All Forum Posts by: John Fedro

Hi J. Martin and Lynn,

Thank you so much for the invite. I would absolutely love to come and join the both of you for drinks if I was in the area. I will be returning back home to Austin mid July. Until then I am looking at a handful of parks and managing my own in Kansas. With that said, thank you again sincerely for the invite to meet up when you're in town. Keep up the great work. 

Talk soon,
John Fedro

Hi all,

Haha. :) Thank you, Bryan.

Matthew, if/when you make signs I would only mention that "we buy mobile homes" or "we buy homes". If you hang these signs in mobile home dense areas you will likely receive calls from mobile home sellers, as well as other motivated sellers and buyers too. I would keep away from a sign that mentions you both buy and resell homes, nothing specific just a personal decision. Let one set of signs be looking for seller and one set looking for buyers. When you go to sell a home you can then create a separate set of signs for each home. Does this make sense?

Talk soon,
John 

Hi Matthew,

That article and video is the last one (furtherest down) currently on the first page of my blog. Feel free to private message me as well. Happy to help.

Talk soon,
John

Hi Matthew,

Glad to help. Please see my thoughts below in bold.

What do you do about titles? Do you go go after MH with titles? What happens if it doesn't have one? I m ow you can apply to get a new title. Just curious as what you do if the MH you are looking to buy doesn't have one. Great questions. I've recently created a video and blog post on my website talking about this very issue. I would talk about it a bit here however there is a good bid to discuss and a lot of different scenarios that might take place. Check it out and let me know if it helps.

I've seen videos and listen to your podcasts that when the buyer buys from you, you give them the title but you put a lean on the title. The answer is, "it depends." Sometimes we do and sometimes we don't depending on the situation. If you have any specific questions pertaining to this let us know or reach out to me personally. Just curious as where to go to put a lean on a title? In Louisiana you want to go to the Department of Motor Vehicles to do this.

Sorry for all the questions just trying to put all my ducks in a row before I hit this thing running. No worries. Questions are a normal part of learning anything. However you will likely have a great-great-great deal more questions when you are looking at homes and considering making offers, negotiating, repairs, paperwork, closing, etc. Keep up the effort. 

Talk soon,
John Fedro

Hi Matthew,

Happy to help. I'm not sure I understand the question about advertising in your business name. This is not something I typically do however I am not particularly looking at branding my business, I simply want to get the message across that, "We purchase mobile homes". With that said if you are a Realtor or need to advertise your business for legal purposes that is of course advised.

I personally use LLCs however I am certainly not a tax professional or legal professional of any kind. I would advise you to speak with a financial planner that can perhaps give you an outline of what corporate entities to create and use for your specific end goals and investing strategies moving forward. I hope this does not sound like me brushing you off, I simply do not want to give you any bad information.

Hope this helps some.

Talk soon,
John Fedro

Hi all,

I'm still always a bit surprised when I see my name come up in the alerts for the bigger pockets forum. First, please allow me to take some of the mystery out from around my strategy. If there is any "strategy" that we have it is simply to take a mass approach when beginning investing to start closing deals sooner rather than later and taking massive action to help sellers in a relatively short period of time VS. dipping-your-toe in the business slowly and rarely doing deals and making no name for yourself. I hope this make sense.

Happy to help answer your questions. Please see my thoughts below in bold.

Does he move mobile homes to other lots? Yes, we do move them from one location to another if it makes financial sense and helps close the deal.
I've been doing research on moving MH and it's not cheap. Anywhere from 2-5k. It is interesting that around the country the cost to move a single wide mobile home 50 miles or less will vary wildly between $500-$9000. $2k-$5k is a decent price assuming it includes breakdown and setup. I've seen many on Craigslist for good prices but have to be moved. That just seems like those a the best deals in my opinion. Because they are motivated to sell. Agreed. Additionally, many end-user buyers do not want to go through the headache of moving a home somewhere they like, even though the process is relatively simple and straightforward. This means fewer buyers as competition for you... this of course leading to the motivate status you mentioned earlier I just don't think it's worth it if it has to be moved. The moving numbers/prices have to be factored into the deal for sure. If you do not think a particular mobile home is a deal it may not be, or perhaps there are other ways to add value or sell for a higher price. Keep in mind that some parks have move-in incentives that can help pay for part or all of the move and setup. Additionally, That just eats away the profit. Or is craigslist not that great of a place to find sellers? It is a decent way to find sellers for sure. Keep up to date with these listings and calling them. However anyone with the internet can access the home listed for sale and call to find out more.

Is advertising a better option to find sellers? The answer is, "Both reactive and proactive advertising is best". Or just doing most deals on MH inside parks? I don't understand this last question. However make sure to keep your marketing up and active. I hope this was helpful and made sense. If you have any follow up questions I am sure myself and others will be happy to help.

Lastly, in regards to the comment above this one from the original poster. Matthew, there will always be buyers that want to pay you monthly payments to own your mobile homes. It is not necessary to drive that far just yet to close deals or find buyers. Plus, aim for a buyer that wants to purchase more than a $1k priced home... this is not your ideal tenant-buyer. I hope this makes sense too. Keep us posted. 

Great deal Bill, and very good PM video. :)

Talk soon,
John Fedro

Hi all,

What a great site to have a handful of excellent, well-thought out responses in just a short period of time. I too am in agreement that this seller is asking too high of a price, based on the description you gave and the limited info we have. Perhaps if there are some mineral reserves on this land that is another story, however assuming not then I would only like to add a few things.

1. "Price cures most worries." This was something taught to me by a mentor years ago. In short, if you are having doubts then by all means do not simply pass, make sure to offer a price or terms that does make sense to you based on your financial means, time, exit strategy, etc. Perhaps $135k makes sense if you can pay the $10k down and $50 per month until paid in full. Or perhaps you can partner with the owner in some way moving forward. Again, I know so little about the property I am not saying this is a good offer, just something to consider.

2. In my opinion this is a semi-long play type of park. Just know that you will fix, add, resell maybe 4-8 homes a year, it will not happen overnight. This will cost time and money for sure, this is time and money you won't be using in other deals you find along the way. Again, with the right terms the deal may be solid if there are no surprises, aka perform due diligence on infrastructure, area, etc.

3. Depending on the area, is it possible to turn this park around? If you have good homes in the park, will Buyers come? You sound a bit emotional about this property. It is very good you want to fix and turn this park around however if the seller is not realistic then by all means there are other deals out there for sure. Make sure the seller knows how interested you are but that you have real reservations about the price, terms and cash layout this project is going to take moving forward. Express that you don't mind taking-over a headache however you will not overpay for it.

I hope this helps and makes sense. If anyone does not agree please comment and lets all help each other.

Talk soon,
John Fedro

Hi all,

Great advice from everyone. Good points about local info, Anthony. Keep the questions coming if you have them, Lily.

For fun, sometimes I like to think of all the ways to possibly profit and create value with mobile homes, as this one did kind of fall into your lap. A serious concern is if your family member is joking about titling the home to you only if you move there, or is this serious. I assume it is serious which pretty much voids it being an investment property if you are going to live there.

If you can get around this objection then it sounds as if it may be a desirable home in a desirable area. You may not have the funds or experience to proceed safely however others do. This home can possibly be partnered with or quickly fast turned to a local investor in your area. These are of course very general "what ifs" that require a good deal of questions to consider prior to seriously consider this. Questions such as local demand, resale potential, park rules, local investors, comparable sales, family issues, etc. I hope this helps some and makes sense. 

Talk soon,
John Fedro

Hi Wes and all,

In your area I could certainly go off on a few different tangents with regards to California mobile home investing in general, however I will keep my response and answer directly related to your primary question about investing in your local area.

In the hotspot areas and coastal areas of California you will find many mobile home communities asking lot rents over $800+ per month with many sellers asking over $50,000 for their use mobile homes located inside pre-existing mobile home communities. While there may be profit to be realized working with these sellers in these types of communities, they are a bit risky for me and I am certainly not the expert in fast turning or profiting with these types of pricey properties.

With that said, If you are willing to travel in and around your county, and the surrounding counties you will absolutely find motivated sellers that need your help. I am working with a husband and wife couple not too far from you that have been very active for the past two years. I have done a video testimonial with Dave and Cindy that can be found somewhere on my website. I did some quick research and found over 490 mobile home parks within a 50 mile radius of Sacramento. Many of these parks will absolutely be out of our price range, concerning mobile lot rent and homes for sale, however there will be parks that do need your help and have an inventory of mobile homes for sale at reasonable prices. You will usually find these reasonably priced communities and homes in more rural areas away from popular cities and coastal areas.

In short, in your area I suggest you begin investing inside mobile home communities with lot rents below $700 per month where you are able to find properties regularly for sale for $30,000 and below. Please keep in mind that many of the properties we close are not found on Craigslist and take some time to negotiate and develop. I hope this all helps and makes sense. I do not want to paint a rosy picture of your area however it is certainly not doom and gloom. There are sellers in and around your area that are confused and thought their homes would sell quicker and for more money than they are currently being offered.

Either way, I hope this helps and at least point you in the right direction. If you ever have any follow-up questions or concerns we are all happy and here to help give you guidance.

Talk soon,
John Fedro

Hi all,

Thanks for the invite! That means more than you know. Great work putting this together again. If I am able to make the dates I will absolutely aim to be there. Please keep us posted.

Congratulations on your last day at your JOB, Elizabeth! At least that's how I assumed you meant it. Great work and well done.

Talk soon,
John Fedro