The Manufactured Housing Forums

There is a run down MH park near me, it has damage from hurricane ivan and it doesn't appear that the owners are doing anything to fix it back, all of the homes are very old and run down to begin with, ivan didn't help matters.

There is also a piece of property for sale (unrelated) that ajoins this park that is approximate 4.5 acres ($300k), it has an 2 additional entrances, including one to a highway traffic light.

If I were interested, how would I find out about possibly buying the park, and the land, and expanding/upgrading the park. NONE of the homes currently on the park or either worth saving, or would be inline with the type of park I would want around.
Would the SBA be interested in financing an essentially new park from the ground up?

Beyond that, would there be a way to have the existing park shut down for it's run down status, torn up blue roofs, homes that had trees fall on them, etc?
I know some people have moved because the owners refused to fix the homes, and I've heard that the owner isn't even collecting rent anymore, rather than being 'required' to repair the homes in order to collect it.

Just running ideas through my head...

Hi Pendragon,


May i ask where is this MH park located?

If you did purchase it, would you sales shares in the park or just lease the spaces?


Thanks

Monica

I would only be interested in expanding the park if it could be done as more of a small (very) subdivision, not a mobile home park.

My first inclination right now is to file a protest with the zoning board that the lot should not be sold as commercial property, since anything could be put on it as it sits and it sits in the middle of a residential neighborhood.

I would start with the zoning department, or a local realtor who could look it up for you. Then, I would progress to the city council or building department to see what they would approve being put on there. In some areas, it may be the planning department, or may be a part of the zoning department.

Before you consider buying an older park there are a lot of dynamics to understand.
"If you want to buy an older community that is in need of repair, where do you start? What do you consider? To whom do you go to ask questions? What questions are important? What other resources do you have to consider?" Read More in Chrissy Jackson's article Buying A MHCommunity – What to Look For?
A good place to start is the classic book now available in E-book format Upgrading Your Community - by Chrissy Jackson
Another must read if your going to Buy and Improve an MH Community is How to Find, Buy, Manage & Sell a Manufactured Home Community by George Allen
For details about Government backed loans for Community purchase and upgrade get Eddie Hicks popular bookHow To Get An FHA Guaranteed Loan For Acquisition and Rehabilitation or Development of a MH Community This title is now also available in E-Book format for Instant Download You will find many more publications on community management, purchase and upgrade at www.ManufacturedHousingBookStore.com