Posted by Christine Karas on May 09, 2000 at 24:48:23:
I agree with you about renting to families. They’ll have 10 people living in a 2 bedroom if you let them and even if you don’t let them. As a realtor I have just about had enough dealing with difficult tenants that trash the place and delay all my closings. I am hoping that I will not be as frustrated with the tenants and like Lonnie says what can they do to the dirt. Thanks for your posts.
buying a park - Posted by Christine Karas
Posted by Christine Karas on May 07, 2000 at 19:16:33:
I live in Florida and was wondering what is the concensus on buying a 55+ park. It seems that the affordable parks are 55+. I would like to get started by buying a park so that I can do my own deals. What does everyone think? In Florida we have to have an office to do business legally and I just can’t see renting an empty office when I can put that money into a park and make my own office out of an old trailer. Thanks for the thoughts.
Re: buying a park - Posted by Ernest Tew
Posted by Ernest Tew on May 08, 2000 at 05:10:01:
You are correct. It isn’t necessary to rent an office when you could use a mobile home in the park.
Over 55 parks, especially in south Florida where we have a lot of retirees, can be a good investment. However, when buying you will have a lot of competition and should be very careful to avoid paying too much for it. Senior residents are usually good about maintaining their home and lot and paying their rent on time. With a lot of time on their hands, they are also prone to complain a lot about little things. A manager needs to have a lot of patience.
When buying an older park with small lots, keep in mind that, with today’s availability of financing, most mobile home buyers want to live in a large, modern, home. You need to consider whether a large home will fit on the small lots that are typical of older parks.
You might improve the income by buying the homes at a low price as residents die or move away and then resell them at a profit. Renting homes in a senior park might also be satisfactory. However, I don’t recommend allowing rental homes in a family park.