I sent out 250 postcards to out-of-state property owners in one zip code. Several people called back, and this one was an old 1955 Spartan mobile home in a “55 and older” mobile home park, completely set up. The guy lived in Texas and said he had power of attorney to sell it for his dad who inherited it.
The tenant who had paid rent for 15 or 20 years perfectly, one day just disappeared. No one knew what to do, and when I showed up they were just about to hire an attorney to investigate ownership, etc.
The fella in Texas wanted a photo of the home, so I emailed him one, and he sold the mobile home to me for $10. I changed title after a few phone calls to New Mexico, where his uncle who had owned it died and where his probate was.
This all took a few days, and I just put a sign in the window without doing anything to it. I sold it the next day for $3,500 to a neighbor. It did not stop me or slow me down much from other deals. It had a beautiful view next to a lake, and it was on the best space in the park.
I had all sorts of fun tracking down what had happened and meeting the people. Fellow real estate investors thought I was crazy messing with an old 1955 mobile home and only discouraged me from doing it.
I didn’t even have to cut the grass or pay any space rent at all, as the other buyer did all that and was glad to have a small private place next to his girlfriend.
By the way, the park manager was both good and tough, and I learned plenty just dealing with him. No problems occurred. He demanded I not move the home.
I looked into it and found out that several other homes were on the same septic and by moving it, the city would require a new septic. The manager was adamant about this, but no problem; I just sold it.