Why do RV parks have higher cap rates than mobile home parks?

RV parks trade at roughly two points higher cap rates than mobile home parks because they carry more risk: guests can leave anytime, income is seasonal and management-intensive, and there's no agency debt to compress pricing. Mobile home park residents are 'sticky' — moving a home costs thousands, so tenancy averages many years — which lenders and buyers reward with lower cap rates and cheaper debt.

Can you get a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan on an RV park?

No. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac don't finance RV parks because they aren't residential in nature. They do finance a large share of mobile home park (manufactured housing community) debt at low rates, which is a core reason MHPs finance more cheaply. RV park financing comes from banks, bridge lenders, CMBS, or SBA, generally at higher rates.

Which is the better investment, an RV park or a mobile home park?

Mobile home parks suit passive investors — sticky residents, tenant-paid utilities via submetering, low management intensity, and cheaper agency financing. RV parks suit active operators who accept seasonality and hands-on management in exchange for higher cap rates and potentially greater returns. Neither is universally better; it comes down to how passive you want to be and your access to the right financing.

What financing does Jaken Finance Group offer for RV parks and mobile home parks?

Jaken Finance Group provides bridge and commercial financing for both — acquisition, value-add, and repositioning capital at 8.99%–13.5% — and helps place stabilized parks into longer-term or agency-style permanent debt at exit. See our RV park and campground financing guide and manufactured home community financing pages for asset-specific programs.

Blog

RV Park vs Mobile Home Park Financing

Published July 23, 2026

By Jaken Finance Group · Principal, Jaken Finance Group

RV park vs mobile home park financing compared — cap rates, agency eligibility, rates, and why lenders treat these two niche assets differently in 2026.

RV park vs mobile home park financing is a story of two very different lender appetites — mobile home parks are sticky, residential-style assets that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac finance in volume at low rates, while RV parks are hospitality-style assets the agencies won’t touch, so they price roughly a point or two higher and lean on bank, bridge, or SBA capital. Both can be excellent investments, but the MHP finances more cheaply and passively while the RV park rewards active operators with higher cap rates.

Key stats at a glance

Cap rate spread: RV parks trade ~2 points higher than MHPs — RV Park University, 2026
Agency eligibility: MHP yes (Fannie/Freddie fund the majority); RV park no
Rate gap: RV park debt typically 1–2 points higher than MHP
MHP tenancy: sticky — moving a home costs thousands; multi-year average tenancy
RV park income: seasonal, management-intensive, often owner-operated
Utilities: MHP often tenant-paid via submetering; RV park owner-managed
Jaken Finance Group bridge/commercial: 8.99%–13.5% for acquisition and value-add on both

Complete comparison matrix

Factor	Mobile home park	RV park
Asset classification	Residential-style / MHC	Hospitality-style
Agency (Fannie/Freddie) debt	Yes — majority of loans	No
Typical rate	Lower (agency-compressed)	1–2 points higher
Cap rate	Lower	~2 points higher
Tenant stickiness	High (costly to move a home)	Low (guests leave freely)
Income pattern	Stable, year-round	Seasonal
Management intensity	Low — often passive	High — often owner-operated
Utilities	Tenant-paid via submetering	Owner-managed
Financing sources	Agency, bank, bridge	Bank, bridge, CMBS, SBA
Underwriting	Income + occupancy	Income + seasonality + revenue mix
Best for	Passive, cash-flow investors	Active operators chasing yield
Jaken Finance Group role	Bridge/value-add → agency exit	Bridge/value-add capital

Sources: RV Park University 2026; Select Commercial MHP rate data; agency program norms.

Why mobile home parks finance more cheaply

The MHP advantage is structural:

Agency debt: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac finance a large share of manufactured housing community loans at low rates — a lever RV parks simply don’t have
Sticky tenants: relocating a home is expensive, so residents stay for years, smoothing occupancy and income
Passive operations: tenant-paid utilities via submetering and minimal common areas keep management light
Lower cap rates follow the cheaper debt and stable income

Explore manufactured home community / mobile home park financing, MHP loan rates and requirements 2026, and the bridge-to-agency MHP playbook.

Why RV parks cost more to finance

RV parks carry hospitality risk:

No agency debt — Fannie/Freddie don’t lend on non-residential parks, so pricing starts higher
Seasonality and transient guests make income less predictable
Active management — owners are often on-site and hands-on
Financing comes from banks, bridge lenders, CMBS, or SBA, typically 1–2 points above MHP

The upside: higher cap rates mean stronger potential returns for operators who can run the asset. See RV park and campground financing, RV park loan rates and requirements 2026, and RV park cap rates and valuation.

The financing gap — dollar impact

On a $2,000,000 acquisition at illustrative permanent rates:

Asset	Rate (illustrative)	Annual debt service (75% LTV, 25-yr amort)
Mobile home park	~6.25% (agency-eligible)	~$118,700
RV park	~7.75% (bank/bridge)	~$136,000

That ~$17,200/year gap on identical purchase prices is the agency advantage in cash terms — and why the same NOI supports a higher price (lower cap rate) on an MHP than an RV park. Model deal economics on the commercial property calculator.

Same NOI, different price

The cap rate spread matters even more than the rate gap. Illustration: two parks each produce $300,000 of stabilized NOI. Apply the roughly two-point spread described above.

	Mobile home park	RV park
Cap rate (illustrative)	6.5%	8.5%
Implied value	~$4.62M	~$3.53M
75% LTV loan	~$3.46M	~$2.65M

The same income supports about $1.09M more value on the MHP. For a seller, that is the reason to sell an MHP. For a buyer, it is the reason an RV park can offer more yield per dollar invested.

Residents vs guests: the legal line lenders underwrite

The biggest difference between these assets is not physical. It is who occupies the site and what state law says about them.

Mobile home owners in a park are usually tenants with statutory protections. Florida is a clear example. Under Florida Statutes §723.037, a park owner must give at least 90 days’ written notice before raising lot rent, cutting services, or changing park rules. The homeowner cannot waive that right.

RV park visitors are usually guests, closer to hotel customers. Florida’s §513.13 lets an RV park operator remove a transient guest for nonpayment or rule violations with a written notice. If a guest owes more than 3 nights’ rent, the operator may disconnect utilities until the guest arranges payment.

South Dakota takes a similar approach. SDCL 43-32-37 lets a hotel, campground, or RV park eject a person for reasons such as nonpayment, disorderly conduct, or breaking posted rules.

Why lenders care:

MHP income is harder to grow quickly because rent increases need notice and may face pushback. But it is also harder to lose, which supports lower cap rates.
RV park income can be repriced nightly, so revenue reacts fast in both directions.
Long-stay RV sites can drift toward tenancy. When guests stay for months, check whether your state treats them as tenants. That can change eviction timelines and how a lender views the income.

The agency pad-lease checklist

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac earn “Duty to Serve” credit from their regulator for certain manufactured housing community loans. Under 12 CFR 1282.33, one qualifying category is communities whose pad leases include at least these protections, either in the lease or through state or local law:

One-year renewable lease unless there is good cause not to renew
30-day written notice of rent increases
Five-day grace period and a right to cure late rent
Right to sell the home without first moving it out of the community
Right to sublease or assign the pad lease to the home’s buyer
Right to post “For Sale” signs
Right to sell the home in place within a reasonable time after an eviction
At least 60 days’ notice of a planned sale or closure of the community

If you plan a bridge-to-agency exit, compare your lease form against this list at acquisition. Fixing lease terms at month 18 is slower than starting with them.

Hybrid parks: park models and long-stay sites

Many parks mix RV sites, park model RVs, and manufactured homes. Park models are a growing slice: the RV Industry Association’s July 2026 shipment report shows park model RV shipments up 24.5% year to date, at 3,015 units.

For financing, a hybrid park is judged by its revenue mix:

Mix	Likely lender view
Mostly manufactured homes on annual leases	Closer to MHP terms
Even split with seasonal RV sites	Blended — expect a cap rate between the two
Mostly nightly RV and cabin rentals	Hospitality terms, RV park pricing

Give the lender a rent roll split by site type and stay length. Without it, many will price the whole park at the riskier use.

Due diligence: what each lender asks for

The document list tells you how differently the two assets are underwritten.

Item	Mobile home park lender wants	RV park lender wants
Income proof	Rent roll by lot, lease copies, 12–24 months of collections	Booking-system reports by site and month, T-12 and T-24 P&L
Occupancy	Occupied lots and park-owned homes, by count	Occupancy by month to show seasonality
Home ownership	Split of tenant-owned vs park-owned homes	Count of park-owned cabins or park models
Utilities	Submetering setup and billing history	Owner-paid electric, water, sewer, and Wi-Fi costs
Legal	Lease form, local rent rules, and notice practices	Posted park rules, cancellation policy, stay limits
Operations	Manager agreement or plan	Staffing plan and who runs the front desk in peak season

If you are moving between the two asset types, rebuild your checklist from scratch. Lenders will notice an MHP-style package on an RV deal.

Which should you choose?

Follow this decision path:

Do you want a passive, cash-flow-focused hold?
- Yes → Mobile home park — sticky tenants, cheaper agency debt.
- No → Continue.
Are you an active operator comfortable with seasonality and hands-on management?
- Yes → RV park — higher cap rates reward the work.
- No → Lean MHP.
Is the lowest cost of debt a priority?
- Yes → MHP — agency eligibility is decisive.
- No → Either, based on operations.
Buying to reposition and add value first?
- Use bridge/value-add capital on either, then exit — MHPs into agency debt, RV parks into bank/CMBS. See SBA vs bridge for campground acquisitions.
Blending both (RV + MH sites)?
- Underwriting weights the revenue mix — the more residential MH income, the closer to MHP financing you get.

Side-by-side: what each optimizes

Priority	Mobile home park	RV park
Cheapest financing	✓ Agency	1–2 pts higher
Passive management	✓	Active
Income stability	✓ Year-round	Seasonal
Cap rate / yield potential	Lower	✓ Higher
Agency debt access	✓	None
Value-add upside	Solid	✓ Often larger

Sources

Jaken Finance Group finances both asset classes — bridge and value-add capital at 8.99%–13.5% for acquisition and repositioning, with placement into longer-term debt at stabilization. See RV park and campground financing and mobile home park financing.

Rates, terms and conditions offered only to qualified borrowers and are subject to change at any time without notice. All loans are subject to full underwriting for loan approvals. Jaken Finance Group only finances non-owner occupied investment properties.