Park-Owned Homes: The Hidden Costs and Returns of Renting Out Homes Inside Your Park
Use this guide to separate the site-rent income from the home-and-site rental business before you make an offer. You will see who carries home repairs in a sourced state example, what to verify at turnover, and how a park-owned-home count can change an agency-financing screen.
This is general information, not legal, tax, or financing advice. Landlord-tenant, title, tax, and lending rules vary by state and locality, and program terms change. Confirm the current rules with the applicable agencies, lender, and qualified professionals before making an offer or closing.
A park-owned home changes what you are buying
Start with a home-by-home ownership list. Fannie Mae describes a manufactured housing community as a property where residents generally own their homes and lease pad sites; its United States program finances the community's sites, common amenities, and infrastructure. A park-owned rental, by contrast, means the buyer is evaluating the home and its rental operation as well as the site.
That distinction changes the income and work. With a resident-owned home, the park collects lot or site rent and does not add a home-rent line for a home it does not own. With a park-owned rental, the park collects rent for the home and its site, but it also has home-level vacancy, make-ready, maintenance, leasing, title, and collection exposure. There is no sourced national amount for the difference between home-and-site rent and lot rent, or for a typical turn, so do not estimate either before checking the actual records.
Who carries repairs and turnover?
The answer depends on the lease and applicable law. Oregon provides a concrete illustration, not a nationwide rule. In Oregon, when a resident rents both the manufactured dwelling and its space, the tenancy falls under ORS 90.120 and ORS 90.320 (Oregon, 2025 edition with 2026 session-law notices), and the landlord must maintain the dwelling in habitable condition. The tenant has statutory duties concerning cleanliness, utilities and appliances, waste, and deliberate or negligent damage under ORS 90.325.
For a resident who owns the home and rents a park space, Oregon's park provisions say the landlord maintains the site, vacant sites, and common areas, but has no duty to maintain the resident's home; see ORS 90.730. The owner-resident also has duties under ORS 90.740. Verify the law and lease for the property's state and locality rather than carrying Oregon's allocation into another deal.
Operating comparison
Operating comparison; actual duties depend on the lease and applicable state and local law.
| Item | Resident-owned home | Park-owned home rented with its site |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue being collected | Lot or site rent; do not count a home-rent line for a home the park does not own. | Rent for the home and its site; do not assume it is better income before subtracting home-level costs. |
| Home repair responsibility | Under Oregon's park statute, the park landlord has no duty to maintain the resident's home; it still maintains the site, vacant sites, and common areas. Verify the state rule and lease. | In Oregon, the landlord has a habitability duty for the rented dwelling; the tenant also has statutory care and use duties. Verify the state rule and lease. |
| Turnover work to verify | Re-renting a site can still involve collections, site condition, landscaping, infrastructure, and any legally permitted site work. Do not assume the park owns the departing resident's home. | Verify lost home-and-site rent while vacant, cleaning, repairs, appliance or HVAC work, marketing, screening, leasing, title records, and any removal or replacement decision. No dollar estimate is provided because no primary source establishes a general amount. |
| Vacancy exposure | A vacant site loses its lot-rent line. | A vacant park-owned rental can lose the combined home-and-site rent and can need a home turn before re-renting. |
| Agency screen | Resident ownership supports the site-rental structure on Fannie Mae's MHC program page. | Count every relevant home before relying on an agency execution; ownership percentage can determine eligibility. |
Why the agency screen focuses on the home mix
Fannie Mae's United States MHC product is designed around borrower-owned sites, common amenities, and infrastructure, with residents generally owning their homes. That site-rental focus is useful context for the home-mix screen. Fannie Mae's 2026 MHC term sheet generally limits park-owned homes to 25% of homes, and permits up to 35% with a business plan to reduce the share over time. The term sheet states the thresholds; it does not state why it selected them.
Freddie Mac's standard United States MHC policy caps borrower-, affiliate-, and third-party-investor-owned homes at 25% in aggregate. Above that share, the mortgage is ineligible for Freddie Mac purchase under its Seller/Servicer Guide, Chapter 22 (guide update April 22, 2025). Freddie Mac's Optigo MHC product sheet, dated April 2026, separately lists a $1 million minimum loan and a 1.25x minimum amortizing DSCR. Those loan-size and DSCR terms do not turn the percentage screen into an approval or state what another lender will offer.
Worked eligibility screen: count first, then ask the lender
Example only; not a real park, lender quote, approval, or promise of financing. This example uses the Fannie Mae 2026 term sheet and Freddie Mac's April 22, 2025 Guide policy described above. It is an ownership-mix screen, not a calculation of a loan amount.
Assumed total homes: 40
Scenario A: 10 park-owned homes
10 / 40 = 25%
Result: At Fannie's general 25% ceiling and Freddie's 25% aggregate cap.
This only clears the ownership-mix screen; underwriting can still decline or change terms.
Scenario B: 14 park-owned homes
14 / 40 = 35%
Result: Fannie may allow up to 35% only with a business plan to reduce the share over time.
Freddie's standard MHC policy is ineligible because 35% exceeds 25%.
Scenario C: 15 park-owned homes
15 / 40 = 37.5%
Result: Above Fannie's stated conditional 35% maximum and above Freddie's 25% aggregate cap.
Do not assume either standard agency execution is available; ask the lender about current alternatives before relying on financing in an offer.
Going over a limit does not automatically cancel every possible loan. It means the standard agency product described by the applicable source is unavailable or needs the stated exception or business plan. It does not establish what another lender will offer. For wider context on LTV, DSCR, terms, and the two programs, see Financing a Mobile Home Park Purchase: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Loan Programs Compared.
Records to request before an offer
Use the home count as a due-diligence item, not a seller's label. The mobile home park due-diligence checklist has a broader pre-offer process. For the park-owned share, request:
- A site map and a home-by-home ownership count.
- Rent roll, collection, occupancy, and arrears records.
- Leases for both home-and-site rentals and site-only tenancies.
- Titles, serial numbers, and HUD-label records for park-owned homes.
- Repair invoices plus maintenance and turn history.
- A lender discussion before contract terms rely on agency financing.
Do not put unverified rental or repair assumptions into NOI. Mobile Home Park Cap Rates and Deal Math: A Worked Example for 2026 shows why the income used in a deal calculation needs records behind it.
This is general information, not legal, tax, or financing advice. Landlord-tenant, title, tax, and lending rules vary by state and locality, and program terms change. Confirm the current rules with the applicable agencies, lender, and qualified professionals before making an offer or closing.