Nichole Briscoe, a 39-year-old mother from North Carolina who works as a social worker, has struck gold with her side business of flipping mobile homes. Briscoe told Business Insider that she started investing in real estate to boost her family’s income while living with her husband and daughter.
But when she saw how expensive single-family homes were, she decided to focus on the mobile home industry. She found that there is a market for these reasonably priced prefabricated buildings, which are frequently used as long-term homes, particularly among those who cannot afford conventional homes.
After enrolling in a $500 course on mobile home investing, the mompreneur was able to break into the industry. She got a $20,000 home renovation loan and rehabbed mobile homes in North Carolina for less than $10,000. She sells these residences for nearly double or triple her investment after renovation charges ranging from $3,000 to $15,000.
Without aggressive promotion, buyers are drawn to Briscoe’s flips, which are usually 900 square feet in size and have three bedrooms and two baths. Word-of-mouth and social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram generate sufficient interest. There is such a high demand for inexpensive housing that she even has a waiting list for her homes.
Her monthly earnings have since increased from $3,000 to $7,000. She provides a “rent-to-own” option to make the homes even more accessible. Over three to five years, buyers can choose how much they want to pay each month in installments of $600 to $900 until they reach the transaction price.
Briscoe also does wholesaling, which is a method in which she contracts with a seller at a lesser price and finds a buyer prepared to pay more without incurring refurbishment expenditures. She has sold 13 mobile homes for roughly $45,000 using this strategy.
The businesswoman has also formed an LLC named Eliam Properties and uses her Instagram account “The Mobile Home Mami” to share her experience with her 93,000+ followers. Despite her success, Briscoe intends to continue juggling her social work with her real estate business, with the possibility of going full-time in the future.
“I do really love my job working with students. In the future, I definitely see potential in this becoming full-time but not right now,” she remarked.
