The Professionalist Real Estate Investing Podcast

Why Smart Investors Are Rushing Into Mobile Home Parks — And You Should Too

• The Professionalist Real Estate Investing Podcast • Episode 41

Share episode

Send us a text

Housing feels out of reach for millions, yet investors still need reliable cash flow and a clear path to growth. We unpack why mobile home parks might be the rare overlap—meeting a real social need while offering durable returns backed by data, not hype. From more than 44,000 parks across the U.S. to a 15% jump in manufactured home shipments this year, the momentum is real, and the playbook is surprisingly approachable.

We start with the numbers: where cap rates for multifamily often land in the 5–6% range, mobile home parks routinely deliver 7–10%, driven by low turnover and affordable lot rents. We talk through the states that make scaling easier (hello, Texas and the Sunbelt), why zoning and rent policy matter, and how to evaluate community types—from 55+ to all-ages—so your strategy fits resident needs. Then we get tactical with a starter blueprint: target 20–50 lots, verify city water and sewer when possible, inspect road conditions, check occupancy, and watch out for red flags like vacant pads or aging septic. Strong communication with residents remains the quiet edge that keeps income stable and reputations strong.

The conversation widens to affordability, demographics, and financing options for first-time buyers choosing manufactured homes to escape rising costs. We also address foreclosures, courthouse auctions, and creative finance like subject-to—tools that can preserve ownership or unlock opportunities when used responsibly. Layer in smart tax strategy, a clear personal why, and the patience to operate well, and you’ve got a resilient path in a market that rewards consistency over flash.

If this sparked ideas—or challenged a few—hit follow, share it with a friend who needs a fresh angle on real estate, and leave a quick review so more people can find the show. Want to join us on the mic? Visit Professionalist Real Estate Investing.com and send a note.

Podcast Intro 

Propstream
PropStream is real estate data and analytics platform where investors can get an abundance of info .

Support the show

SPEAKER_00:

Welcome back to the Professionals Real Estate Investing Podcast. I wanted to get a little bit deeper into the mobile home park. I had a great interview, as you can tell, from with Frank Rizzo. That was very informative, especially with helping us with the shortage of the home crisis here, especially here in the United States. And I think it's a golden gem, especially with the mobile homes, how to uh get into it, how to help you with uh investing into it and broaden your horizon with real estate investing. So a lot of people, I'm gonna guess to bring some stats out to help you out even more to think about to invest in real estate investing and the part of the mobile sector of mobile homes. Did you know that over 44,000 mobile home parks in the U.S. alone reside here in this country? A lot of people don't know that. And this is housing more than that house more than 20 million residents. There's always this perception that mobile home parks are kind of like trashy or uh not just not good to be in. No, there is some beautiful mobile home parks. I know, for instance, I used to deliver appliances, and I remember I went to this mobile home park, it was really nice, and the individual told me that the mobile home was it was it was trash. The mobile home part, not the mobile home park itself, but the mobile home itself. And then they restructured and redid everything to it, and then now it looks immaculate. So mobile home is definitely a gym to get into. But we're gonna bring up some more information here too, because I I wanted to do an extended part of this because there was just so much information that Frank had, and I just want to bring out some stats and numbers to help people out right here, too. So in 2024, there was about a hundred, a little bit over 103,000 new manufactured homes that were shipped in the United States. That's a 15% increase from 2023. So you show you that the momentum is going up in the market with mobile homes. Now, which states? Now, there is states that are very prone to having a whole lot of mobile home parks, and there's some it just deals with the the regulation and the zoning and everything with that when it comes to that. Now, the states that that are really good with mobile homes, or is Texas, you know, Texas, like they say, is a whole other country. And Texas, um last year they shipped out 17,000 shipments of mobile homes just in that state alone. And then last year, um they're saying that Louisiana, Florida, Alabama, and North Carolina round out the top five, which is amazing because if you can see, and when I was talking about like zoning and everything, most of these are from Texas to the southern states. And I tell people that too. If you any type of real estate that you get into, look into those states that are I say rent-friendly rent-friendly, uh rent investment-wise, that they're friendly also, and you're gonna prosper so much just by that alone. Now, when you look over the overall housing, uh this is probably one of the best ones to get into. You got to think of like the the overhead and everything. Like, how is this gonna be beneficial to help me out when dealing with this? Now, mobile home parks consistently they deliver higher cap rates more than multifamily. On the average, you'll see between seven to ten percent um cap rates, which is compared to the five to six that usually comes from um the multifamily, depending on what type of mobile mobile multifamily that you're in. So it's just always gonna be about what you need to do. And this is a good thing for us to get into also because why? Because I don't know what the stat is now, but I know it was um our housing market was between seven to nine uh seven to nine million homes that need to be done. And I know a lot of people right now they're doing the best they can to help out the situation, especially with the uh I've done a podcast about it, about the ADUs. If you're ADU-friendly state, go about it and uh you can go route that way too. Now with the mobile home parks, uh the beauty of it is there's a few things. Like a turnover is low, uh residents, uh they stay put. You want residents that stay put. You actually do, it helps everything out. So when a person comes in to rent a house, uh they see it, they start renting it, um, time goes by, you take care of that tenant, that tenant's gonna take care of you. That that's that's what I was always taught. And it's all and it's true, because um you don't want to be that landlord, uh, get a call from a tenant, hey, I need I need this possibly fixed. And then down the road, two months down the road, oh, I'll I'll get to it, I'll get to it. That you don't you gotta have that good, strong communication, especially with your tenants, because it can go a long way. They can help you out in so much because you gotta think of it. That that area is your investment, but that's where they stay and live. That's where they reside at, which you're helping, you're helping each other out. So it says mobile home, moving mobile home um costs between five five thousand or and up to ten thousand, which means tenants rarely move. Um, combine that with affordable rents, you've got an incredible retention rate. So this is just a rest at rough estimate, but it depends where it's at. But always do your due diligence to find out um the history of the um of the mobile home park and see if it's gonna be adapt, it's gonna be better for you and your lifestyle. Because there is some mobile home parks that only deal with uh seniors, 55 and older, but there is mobile home parks that deal with any age group. Now, when it comes to the barriers and zoning policy that I was talking about, that's huge. So um take for New York's New York, for example, Yankees. Uh the state has about 192,000 manufacturer housing units, which make up about 2.4 of the housing in the state of New York. But rural come rural countries, excuse me, rural counties, um, manufacturing can make it represent up to 15 fit up to 10 to 15 percent more. So you'll actually find more of the mobile home parks in rural areas or small towns. That's where you'll find them at. And you like I said, you want to like so for example, it says uh Colorado and Oregon have um considered or passed laws limiting um rent increases for remanufactured uh lots. And it's it's a touchy thing when it comes to it because it's it's it helps out with housing. But like I said, the zoning, uh the rent, um, a lot of things play in a factor when it comes to um the mobile homes, but I found it is an easier sector to work at when it comes to mobile homes because you don't have to deal so much when, like, say, like if you buy a house, um, I mean, mobile homes they have their inspection, but it's not an inspection like a house does. A house, I mean, they go the thorough inspection of the the roof, of the plumbing. Um anything that can be uh they they just want to make sure everything is up to par, HVAC system. They want to make everything's up to par, but in a mobile home, since it's more in a kind of confined unit, that is like the best bet for a lot of people, and the rents are usually um way affordable for them to have. Now, like I was talking about residents and communities, it says uh the surveyor from the uh um the MH Insider, it found that nine 85% of the remanufactured home owners are satisfied with their housing, which is higher than many other housing types, just like I was talking about. Because, like I said, you take care of your residents, they're gonna take care of you. Why would they move for? They're in a great situation. And so the demographics is shifting toward it also. It says while retirees still make up a big portion of residents, more young families and even first-time buyers are choosing remanufacture homes as a way to fight back against rising housing costs, which is very true. The new generation, a lot of them, they they their goal is to buy to buy a house. Now, what can they afford it? That's the main problem. Uh the down payment. But as I tell people, especially with mortgage, there's so many different programs that you can use. And when it comes to uh the mortgage amount and everything, I always tell people get a dependable mortgage lender or loan officer and to find out what you're gonna be qualified for. And why not why not use a mobile home? The traditional thing is usually always a house. But if you can't afford a house, you can get a mobile home. That's a house too. It's it's it's always about what's gonna be best for you. You don't want to be in so far in debt that you just have to kill yourself just to pay the rent. So the sector of mobile homes is definitely a gym for a lot of people to use. Now, getting started, um especially with investors, uh the sweet spot they said for new investors get that that between that 20 and 50 lots, depending on where you're at, especially in your your real estate journey, because that's a good amount. And it's not like it's not like uh it's homes, like a home here and a home here, home on the other side of town. They're all together as one. So your due diligence checklist, it should include occupancy rate, like how long the uh are the individuals staying there. Like I said, that turnover is really low. I I've never come across a mobile home park that um that the turnover rate was large. And if it was large, that because there was a lot of uh crime, um, little different activities that were going on that they didn't want their family to be a part of. So that's the that's the that's about the only reason I've seen of that, but there could be a plenty of other reasons also. It says uh utility hookups, city, water, sewer are safer than private septic. Yeah, that's that's a huge that's a huge one. Because when you deal with your home, um you're dealing with more. You're dealing with a bigger space. Um with the with the mobile home, you're building, like I said, uh just you're dealing with a structured lot. You're dealing with a lot also with the home, but the structured lot of the mobile home park is way smaller. So that's a that's going to be a huge plus. Um road infrastructure and condition. That is definitely a big one, too. Um the reason why I said definitely is a huge one because there's a lot of mobile home parks that I've gone through that the roads are not always kept up the best. That's something to look at too. But then um I've been to most some mobile home parks where the um the road infrastructure was immaculate. So it's gonna depend on, like I said, what's gonna be best for your benefit in life. Um if people are not trying to move every five to ten years, they're trying to stay as long as possible, especially in the condition and the rate of our economy is right now. People want to stay put, they want to be affordable with their rent, affordable with everything from food, clothing, shelter, everything. So the red flags, it says watch out for parks with lots of vacant pads. Plus, right there, don't definitely watch that because that shows a lot, also. And it also says um uh aging septic systems without permits or too many parked owned homes. Now, though interesting thing when they said about the um aging septic, that's true because and I tell people something that you don't see is septic. Um septic is one of those parts where people are just like, okay, they have somebody check it for them. But if it's if it's not up the par, if it's not up the code, no, don't don't go into that environment right there. Now, looking forward, the demand isn't isn't um it's slowing down. It says affordable housing remains one of the nation's greatest needs, which is true. Like I said, um back months ago, it was between seven and nine million that um that our housing crisis is in right now. It says institutions will continue um consolidating, but that opens opportunity in secondary markets, especially in the Midwest and the Sunbelt and the South. All that area right there, that's uh that's an amazing spot, no matter type of what type of real estate investing that you're doing, that is a great spot to get into. Now, um mobile home investing in the shows affordable housing, strong occupancy, steady cash flow, and incredible long-term demand, which is needed. And just remember this 44,000 mobile home parks across America. Um this can be this right here alone. Um mobile home parks is like I said, it's one of those gyms that a lot of people don't talk about. And um it's a need because right now they're the housing market is right now. The interest rate right now, here in the month of September, the interest rate went down a quarter, um, should be going down more. Um, they said probably two more times, maybe this year. But I would say if anybody wanted to start, mobile home parks is a huge asset. You don't always have to do homes like everybody else does. It's just going to be to your need and your desire how to go about um get into it because it's actually not it's fairly easy to get into. As Frank Rizzo, like that that podcast is amazing, all the gems and everything. I mean, he's a seasoned vet, he's been doing this for 20 plus years in New York. Um, he brought he brings out a whole lot of um gems that's needed. Now, another thing I want to talk about too, off the side of it, um, is actually when it deals with uh real estate investing itself. Um I was talking to an individual and um he was asking me when is the best time to invest in real estate investing. I said anytime. Everything deals with the the dollar. It deals with how much, what is your goal, what is your agenda, how what is needed to um to get you in the right spot to uh um what to either offset your taxes or to um if you want to retire from your nine to five job, what is needed. Um my boy Rocky, he's still he's still looking as to this very day. We we came across one and um um uh I tell people too, when especially with real estate investing also, make sure you have a strong communication with the other side. Uh we was looking at a duplex, it was perfect duplex and everything, and I got at the real estate agent, and um the communication wasn't the best of ties. And I think that um as real estate agent as like just like me, um, we need to do better, especially with communication, because um there's people out there who want to invest, they have money, they want to invest, they they they have goals in life, they want they like I said, they want to quit their nine-to-five job or they want to offset their taxes. So as a real estate agent, and um I do my best to this too, definitely have strong communication that's needed to help out um the people that we we help out with. Um Rocky's a close friend of mine, and uh, we stay in great communication. Um speaking of which, our last podcast, it's it's done amazing. It's got over 3,000 views. Uh it's the basically kind of like a the DNA of real estate uh investing from A to Z, basically. Um my uh my other compadre, Mr. Marcus Harvey, he's out on the coast. He's working on some um things out there too. And um uh I want to thank everybody in itself. Um shout out to everyone for um always uh checking out the Professor Real Estate Investing podcast. I have interviews coming up. I'm gonna be doing a lot of solo, solo things too, because uh uh Marcus, like I said, he's out on the coast, he's working on some things. And uh my other compadre, um, Mr. Rocky, he he had things he has things going on too. He works at his uh he works at his uh job and uh uh with the family and everything. So I'm not around him a whole lot, but we always stay in close uh communication. And I would like to also speak to the ones out there who have followed me since day one. Um it's been a journey. I'm not gonna stop. Um I'm gonna keep on going. Um if a person wants to be on the podcast, then go to the website, Professionalist Real Estate Investing.com. Um, you can send me an email. And um I always look forward to talking to people, to expanding their uh horizon. Um I'm around people who don't know anything about real estate investing, and then when I speak to them, they're like, I had no idea. I tell them ways to how they can offset their taxes. You gotta think, uh people get upset about people making a lot of money, and especially um, especially nowadays. And I'm like, well, how are they making a lot of money? Were they in a position to make money? Did they go for the schooling? Uh don't knock that person for making money because someone had to pave the way for them to get to where they had to be at. So real estate investing, like you can make so much money in it, but the blueprint of it is the government allows it to happen. Why? Because the government wrote the tax book. So real estate investing is one of those engines that you can offset your taxes like no other. Um, from short-term rental to long-term rental. Uh Carlton Dennis, he's I listen to him, watch him, everything. I like it, love his new podcast with Mr. Omar. I've watched it five times, and he has gems on there. I don't mind if I'm promoting his uh his channel, his podcast, because it there's people out there that are that have more knowledge than me. I'm just out there just giving everybody the the gift, the gap to the structure of real estate investing, because uh I've been in it since 2020, since uh COVID and pandemic. Well, Carlton, he has all types of he he is that guy. If you want to listen about tax strategy, he is that guy I think people should follow because uh I've learned a lot from him. I've learned a lot, period, on my own, but he breaks it down very simple, and that's his niche right there. So um make sure when it comes to real estate investing that um you know what your why is. A lot of people, they like, oh, okay, here's what we do. But what what's behind your why? That's that's that's where you have to sit down and you have to think about okay, what am I gonna do? What's my structure? How am I gonna go about to um change my life? Uh do I help this help this out with will this help out with my kids going to college if they want to go to college, or if they want to start up their own business, or if um mom and dad want to retire, or uh dad wants to retire and mom is she's at home with the kids and she can be a um um real estate professionalist, um, offset the taxes. That's a whole nother that's a whole nother thing. I think the off the professional um real estate professional that the government gives, I think that's a gem right there in itself. That I'll have to do a little uh segment about that one. Um that definitely is what is is a why. Um because right now in the economy that we have right now, um there is there's a lot of homes. And I'm really seeing that I've been studying a lot lately, almost almost every night, that there is so many people that can't afford homes. There are so many people who are foreclosed homes right now, and they can't they can't afford it. I've seen some I've seen some um with uh with Marcus, we've already studied some on all over the place where the people's mortgage is seven, eight hundred dollars for their mortgage, and they can't afford it. So something that has to get done right down from where I live right now, there's a there's a house um that's about to be foreclosed. I have a friend um a couple towns away from me, uh his next door across the street, next door neighbor, house is foreclosed. It there's something something needs to happen um to change all this because there's so many pre-foreclosures. Excuse me, so many pre-foreclosures into the status of foreclosed that people are living in their homes. I have a quick story about that. Um there was actually uh one time I worked with a patient, and um I found out a story about how she um she was sick, she was in the hospital, but before she came into the hospital, she was sitting in her house, and uh all of a sudden her door is unlocked, it opens up, and she looked and turned around, she goes, Hey, who who are who are you? And she goes, Who are we? We we just bought this house, this house was foreclosed. And I was when I heard the story, I was like, What? So she never opened or answered her phone, definitely not opened any letters that were sent to her house to know that her house was already in a foreclosed state, and she lost that's how she lost her house. So something has to be done about these foreclosures. And I know um one gym that's being done, it's been around since so long, but now people are most real estate agents don't know about it. I do know this because I've talked to the agents and they they like, what is that? Um Mr. Um Mr. Pace, Mr. Sub2. Um, sub two financing is amazing. I actually sent a letter to um a person down in uh in Orange County because they were they were behind. They were behind. Um I couldn't tell if it what type of judgment it was. The house is clear and paid for, but some type some type of judgment or um was on it, and they only owed, I believe, eleven thousand dollars. And I was gonna help them with the sub tube, but they never responded. So people need to know and be aware when that foreclosure state happens, it's gonna happen. Like the courts are gonna be like, okay, um, I know a little bit about the process of foreclosure because that's how when I started and met my mentor Ed back in the day, um, I met him there, and that's what he was there for. It was in this uh gentleman I've always said this for he looks like Z one of the members from ZZ Top. And uh he um he was he had all the paperwork and everything. And basically, when you get to the courthouse, you have to have you have to have you have to have all the cashier's checks ready. So whatever house that you're bidding on foreclosed, you have to have that amount. If it exceeds that amount, the court will refund your money. But you have to have all that money, um, all those money orders, cashier checks at that time of sale. And then when it's sell, then you go into the courthouse, it gets recorded, bam, it's your place. But something, like I said, something has to be done with it. Um, the foreclosures. Uh I know a lot of people have been getting into it. I actually had a person who used to be an ex-sherf. He right now he's doing um doing investing by himself, but he actually helped me. I helped him, he helped me. Uh we was gonna help each other with the this foreclosed place, but the the lady, like I said, um people think that nothing's gonna happen. Yes, something's gonna happen. That's why it takes a while for a house to get foreclosed. It takes time to get a house to get foreclosed, and um I don't like to see no one losing their place, especially for a person uh who is a widow, who um just having financial problems because every everyone has some way or another financial problems, especially in this day and time that we live in. So I want to just say that um those right there, yeah, the foreclose, um and it's a good way to get in real estate investing too. So, I mean, it that's that's exactly it is a way, but I hate the part of you have to um uh go through that, that people have to go through that. And like I said, it takes time. And if you need if you get if you need help, get help. Because there's always type, there's always different different types of programs. I'm learning about the programs myself. Actually, I'm actually uh I just finished my course and I'm gonna be scheduling soon my mortgage uh loan test. Um I heard it's pretty pretty difficult, but I love a challenge. And that's another part I'm just gonna broaden up my horizon too with all the different programs and teach people about what type of uh loans they can get into because there's several different loans people can get out there. Like it's not your can always your conventional loan. No, there's different all different types of programs, first-time buyer programs. Um I want to bring that out to people, let them know, hey, you can do this, you can do that. You don't always have to do the the the norm. There's there's all these programs out there. And the reason why is because they have it for us to use. And I like to tell people and broaden their horizon, like, hey, you can use this or you can use this. You always have options. Options is always the best thing to have because if one falls, you have another option. You get it. I tell somebody have an A, B, C, and D plan. Why? Because it's not gonna eventually ever go down to D, but at least you have those steps. You have everything that you need beforehand. So, yeah, so I just want to just elaborate a little bit more on the thank you everybody for staying, elaborate more on the um the mobile home part. It was huge, great interview with Frank. Um, I just want to bring out a little bit more stats, um, the state of the uh right now, what's going on, like the more extended mortgage rate. We just went down a quarter. It's probably gonna go, they're talking about two more times before the end of 2025. Um I love and appreciate everybody that listens. I do have more episodes coming out. Uh I will be doing more um more interviews. More interviews, solo, solo by myself. This is my first solo one, but I'm gonna be doing more and having some slide presentations. And um, I'm gonna change it up. I'm gonna change it up. Um, like I said, like you this kind of puts me forecourt pressure now because uh me and me and my boy Mark. Because we used to be on a kind of like on a regular basis, but like I said, he's on the coast. He's working on some things with real estate. And it brings me more. So I like, hey, I gotta stick this game up, gotta get everything going. Um uh if uh like and subscribe to the Professionalist Real Estate Investing Podcast. I'm on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, you name it, it's on there. Um, and if you want to be on the podcast, go to the Professionalist Real Estate Investing Podcast. I should say Professionalist Real Estate Investing. Professionalist Real Estate Investing.com. You go on that, submit me um a form on there and everything, and I will get back in touch with you, ASAP. And um on that note, um, I want everybody to have a blessed day, blessed week, blessed month. Um, I appreciate you and everybody um take care of yourselves and love each other. That's what we need around this world right now. A whole lot of love. All right, thank you. Peace.