$5,000 TO INVEST. MOBILE HOME FLIP?

[Ben Naught]

Hello, I live in the Portland Oregon area and would like to purchase a mobile home to flip for cash. I have cash to invest at this time for a flip project. Any input on the best way to do this would be greatly appreciated. 

[Gordon Forbes]

Hey Ben, here is what I would do. Call all the mobile parks around and see if they know of any of their tenants who are trying to sell, or if they have any park owned homes they are trying to sell. Sometimes people who get way behind on space rent will just abandon their old grungy mobile and then the park owners have to either fix it or dismantle it. You may find a park owner who would let you fix n flip a mobile they ended up with. Considering it is expensive to dismantle an old trailer (if pre HUD there is nowhere to move it to and mobile home moving companies often won't move a pre HUD trailer anyway), the park owner that is facing the expense of dismantling an old mobile might "equity share" with you; you fix it up and they/you sell it and you split the profits. With only $5k you are going to be looking at the lowest of the low old grungy trailers so if $5k is all you have to purchase plus renovate that is a pretty tight budget. That is why I suggest you convince a park owner to partner with you so the entire $5k can go towards materials. I assume you will do all the work yourself. Old mobile homes are notorious for leaking roofs at the wall seam and then the water rots the rafters, the wall studs, and then the floor. Sometimes even a "free" mobile home isn't a good deal.

If you find a park tenant who is selling their mobile be sure to talk with the park owners and make sure they are ok with your fix n flip plan. Don't try to "sneak" this by the park owners. (If you want to know why I can explain...)

Good luck