Mobile Homes vs Houses: Top Real Estate Guru Shares Shocking Insights

Okay folks, 40-plus years in real estate and I still get asked that million-dollar question, should I flip mobile homes or stick with houses? Today we're breaking it all down so you know which option fits your goals best. If you're new here, I'm Joe Homs. I'm a real estate investor, mentor, and broker with over 4 decades under my belt. I've flipped houses, mobile homes, You name it. And today I'm here to save you time, money, and some serious headaches. We're going to go over the pros and cons of flipping houses. One of the big pros is appreciation. Houses appreciate way more than mobile homes do. So think about that when you're flipping. Another pro is financing options. Financing a single-family residence condo is a lot easier than finding financing A mobile home, because a mobile home is kind of considered a vehicle. That's how they're titled, unless they're on land that you own, and then you're really just buying the land and the mobile home on top, which can be removed, a new one replaced. So you have to be aware of those issues. And the 3rd pro is bigger profits. You're going to make way more money on a single-family flip than when you would on a mobile home flip. But then again, you are putting more money into the purchase and the rehab of a single-family versus the purchase and the rehab of a mobile home. They're still the same, they're still the same work, but potentially you can make twice or 3 times the amount on a single-family versus a mobile home. Let's go over some of the cons of flipping Number 1, and it's kind of the biggest, is higher costs. You're going to spend more money on a single-family townhome condo flip. Number 2 is longer timelines. It's not an 1,100, 1,200 square foot mobile home that you're flipping. You're flipping something with larger square footage, and it just takes a longer time to flip a single-family residence. than it would a mobile home. Always run your numbers, whether it's a mobile home or a house. Use tools like peligo.com to calculate your potential ROI before you buy. Let's talk about one of my mobile home flips. It was really kind of the first one I did. I was just introduced to it by an investor that I invest with, and we went in, rehabbed it, and at the end of the day, we made $100,000 on that mobile home. Were we jumping up and down? Absolutely. And then here comes a single-family residence that I got right after COVID, and we started flipping that property. We ended up getting it at a good price. The prices started to shoot up right after COVID. I let the property owner stay in the property for about 4 months. That turned into 8 months. All free rent, and he finally moved out. We went in and rehabbed it, but by that time the homes had appreciated so much. I ended up making over $300,000 on that flip that I thought I was going to make around $100,000. So single-family, big numbers. Mobile homes, not that big, but still a big number. Let's talk about the low cost of entry for mobile homes. Mobile homes you can buy from $5,000 all the way up to millions of dollars. The ones that we're flipping, we're purchasing sometimes for $5,000 or $10,000 in parks, out of parks. If it's out of park and it's in an area that you own the land underneath you, Obviously, that's going to be more expensive. In parks, some of these mobile homes are $5,000 or $10,000. Most of them are getting foreclosed on because they're not paying their park fees. So look for those type of deals if you're flipping mobile homes. Pro number 2, you have a faster turnaround time with mobile homes because there's not a lot there. It's pretty much What you see is what you get at the end of the day. I don't normally replace windows, doors, things like that. You want the curb appeal, you want the front to look in decent shape, backyard if there's any, side yard. What you really concentrate on is the inside. And a lot of times you can actually get away from painting kitchen cabinets, laundry room cabinets. Vanities. Instead of purchasing that like you would in a single-family home flips, you can do a lot less with a mobile home that makes it look 100 times better. And number 3, demand is high. It is literally through the roof. Why? Because you have a low barrier of entry. We're selling these things for $100,000, $150,000, $200,000. Sometimes a little bit more if you own the land underneath, but it's very affordable. We're in California. Where can you buy someplace to live for $100,000, $150,000? You can buy something like that and own it and pay less in rent than you would— less in a mortgage than you would in rent. And last but not least, There's low competition, and hopefully everybody out there listening to this is not going to rush out and start buying mobile homes, because you may see me there bidding at auctions or trying to scoop something up off the MLS. Yes, they are listed on the MLS just like anything else. So the low cost of entry, the low demand, For investors, is a perfect opportunity for you to go out and flip a mobile home. Okay, some of the cons. Let's talk about one of the cons. Depreciation versus appreciation. Mobile homes are basically a vehicle, just like a car. You go buy a car brand new off the lot, the minute you drive it off, it's already depreciated and keeps depreciating. And it's not something that's going to necessarily go up in value. Yes, sometimes they do, but it's very minor. That's not something that you want to buy as an investment and then 20 years down the road you think you have $1 million of equity. That's not going to happen. Number 2, park fees and rules. If you're in a park, you're going to pay what they call space rent. Space rent can be expensive, and here in Orange County, they range from $1,000 to $2,000 or $3,000 a month just for the privilege of putting your mobile home in their park. And again, it's like an HOA. They have lots of rules. They have people actually enforcing those rules because they want to make sure the park looks good for everybody. So if there's something that you're doing that they don't like, Stand by, you're going to get a letter. I've flipped them all, folks. Here's what I've found. Mobile homes are fantastic for beginners or anyone who wants quick wins without a huge upfront investment. But if you're looking for bigger paydays and ready to handle the challenges, single-family homes might be your move. If you're considering mobile homes, stick to ones that are built after 1976. That's when HUD regulations kicked in. Making them safer and easier to finance. So should you flip mobile homes or houses? The answer depends on your goals, budget, and risk tolerance. Mobile homes are great for quick flips and low cost, while houses offer bigger long-term opportunities. What do you think? Are you team mobile home or team house? Drop a comment below and let's talk strategy. If you're ready to take a deeper dive into real estate investing, don't forget to like, subscribe, and share. Time to hit the road. Let's find the next deal.