Hi Steve,
welcome to study hall. Sure you can make some serious bucks in a venture like this. However you have to ask yourself “is there a more simple (more efficient) way to make the same amount of money?”
But Lonnie’s right to be able to answer that you need data.
I would suggest
Getting everything you can get your hands on regarding mobile home investing. Don’t worry there’s not much published material on this, because it is an overlooked niche market (sound interesting so far, remember most often the private parties, that only a few people know about are the most fun).
After you have a an understanding of Lonnie/Earnst Type deals, check out Lew Dickson Deals (You can get his video here at the site, same as Lonnie Scruugs and Earnst Tews matrials).
Lew Deals with what your talking about only with single wides.
But remember that moving a double wide is a little more involved because of the transport issues and the tear down and set up issues.
Anyhow good luck hope this helps
Dirk
I would like to begin to invest in real estate. My brother, who lives in a double wide mobile would love to join in. His very unprofessional opinion is that a fortune is to be made in purchasing foreclosed dbl wides and placing them on a lot in the country for a big profit. I’m the older skeptical brother. I would like some sound ideas for initial investments into this market.
I’m finishing my first land-home package with a new triplewide, and I agree there’s some money to be made, but it will depend on your local market. I had some experience moving singlewides, but nothing to prepare me for the intricacies of a multi-section. So I partnered with a local dealer who has handled many of the details and taught me a lot in the process. I cut them in on the profit, which is the cost of my education. And importantly, they have subs that will do a lot of the work cheaper than I possibly could have gotten, which somewhat offsets their cut. Lonnie deals are great for the cash flow, and have given me the confidence to try this. Land-home packages can generate lots of cash up front. Helps pay the taxes on all your Lonnie deals.
Fortunes can be made in many ways, but it usually requires some knowledge and expertise to do so. How much experience does your brother have in MH repo’s/lot development/marketing/financing and etc?
Not saying this is a bad idea, just curious as to how much planning and thought your brother has put into it. Give us some more info.
This brother of mine has no direct experience. His information is coming from a bank vice-pres, and two park owners. The park owners originally turned him on to the idea of purchasing the dbl wides at a reduced price. In the Toledo, OH area many of the dbl wide loans go belly up, for whatever reason. His banker friend simply fueled the fire and agreed with the original statement. My concern is the re-sale of a used dbl wide. Even if its placed on a large country lot, would the market support such a thing? Are people willing or interested in that type of purchase? As I said I am the skeptic with all the questions.
Thanks for the reply.
I myself am more interested in distressed rental purchases. Both my bro and myself are in the Toledo area. I am very hesitant to purchase the Sheets type info. It seems that opinions of the program vary so much, it may be a waste of money. Any suggestions of where to look for sound advise?
Thanks again.
I HATE Toledo when it comes to selling mobile homes. The brokers/dealers are less honest than their peers elsewhere- which is saying alot given the low standards of integrity among most MH brokers/dealers in Ohio. The ratio of deadbeats- and I mean TOTAL losers- to decent buyers is abnormally high. Competition is very stiff- check out the Sunday Blade, you’ll see what I mean. All of my buyers in Toledo have been “time-intensive”, to put it politely. I have two homes left in Toledo- that I’m moving to the Columbus area, where I’ve had MUCH greater success in selling mobiles. In short, Toledo is a terrible place to sell a mobile home.
It is also a good place to BUY. The mobiles I got up there were DIRT cheap. Lot’s of people are “upside-down”- owing more on the homes than they are worth. There are therefore lots of repos up there (I think we’ll see alot more of that everywhere…the practice of making 15, 20 and 30-year loans on DEPRECIATING assets is crazy…that’s what happens when banks have too much money).
I know of people in Ohio who have made lots of money by putting doubles on land and selling both for very good prices. Two key points:
First: Learn the zoning rules inside and out- and COLD. In this state (except SE), people hate mobiles and try to zone them out- there are some ways around this if the acreage is sufficient.
Second: Research demographics of target locations. Some areas have great stats and lots of buyers (e.g.- Delaware County) while others su*k (e.g.- Marion county is much weaker than Delaware).
I am currently talking to a friend about funding the purchase of a toter. He would then move homes for profit with others and at cost for me. I would LOVE to buy gobs of single-wides in Toledo dirt-friggin-cheap and move them to friendlier markets. I think your idea with doubles & land has merit, though the capital requirements are relatively high compared to classic Lonnie deals. Look me up in Findlay sometime & let me know how it’s going.
You should get in touch with John Hyre. He does Lonnie Deals in Northwest Ohio, and has had some nightmare experiences in the Toledo area with mobile homes. He post regularly on this site, and is very generous with sharing his valuable knowledge about this subject.
As far as a place to look for sound advice, you’ve just tripped over it!