How to Get Started Buying Mobile Home Parks with Amanda Cruise

My guest today is Amanda Cruise. After growing increasingly wary of the stock market, she pivoted to commercial real estate investing. Her first strategy was in single-family homes, then mobile homes, and now she is focused on the mobile home park asset class. She also works with passive investors looking to diversify income out of traditional IRAs and into alternative real estate investments to create a stable cash flow without the uncertainty of the stock market.

We begin the episode with Amanda sharing her background, what she did before and how she ended up in real estate. She shares that she was brought up in a traditional manner as far as jobs, work, and money are involved. After college where she majored as a data analyst, she couldn’t get a job. Amanda eventually started working her way up the corporate ladder at a large credit card company. She was a hard worker, and the harder she worked, the richer she made other people that she hadn’t even met. She knew there was something more, and she started looking for an alternative to take care of her own time, and that thing was real estate.

We then talk about Amanda’s interest and transition from single-family homes to mobile homes and later mobile home parks. They wanted to do something different, go faster, and mobile homes were the answer. They looked for individual mobile homes from people who really needed to sell and purchased them just like any other real estate property. They did seller financing, which helped get people in a home they wouldn’t otherwise be able to get into because it is hard to get financing for pre-owned mobile homes. They were getting great returns, and they realized they wanted to do more affordable housing, and that was when they decided to start owning mobile home parks.

Next, we talk about Amanda’s criteria for finding mobile homes for sale. Amanda shares that if you’re really interested in single mobile homes, she recommends you drive to the parks looking for sales signs and ask people if they know anybody looking to sell. For them, they prefer the mobile homes to be in parks and have three bedrooms to make them easier to resell in today's market.

We then talk about how Amanda came to know that mobile homes were going to be a profitable venture. Amanda shares that they spent months educating themselves by listening to podcasts and reading books on mobile homes parks. According to her, mobile homes have better returns, and you can buy a mobile home park for a better cap rate than you can buy an apartment. Commercial real estate is valued based on the net operating income it brings in, and in mobile homes, this means more income. For the same amount of net income, you can buy a mobile home for less money than you would spend for an apartment complex. There are also many mom-and-pop sellers in mobile homes, which is not what you find when buying an apartment complex. Additionally, being able to get the deals straight from the people who created the parks themselves is really appealing.

Lastly, we talk about what to expect if you are looking for a business that will lead you to financial freedom in mobile home parks. Amanda shares that if you are looking for a good cash flow, you’re likely to go to multiple areas or states. They live in the central part of the state, and all their investments are three hours away from their home. There aren’t as many parks as there are single-family houses, so it takes a little more work and time to find one within your price range and location. Amanda and her husband's ultimate goal is 300 mobile home parks to get to their ideal target income.

Make sure you don’t miss another amazing episode of the Just Start Real Estate Podcast with Amanda Cruise and get valuable information on how to invest in mobile homes and mobile home parks in a profitable way!

Notable Quotes:

“Mobile homes have a title, not deeds and they are easy to transfer, there’s no closing with mobile homes, you just get it notarized and sign for it just like buying a car.”

Amanda Cruise

“You can buy a mobile home park for a better cap rate than you can buy an apartment complex.”

Amanda Cruise

“Like everything else, in mobile homes parks going straight to the seller will give you the best deal.”

Amanda Cruise

“In mobile houses, buyers' expectations are much more manageable.”

Amanda Cruise

“There aren’t as many parks as there are single-family houses, so it takes a little more work and time to find one within your price range and location.”