Renting out your mobile home can be an excellent source of passive income. When it’s time to move, many homeowners choose to rent out their property rather than sell it.
In reality, it’s just like any real estate investment — mobile homes provide people and families somewhere to live, just like a site-built house. More and more people are looking for affordable housing these days, and you can provide it while making a profit by renting out your mobile home.
Related: Ultimate Guide to Mobile Home Financing
Pros of Renting Out Your Mobile Home
Other than earning passive income, renting out your mobile home instead of selling it comes with many advantages:
Mobile Homes Appreciate in Value
While many believe that mobile homes only depreciate in value, that’s not true. Mobile homes can appreciate like stick-built houses. Even if the appreciation rates might be slightly less, mobile homes will go up in value if you make the right purchase and keep up on regular maintenance.
Renting out your mobile home doesn’t only help earn you extra income, but it’s also a long-term investment. For example, after renting out your mobile home for a while, you will likely be able to pay off any balance remaining on your loan. Then, if you decide to sell it later, there’s a good chance that you’ll turn a tidy profit on the sale in addition to earning passive income during the period you rented it.
Renting Your Mobile Home Can Bring a High ROI
Compared to stick-built homes, you can get a higher ROI when renting out a mobile home — whether it’s on its own land or in a park.
Here’s why: Even though most mobile homes have lower annual rental values than site-built homes, annual property taxes, insurance, etc., are often much lower, too.
However, it does depend on your mobile home’s location and condition.
Renting out your mobile home can be an excellent way to earn extra income in return for performing regular maintenance and managing tenants.
Mobile Home Renovations Are Relatively Inexpensive
If you’re thinking about renting out your mobile home, there’s some good news: If you can spend some money on renovations before renting, you can get a much better return on your investment.
In addition, many people looking to rent a mobile home have fewer expectations than if they were to rent a site-built house.
Let’s look at some typical renovation costs for mobile homes compared to stick-built houses:
-
Roofs — Putting a new roof on a mobile home will typically cost between $1,000 and $3,000. Site-built homes of the same size usually cost anywhere from $5,000 to over $10,000.
-
Flooring — Reflooring a mobile home might cost you around $3,000; however, doing the same for a site-built home can cost you double or even triple that.
-
Windows — Replacing mobile home windows costs less than half of what it would for traditional houses because they typically come in a few standard sizes.
Related: How to Finance a Mobile Home
Mobile Home Maintenance Is Generally Inexpensive
When you rent out your mobile home, you’ll still be responsible for general maintenance. Luckily, most mobile homes are relatively small (800 to 1,400 square feet), and their systems are easy to access because of how their crawl spaces and foundations are built.
In addition, HVAC and plumbing maintenance is much less expensive than site-built homes, and you can usually find refurbished systems for replacements, which are quite affordable.
Mobile Home Tenants Stay For a While
Other than the money side of things, renting out your mobile home has another advantage: It’s actually pretty easy.
There are many renters looking for mobile homes — mobile home communities typically allow for things that site-built subdivisions don’t.
Many traditional neighborhoods have homeowners associations these days, prohibiting some people from living there. For example, many mobile home tenants like to work on older cars or own RVs or trailers — things that many HOAs frown upon.
In our experience, mobile home tenants typically rent and stay in the same home and community for years. Most tenants will pay on time and help take care of your property.
Why?
Because they often have limited options for renting a property that fits their lifestyle and needs. So when they find one, they’ll likely stay for a while.
Cons of Renting Out Your Mobile Home
However, renting out your mobile home isn’t always easy — there are some negatives to consider:
Lot Costs & HOA Fees
If your mobile home is on a rented lot, you have to pay that lot rent whether or not someone is currently renting your home. And because lot rent usually makes up the majority of your monthly payment when renting in a park, you can lose money quickly when you don’t have tenants.
Many mobile homeowners rent their lots, and those lot fees can range from $100 to over $1,000, depending on the location. In addition, some communities may also charge HOA fees, which you’ll also be responsible for even if no one currently lives there.
Some mobile home communities also require the homes to be occupied by the owner — it’s important to understand your park rules on this subject before trying to rent out your mobile home.
Tenant Hassles
Even the best mobile home rental properties and tenants come with a lot of hassles. Stuffed drains, broken pipes, unannounced pets, roommates, etc., are only a few possible challenges you might face. Even great tenants will need your immediate attention when an issue pops up.
And then you have the difficult tenants. Daily complaints and late (or unpaid) rent can be challenging to handle. Another challenge comes when they move out — what if they caused damage that needs costly repairs?
Related: Mobile Home Parks: Pros and Cons
Is Renting Out Your Mobile Home Worth It?
Renting out your mobile home can be profitable if you’re willing to take some risks. If you decide to rent your mobile home to another person or family, the three most important aspects to consider are the community’s rules, the tenant’s background, and your continued responsibility for maintenance.
Does renting out your mobile home sound like a hassle? Don’t want to deal with tenants? At Home Nation, we’re not only one of the top mobile home dealers in the country, but we also buy homes! See what you can get for your mobile home today.
