Mobile Home Park Mastery

“Lonnie Dealers” are investors who buy and sell or buy and rent mobile homes inside mobile home parks, labeled after an early advocate of this concept named Lonnie Scruggs. And although this investment program had a lot of interest in the 1990s, the number of individuals engaged in this sector has been continually dwindling. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to explore the “Lonnie Deal”, its waning popularity, and the resulting impact on the mobile home park industry.

Some mobile home park deals are built around filling a huge number of vacant lots, while others are built on raising rents and cutting costs and increasing occupancy is a tiny part of the turn-around program. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to review the plan of attack if you have only a handful of vacancies to fill.

Any time that you pay more for a mobile home park than it is currently worth, based on existing net income, you are engaged in “stretching” to rationalize paying the higher amount. But the types of “stretching” required to bridge the gap typically vary from acceptable to too risky. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to explore the fundamentals of “stretching” and determine their quotient of risk.

Millennials have some fresh ideas about housing, and one of their desires is to have “social amenities”. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to explore the concept of “social amenities” and offer some recommendations on how to bring this concept to your community.

We all know that celebrities use plastic surgery to augment or alter their appearance. But how can a mobile home park share in this ability to improve the looks of the property using man-made products? In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to review some of the methods that allow you to increase your community's beauty quickly and at a relatively low cost.

A “lever” is defined as “a rigid bar used to move a heavy load when pressure is applied to one end”. But in the mobile home park business, sometimes the strongest “lever” is made of paper and roughly 6” long. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to explore the different ways in which a little cash can get the desired results if you know where to apply the “lever”.

It's that time of year when mobile home park owner attention turns to property condition, which always includes thoughts on the roads. Paving companies are more than happy to suggest hugely expensive road upgrades. But how can you improve your roads with as little capital as possible? In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to explore various options to get better roads at a low cost.

Virtually every state has, at some point, debated, denied or passed legislation regarding giving the tenants the "first option" to buy the property. They do this using faulty assumptions and absolutely zero understanding of how the "tenant-owned" process works. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to explore the truth behind this issue and reveal what the government is apparently fully unaware of.

When it comes to compelling locations to own a mobile home park in, college towns are at the top of the pack. But what makes college towns such successful settings for manufactured home communities? In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to explore why having a college or university in a market gives it superior firepower when it comes to housing.

Millions of investors are obsessed with the direction of interest rates. While that's a noble pursuit, there's a huge opportunity created by this distraction as far as mobile home parks are concerned. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to discuss why the late Sam Zell quote of “when everyone's looking left, look right” applies to much of what's going on right now.

While most mobile home park owners prefer the “parking lot” model in which all of the homes are strictly owned by the residents, in some cases even well-managed properties may engage in rentals for various reasons. And if you're going to rent mobile homes, it's essential that you have a system of rental inspections. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to explore the necessity of inspections and how to perform them properly.

It's not uncommon to have lots of different sizes, but sometimes park owners have to make hard choices on how best to use their smallest parcels. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to discuss the different options for small lots and come to some mathematical conclusions on their most profitable uses.

In forging successful mobile home park deals, one of your most important tools is simply “thinking outside the box”. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to review some of the most successful creative tactics to make deals work for both buyer and seller. As we'll discuss, today's winning buyer is a mixture of one part scientist and one part sculptor.

The late John Naisbitt coined the term “megatrend” to describe “long-term and transformative forces” that he saw in the U.S. economy. But all megatrends start small and grow over time, like the Mighty Oak. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to explore the new “megatrends” that impact the mobile home park sector with predictions on their direction over time.

When you buy a mobile home park, one of the first decisions you have to make is whether to keep the existing manager or to replace them. Legacy managers often come with a book of knowledge but their potentially bad traits may make them toxic to your park's performance. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to review the science behind making that choice correctly.

While municipal utilities are universally preferred, many mobile home parks have private water, sewer or both. Yet, in some cases, there is access to lines available to potentially convert the park over to the “city” utility equivalent. But should you consider doing so? In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to review the important considerations needed to make the right decision.

Scott Turner is the new head of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. And he's bringing a new vision and mission that will impact many aspects of the mobile home park industry going forward – in a very positive way. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to explore Turner's new hot button topics.

While the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency is trying to reduce cost on a national level, many of these same principles apply to mobile home parks. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to review the real-life methods to perform a DOGE study on your property and discuss many of the areas that virtually every mobile home park can do a better job in.

Every time a mobile home pulls out of a lot in your community, you lose a ton of money. Park owners have been pondering for years the magic of how to keep homes from leaving. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to review the methods attempted over the years and explore the only real solutions to keeping occupied lots from becoming vacant.

A mobile home park is like a chess board with many options to place your pieces, not just the ones that come with the owner's manual. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to explore the reasons that you might want to change the positioning of your mobile homes, the typical rules regarding that customization, and where these slight park redesigns may be heading in the future.

We have been talking for years about the difficulty in building new mobile home parks. However, there has been a shift in the parable of how you can get a permit to build yet still be in a desirable area. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to explore the new face of park development and why that's a great thing for the industry.

Dave Thomas, the founder of Wendy's, was the first to explore the necessity of "riding the wave". And his lessons learned transfer well to mobile home park management. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to review what he meant, how he came to form this opinion, and how all mobile home park owners and managers need to embrace this important tenet.

Most community owners raise their rents annually, and typically in the Spring. As part of that process, they often have to get new leases and rules signed. Additionally, every time you buy a new mobile home park you are going to have to get new leases and rules executed. But how do you navigate that process? In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to review the methodology to do this correctly.

Much of the uncertainty in America ended with the November 5th election, and we now know who will be running things starting in 2025. But many investors don't realize that our starting point as a nation may be much different than what the media has conveyed to date. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast, we're going to review where things may really stand and what we can expect in the New Year.

We all know that banks like mobile home parks at what they call “stabilized occupancy” – which is around 80% full – and have less affection for those properties that have not yet hit that status. When you are looking at buying a mobile home park with significant vacancy, one smart starting point is to make sure that your “vacant” lot count is reflective of what should be truly available.

Mobile home park owners have to deal with rules and regulations like any other business and making sure you are in full compliance is essential. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to focus on what the standard regulations are and which agency is responsible for them.

While most mobile home parks have direct access to roads and utilities, others share one or more of these with a neighboring property. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to explore the concept of shared services and how to navigate that issue correctly.

Baby Boomers are aging and they make up a large segment of mobile home park residents. Will mobile homes meet their needs in the years ahead? In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to review if mobile homes can fit the needs of seniors and offer a great living experience for them.

Let's assume you need to get your property looking good quickly. Maybe you have a bank inspection or a critical date for launching your marketing campaign to fill vacant homes. When you want to make major improvements in property appearance fast, here are some methods that cost very little but have a big impact and, in many cases, will last for a decent amount of time.

All businesses need to listen to their customers in order to better serve their needs–and mobile home parks are no different. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to review the intricacies of getting fair and balanced resident input to help better steer your mobile home community.

There is one rule that defends the rights of mobile home park owners more than any other: legal-nonconformance, also known as “grandfathering”. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to review why property rights are strong regardless of the state the park is located in, and why “grandfathering” is so hard for some city officials to comprehend and enforce fairly.

This year's Presidential election is probably the most stressful of all time as both parties could not be more diametrically opposite with platforms that share no commonality. However, regardless of who wins there is good news: not much is going to change. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to review why you will be fine regardless of who win, so you can stop being upset about it.

The original layout for mobile home parks was a simple, straight street with homes placed on both sides of the lane. This is called a "shotgun" park and one of the greatest challenges to these early offerings is to make them attractive. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to review some of the best steps to increase the aesthetics of this style of property to both retain and attract residents.

It should be the goal of every mobile home park owner to make sure that no home ever goes vacant. Part of being the caretaker of the property is to also be the catalyst to a happy resolution to any risk of a resident leaving without warning or the ability to mitigate the damage. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast, we're going to explore the reality of keeping a steady stream of rent from every lot in the park.

In a world in which everyone has abandoned Nikon cameras for cell phones, taking good pictures has become a lost art. And the end result can be poor home sales as you try to fill your vacant lots. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to review how to take great photos and use them as an important tool to get your mobile homes sold.

There is a national push to attack landlords under what many call the “free rent movement”. This woke ideology is that landlords are inherently evil and that housing rent should be controlled by the government or – better yet – forced to be provided at no charge. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to explain, in detail, why this movement is going nowhere, despite what some politicians may promise. 

Many park owners use commissions to promote achieving certain management targets. They are designed to be highly effective tools of motivation, but too many owners don't apply them properly or in the correct amounts. In this Mobile Home Park Mastey podcast we're going to review the strategy behind effecting commissions to hit your targets.

The United States has entered into uncharted territory regarding the premium it costs to own a home over rent one. From 1973 to 2022 the ratio of cost of ownership vs. renting averaged 1.03. It has now expanded to a mind-blowing 2.8 – nearly three times more. While the Biden administration has chosen to avoid this topic it needs to be addressed as it is going to impact rent levels nationwide and will bring about the largest increases in mobile home park lot rents in history in the years ahead.

As long as mobile homes are sold to fill vacant lots, there will always be a percentage of customers who will not make it to the of their mortgages. And with a recession officially arriving soon, the issue of home repossessions needs to be watched closely and planned for. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to drill down on the real facts regarding home defaults and how to proactively minimizing them.

It's election season, and there are wild claims hitting the media of how the Federal government can be used to create affordable housing. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to burst the bubble on these reckless claims and explore the two key solutions that nobody cares to talk about.

Roads are an essential responsibility of the park owner. Yet few people understand all the issues regarding what road widths are acceptable and what are not. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to explore and expose the key issues regarding proper road widths as well as some solutions to the most common problems.

In an America that is lacking in accountability, the city official – whether zoning or inspections – is a master at that craft. Yet how you interpret what they say can make the difference between buying the deal or walking it. And often you have to bring in reinforcements to protect you interests. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to explore the science behind interacting with city officials.

Interest rates have risen about five points since 2022 – the fastest and highest increases in over 40 years. That has led many buyers to grow impatient for the distressed deals that many predicted. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to review where distressed deals come from, what the typical timetable is for their arrival, and when we think that period may begin.

Most mobile home parks have a mixture of old and new homes – but some have strictly pre-HUD vintage units. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to explore the good and bad attributes to having nothing but old homes from an era long ago.

Even though the amortization on a mobile home park mortgage is typically 25 to 30 years in length, the balloon comes due around year 5 to 10. Like a relay race, the successful mobile home park owner must make sure that the baton can be seamlessly passed to the next lender. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to review proactive methods to make that transition reliably smooth.

Brokers frequently claim that a market is “hot” which they equate to being of superior quality and therefore worthy of potentially overpaying. But it this a good idea? Should you favor “hot” markets? In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to explore this concept in depth and offer some constructive pointers regarding buying parks in these parts of the nation.

Eventually the manager at the mobile home park down the street will inquire about being in charge of yours. Or one day you'll get jealous that the community a few blocks over is nicer or fuller than yours and you'll say “I wonder if I should approach that manager to work for me?”. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to drill down on this concept and give you case studies of how that concept typically tuns out.

All borrowers prefer “non-recourse” lending, but is “recourse” really a deal killer? It's all a matter of perspective. In this Mobile Home Park Mastey podcast we're going to explore the issue of recourse and analyze the real risk and how to mitigate it.

There are some skills learned during Covid that we don't need to throw away, and one of them is the concept of “cash for keys”. Born of desperation from the national evictions moratorium, this playbook of paying tenants to leave who can't come up with their rent is still a win/win solution in many cases. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to explore why this works, how to implement it, and discuss its inherent win/win outcome.

We've been trying to unlock the science of mobile home park ownership for three decades, but there are some unwritten rules that are not supported by math and nobody even knows where these supposed “truths” came from. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to review the odd certainties that are used by bankers and bureaucrats yet have no basis in actual fact.