January 14, 2026
Over the years, I’ve talked with a lot of mobile home parkbuyers who are doing all the “right” things. They build lists, make calls, and look a huge number of deals. Yet they still coming up empty.
Most of the time, the issue isn’t a lack of effort.
It’s market alignment.
Buyers often spend months chasing parks that were never arealistic fit for their price range, operational model, or long-term goals. Theproblem is they usually don’t realize it until they’re already deep intoconversations with an owner, only to find out a deal was never going to happenin the first place.
There’s a common belief in the mobile home park space that success comes down to call volume. Simply put, the more parks you contact, the better your chances of finding a deal.
On paper, that sounds reasonable. In practice, it usually leads to burnout.
You see, most parks don’t actually match most buyers’criteria. When a buyer’s outreach is broad and unfocused, a lot of time gets spent on conversations that fall apart as soon as numbers, financing, orexpectations come up. Over time, it starts to feel like the market itself is the problem, when in reality it’s the approach.
A big part of this comes down to size, price, and recent park turnover. Many buyers target smaller parks because of financing limits, management capacity, orpersonal risk tolerance. At the same time, a large portion of parks in today’smarket are held by owners whose expectations simply don’t align with those constraints. Without clearly defining what they’re looking for, buyers end up calling owners they could never realistically transact with, and those conversations stall quickly.
Geography plays into this as well. Many mobile home parks operate in smaller towns and communities, where pricing, tenant dynamics, and buyer expectations are very different from larger metro areas. Buyers who rely only on high-level market assumptions often miss opportunities simply because they’re not looking where the majority of parks actually function day to day.
Unfocused outreach doesn’t just waste time. It affects credibility.
Park owners can usually tell very quickly when a buyer hasn’t done their homework or isn’t a realistic fit. After enough of those calls, owners become harder to engage, even when a serious buyer eventually comes along.
The best conversations happen when both sides know there’s a reason to be talking. Relevance matters, and owners respond differently when a conversation is grounded in reality rather than blind speculation.
The buyers who tend to have the most success start by getting clear about their goals and buying criteria.
They take the time to define what they’re actually looking for in relation to price range, park size, condition, geography, and operational preferences before chasing every possible opportunity.
That clarity changes the quality of conversations and makes it easier to identify parks that truly make sense.
At that point, you’re no longer guessing. You’re evaluating market alignment.
The mobile home park market isn’t short on owners willing to sell.
It’s short on clarity and realistic expectations.
When buyers slow down long enough to define what really fits, they tend to have better conversations, stronger relationships withowners, and far fewer dead ends. That shift alone makes a noticeable difference.
Interested in a More Focused Approach?
If you’re actively evaluating parks, starting with clearcriteria can make a big difference. You can learn more about how Mid-PlainsLand & Realty works with buyers through our Buyer Pool.
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