be my first investment purchase I have some concerns about a single wides value retention. I would be paying for it in cash, and my rough but conservative calculations of renting out just 10 days a month net me a positive cash flow of between $475-$531. If I were to completely remodel the home with an extra 20K in renovations. CoC return being between %8-%10. My biggest question is this. Would or should anyone invest in a 1980's small single wide as a short term rental opportunity? What are the potential pitfalls? This seems like a good opportunity, but I know that due to the fact that it's a single wide, refinancing and pulling money out of it wont really be an option. So once I spend the money, its going to be tied up and unavailable for the 12 years it takes to pay off the expense (assuming my 10 days a month rent stays the same and doesn't increase or decrease).

Thanks in advance!