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Posted by Rich_Ga on January 07, 2001 at 12:44:18:

I'm looking at a mobile home park for sale, the seller is a nurse over her head and wants out of it. there are 25 lots, 1 is empty, 4 have gutted mobile homes on it, 4 are rentals approx 4-500 each, and the rest are collecting lot rent of $135 per month. She wants $197,000 for the park, but it needs some serious work. What looks like the insides of some homes are piled up 5 feet in some areas along the road. Its a quiet area, many small parks in the area, and about 1 mile from an Air Force Base. I was reading one of the other postings regarding how to work with a dealer and putting new homes for sale on lots. The newest one on the lot is a 1989 and the oldest looks like the first ever built. most of the other smaller parks have the same looks to them.
Anyone have any ideas?
Rich

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Posted by joe--ga on January 07, 2001 at 15:03:55:

I f this nurse is drounding she should be very flexable on her sell price.I would try to find out if she has a loan on this then if not line me up a financing source and start waving some money at her.Ask her if she will walk the park with you,taking out your note pad and jotting down the things that need to be repaired.she knows of all the repairs.then make her an offer that all the repairs that need to be done I can offer you x amount of money.Without looking at your park,It would be hard to say what I would start my offer at. This sounds like a good investment with the base nearby.Look ata local mobile home sells office and get a copy of " mobilehome merchandiser " magazine. It has alot of info from suppliers to financing ... Good luck Dr.

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Posted by ray@lcorn on January 08, 2001 at 23:58:48:

Rich,

The first thing I notice here is that with a 35% expense factor, this park is priced at a 8.5% cap rate. Not my idea of a deal, but there could be more to it. Before getting too gung ho, get the operating numbers so you can make a real determination of what the actual cash flow is.

No matter the property type, with income properties you are buying a stream of cash flow. The price is a function of the risk and effort involved in maintaining and improving that cash flow. In order to determine that, you must have accurate information about what it has dome in the past.

ray

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Posted by mary on January 18, 2001 at 06:23:50:

i too had a run in to buy a park.i did not stop with just the terms but went to the court house and health dept only to find out my guy was way in over his head too.in trouble!it seems he has had trouble with the water lines breaking and has been for some time in trouble with the water company.also the septic systems that usually last 20 or less years were that old and then some with 2 to 3 known trailers hooked into one 3 bedroom system.i ran away from that one for fear my money would run out first.i did not think i could handle the loss in rentals which was my first impression of the not so full park.the youngest home there was probably pre 1970.i hope yours turns out better.do the checking it may help you out of some otherwise hot spots