The best choice of your home living

Posts Tagged ‘home investment’

Manufactured homes might be the best-kept investment secret in real estate. While many investors struggle to raise funds and pay taxes for a single high-end property, manufactured home investors can make simple money and acquire swift equity on a collection of homes. It’s also easier to plan ahead with manufactured homes since they’re less affected by changes in the economy than other real estate markets.

Investing in manufactured homes is relatively simple if you’ve got cash flow. The first step is overcoming any negative assumptions you might have about manufactured housing, whether you view it as poorly built, or simply too generic to warrant a long-term purchase. The fact is there is a huge market for these homes, with buyers and renters inactivity to enjoy the affordable, flexible lifestyle they afford. Manufactured and mobile homes also look a lot different than they used to – many have features like spacious patios and sun rooms areas that add style to regular living.

Many people also adopt manufactured homes decrease in value over time, but this generally isn’t the case. A manufactured home might double in value over a decade like any other piece of real estate, especially if it comes with property. This brings us to another advantage: investors can maintain a valuable manufactured home property without the high costs and mortgages of a regular home. These homes can also be moved offsite or disassembled at a fraction of the cost of a regular house.

There are a variety of investment scenarios that can generate a high return in the manufactured home market. The easiest and fastest is to simply purchase stock in a publicly traded manufactured housing company, or get involved in a real estate investment trust that specializes in manufactured homes. Another profitable option is to purchase a manufactured home and rent it out. You won’t be healthy to charge as much to rent your mobile home as you would a regular home of the same size, but it won’t be that much less. For example, a $50K mobile home might rent for $600 a month while a $200K regular home rents at about $750 – you’ll be making a comparable return on investment for much less money up front, and smaller monthly mortgage payments. An obvious third investment scenario might be to purchase a mobile home, live in it until the mortgage is paid off, and then sell it – in this scenario you’ll spend much less money on fixes and upgrades before the understanding than you would with a regular home.

Another pleasant surprise of mobile home investing is how swiftly the houses can be paid off. Smaller loans mean smaller interest charges, and faster equity in the home. That also means you can move on to your next real estate investment faster.

When you hear the words “mobile home”, what do you immediately think? Hillbillies with rebel flags in their windows? The show COPS? Sure, that’s the stereotype, but the truth is that a large number of Americans- about 20 million of them- live in mobile homes. And the demographic make-up of this group is not much different from normal residential subdivisions and apartment complexes.

Another little-known fact about mobile homes is that you can make excellent returns by investing in them- with amounts as low as $5,000 to $10,000. Returns in the neighborhood of a steady 10% to 20% per year. Compare that to your current successes in the stock market and the rate on CDs at your neighborhood bank and you’ll see that those type of year-over-year returns are really pretty extraordinary.

So how do you invest in mobile homes?

Read the rest of this entry »

Most people know that the ideal way to start building wealth is to purchase real estate. After all, real estate is one of the few investment markets that is independent from other economic trends. Regardless of recession or inflationary periods, or wild rides on the stock market, real estate provides investors with a strong, steady increase in values.

This return on investment, and the capability to save money, is one of the reasons most people try to purchase a home. But what many people don’t realize is that not only does it make a lot of sense to invest in a primary residence, it makes just as much sense to purchase a second home, and receive many of the same financial benefits. There’s never been a superior time to make a second home investment.

In fact, many experts are suggesting that purchasing a second home for investment purposes is one of the smarter investments an individual could make. Investing in real estate isn’t just for the rich and famous. There are a number of real estate opportunities that are quite inexpensive for the average investor, like condominiums and small homes. There are financing options that make the investment painless.

Let’s suppose you’ve always wanted to own a second home for a pass property. How much of the year would you or your family be using the property? For most people, the pass property will be used a couple of months of the year at best. The rest of the year, the home can be rented out, sometimes creating more rental revenue than the mortgage payment. And of course, there’s the appreciation of the property as well. In a few short years, you’ve grown a minimal investment into a substantial return, and had the benefit of the use of the property for your family vacations.

Another option is to think about a second home with permanent renters. Again, you can easily find mortgage options that require tiny or no down-payments, low interest rates, and low monthly payments. Your rental income covers the monthly payment, and you have a property that will only appreciate in value.

Second homes are also great transitions into retirement. Envision having a second home rented out for the time being, but acquirable for your use upon retirement. You might even have the home paid for by your retirement.

If you’ve owned your primary home for a few years, you might be unaware of the number of mortgage plans acquirable that make owning a second home so affordable. Contact your mortgage agent to get information on these mortgage programs, and you’ll soon be enjoying the wealth and security of a strong second home investment.