STR Investing: Renting Land, Mobile Homes, & Campers

Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions
3yFollow

STR Investing: Renting Land, Mobile Homes, & Campers

Shaniqua Dupree
Real Estate Consultant · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2015 · 173 posts · 46 votes

Hello All,

The other day I went to look at some property owned by family. It's located between 2 Cities. 15 to 20 minutes each way. It's in a more rural area but close to the highway. It's the perfect "getaway but not too far" location.

I want to rent the land and use it to for STRs. There are two mobile homes on the property. They most likely need to be trashed but it may be possible to rehab them. The land is also over grown and needs some tlc.

I know that if they had the "right" offer, they would sell. But I think they should keep it. There is new development happening that is going to raise the nearby property value and it'd be terrible to miss out in the opportunity. Plus, we need to STOP SELLIMG THE LAND...Especially to large corporations.

So my question is, what would you do? What would you be willing to pay to rent the land? Any tax strategies to consider? Would you even use mobile homes? Would a glampsite work?

See photos attached

. They are screenshots from videos I took.

0Reply
32 views

Most Popular Reply

Michael BaumPro Member
Olympia, WA · Member since 2016 · 8k+ posts · 7k+ votes
3y

Hey @Shaniqua Dupree, interesting question. First, trash the trailers. Not worth rehabbing IMHO.

Make sure you can do STRs on it but if it is pretty rural, there is usually less of a problem.

Now, is there water, electricity and sewer at the site? Septic? Is it close or even available? That will help dictate where you go with this idea. How big is the land? 

Would your family let you just use it for your project for free? If you are making improvements at your expense, maybe that would be a fair trade.

There isn't much in the way of tax strategies as far as I know, but consult a CPA before you move forward so you know.

I am not into the glamping stuff. It doesn't really appeal to me. Maybe a few tiny homes? Fully functional of course. Hard to say as we don't know where it is at. What 2 big cities?

1Reply
See this reply in the discussion

5 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Suresh Jayakar
    Member since 2022 · 1 post · 0 votes
    3y

    I would definitely start with finding out the STR rules of the city. Some cities are banning glamping/tiny homes unless its permitted by the city. After you find out the rules and what the city will allow, you can figure out the reno budget and the rest of the calculations. There are examples of cities where they initially allowed campervans/trailers/tiny homes for STR but banned them later on.

    0Reply
  • Michael BaumPro Member
    Olympia, WA · Member since 2016 · 8k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    3y

    Hey @Shaniqua Dupree, interesting question. First, trash the trailers. Not worth rehabbing IMHO.

    Make sure you can do STRs on it but if it is pretty rural, there is usually less of a problem.

    Now, is there water, electricity and sewer at the site? Septic? Is it close or even available? That will help dictate where you go with this idea. How big is the land? 

    Would your family let you just use it for your project for free? If you are making improvements at your expense, maybe that would be a fair trade.

    There isn't much in the way of tax strategies as far as I know, but consult a CPA before you move forward so you know.

    I am not into the glamping stuff. It doesn't really appeal to me. Maybe a few tiny homes? Fully functional of course. Hard to say as we don't know where it is at. What 2 big cities?

    1Reply
  • John UnderwoodPro Member
    Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
    3y

    Room for a Mobile Home park?

    0Reply
  • Shaniqua Dupree
    OP
    Real Estate Consultant · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2015 · 173 posts · 46 votes
    3y
    Quote from @John Underwood:

    Room for a Mobile Home park?


     No, only enough for maybe 3.

    0Reply
  • Rachel H.
    San Antonio, TX · Member since 2009 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    3y

    @Shaniqua Dupree For starters, you may want to see what your family's plans are for the piece of land. What they do will depend on their situation and their feelings towards the piece of land. If they just don't want to deal with it and want to keep it in the family, they may be willing to sell it to you if you can negotiate a win/win situation. 

    Other than that, it's best to check with your local zoning department regarding what you can and can't do with that piece of land. There may be some changes regarding that land should you want to put newer structures on them such as mobile homes. Get the exact legal description and parcel number of the property as they'll need that information to look it up. Also, if you're planning to rent out the land to campers you may want to ask them if that's allowed as well for that piece of land. 

    Hope that helps! 

    1Reply
Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.
Log InJoin for Free