Based on my knowledge of the industry it makes more sense to grow indoors on a large scale.

I want to start on a small scale, maybe partner someone with the cash I do have plus sweat equity.

We are a consultancy staffed by people with long experience in manufactured housing finance and we help other organizations set up or fix finance companies.

Depending on the scale at which you plan to implement the software, I do recommend for large 3rd party solutions, supplementing some of the current software short-comings such as inspections, and maintenance asset tracking.

I'm learning as much as possible as fast as possible so I can scale quickly, since I'm getting a late start in this game. 

Already lock manufacturers are adapting to the demand of increase electronic locks for homes.  

With this I can branch out, or stick with the familiar.1-Flipping properties on a larger scale.

Does anyone have contact info for any lenders who would loan on a manufactured home with acreage?

You can scale much quicker because your buying power increases significantly.

It won't create explosive scaling opportunities, but it's a slow and steady approach.