Selling Your Mobile Home Park in Colorado — Defer the Capital Gain
If you're selling a mobile home park in Colorado, the tax math depends heavily on your state's capital-gains treatment. Colorado's top LTCG rate is 4.4% — combined with federal 23.8% (20% LTCG + 3.8% NIIT), a lump-sum sale gives back 28.2% of your gain in year one. IRC §453 structured installment sale spreads the gain across the payment schedule, keeping you in lower brackets each year.
Buyer cash → Assignment Co. → A-rated carrier → You, on schedule
This page covers the mobile home park sale in Colorado specifically. For the general framework see the mobile home park guide or the §453 SIS basics.
The math — $8M sale, 20-year hold, Colorado resident
The §453 spread captures roughly the difference between these two numbers — typically 8-12 percentage points of the gain depending on your specific deal economics and Colorado's bracket structure.
Colorado-specific tax wrinkle
Colorado's flat 4.4% rate is moderate. §453 still meaningful for high-gain sales above NIIT threshold.
The Colorado mobile home park market
Colorado passed HB 19-1309 in 2019 giving residents a right of first refusal on park sales — a meaningful complication for §453 timing (the ROFR notice + 90-day window must be papered before the §453 assignment). Front Range markets (Denver, Boulder, Ft Collins) trade at premium cap rates; mountain communities (Steamboat, Vail) have constrained inventory. Roberts Resorts, NewLake, and several family offices buy actively.
Colorado buyers and consolidators
The active acquirers buying mobile home parks in Colorado: Sun Communities (NYSE: SUI), Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS), RHP Properties, Roberts Resorts, Yes! Communities, Inspire Communities. These institutional buyers' M&A counsel are familiar with the §453 mechanic — papering the assignment at closing is standard.
Mobile Home Park-specific §453 wrinkle (applies in every state)
§1250 unrecaptured depreciation on the long-hold property spreads under §453; §1245 recapture on park-owned homes (POH) and utility infrastructure equipment is year-one.
When this fits a Colorado seller
- $1.5M+ sale price (carrier minimums on the §453-deferred portion)
- Long hold with meaningful gain (where Colorado's 4.4% state rate stacks on federal)
- Sophisticated buyer whose counsel will paper the §453 assignment
- Colorado resident at closing (state residency matters for the state-tax piece)
How I work
Hans Goldstein, IRC §453 specialist. I place §453 structured installment sales through carrier-appointed brokerage relationships with A-rated Fortune 500 companies — all licensed in all 50 states including Colorado.
Free 15-minute fit-check call. Bring your Colorado sale details (price, basis, prior depreciation if applicable, closing timeline) — I model lump-sum vs §453 against your actual numbers.
Frequently asked
Q: I'm a Colorado resident but the property is in another state. Where's the tax? A: Generally the gain is sourced to where the property sits (real estate) or where the seller resides (intangibles). Talk to your CPA on multi-state allocation; §453 mechanic works the same.
Q: I'm planning to move out of Colorado before closing. Does that change anything? A: Maybe. Colorado's residency tests differ — California's exit tests are aggressive; other states less so. Talk to a state-tax specialist before timing the move.
Q: Does the §453 mechanic differ state-to-state? A: No. §453 is federal. State tax rates determine the size of the savings; the mechanic is identical.
📘 Get the free Seller's Guide to §453 + a fit-check
A plain-English guide for sellers: how a structured installment sale defers the tax when you sell a business, practice, or property — the math, the alternatives, and how to know if your deal fits.
Drop your info — instant PDF download + within 1 business day Hans will email a preliminary read on which structure fits your deal. No retainer. Carrier compensates the broker — not you.
📞 Hans Goldstein · 213-726-0518 · CA Insurance License #4322192 · Independent §453 specialist · Goldstein & Co. LLC
Educational. Not tax or legal advice. Colorado tax treatment of §453 generally follows federal — confirm with your CPA.
Run your specific numbers
The calculator runs your sale through real 2026 federal + state tax brackets and shows §453 savings vs lump sum side-by-side.
Run the calculator → 213-726-0518