The QuadPlex Singlewide Apartments

Frank Lloyd Wright's Usonian brand gave clients homes which were 'just the right size' architectural historian Neil Levine explained in Ken Burns' 1998 Wright documentary. And if you're single on a limited budget, just the right size likely means a studio apartment with bath, kitchen, dining area and bed - and if feasible some extra storage space and a private outdoor space. Interestingly this list is in keeping with the tiny home concept, the difference being that with the quadplex / mobile home strategy you have a ready destination already equipped to supply water, sewer, and electric utilities.

Now there are somewhere around 50,000 trailer parks in the US - many of which are laid out on a 'platting' convention dimensioning lots 40 feet wide and 125 feet long, so that approximately 8 singlewide trailers can be put on an acre. Likewise the average singlewide seems to be around 75' long, 16' wide.

In the drawings below, a 'schematic' image is shown for the sake of providing a 'shop drawing' along with a corresponding 'rendered' image for the sake of providing a sense of 'look and feel'.

With these dimensions in mind VRT has drawn up plans for a singlewide of 75' x 16' divided into four identical apartments, each around 300 sq ft. Built in furniture is used to optimize space as well as make moving as easy as checking into a hotel. An 'alcove' bed was chosen - partly in remembrance of Thomas Jefferson's famous alcove bed and partly because it is such a serious space saver. The space between trailers is fitted with storage and an outdoor room - with a 5 ft wide walkway providing access to each unit. In this way trailer park capacity is multiplied creating a win-win reducing individual rent while increasing overall trailer revenues. The target market is trailer parks with vacancies in areas where economic growth is on the uptick generating demand for entry level housing.

Now such a plan is certainly open to the criticism of 'gentrification', of seeking to rework existing mobile home parks into more upscale residences. Yes and no. The plan does serve to boost curb appeal and to modernize the homes. But at the same time this is achieved while reducing unit rent.

For financial analysis the following assumptions were made:

Unit Rent = $600 / month.

Singlewide Trailer Cost = $150,000

Singlewide Lot Cost = $50,000

Interest Rate = 6%

Balloon = $0

Term = 360 Months

Monthly Financing Cost / Trailer @ 75% loan = $900

Monthly Maintenance Cost / Trailer = 1.5% * $200,000 / 12 = $250

Monthly Administrative Cost / Trailer = $100

Monthly Property Tax / Trailer = $190

Monthly CapEx Set Aside = $250

Total Monthly Rent / Trailer = $2,400

Total Monthly Costs / Trailer = $1,690

Total Monthly Income / Trailer = $710

Total Yearly Income / Trailer = $8,520

Total Funds by Investors / Trailer = $50,000

While these figures may prove unrealistic, no doubt they convey the favorable results which may be possible for the singlewide based apartment complex. I look to others more versed in the trailer park financial analysis arena to offer criticisms and make suggestions as to how to develop more accurate financial projections. Suffice to say this very crude analysis is meant only to stir thought and to suggest that the trailer based 'horizontal' apartment at first blush seems quite encouraging.