Mobile homes are often looked at as being “the worst of the worst” and most investors just hang up the phone the second they hear the word. I can’t believe so many “investors” pass on these opportunities considering that most of the high yield investments in my portfolio are mobile homes! It’s unfortunate that they receive such harsh criticism for being such a great option for affordable housing that keeps many people safe, protected, warm, and just all around happy!
[bctt tweet=”Would you believe me when I said that mobile homes are phenomenal cash cows?”]
After speaking with a student at a REIA the other day I had the urge to put this article together. It just seemed like it was time to shed some light on many of the common misconceptions surrounding manufactured housing and other incorrect facts so many think to be true
As a child you probably saw and did many things that built your perception and beliefs as an adult. Can you think back to being a kid, and just hating tomatoes or some other vegetable? Now as an adult, something that you once hated so much, suddenly it’s one of your favorite things to eat? You may want to reconsider your outlook on manufactured housing because, just like that food you hated as a kid, you may just find out it is your absolute favorite.
This negative outlook you may be holding onto has likely cost you potential profits by not allowing you to even consider investing in this under-realized, affordable real estate housing niche.
So here are some misconceptions about mobile homes and other things you thought were true:
1. Mobile home? You gotta be poor!
As a kid riding home on the bus i remember hearing the unkind words as the bus would drop kids off at the mobile home communities. The kids living in houses and apartments didn’t know anything about mobile homes or their lifestyle. All we knew is that something was different, and different was apparently something to be teased.
I have been investing in mobile homes for the past 12+ years, and I have seen many investors hold onto their roots by assuming all these mobile homes and their owners are valueless, lower cultured, and/or poor. Although this may be case with some mobile home owners, you must admit it is also found in both the single family and multi-family business also.
2. Mobile homes have no value
Supply and demand creates value. The sales price of a mobile home is precisely what a buyer is willing to pay for the mobile home at a particular time in a particular location.
It’s not uncommon for me to buy a home for a $1-2,000 and resell for cash at $8-9,000, or financed at $25,000. Why, as an investor, would you hang up the phone on opportunity like that?
3. Gravity in space?
Ever seen an astronaut take a giant leap for mankind or float through space seemingly weightless? It’s easy to belive there is no gravity in space, but at the height just above Earth that satellites and the International Space Station orbit there is still a most of the gravity we feel here on Earth.
The reason it seems astronauts are weightless is while orbiting the Earth is because they are in a constant state of free-fall. On the moon astronauts are now subject to the moon’s gravity, which is about one-sixth the strength of Earth’s, and are no longer in free-fall.
4. Next time the wind blows that mobile home is gone!
You ever turn on the news after a tornado and seen a single family home destroyed? If a tornado comes flying through a neighborhood of site built homes and factory built homes, the entire neighborhood is going to see some damage in most cases regardless of the type of home. With that said factory built housing has changed dramatically over the past 40 years , and with new building/installation standards factory built homes are capable of withstanding the same forces as a site built home. If the possibility of wind damage concerns you Insurance can help most worries; however, the simple fact is that mobile homes, when properly taken maintained and properly secured to the foundation, are safe and more than adequate shelter for most natural disasters.
Taking the first step to owning an investment that can be “moved” scares many newbies thinking about mobile home, but with experience and/or the advice of a trusted mobile home investor a newbie can understand that their investment can be a safe one when properly purchased.
5. Oh no! I just dropped my cookie….. but it hasn’t been 5 seconds!
Seems silly huh? However almost all of us have probably either heard this rule or even used it ourselves. Although we probably all know the simple truth that whatever got dropped was contaminated in some way, but the 5 second rule makes us feel better.
The simple idea that counting to five has any bearing on germs waiting to pounce on your food is nonsense; yet this common saying incorrectly makes its way into most of our minds from time to time.
6. I would invest in mobile homes… but there are none around me
Start by using Google and searching for mobile home parks, or mobile home communities. You may be surprised to find that there are communities hidden in plain site. If you are not finding them there try a few resources such as Mobile Home Village or Mobile Home Park Store. Mobile homes are located in every state and in almost every town, except for Hawaii and the District of Columbia. Factory built housing accounts for roughly 8% of the homes you and I drive by on a daily basis.
Although there are many homes located in communities a lot of these homes are located on private land that the home owner controls, not inside the mobile home parks that many of us first think of. This is a choice that these land owners have made: to remain in a comfortable home and also keep their cost per square foot at a fraction of the cost compared to similarly sized site-built homes.
7. The Great Wall of China can be seen from space.
Roughly 5,592 miles long, the Great Wall of China is the longest man-made object on Earth, and it is often said it can be seen from space, even from as far away as the moon. Both NASA and even China’s first astronaut have said this is not possible.
The Great Wall is narrow and irregular, measuring about 32 feet wide on average and can be hard to distinguish from the surrounding environment. Seeing the wall from the Moon would be equivalent to seeing a single hair from roughly 8,000 feet away.
In conclusion always make your own assessments and due diligence about things; people, facts, real estate deals, and/or a complete industry. If you have any questions about mobile home investments please comment below or email me personally.
Love what you do daily,
John Fedro
[email protected]
– See more at: MobileHomeInvesting.net
Cover Photo Provided By: GlassEyeView
4 Responses
Great post John! I really believe that mobile homes are the golden nugget in the real estate industry that so many people just walk right past. For anybody that has interest in learning more I would definitely reach out to this man!
Mobile homes are great!! My father once remodeled one because the owner didn’t want to feel like she was in one. It was beautiful inside. Too bad people have a misconception about them. They can be just as nice as any size house can be!
Great post! I grew up in a double-wide home and as an adult I always have heard the stigmas. “Don’t buy a mobile home because you’ll never get much money out of it,” being the main one. They can be great homes though! As an investor, I think you just have to evaluate all aspects of the home and property. Don’t focus on whether it’s stick built or mobile!
As an investor, mobile homes provide some of the absolute GREATEST returns ever, and are excellent producers of cashflow. When I first started my company I moved into a mobile home to reduce my expenses, and if I hadn’t I probably wouldn’t still be in business today. For anybody looking to build a retirement mobile homes are definitely an investment vehicle to do it with.