Just about everything that a person can do with a conventional home can be done with a mobile home. You can find homes to rent or buy simply by canvassing mobile home owners. Keeping in mind that Mobile Homes are personal property and not real estate, real estate laws that would preclude a person paying another person for performing real estate services without a license don’t apply. You can turn mobile home park managers into “bird dogs” by paying them for leads to motivated sellers. You can hire capable unlicensed people to manage a collection of mobile home rentals. When maintaining a Mobile Home, because of restricted space, repairs can present a challenge. The good news is that you can make extensive repairs without the need for permits or licensed workmen. Where you interface with utility connections or public throughways you will have to be careful to meet all the requirements, but otherwise, except for safety and minimum housing considerations, local building codes usually don’t apply.
Where no land is involved, a mobile home transaction can be completed with a lot more privacy and fewer complications than a conventional home sale. The title is signed over the same way that the title to a car is signed over when it is sold. Any liens will be shown right on the title certificate. In many States a Notary Public isn’t even required. There is no title insurance policy to buy, no Form 1099s, no Social Security numbers, very low recording fees, no attorney fees, no appraisals, and no due-on-sale problems when you take over loans. A word of caution however; be sure to kick the tires before you buy the home. Look it over carefully.
The relative shortage of institutional financing for used Mobile Homes on rented space can be a boon for those who like to lend money. Mobile home “paper” commands higher premiums than real estate mortgages. It is often exempt from usury limits that would apply to houses. When loans are made to people who have high credit scores, they compare very favorably with conventional home loans, but with yields comparable to junk bonds; but offer more protection for lenders. Absent of over-riding statutes, when you sell a home and carry back the financing, in the event of a default, you can repossess Mobile Homes under the Uniform Commercial Code without the need to foreclose them through the courts.
The special circumstances that apply to Mobile Homes create multiple opportunities for entrepreneurs. Below I’ve listed a baker’s dozen of profit centers. See if there isn’t some way for you to get a piece of this tremendous pie:
1. New Mobile Home sales
2. Financing new home sales
3. Buying, Fixing, and Selling used Mobile Homes
4. Buying, Fixing, and Renting used Mobile Homes
5. Financing Used Home sales
6. Mobile Home lot development
7. Mobile Home park development and Syndication
8. Mobile Home Community development and Syndication
9. Financing lot purchases for consumers
10 Selling and Financing “Add-on” awnings, patios, porches, etc.
11 Hauling and delivery from seller to buyer’s site
12 Setting Mobile Homes up on permanent approved foundations
13 Buying defaulted loans and repossessing units
