Below is a short list of questions to really ask yourself before getting started investing in mobile homes. I personally believe clarity is so important in any business you begin. We can all agree that there are hundreds of ways to make money in real estate, only you will know if mobile home investing is the right path for you. Use the below list to help take the most profitable and least stressed path for you.
1. Do I have enough money or credit to get started mobile home investing quickly? No-money-down purchase transactions are out there for you to find and profit from; however for every motivated seller that will accept a no-money-down offer there are a dozen more sellers that will require only a couple hundred dollars or a couple thousand dollars to close on their homes.
The more capital you have the more cash you can offer to each seller. So is more money necessarily a good thing? In my opinion having a large wallet will make you lazy with regards to creating and negotiating create offers to purchase a seller's home with little to no money out of pocket at closing. Many people will say that just because you have the cash does not mean you should not always try for a seller financed transaction first. Figure on a minimum of $2,000-$5,000 to get you started quickly and safely.
2. Do I have the time to get started in MHI fairly-quickly? Real estate investing requires focus and daily effort. Eventually you may be able to outsource some or most of your investing business but at the start you will often have to learn everything by doing it yourself. With regards to actively investing in multiple mobile home deals per year I recommend everyone I help have at least one hour per day they can dedicate to their new real estate cash-flow business. Two to three hours per day is even better!
3. Do I know if there are sufficient mobile homes around me to support a thriving MHI business? In any one area there are only a finite amount of mobile homes (in parks and on private land) that may be for sale at any one given point. Performing a basic Google-search for “mobile home parks” and “manufactured home communities” to identify some of the local mobile home communities around you will give you an quick list of local parks in your area, the more then better. Talk with local Realtors and other investors to identify the mobile home areas and zip-codes within your county or parish.
4. Do I have the discipline for real estate investing? This is perhaps the most introspective question you are reading. Are you the type of person that loves to start tasks and then bails-out when things get too real or challenging outside your comfort-zone? In order to become something you are not it will require you to take action outside your comfort-zone. Each day try to enter this uncomfortable-zone with regards to making progress and taking action in your real estate investing business. You will not be the same person you are in a year after starting to invest in manufactured housing, in a very good way.
5. Do you enjoy conversing with people? There is little way around this. If you are not a people-person and you are starting a REI business by yourself, begin improving your human-relationship skills immediately. Like many other niches of real estate investing there is no getting past the fact mobile home investing is completely a people business. From start to finish we create value and make profit by talking with sellers and then talking with buyers – over and over and over again.
We love your feedback and welcome your comments.
Please post below: