I want to talk about two investment niches actually, because they are different. They both involve mobile homes, but with different lifestyles and investment opportunities. Mobile homes, as well as manufacturing and parks are a major component in Warren Buffet’s investment strategy for good reasons. Let’s look at the two niche investments to see if they may be of interest. They are mobile home parks and RV parks.

1. Think Wheels for a Real Estate Investment Niche
I want to talk about two investment niches actually, because they are different. They
both involve mobile homes, but with different lifestyles and investment opportunities.
Mobile homes, as well as manufacturing and parks are a major component in Warren
Buffet’s investment strategy for good reasons. Let’s look at the two niche investments
to see if they may be of interest. They are mobile home parks and RV parks.
Mobile Home Parks
This is a niche that’s about the type of home, not as much the mobility. Mobile homes
are affordable and they are popular with beginner homeowners, rural buyers, and lower
income buyers. They are also becoming popular with retirees on fixed incomes due to
the lower cost of housing.
I’m talking about buying a mobile home and having it moved into a semi-permanent to
permanent spot in a park set up for very long term residents. In other words, they’re
not picking up and moving a lot, often never again. They pay space rent for the spot

2. where they are set up. The size of spaces vary because home sizes vary a lot. Mobile
homes vary from single-wides up to around 80 feet in length to double-wide homes that
long and around 16 to 20 feet wide. So, a space can vary in ground size quite a bit,
especially considering roads, amenities, common areas, etc.
Development of a mobile home park is very cost effective however. It’s a lot like lot
development for home subdivisions. You need utilities and roads. Your tenant brings
their home, rolls it in, and sets up the foundational support. Mobile home park space
rents are running from as little as $100 to as much as $800 per month or more
depending on size and amenities.
As they become more popular, there are retirement and adult parks with nicer
landscaping and amenities. You don’t have the turnover of home or apartment renters,
so your vacancy losses are low. In these parks the tenants set up their own utility
accounts for electricity, gas, phone, etc. Some even pay their own trash and sewer,
though this is often a cost to the park owner.
Management costs are low for this type of park, as they’re more long term, and they
take care of their own home maintenance. Basically, landscaping, roads and utility
infrastructure is all the owner has to maintain over the long haul. The tenants also sign
up with local providers for Internet access.
Buying mobile home parks and upgrading them has become popular, as many have
been owned for years and are inherited. The heirs simply want to move on, so they are
willing to sell at prices that can make them good investments. Even for the larger
home size lots, you should be able to get 6 or 7 units on an acre. Older parks have
smaller spaces and much greater density, but can’t accommodate new units in some
cases without combining lots.
RV Parks
Another major growth industry is Recreational Vehicle manufacturing. The Baby
Boomer generation in particular is buying these for extended traveling vacations, and
more every year are adopting the full time RV lifestyle.
The costs of development of an RV park are a bit higher than with a mobile home park,
as you’ll want some bathrooms, showers and laundry facilities to attract the best
travelers. Some even have swimming pools, game rooms, etc. Many guests stay for
months in the South for the winter, then go to the mountains for the summer. The
costs to operate are higher as well, as you’ll want to provide free WiFi access and
management to book reservations and clean the facilities. Owners also pay the
electricity costs for short term guests. They have their own gas heat with propane.

3. The good news is that there are many who opt to manage these parks in return for a
free space and laundry privileges. Two couples, given free spaces, can manage a large
park and generally will not need any wages. Many larger parks provide the space and
pay an hourly wage as well for management, booking, maintenance and even cooking
in some.
Space rental can be from a single night to months depending on the park. When
asked, one park operator charges $49/night for a large space for the big bus style units.
The weekly rate is $225, and the monthly rate is $575. However, monthly guests have
metered electricity in those spaces, so the cost drops for the owner. Nightly and
weekly guests get their electricity as part of the space cost.
Spaces are a bit smaller and many times a bit crowded in popular areas. This increases
profit with more units per acre. Prices get really high as well. In shopping beachfront
parks in Florida during the snowbird season, many were getting between $900 and
$1,200 per space per month with a high percentage of monthly guests for the winter.
Think wheels if you’re looking for a different type of real estate investment niche. You
may even be able to live in a popular vacation resort area.