Articles

The source of down payment funds to purchase a mobile home park is a question posed by a number of investors on a regular basis. There are many creative buyers looking for ways to acquire a property with as little out-of-pocket as possible.

Many mobile home park investors are looking for parks with a lower than stabilized occupancy in order to take advantage of the infrastructure in place and increase the value of the property with their own efforts. Purchasing mobile homes and either renting them or selling to tenants is the most common approach.

You recognize that interest rates are near historical lows and you have decided that you are going to refinance your manufactured home community. Or, perhaps you have identified a property you want to purchase. Whichever the case may be, you are going to need a loan. But before calling your mortgage banker or lender, the first step you should take is to assess and prepare your property for financing.

With interest rates at historic lows, it is still an excellent time to obtain permanent financing for a manufactured home community. Before selecting a loan, however, it is important for a property owner to assess investment goals and prepare a business plan.

Just as you prepare to take advantage of the low interest rate environment and decide to refinance your existing property or pursue an acquisition with debt, you find that obtaining the level of financing necessary isn't as neat and simple as initially imagined.

In recent months, land-lease community lenders and owners faced financing challenges in a rising interest rate environment. The following paragraphs identify the challenges encountered and outline solutions that asset class savvy lenders have developed to address these issues.

As the credit crunch continues, lending options for commercial real estate, including manufactured home communities, have become increasingly scarce. Conduit loans are still not being originated, life companies are lending on a highly selective basis

Nothing is uglier than a mobile home without skirting. Even a brand new, top-of-the-line mobile home with a shingles roof and vinyl siding looks like junk in the absence of nice vinyl skirting to hide all the tie-downs and concrete blocks and pipes.

Most mobile home parks I have bought come with a standard sign design - a 4'x8' sheet of plywood with a faded poorly written name on it and no phone number. This must be a popular design because I see it everywhere. There is also the design of metal or wood letters on a brick or masonry wall with some of the letters missing

People often ask me how many stars my park has. I always tell them that I've got a five-star cash flow. That totally confuses them, and allows me to change the subject.