Glen and Diane Holdgrafer have over thirty years experience in investing in single-family residential properties. In the late sixties, Glen began investing in single-family residential properties in San Diego, California.  In the mid-seventies, he became a licensed Real Estate Broker for the state of California. Currently he is a licensed Real Estate Broker and a licensed Manufactured Home Dealer in the state of Texas.

In January 1981, Glen and Diane founded Amarillo Investors Mortgage and Amarillo Property Management, Inc. in Amarillo, Texas.  Both companies have experienced tremendous growth over the years.  In 1997, Diane retired as a surgical nurse to become the office manager.  

 

Presently Amarillo Investors Mortgage and Amarillo Property Management, Inc. are involved in the purchase, management, leasing and selling of single-family residential properties in Amarillo, Texas.  They have developed a successful land/home parcel offer with owner financing in their three Manufactured Home Communities that allows home buyers to qualify easily and buy a house for close to what they would spend in rent. On a large number of these properties, owner financing is provided to the purchaser through private investors and financial institutions.

Our First Property Venture

Dee and I bought 142 existing Contracts for Deed on lots that had Manufactured Homes on them. The notes were heavily seasoned. We received a nice discount so the deal was not a problem. However, I was a Real Estate Broker with knowledge of mortgages and cash flow but not Manufactured Homes.

We also received eighty vacant lots, thirty-four storage units and eighteen contiguous acres. The owners were getting out of the business. They had developed the subdivision in the early 1980's. The storage units brought in about $800 a month.

I had no idea of the value of these lots. The previous owners were selling them, but very slowly. The extra 18 acres were also of questionable value. With 80 vacant lots, we had no idea if or when we would use them.

This was the best Manufactured Home subdivision in Amarillo, Texas. The income from the lots was constant.

The Results

As it turned out, our timing could not have been better. We started to buy homes, set them on the lots and sell the land and the home with owner financing. We started selling lots at the old price of $10,000 a lot. When we added the Manufactured Home we were able to rent or sell it easily.

The market got better each year and the lots sold out in four years. The value and prices of the lots increased about $1,000 each year.  These lots are within the city limits. They have paved streets and alleys, curb and gutter with sidewalks, and off street parking. We get one or two thousand dollars as down payment and carry the financing for fifteen or more years. The monthly payment is comparable to lot rent in other Manufactured Home Communities.

Time to Expand

Since this project worked so well, we decided to develop the additional acreage. Our first development consisted of 31 lots on one street. We filled those lots within eighteen months.  The remaining land was split into 44 lots and is now nearly sold. Many of these lots are larger lots with newer doublewide homes on them. Fences are required in this latest project.

The original owners of this project owned 80 contiguous acres for future development. We acquired this parcel a few years ago.  This may be an even better opportunity. We can use 80' x 100' fenced lots to hold large 28' x 60' doublewide Manufactured Homes.  We have also acquired two other Manufactured Home Communities in the Amarillo Texas area.

What's Next?

We are constantly developing in our Amarillo Texas Manufactured Home Communities and continue to create these land/home parcels.  We have previously sold many of these land/home parcels with owner financing.  The terms included a sales price in the mid to high sixties with a 5-10% down payment. The balance of the loan was carried over 20 to 30 years. The development costs were handled by the notes on the lots.

The typical investor earned good yields for up to 12 years with monthly payments.  The investor holds a first mortgage on the home. We carried the financing on the land/home package, putting us in the second lien position.

This works well for the buyer because of the owner financing, they own a home for about the same monthly cost as renting.  It works well  for the investor because they have a well-secured note with a decent yield.  Also, it is excellent for us as we pay off the investor in twelve years and then have an annuity for the balance of the term. For more information, call (800) 933-0231