There is a real estate agent in my office that has a fascinating story to tell about her & her husband’s mobile home rentals.

She asked me not to mention her and her husbands name, so for the sake of this story I will call them Barbara and Joe.

Barbara is a successful real estate agent. Joe is a general contractor who has built or helped build dozens of homes in Washington County.

Joe and Barbara were married 15 years ago. They wanted to stop paying rent so they purchased a two bedroom, one bath mobile home in the Dixie Downs area to live in.

They paid $3,000 for the 1970’s mobile home that sits on a rented lot. They put an additional $2,000 into it, in fix up costs.

Joe and Barbara and two of their kids lived in the home for about five years.

After they moved to Hurricane, the mobile sat empty for two years while they tried to decide what to do with it. They finally made a decision to rent it. They found that renting it out was simple and they have had it successfully rented ever since.

Although they pay space rent of $230/month, Joe and Barbara receive $600 per month in rent from that little “home on wheels”. Their positive cash flow is $370 per month on this rental

Two More Mobile Homes

In About 1999, Joe and Barbara inherited an acre of land in Hurricane that had a 1960’s two bedroom, one bath mobile home on it. They added a second mobile home to the property when Joe received a two bedroom, one bath 1970’s mobile home, in trade for some construction work he had done.

These mobile homes are on one electrical meter, so Joe and Barbara pay the electrical bill for both homes. This bill averages $75 month.

Joe and Barbara get $475 per month in rent for the older home and $525 per month for the newer home. After paying the electrical bill, Joe & Barbara are averaging $925 per month in income from these two homes.

For the most part the property management on these homes has been fairly simple. The maintenance costs average about $75 per month. Occasionally Joe and Barbara have a problem tenant that at some point can’t or won’t pay the rent. Sometimes these tenants can be slow to move out, but since all three homes are owned free and clear this is just a small headache.

When someone moves the homes are usually empty for only 7 to 14 days. Most tenants stay for about a year.

To screen their renters Joe and Barbara go by work history plus they call the previous landlords. This method has worked well for them.

            The most important points that Barbara told me are:

• Replace the mobile home doors and windows with real house windows so that the mobiles have better “home like” feel.
• Pay cash for your mobile homes.
• Be able to do your own work on your mobiles or know someone that can who is very good at what they do.

If you would like to talk to “Barbara” direct, please call me at (435) 619-3664.

March, 2006: Wow, they bought another one: Joe and Barbara bought another mobile home in hurricane. Their payments are $187/month and it rents for $550/month. Total positive cash flow: $1500+ per month.

Copyrights Reserved. January, 2005.

No copying or reproduction is allowed without express consent of Don Glasgow (435) 619-3664