Is/has anyone flipped mobile homes? I am semi retired with lots of energy and skills but not much money. Cars are my true love but everyone with gray or white hair lives on Craigslist so picking a bargain is now impossible. Is this crazy or just dumb.

If you have the ability and knowledge of how they are constructed I suggest you get in touch with some local insurance adjusters and mitigation companies (Servpro, Paul Davis, Service Master and the likes). The one that I work for does not do mobile home repairs as they are a nightmare for us due to their construction. In fact, most people in my area will not touch them.

You would need proper insurance more than likely to be a sub contractor for any major outfit. But, there is a niche market for mobile home repairs. The kicker is that most mobile home policies are actual cash value (ACV) and they are heavily depreciated by insurance companies. As a result, the home owner is often left paying out of pocket the difference. Not to stereotype, but most people that live in mobile homes do not have the additional money to make up the difference (the same can be said for actual homes that have an ACV policy). Actually, it's not uncommon for the insurance company to pay the limits on the policy after depreciation and declare the mobile home a total loss.

Having said that, I know for a fact that a knowledgeable person with the proper insurance could make a decent living off of repairing mobile homes after a fire or water damage where I am located. We turn them down quite a bit and the conversation often ends with the insurance agent/adjuster saying something along the lines of they can't find anybody.

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Is/has anyone flipped mobile homes?

Other than tornadoes?

Doesn't seem like a viable business to me for a couple of reasons:

1. People that are looking for a used trailer are most likely flat broke and would have trouble qualifying for a loan for a pack of cigarettes.

2. I can't imagine a bank giving a loan for a used trailer.

3. Therefore, by the time you buy a used trailer, buy the materials needed to repair it and pay yourself a little something for your time, you're going to have a hard time selling it.

4. If there are local building codes, I can foresee all sorts of issues with bringing an old trailer up to current code.

Most people that bought a mobile home are big time upside down in them and can't sell.
By the time they get paid off or foreclosed they are usually in poor shape and need lots of repairs.
They are better as rentals but you are dealing with a rough crowd. His subcontractor list included crime scene cleanup as much as plumbers.
I know someone that owned a few mobile home parks and made some money at it but his best day was when he cashed out.

I'm sure it varies from state to state or bank to bank, but a friend of mine was looking for property a few years ago & there was something about a bank not allowing financing on a trailer that had been moved more than twice, or something like that.

as a real estate attorney I have helped people buy and sell them. The state licensing fees get expensive compared to the actual sales price. Then there is the issue of the land, owned or leased and that can come with state taxes as well or fees to an association.

What about just doing higher value cars, if that is what you like and know might be a safer route.

I knew of three retired fellas flipping mobile homes in Mesa AZ.

none had any business license, none were bonded or insured, none were realtors .

they all did very very good work.

most who sold homes to them thought that they were getting screwed, but good.
but no one else would have purchased their homes.

they all took three or four years to get very good reputations.

these fellas would buy a 25 y.o. single wide for $600.00 , put $1200.00 in to it and sell it for 3-$5,000.00

but ! there are only 30 "over 55 " parks in Mesa
sometimes you may have to grease the palms of the trailer court owners , so that they will give people your phone and name.

and then there are the old farts that want you to put a new porch on or seal all the windows, reside their double wide or level up their trailers.

so ancillary work on the side will keep you busy.

two had two pensions coming in , the 3rd guy only had one pension.

Fixing up mobile homes to resell would be a losing proposition. You have to practically give them away to sell them.

you would be amazed at what shirly and jim ( back in Peoria) would take for now deceased ,grandma tessy's 24 y.o
never been updated , double wide,
so that they don't have to deal with the hassle.

Location, Location, Location- Depending on the local economy, demographics and housing affordability= maybe.

Seems like there'd be as much effort and risk as flipping homes just less potential profit.

A lot of parks around Southeastern Michigan have stipulations that mobile homes over a certain age must be removed from the park upon ownership transfer. So where can you store that bargain trailer until you find a buyer and a part willing to accept it?

At least cruise Craigslist, you may find "freebies",the take over lot payment to the park and the trailer comes as a bonus. Laundromats and community billboards are a good place to find those deals too.

You might (a big might) be able to sell them to a lower tier park, one that specializes in short term rentals. Take less profit but turn quicker. Let them assume the potential future damage and normal wear and tear.

Another thing, security while the trailer is in the part while being worked on or sold. Not unheard of is "yutes" in the park taking one over as a party den or squatters moving into it. Either case could be ugly, especially squatters and legal actions from the park owner, the flipper owner and the "residents". Dependent how your states laws are it could be months until you can get them out. And guess who gets to pay the lot rental in the meantime?

IMO and I'm no expert (nor an attorney) but I would be pretty hesitant to tie up my money in this proposition, I think the risks are higher than the benefits in the long term.

I've heard enough from some of the younger people I work with of the horror stories in the parks that cater to the lower earning scales.

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Originally posted by zoom6zoom:

quote:

Is/has anyone flipped mobile homes?

Other than tornadoes?

Yeah, I was gonna say, Mother Nature has that market locked up, and we all know, it's not nice to mess with Mom Nature. She'll turn her daughter, Karma, loose on you.

I own a decent sized mobile home park - which is being emptied to build apartments. The mobile homes are worthless. Repairs to older homes have very small margins, and people who own them can barely pay.
If you can find a decent trailer to renovate once in a while, it may be worthwhile to completely rehab - since I actually pay to remove some of the older heaps of crap.
Look into repairing the RV's (as opposed to trailers - higher margins, people can pay), or actually buy a small mobile home park.

Despite what everyone here is saying there is money to be made. I have a friend that does it but he self finances for the people he sells to. He'll buy for around 10k, put 2-3k into fixing it up and finance for someone and make 30k or more off it. The first couple years pay for the trailer then it's all profit after that. There's a lot to it, more than I can explain here but done right you can make a good profit. I was skeptical when he told me he did it but after h explained everything it made sense.

Wow, a ton of stuff I never thought about. This is one reason I like this site. Thanks to all who posted.