All Forum Posts by: Roger D Jones

I bought an empty mobile home park and converted it to a long term RV park.  Water, sewer and power were already in place.  We converted the electrical for RVs.  We kept the spaces at mobile home size dimensions and added storage sheds.  Very successful as residents appreciate the larger spaces for multiple cars and yards (front and back).  Able to charge more with a waiting list.  Snowbirds pay year round to keep space on upon their return.  Small laundry facility brings in a couple hundred dollars per month.  PM me if you want the address so you can google and get a look.

Currently adding two long term RV spaces to another one of my parks.  Running both of one septic tank with single drain field.  Duel post electric which is running me about $3500 having to upgrade one of our park transformers.  All told with groundwork, septic and water should be in to this about 20k for both spots.

 Awesome advice... thank you so much.

Hi all,

Just a newbie question seeking some quick insights on land development.  My brother and I own a simply spectacular piece of property overlooking the Columbia River in Washington State.  Right in town... breathtaking views.  Lot would need to be subdivided for two very large homes or two duplexes.  Obviously we need to do some groundwork with the City planning department and potentially zoning.

We are approached constantly by developers seeking to purchase the property for them to develop (everything from we want to build homes to help the environment to building condos for our 98 year old grandmother to live in).  We are wondering how we could best maximize our return on the property- either by partnering with a developer to eventually share returns or hiring a developer/general contractor/house builder ourselves and managing the project ourselves.  My brother and I are pretty smart guys but this is a venture we would be new to.  

What would you do?

Thanks in advance for the advice.

@Jordan Moorhead what bank loan are you thinking of?  Do you think they would do a traditional mortgage or do are you thinking as I am of a personal loan?  Just curious if I am wrong on this?

So I understand correctly you want to take a piece of land and develop it with mhp infrastructure (water, power, sewer and roads) then build tiny homes to sell to tenants who will then pay you lot space rent for the home.  I suppose there are counties out there that would allow it but it would depend on how they define the structures you are building.  But you would need to go to the planning department and ask.  

As for financing tiny homes as defined are under 400 sq. feet in size.  Going to be hard to get a traditional 15/30 year mortgage on something like that just based on total value.  That leaves you with personal loans and builder financing.  Pick your poison.   

Wesley,

Building parks from scratch is a risky and expensive venture which is why you don't see many new parks being built. For every singular item you need to go right there are 10 things that can go wrong. Beyond the fact you are new to the industry will be tying up your investment dollars for multiple years before you start to see any measurable ROI. Not trying to be Kill Joy but maybe find a good MHP realtor in the area and see if they can find you a nice starter park with owner financing. This is an interesting podcast on the subject.
https://www.mobilehomeuniversity.com/mhp-mastery/the-new-par...

MHU Forum with the search engine.   Just start digging into topics.  They have dozens of podcasts and newsletters.  Info is short and to the point.  Also everyone on the forum is great at helping for any question asked.  

Levy,
Robert is correct.  First stop would be to your local County building permit office and see if it can even be moved.  Pre Hud makes it problematic.  Having it demo'd to make room for another trailer will be expensive (particularly depending on it's level of asbestos).

Bringing in another used mobile home can also be expensive.  Not just on the setup as Robert mentioned but you have skirting and decking to consider.  Also older mobile homes do not travel well.  Electrical connections get loose and wonky, roofing material flies off, gutters get tore up, hvac and water lines get messed up.  Don't let a fresh coat of paint and new carpet fool you.  

Maybe pencil it out with demo on the trailer and putting in a new mobile.  I made (or should I say my ex wife) made a nice profit on our first land/new mobile deal that we did when I was younger.  Depends on your local real estate market conditions. 

 Wow... I stand corrected.  I guess you are never too old to learn something new.  Thank you for the insight.  I will though defer back to my original comments and those by @Rachel H. and advocate for caution. MHPs are income stream investments and valued as such. When you start including the rental side of a POH home in your income stream you seriously risk overpaying for a home particularly if it is pre HUD, worn out and neglected. @Joe Mills original question was about exploring a retail value of a mobile home that was to be removed from his property.  Certainly you can get resale and assessed values of homes sitting static on a lot based on comps and market conditions.  If you start trying to sell a home that has to be removed- you are now in a very different situation that very few guides, tax assessments or insurers will be able to provide insight.  I believe the guide of good common sense should prevail.  

The only CAP rates I trust are my own. Everything else should be considered snake oil.