Rental properties are always a gamble, I've owned 3. The first was in Detroit, It rented well, I didn't have major expenses other than replacing a furnace. I sold it for a profit. The 2nd was out in Macomb county, it was in bad shape when I bought it, I renovated it and rented it. It's a tough area, there are lots of rental houses. The tenant I had was solid, so it went well. I sold it for a profit. The last one was in a choicer area in Macomb county, I had a teacher for a tenant. She was good. I sold it for a profit, If you have the opportunity to sell a trailer for a profit, I'd say do it, Juice. You can bank the cash until you find one to purchase. Good luck to you.

Vince thank you for sharing your life experiences with me on this subject...also their is no such thing as selling a trailer for a profit unless you own the land it is on

Q. What do they call a trailer park in North Carolina? A. "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous."

LMFAO

Maybe I will start a meth lab next

What's all this real estate as a way to make money talk? Short some fuckin' treasuries already!

You always dreamed of living in a trailer park. It beats the van by the river. You are spreading this opportunity to others and allowing them a chance to share your dream

I've never been a landlord, but I would think that trailers would attract the worst kind of renters -- the kind that would be most likely to trash the unit. As @Vince says, houses and condos appreciate whereas trailers depreciate to zero. What about HOA fees? Also the headache of maintaining the units might drive you insane.

Maybe trailers are a good idea in Silicon Valley where box houses go for $3M. Rent to 21-yr-old geek tech workers. Go into business with SJG.

That's the statement from Dougster I've been looking for - welcome back!!!!

Juice, what happened to renting your moms spare bedroom out to a stripper? I mean you go from subbing out a room to get some free pussy to now buying a trailer? Man you've been watching those late night info-mercials on how to get rich quick again haven't you?

Not that I want to condone owning a trailer with no land or renting to low-quality tenants but isn't real estate supposed to be a decent first investment for an average person? I'm in a similar place as juice looking to establish myself

Upsides to real estate (versus 'paper') as your first investment:

+you are more in control

+leverage with other people's money

+tax advantages

+tangible asset

+(maybe) easier to analyze and quantify for a newbie investor

+less visible volitility

+source of ownership pride

+government assistance (incl. bailouts for mortgage assistance)

Don't get me wrong there are definite downsides to real estates (or trailers) over paper investments like stocks or treasuries. Also it's harder to deversify in real estate for the sale $$ investment versus something like Dougster is proposing. Real estate is also a lot of work -- sharkhunter detailed that vividly in some recent posts. Link: tuscl.net

Thanks for allowing me to comment.

Juice, Random Member and Dougster's advice will save you a lot of headaches and probably make you more money.

Buy some REITs.

I was an apt mgr for 4 years in college, 48 units, all low income or college students. If I were ever to get into that business again, I would never rent a unit with a credit check. There re plenty of agencies to choose from. Quite frankly, if a prospective tenant can't/won't pay their car loans and doctor bills, they aren't going to pay rent either.

The first screening is when you hand them a credit app and ask for a $25 processing fee. Most of the shitty applicants won't pay the $25.

A trailer is meant to be used on public roads on a regular basis. So it is always only 'single wide'. What you mean is a mobile home. As those are only occasionally moved, there can be more than one of them, and each one could be wide enough that you need to get an oversize load permit.

I don't know if I'd want to be renting to trailer people though.

SJG

This is why I posted this thread to help with my lack of experience in investing. Figured a site like tuscl is full of older men that have already made their money and would be able to share their experiences with me on how to make my money

Got my 401k almost maxed out to what the government allows.

Heading back to school on the company I work for dime to better advance myself.

Got about $5,000 in various stocks in the market and looking into doing more every year.

Now I'm looking for creative side business I can run in my free time for extra income.

Let's not forget my poker bankroll lol but I'm sure not all would agree this to be an investment lol

I'm just trying to make sure when I'm 50+ that I can travel and club and sugar bitches like some of you older gentleman do now.

As always thank you for helping a younger man and getting me str8

Also thanks for cracks me up and getting me laughing guys lol

Living in such things usually means that the parking fees are excessive. And also, with RV's the amenities are real small, not that heavy duty, and pricey to maintain.

SJG

Yeah. I'm just not seeing "trailers" being what people would call real estate.

I've got my plans about a small motorhome, but in the situations I'd be using it and keeping it, I'd never have to pay any parking or hook up fees, and it would be just for me ( plus female companionship ) and I'd treat it carefully.

Most stuff is like this, if you can afford to pay, then you won't need to. It is only poor people who are forced to pay.

SJG

What I've noticed about landlords and tenants. This is with renting homes in suburbs.

When the landlord keeps the rent at are slightly below market rates. The landlord just gets garbage tenants. The good tenant never seem to apply or stop by. I don't know why that's the case.

But when the landlord raises the rent (from say $500/mo or $700/mo to $700 or $900, respectively) by $200/mo, then suddenly he or she gets better tenants. I don't know why that is. You'd think the better tenants would show up for the better deal. Not always. However the domicile needs to be in tiptop shape to not scare away the quality renters.

I wonder if this applies to single-wide trailers with Millennials?

?

I remember visiting a friend who lived in a trailer and I went over there with another friend. We were both on guard watching out for cockroaches all over the place. They were crawling up the walls, one went across his computer screen. We sat on bar stools and hoped nothing tried to crawl up. I was surprised the guy who lived there didn't think it was any big deal.

I would have fumigated the whole trailer before I lived in such a place. I guess it's what you get used to. I occasionally find and kill a spider or bug in my house maybe once every few weeks. My friend in his trailer lived with them crawling around with the lights on.

It's not the craziest plan, although being a landlord is a lot of work. Your units will be empty at times. And they will occasionally get trashed for more than the deposit.

I'd want to know all the legalities, like how do you do evictions, and how long does it take? Utility bill issues? Mold inspection required? Fire liability? I think there are lots of ways such doings could bit back at you. Likely it is very different from land lording with regular buildings, and even that can be legally complex.

For an interval I managed an apartment building. It is not always a nice situation. I would not want to personally be renting people their homes, because sometimes it would be necessary to evict. Not territory I want to go into.

SJG

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