All Forum Posts by: John Arendsen

Investment Info:

Other buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $100,000
Cash invested: $100,000

This is our personal vacation home. When/if we rent it it's $300/nt

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I've been in the Manufactured Home industry as a contractor and dealer for 35 years and specialize in buying old MH's reconditiong them or removing them and installing a new manufactured homes and either flipping or renting them. This has always been an extremely lucrative business for me and I have never lost money on a manufactured home investment.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

It's my full-time profession.

How did you finance this deal?

We are and have always been strictly cash buyers.

How did you add value to the deal?

Rennovation, remodel, addition, 2nd story

What was the outcome?

Bought two old trailers to get the spaces, removed them and installed a single wide 1 bdrm 1 bth Silvercrest Manufactured Home and built a 2nd story 2 bdrm 1 bth attached cabana on top

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Always have a plan and always get along with the park owner, permit counter and inspectors.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

I am a real estate broker, developer, property manager and investor. We provide a turnkey solution from beginning. We find properties that already have ADU's on them or are viable for building a custom ground up design/build and/or installing a manufactured, modular or KIT (Panelized) ADU on.

Location, location, location

Stay away from rent/lease park communities unless they are in the path of progress. Be very wary and aware of any rent control parks. That can kill an investor. Best to stick with resident owned park communities or private lots/parcels.

Looks like the ADU solution is coming to a neighborhood near you in Boise. This cottage industry (pun intended) is fast becoming a major growth industry and is spreading like a wind fanned fire.

Hi Mindy,

Would this be permitted on my regular page or do you consider it advertising. 

https://www.sandiegouniontribu...

@Mitchlyn D. Florida MH condemnation and imminent domain issues often arise after major disasters i.e. hurricanes. I know this first had as I was commissioned by various developers to demolish MHC's destroyed by Hurricane Charley and his 3 buddies after they ravaged a good part of the State in'04. In one instance I cleared and cleaned a MHC on the Caloosahatchee River in Fort Meyers that was replaced by a hi rise condo hotel. 

Another major factor is whether the MHC is in the PATH of PROGRESS and not in a blighted or run down area that populations are avoiding and/or leaving. This is a phenomenon that seems to be happening throughout the Country in many areas. 

I call them dead zones. In some areas they have almost been reduced to ghost towns and what's more every so often an entire town pops up for sale jail, bank, post office et. al. Areas around old worn out industrial, agricultural and/or at one time popular tourist and vacation destination hubs and residential communities that have seen their day and are starting to turn to rubble are prime targets for abandonment.

I recall one area in particular where I used to spend many many vacations. It had a huge lake filled with Corvina, fishing boats, ski boats, shore lined marinas, restaurants, hotels, et. all. When the lake started to recede and the salt water level intensified until it killed off all the sea life and slowly ate away at paint, metal, wood or anything else in its way, the Great Salten Sea became an abandoned ghost town and refuge for motorcycle gangs, drug runners, illegal's and just about any/all undesirables that could survive there. 

Not trying to scare you and these examples are not the rule by any means fortunately. There is still a predominance of strong upwardly mobile (pun intended) areas with lots of potential. However, the best thing to do is to visit the local jurisdictions, online or in person, and evaluate their population, employment/unemployment, social security and entitlement beneficiaries, average age, etc. This will give you a general sense of what direction the area could be heading in.

And don't always judge everything by what it looks like either. Yes, there are many cities and communities that look on the verge of failure and are very run down and neglected. However, they could be just starting on the road to rejuvenation and replenishment. There could be new trade and commerce about to embark. A new manufacturing hub may be  on the horizon in the near future, etc. Once again it's all about DUE DILIGENCE and you've picked the right forum to garner a lot of that. But you still have some homework yet to do. 

Good luck!

Not quite getting your comment @Michael Giuffre

"Situation:

I'm an investor with a few single family rental properties under my belt and am looking at this particular mobile home opportunity in North Carolina (where I live):"

-1 acre of land, convenient to several centers of work/city

-4 mobile homes are on site and have been grandfathered, meaning they can never be removed, only remodeled. If any were removed a new one could not be moved to the site due to new restrictions (1 dwelling per acre).

-Monthly rent total (from all 4): $2,200

-Tenants pay all utilities

-Asking price: $135,000 cash only

So what's wrong with this deal. Looks like land is included?

Do some serious due diligence first. Find out if that park is in tornado alley and what the past and recent history is. That is definitely something I'd be studying very carefully. I can't tell you how many MHC's they condemned, rezoned and redeveloped after Hurricane and his 3 buddies ravaged the State of Florida in '04. I'd be doin some serious chin rubbing.

Welcome @Jay Rissler! I'll be moving forward with the project as soon as the we've had the HCD foundation/framing/elec/plmb inspection. Can't always guarantee their ETA's. Inconvenient but cost of doing biz.

If I can't rebuild them from the frame up I'll purchase them through various MH purveyors @Account Closed