Why Investing In Mobile Homes Is Real Estate's Best Kept Secret
Mobile homes have often been overlooked by a majority of real estate investors as they pursue single family homes. As you have probably seen on the many single family flipping shows there can be many hidden surprises that even the experts didn’t account for. It takes usually 10-20% down and with the average single family home in America right now that’s $30k-60k down (average home is selling over $300k in 2021) just for the home NOT even including doing any remodeling which you can expect another $30k-100k you have to come up with. Plus, typically you have to use a bank which they expect a 700 plus credit score typically or a high-interest loan (11-18%) from hard money lenders. Not even waiting 2-6 months to potentially collect your money back and paying a real estate broker.
But are there other options that are easier, less money, less competition? That is where mobile home investing comes in. The best part is your helping to provide quality affordable housing to those who need it. There is about ¼ of America that needs affordable housing and mobile homes solve this problem. And unlike single family home investing (flipping or wholesaling) you have A LOT less competition as most real estate investors chase after what appears more glamorous due to all the TV shows and real estate conferences showcasing it. But do you think competing with entire rooms full of hundreds of people in your town or city or everyone else watching the same TV show makes single family easy? Or would you like to be in a high demand, very low competition real estate that only a few are typically doing by you (if at all)…
Next, the question is how much money, what skills do I need, and what are the types of investments available in mobile homes? There are many strategies any newbie or first time real estate investor can implement with mobile homes that make it so much more obtainable, easier and a fun way to make a good income while helping others. Depending on your market homes can range from $1k-25k and typically most markets $5-10k or up to $15k is all you need to get a home. Wholesaling is a technique where you don’t need any money down just market the home for the seller and pocket the difference. This is a great way to get started without much cash. If you want to flip a home typically you can get a home (depending on market) $5-10k and put $3-4k in repairs and rehab, sometimes only $1k-2k, and then make a nice profit as you are bringing the older home back to life (cleaner, new carpet, windows, replace fixtures, some paint, etc). The best part is real estate brokers don’t compete with you as they rather sell at $300k house for $7,500 commission than a $20k mobile home for a few hundred dollar commission. But what the brokers don’t realize is with a few days of work (or even just using a typical handyman) you can make the same money flipping the mobile home plus not pay any broker fees! And mobile homes sell very fast as they are 1/15 or less the cost of a typical single family home (even cheaper than most all new cars)…
This is real estate’s best kept secret and for those who take advantage of mobile homes can earn a nice living. There are also ways to offer rent to own programs and collect payments over a period of time. This gives you predictable cash flow from your investment while also helping others get a new home without paying all up front. Later on, you can even buy your first mobile home park and then collect rent from a community full of homes. In fact, mobile home parks were the top-performing real estate since the last housing crash in 2007 and were by far the best performing real estate in 2020 even with COVID. So this niche and skill set, provides many ways to grow your income and wealth.
In terms of skill sets this is the easiest, safest, and least amount of money, time and effort to get started in real estate investing. Instead of using brokers to sell your investment, you use Facebook marketplace and other easy apps. There is a huge shortage of affordable housing options in the USA so having a newly remodeled unit, or selling on contract becomes an easy sell. Plus you don’t have to have your real estate broker license, just a Facebook page. If you want to have a skill set that will provide a great additional income or potentially replace your current day job, then consider looking into mobile home investing.
