All Forum Posts by: Paul Choate

Well water and my own lagoon on the land but it is separated by a county maintained road (the property is divided in half).

I had been powering through bp podcasts and feeling my oats, so yesterday I went to an auction of a small trailer park just to see what it would go for. (I had previously seen it with the broker but they were asking too much.) I ended up signing a contract on it. I am feeling a little nervous and so I wanted to see if I am missing some angles.

Quickly about me- primary occupation attorney, started investing in 2006 I have 13 units of my own (9 SFR, 2 duplexes) and manage/own 4 SFR with a partner, we have also done two flips this year.

The deal- The auction did not go high enough to meet the reserve but I was high bidder and worked out an owner financed deal- $70,000 purchase, 20% down, balance financed by owner at 6% over 15 years. The trailer park is located outside a small town in Central Oklahoma. 21 spaces, 9 park owned single wides, 1 park owned double wide, 1 2500 sq ft owner's home all on 11 acres which includes a lagoon. There are no other trailers in the park (i.e. space renters). Currently 7 of the single wides and the double wide are rented out. Everything is run down and in poor shape. The owner is 80+ years old and has not been able to keep up with the place. I have looked at the two trailers which are not rented and the main home and they are going to need about $5,000 total to get rental ready. I have not seen the occupied ones. The owner does not have good records so I am taking it based on what I see. This is purely a cash flow play, I don't expect much appreciation. 

The payment is less than $500 per month, taxes and insurance are about $150 (not insuring the single wide trailers- they are not worth it). Taxes are cheap because it is probably still zoned agricultural. Should not change too much with this purchase price. 

Current rents-

Double Wide - $450

7 single wides - $300 each

Total - $2550 gross

Additional income after repairs- Main house $500, 2 singles $600

I assume it is going to take a year or so to stabilize the park after it was so run down. I am also going to be a little tight on cash because of the down payment and fix up costs. This is going to almost double my management time/costs. I am trying to move into real estate investing full-time so that is o.k. for a time. Any advice on making the transition from two full time jobs would be great!

Anything I am missing?

Thanks!

Welcome!

Welcome!

I am interested in a meet up. I prefer the "bigger pockets" mindset. 

Welcome, this place will get you off on the right foot!

I have purchased a Fannie Mae home using cash and am now buying one with my own financing. I keep seeing on wwww.homepath.com the logo for homepath mortgage and homepath renovation mortgage.

Does anyone have any experience using these as an investor and is there any different treatment vs getting my own financing through my local bank?

I went once. Basically, the evening was very welcoming and informal. (My wife and I over dressed in business attire). The hotel room was packed. Nothing was expected of new attendees. They had a local investor speak for about 30 - 40 minutes about his deals. Then, the organizer spoke for 10 -15 minutes about their "programs" which are basically mentoring and classes. I thought it was well organized and I enjoyed the speaker. I was personally turned off by the "guru" sales pitch at the end. I would recommend it but go with your guard up. The rest of the evening was for networking but we had to leave because it is an hour away for us (Shawnee).

I have been investing for a while now so I may be a little jaded to the stories of the woman who gave them her cruise money for the class and was able to go on a cruise anyway because they made her so much money! It is a bit of a drive for me and there is probably a toilet somewhere with my name on it that needs fixing... Please understand, everyone was very nice and welcoming. I just do not like being pitched to at every turn. We are all trying to make a buck so I do not begrudge them their work. It just was not for me.

Welcome!

welcome from Seminole.