All Forum Posts by: Darrell Overly

Thank you everyone for your insight and advice. Jeremy, you were right. All the lowest cost MHs were 1BR. It doesn't make financial sense to try to rent out a 1BR MH, especially when they have to pay lot rent on top of that. The 2BR started about 15k. Another thing is, the sites that list the manufacture year showed that all the ones I was looking at were built in the 70s. That's a pretty old unit. I still think this might work, but I will need to look at it from a few different angles.
I like the idea of mobile homes because it's a lower cost way to get started. I also feel it hedges against a falling market. If I buy a house for $400k, and the market drops and the house is now worth $300k, I am under water. If I am buying an investment vehicle that I know is going to depreciate, then it doesn't matter what the market does. The depreciating asset is already factored into my investment strategy.
It will take me a little while to save up enough money to get something, so I have some time to figure out what I want to do.

I don't know if this the right category or not to post this. Here is some background and my idea. I am 51 years old. I have no experience in real estate investing. I have spent the last year doing some reading and learning while I save money. Initially, I wanted to do house hacking. As I spoke to people around me about it. One of them mentioned mobile homes. So I looked up pricing on the internet. Saw one today for $2,000 (made in 1964!), but I have seen other for $8,000, $10,000, $15,000 and up from there. So, if I find one for say, $12,000, I would buy it with my own money, then I would own it outright. I don't have a great job, but its not bad. I have very low bills though, so I could save $12k in about a year.

All the MHs I looked at were in parks. My thought is: I find one worth the money in the $10-12k range, buy it outright, live in it (in the park) for about a year until I save enough to get another one, then rent out the first one. I would do this over and over. I may eventually just stay in one, and buy others just to rent out without me moving every year or so. The tenant would have to pay me to rent the MH and pay the lot rent for the park. If I charge him $1,000 a month for the MH, I would get my $12k back in a year. If I charged $500/month, I would get it back in 2 years. Everything is profit after that (sort of). If I continue to charge $500 month, that's $6,000/year, If half of that went for maintenance, it's still $3,000/year. That's 25%/year on my initial investment. I know MHs don't appreciate like a house does, but even as it loses value over the years, I am still making money. If it lasts for 10 years, even factoring in the first 2 years I got nothing, it seems like a reasonable plan.

I had a second thought that a few years down the road, I could look at purchasing a small mobile home park, maybe with an investing partner. I could buy MHs in the park, or even pay to move the ones I own to the park. Eventually, I would own the park and the MHs. Then I(we) control everything.

I know there are details to work out, and I am still in the thinking/planning phase, while I continue to save money, but is this a conceivable plan? If you guys have any advice or see anything I may be missing, I welcome any input. I would love to here from anyone who has done something similar to this, especially in the Phoenix Metro area, but even someone who has done this in another state, might be able to offer some insight. I like the idea of doing this with mobile homes, because I can buy them outright, so I would own it sooner than mortgaging a house.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to any replies.

Hey guys,
Thank you for all the replies. I don't know how long I am supposed to make this introduction, or how much of my story to tell, but I can give you all a quick idea of my situation and plans.
I moved back to the Valley about 9 months ago for a fresh start. I moved in with a good friend of mine and her adult daughter to their apt in Phoenix. The lease is up in July and we plan to move to East Valley because we both work in Tempe. I am hoping to find a house instead of an apt, but it depends on what is available in the area we are looking at. After the move I am going to save up money for the down payment on my first rental property. I am giving myself 2 years, but if I can do it sooner than that, I certainly will. During that time, the daughter "should" be getting her own place, so it would be just be me and my friend working towards our financial goals. I don't know 100%, how everything will play out, and in the end, it may just be me working towards my financial goals.
I am thinking my first rental property should be a duplex, so I can rent out one of the units, while I live in the other. I will then save up money for my next property, and so on. I don't know for sure, but I am thinking by my 3rd or 4th property, the rent coming in should pay for all the mortgages, including the place I will be living in. So I would essentially be living rent free.
Rental properties are just one of the income streams I have in mind. I need to earn and save enough money to stop working some day, so I am looking into a few other things also. I could mention some, but that would only make this longer and unnecessarily complicated.
Once I have enough properties to cover all my mortgage payments, I want to look at getting bigger plots of land. Maybe 1/4 acre to start. When I came back to the Valley, I was so disappointed in the grocery stores. The prices were outrageous, and the quality of things like produce had really gone downhill. I would like to obtain some land and start growing my own food. I can grow enough food to feed myself, and sell surplus to other people. After that, I would like to find maybe 2 or 3 acres, and turn that into a farm. Then maybe another and possibly another. I will also have chickens, ducks and other birds, plus sheep and goats. Eventually, milk cows and pigs. I have read dozens of books on gardening, farming, composting, soil science and plant chemistry. I plan to use the old school methods of growing...no pesticides, or chemical fertilizers. If I can grow 80% or more of what I eat, I can pay for the other 20% with profits from selling good food to folks in the Valley. You guys need some good food at a reasonable price.
So, at that point, my housing cost will be zero and my food cost will be zero. My passive incomes should also be working for me, so life will be good.
At this point, I am just starting out with nothing, but I am willing to put in the work to make that all happen. I know the future me will be happy that I did.
Thank you all for reading this. Sorry if it got long winded.

My name is Darrell Overly. I live in the Phoenix Metro area. At 51 years old, I am getting a late start in real estate, but I know I can make it work.

I am still in the learning phase as I save money for my first down payment. I am interested in house hacking, SFH, long term hold and possibly multi-family in the future. I have been reading books, watching a few videos (although most seem like they are selling something), and reading articles online. There are a few podcasts also that seem to have some good information.

I plan to save up money for 2 years while I put my team together. If I can it happen sooner than that, I will be happy to make that work.