Renting mobile home lots

Cactus · Mar 3, 2005

Anyone here ever rent mobile home lots ?
What is a nice size lot ??? What kind of restrictions would you apply? I would want to keep things looking very good/neat etc. What are the pro's con's ?
I have property in a rural setting with city water/electric no natural gas,road frontage. Any suggestions ?

Bird · Mar 3, 2005

Cactus, first you probably should fill in your profile to let everyone know what part of the world you're in. I've never owned mobile home lots for rent, but I'm now living in a mobile home park, and am familiar with lots of others. And just as site built homes and lots vary, so do mobile home lots. How many lots do you want to make? You say you have water/electric; how about sewer? No gas; are you going to allow propane tanks, or total electric only? Is telephone service, cable TV & Internet service available? Would you expect single wide only, double wide, triple wide? Are you going to fence lots separately, or allow the tenants to do so, or prohibit fencing as many do? 60' x 100' lots are nice, but many are much smaller. What kind of streets, street lighting, parking areas for each site you plan? What kind of mail boxes and/or mail center will be used? Will you only have a lot for people to live on, or would you plan swimming pools, recreational buildings, dog walking areas, playground and/or athletic facilities? I think most mobile home parks now have very lengthy, detailed rental agreements, outlining what kind of vehicles are allowed (none over 3/4 ton where I am now), number of dogs allowed, prohibiting certain breeds of dogs, such as pit bull, doberman, german shepard, rottweiler, etc. Are carports allowed? Are storage buildings allowed, and if so what size and/or type of material? In other words, it can get as complicated as developing any other residential area, and this post certainly does not cover nearly all the details.

ByronBob · Mar 3, 2005

My brother is paying about $400 a month for his rent but his place is a nicer one. Some of them around here are cheaper but they look ratty.

Dargo · Mar 3, 2005

I have to be careful about giving too much detail in case he reads this, but I have a very wealthy uncle who owns several mobile home parks. Some are pretty simple with very small lots on which he only provides a concrete driveway and a concrete pad on which the tenent's trailer sits. For that I think he gets a couple hundred a month. In others, he actually has a gated community with all utilities, nice concrete roads and sidewalks, a community tennis court, pool, etc. Those lots are roughly 80' x 90'. He gets several hundred dollars per month for those lots. Most homes there are sectional homes rather than what is considered a trailer. Heck, he even has some really nice looking two story homes in there that are sectional homes. So, it all depends. Like Bird said, it will also hugely depend on your location.

Dargo · Mar 3, 2005

( prohibiting certain breeds of dogs )

Dang Bird. Look at my picture. You mean that I couldn't come visit at your location? /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif I know I came from over-seas, but I do have my papers...the rest of my litter is currently serving in Iraq. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif I hope that doesn't make me a draft dodger... /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

beenthere · Mar 3, 2005

Sounds like a lot of information and planning goes into setting up a good, attractive mobile home lot. Not sure what 'mobile' means beyond bringing in a unit on wheels.

I suspect keeping one attractive is pretty dependent upon the rental price per month.

I have been traveling many miles (7000) through the western states the last 6 weeks, and when the landscape seems to look a bit run-down it sometimes is hard to tell if one is looking at a junkyard, a mobile home location, or an RV site. Don't mean to offend anyone here, but with the variety of shapes and sizes, the old car junkyards don't look much different, and the 'scenery' isn't very aesthetic (to me).
But then, the 'scenic' view of acres and acres of homes isn't all that 'aesthetic' to me either. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Just that, you are in control of what the potential aesthetics of your mobile home lot becomes in the future. Our town passed an ordinance that 'trailers' or mobile homes had to be placed on permanent foundations to be 'legal' and this has kept trailer courts from happening.

Good luck with your adventure.

Bird · Mar 3, 2005

Bob, I'm paying $410 a month because this park is in a wealthy neighborhood (I sure couldn't afford any of the houses we're surrounded by) and a desireable location. Brother-in-law in another Dallas suburb is paying $275 a month with just as many amenities as we have. And yes, there are plenty of cheap ones around, but like you said, some are pretty ratty.

Moon · Mar 3, 2005

One in a nearby community opened 4 years ago. Amoung the restrictions was one that the mobile home being moved in had to be a 2000 or newer model, and they had to have the hitch cut off of the home. He still filled every spot he had available. Don't know how much the lots rent for though.

Moon of Ohio

Cactus · Mar 3, 2005

( Amoung the restrictions was one that the mobile home being moved in had to be a 2000 or newer model, and they had to have the hitch cut off of the home. )

Now you are talking....thats would be my way of thinking....something very neat and orderly. I would like to see older couples and no children...

Bird · Mar 3, 2005

Cactus, my lease agreement is 15 pages. Year model isn't mentioned, but they have to be built to certain federal standards, kept neat and clean in appearance, minimum 14' wide, hitch and wheels removed, vinyl skirting, double blocking, steps and porches to a certain standard, any landscaping has to be approved by the manager, and on and on. Unless you are in a retirement community you might have a problem with renting lots that prohibit children. One thing that makes this park desireable is the fact that this town is known for good schools and we're right across the street from an elementary school. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif So we've got a genuine mix of tenants, families with small children, those with teenagers, retirees, young singles, old singles, etc. We've got single wide and double wide homes, a very small swimming pool and a playground. The company that owns the place also brings in 16' single wides to fill any vacancies and they're available for rent or "rent to buy" (brought in 3 new ones yesterday). But in the year and a half we've been here, I've not heard any complaints about the kids even though we've got lots of the little rug rats around. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif I don't know just how old some of these mobile homes are, but I know the elderly lady right behind us has lived in that same one on the same lot for over 25 years, but I'm sure most folks would never guess that her trailer is anywhere near that old.