Catalina Mortgage Company, Inc. has been providing Mobile Home Park Loans nationwide since 1979.

In that time we have seen everything from the Class A, multi-million dollar properties to the smaller parks in rural America.
We wanted to offer some thoughts and how lenders might look at your specific property.
Some Lenders will only do loans above a certain loan amount, some only in certain regions, and many won’t consider any park with 

Park Owned Coaches or RV’s.

First note is that an RV Park is NOT a Mobile Home Park/Manufactured Housing Community.

RV Parks by their nature have fluctuating occupancy, similar to a motel.
Some RV Parks are able to rent on 6 to 12 month leases, which helps in their financing.

Mobile Home Parks typically have leases.

The ideal loan for most lenders would be:

Loan Amount over $2,000,000

Located in major Metropolitan Area

More than 50% Double Wide Coaches
All coaches skirted

Stable Occupancy of 90% or better.

Paved streets, full amenity package
No Park Owned Coaches.Rent to Own

This does not mean that an older park in a smaller community with all single wide units and some park owned coached cannot be financed, it simply means that it will not fit certain loan programs.  That is why it is helpful to use a professional, experienced Mortgage Broker to lead you through the options to the ones that work for you.

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There is always confusion about what “Grade” a Mobile Home Park is.  They are often referred to as 1 to 5 Star.  Technically there has not been a “Star” grading since the 70’s when Woodall Publishing published a travel guide and graded the properties.  Even though not technically correct anymore, we wanted to provide you with some guidance.  Today references of Class A (5 Star) to Class D (2 Star) are roughly equivalent:

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5 STAR

Larger than 50 spaces
Strong location

Vast Majority of Double Wide spaces

All homes skirted and well maintained
No Park Owned Coaches

Paved Streets, ideally curbed - sidewalks
Patios, open spaces, attractive landscaping

Strong amenity package

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4 STAR

Larger than 50 spaces
Strong location

Most of Double Wide spaces

Most homes skirted and well maintained

No more than 10% Park Owned Coaches

Paved Streets, ideally curbed
Clean, well landscaped
Strong amenity package

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3 STAR

Larger than 200 spaces
Good  Location

Few or no Double Wide spaces

Most homes skirted

Clean Streets, paved or gravel
Patios, open spaces, attractive landscaping
Laundry and some amenity package

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2 STAR

Larger than 10 spaces
Location supporting demand for spaces

Typically Single Wide spaces

Some homes skirted and reasonably maintained
High percentage of Park Owned Coaches

Clean Streets, paved or gravel

Clean landscaping, no clutter

Laundry service

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We hope this information is helpful