An Infill Marketing Playbook for Filling 20+ Empty Lots a Year

Infill is where MHP operators either build value or watch it stagnate. The supply side has gotten harder — retailers are slower, transport costs higher, dealer relationships scarcer. The demand side is fine if you market right. This is the playbook we see hitting 20+ filled lots/year.

Three channels that actually fill lots

These are what works. Other channels are noise.

• Facebook ads with hyper-local targeting
  Geo-radius 15 miles, household income $30–80K, interest in "mobile home" or "manufactured housing." Convert to a branded landing page.
• Dealer partnerships
  Two or three dealers in your region with explicit referral arrangements. They send buyers who can't finance the home; you offer rent-to-own.
• Rent-to-own (RTO) funnels
  A 36–60 month RTO contract converts the buyer who can't afford a $30K cash purchase into a $400/month commitment. Game-changer for filling the home and the lot together.

RTO mechanics that work

36–60 month term. $0 to $2K down. Monthly payment that covers home rent, lot rent, and a principal-build that ends with the resident owning the home outright. Document the structure carefully — RTO contracts can trip into Truth-in-Lending territory if structured wrong.

RTO converts non-financeable buyers into long-term residents at a 4–5x speed of waiting for financeable applicants.

Dealer partnership mechanics

Dealers want a destination for buyers who don't qualify for traditional financing. You want a stream of buyers. The arrangement is usually: dealer refers a buyer, you offer a lot + RTO, dealer gets a referral fee or invoice priority on the next home order.

Without a dealer relationship, you're scrounging the secondary market for homes. With one, the supply side starts working again.

Measuring the funnel

Track every lead: source, date, application, approval, closing. Cost-per-fill should be your primary metric. Below $2,000 cost-per-fill is healthy. Above $4,000 means a channel is broken.