The Mobile Home Park Broker's Tips & Tricks To Investing

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed his wife, Kathryn Baker, and two more female business leaders. These were industry business owners Justine Natalie and Maria Horton.  As with every Tips and Tricks podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: Kathryn introduced herself as the co-owner and chief operating officer (COO) of The Mobile Home Park Broker. Her focus is on customer service excellence, optimizing workflow and driving growth. (Kathryn, 1:26) Justine Natalie introduced herself as the co-founder and co-owner of a company called Dynamic MH Solutions. THat's a hybrid third-party park management operation she started with business partner Mike Scheffler in 2021.They started by offering sales and financing services, and then got into property operations. Their focus is in teaching and training community management. (Justine, 3:00) Maria Horton introduced herself as someone who has been in the business for about 23 years, mostly on the human side of the business: property management, community relations, and such. She said she loved watching her young residents grow up, get scholarships, and take on life. She also loves going to industry conferences and networking. (Maria, 4:10) Maria said she thinks the biggest challenge is trying to change the image and perception of her industry and the very concept of what a mobile home is. It's also difficult to go up against the obstacles that local communities place on manufactured home parks to regulate them and seemingly control them out of existence. (Maria, 5:55) Max observed how intimidating an industry conference might be to some. For instance, the difficulty of someone just starting out trying to strike up a conversation with someone who owns 100 parks. (Max, 6:48) Maria noted that she has the social ability to approach anyone at a conference, and that she goes out of her way to meet someone who seems intimidated or on the outskirts of the social action, and introduce them to others. She's also glad to see how many women there are at these shows now, compared to years before. Women are finally becoming a bigger part of the career path. (Maria, 7:07) Max then asked his guests to address the various business challenges they've had to take on, being women in the business. (Max, 8:00) Justine said that there are so many details and decisions she has to stay on top of, it's easy to get imposter syndrome and wonder how she possibly has the talent and ability to thrive or survive in such an environment. She said that she thinks women might overthink this more than men, who might have a greater tendency to just “jump right in” with greater confidence and less insight. This, she thinks, is a daily challenge and one she's always trying to overcome as a female business owner. (Justine, 8:23) Max said that he thinks women tend to be better business operators than men. The men prefer “flying by the seat of their plants” while women plan and strategize before taking action. (Max, 9:49) Justine and her husband have observed that the careful pre-planning is something she does in her business life, but not at all in her private life where she's more spur of the moment. (Justine, 10:09) Maria thinks that might be because more people are affected by decisions she makes in the business life. At home, she can blunder her way through decisions because they affect fewer people. (Maria, 10:40) One of Maria's biggest challenges is staying abreast of all of the organizations and associations she takes an active part in. She always wants to feel that she's making a positive impact in her industry, but it's easy to get sucked in and get overinvolved. Sometimes she just doesn't know when or how to say no. (Maria, 11:29) Kathryn stated that she also sometimes experiences the impostor syndrome like Justine. She's eventually come to realize that she doesn't always have to have all of the answers, that she can rely on others on the topnotch team they've put together through the years. (Kathryn, 13:39) Justine has made a point of hiring great people who are good at what they do so she can let them make key decisions when they should. But it took her awhile to realize that she could trust others to help her run the business. (Justine, 14:21) Kathryn said that she learned how to accept the freedom to fail from a video biography of Spanx founder Sarah Blakely. She said that around the kitchen table as she was growing up her dad would ask her all the time, “Sarah, what did you fail at today?” The idea was to lose the fear of failing and be able to take decisions and get right back up on your feet if you failed the first time. Kathryn feels she is much more confident that way, now. (Kathryn, 15:12) Regarding advice she'd give for women who are trying to purchase a manufactured home community, Justine said that her first tip would be to join Women Advancing Manufactured Housing (WAMH). In that way, women business owners would join a network of seasoned professionals who could offer tips and suggestions and advice. That's the purpose of WAMH, an organization with which Justine has been closely involved. (Justine, 16:49) Her second piece of advice is that the female entrepreneur should learn how to advocate for themselves and not to sit quietly by. The idea here is to control their own destinies. (Justine, 17:30) Justine said that she thinks there's still a little of a glass ceiling working against female entrepreneurs, but it's much more subtle than it used to be. She said that she can buy a community today, but if she goes to see a lender with a male partner, the lender's questions and comments often get directed to her partner a lot more than to herself. You have to put yourself out there when that happens, and make sure you're heard. She says she's also lucky in having a male business partner who'll turn the conversation back to her when he feels she's being ignored or minimized as a woman and an expert. (Justine, 18:45) Maria doesn't think there's much of a glass ceiling these days in manufactured home communities. She said that female park management is becoming more common and there are fewer barriers than ever. (Maria, 19:57) Max credits Kathryn with being key to building their own company to where they've been able to take it. Without his wife's involvement, he felt that he would be a solo broker with maybe one employee, but she's been able to help them grow it far beyond that point with her organizational and management skills.(Max, 23:56) Max specifically credits Kathryn with being much better at managing people than he is. (Max, 24:45) To Max's question regarding the most important lessons learned while in the manufactured housing industry, Maria responded that patience is required. That's necessary because change is constant, and there's always something new to learn. (Maria, 25:53) Justine observed that the industry is constantly evolving to stay ahead of changing economics or cultural changes. For example, when the economy is on a downswing, park operators will offer more in the way of home rentals rather than sales. It's critical to be able to evolve with the industry because that's how to stay profitably in business and survive the changes. (Justine, 26:44) Maria thinks one advantage women might have is their sense of flexibility. They really can change with the times and adapt to changing conditions. (Maria, 28:57) Kathryn is pleasantly surprised at how gorgeous today's manufactured homes are. It's not like the stereotype at all. (Kathryn, 29:27) On the subject of business role models for women, Maria said that Leslie Gooch and Paula Reeves are among the industry insiders who made the greatest impression on her, but that there were many others as well. These included bankers, association insiders, and too many others to mention. She also name-dropped Justine in this category. (Maria, 30:33) Justine mentioned Maria as one of her mentors through her activism in the associations and her ability as a “connector,” someone who can bring people together and inspire networking. She's also done a lot to provide home ownership lending for community residents. Justine is also impressed with the leadership of WAMH and how they've encouraged women in the business. (Justine, 31:48) Justine is also impressed with Dr. Vrnka Boykin as a role model for women in business leadership. She addresses such topics as work-life balance for women. (Justine, 33:15) Kathryn takes inspiration from Brene Brown, a speaker and influencer from outside of the industry. Brown speaks in a communication style. Kathryn also sees Sara Blakely, the Spanx founder, as a role model. Max's final question was on trends or developments that might shape the future of the industry for women. Justine mentioned the increased number of women buying and operating communities. She thinks that, as this happens, women will create more of a focus on creating clean, safe, affordable housing rather than just maximizing the bottom line. (Justine, 35:03) Maria felt that need to do more in the way of getting the word out on the high quality of the manufactured homes available today. Home ownership is the American Dream. And it really is readily available through manufactured homes. (Maria, 36:44) WAMH is an organization run by women, but not exclusively for women. Men are members, too. Today the organization has about 400 members. (Justine, (Justine, 40:27) WAMH has had a variety of educational classes for members on subjects as diverse as trends in technology and automation to pet screening. The goal is to educate park owners on the latest trends and developments in the industry. (Maria, 41:35) The Mobile Home Park Broker sees plenty of opportunity for men and women in the industry. Please call Max Baker at The MHP Broker, (678) 932-0200 and we'll help you find a qualified buyer and an optimal sale price.You can also drop us a line at info@themhpbroker.com. Power Quotes in This Episode: “...you;re working with people's livelihoods, right? I mean, if you make a mistake for the business, you've got employees and clients and all sorts of people that you have to answer to. So yeah, being able to put a plan in place is very important.” (Justine, 11:07) “I think there really isn't a glass ceiling any longer for women in this industry if they are strong business women that are ready to jump in and be assertive and get to know everyone.” (Maria, 19:57) “I think (manufactured housing) isa fantastic solution for affordable housing, and it surprises me that it doesn't get more attention…I have learned that the homes are absolutely gorgeous.” (Kathryn, 29:27) “I think women will continue to have the thought process of advancing the industry forward, making sure it's clean, safe, affordable housing for families, and things like that.” (Justine, 35:03)  

In this episode of The MHP Broker's  Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed The MHP Broker Eric Wanck regarding his recent two-park mobile home park sale in Talladega, Alabama. As with every Tips and Tricks podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: Max introduced broker Eric Wanck and told how Eric had recently closed on two mobile home parks in Talladega, Alabama with good value-add opportunities. (Max, 00:22) With both being small parks, Eric knew he had his work cut out for him. Smaller parks tend not to attract big portfolio owners or Wall Street investors from outside the market, and can take longer to find more localized buyers. Both parks were on city water, which was an advantage. He did get a good all-cash offer for both from a local, but had obstacles that kept the park deals from closing for several months. (Eric, 1:39) The delay was caused by the need of the buyer to move money around, selling some properties in order to raise the cash they needed to complete the Talladega deal. (Eric, 3:03) The deal was of particular value to the buyer because the lot rents were very much below market at about $175 a month. This would create a strong value-add opportunity to raise rents and increase revenue soon after the purchase. (Eric, 3:17) Although the sale took five or six months, it turned out to be a smooth transition and everyone was happy. In fact, the seller was so pleased with the sale that they gave Eric a referral on another park sale. (Eric, 4:30) The delayed closing was something Eric hadn't seen before, but it worked out to the satisfaction of everyone. The lesson here was that every sale is unique, and you just have to stay flexible an deal with it. (Eric, 5:01) The Mobile Home Park Broker is experienced at brokering parks that have a hiccup or two during the course of the transactions. We can handle it. If you're thinking of putting your park on the market, call Eric Wanck or Max Baker at The MHP Broker, (678) 932-0200 and we'll help you find–and find financing for–a qualified buyer. Or drop us a line at info@themhpbroker.com. Power Quotes in This Episode: “The small parks are always a little bit of a wild card. How are they going to sell? Typically, we always look at it as a smaller buyer pool. These folks are likely going to be local to the park, instead of your bigger national portfolio buyers coming in and buying these 30-pad parks. So they sit on the market, and that's typical, sometimes a little bit longer than most.” (Eric, 1:39) “Anytime we see anything under $200 (in lot rents) in the southeast, we know that they're asking for a rental bump at some point.” (Eric, 3:17)  “It was a pretty smooth transaction. At the end of the day, the seller was happy and, believe it or not, this seller turned around and gave us a referral on some other parks.” (Eric, 4:30) “We just essentially needed to kind of hang on for that closing date. So, it worked out nice, man!” (Eric, 5:01) (Regarding the market for mobile home park sales) “...as rates continue to push down here, this is a prime time to get back out there and start looking to buy parks, sell parks. Movement is happening for the most part. 2024 was probably slower across all asset classes, but things are definitely picking up. Give us a call, we can help get parks moved and find you something if you want to get on the acquisition side.” (Eric, 5:43)  

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, chats with old friend and fellow former U.S. Marine Andrew Toothman about his Mental Grenade blog site and FOB Truth non-profit plans.  As with every Tips and Tricks podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: Max has known and been good friends with Andrew “Drew” Toothman since they met at U.S. Marine boot camp. They later attended the Marine Music School together. Max invited Drew on to discuss his non-profit ambitions for vets, first responders, and others needing moral, emotional and spiritual support. (Max, 0:22) After their School of Music time together, the two friends got separated. Drew was sent to Okinawa for a year. He got married to Misty, then got sent to Twentynine Palms, in the Mojave Desert. He was trained in explosive ordnance disposal and was deployed to Afghanistan. After experiencing multiple concussive hits and serious concussions, Drew was medically discharged from the Marines after more than 12 years. (Drew, 4:14) Drew, Misty and their three kids moved to Pennsylvania, and Drew attended auto diesel school. He had extensive problems transitioning from military to civilian life because of the relative lack of structure. He didn't feel like he had a community any longer. (Drew, 5:42) Drew was dealing with PTSD from his military days and before, and going through a period of intense self-reflection. 7:38) Drew helped establish, then worked on, a non-profit organization dealing with the mental health needs of veterans, until he left the organization at the end of 2019. He learned the importance of community, so he worked to set up his own online community, which became FOB Truth. In the military, FOB stands for “forward operating base.” But in his new life, Drew had FOB Truth mean “fundamentals of Biblical truth.”) (Drew, 8:53) Drew started a blog called Mental Grenade, and used it to draw people to his regular Thursday evening Zoom meetings where they discuss the Bible and their own spiritual and emotional needs. That's FOB Truth. (Drew, 17:50) The way FOB Truth is structured, the first two hours are Bible study, and the next two are support group chat. People check in and check out whenever they want, so it's not a matter of having to commit to a four-hour Zoom meeting every Thursday evening. (Drew, 31:02) The stories that attendees tell can be very dark and personal, which is why Drew would never record or put the meetings online. (Drew, 32:46) While Drew's community is currently online, he'd like to get to where he could meet with his community in person. To that effort, he invited two men who'd found him online to stay with the family for a while and help prepare his eight-acre property for future community events such as meeting around a campfire and talking in-depth. What Drew is trying to do is the opposite of establishing a mega church. He's following Christ's example of talking with small groups of people rather than large crowds. His efforts are more one-on-one. (Drew, 35:33) Drew's weekly FOB Truth online meetings have drawn veterans, law enforcement personnel, nurses, EMT workers, therapists, pastors and civilians from all walks of life. Some just attend a meeting or two while others have become long-time regulars. (Drew, 38:11) The way to join FOB Truth is to reach out to Drew through his blog, MentalGrenade.com, or reach him at his personal phone number: (434) 473-8886. Join the community. (Drew, 45:29) You can also go to FOBTruth@gmail.com. (Drew, 47:06) If you're thinking of selling your mobile home park or RV community, contact Max Baker at The Mobile Home Park Broker, (678) 932-0200. You can also drop us a line at info@themhpbroker.com. Power Quotes in This Episode: (On leaving the military) “But then you get out and you're suddenly saying, ‘Who am I outside of this uniform? And what am I supposed to do with my life? Because if my rank is no longer part of my name, and my job title doesn't mean anything to anybody on the outside? What am I supposed to do,' and you have these veterans who are left without structure.” (Drew, 5:42) “It takes more avenues of approach than you think it does to find stability in your mental health if there's been trauma and other things.” (Drew, 7:38) “Humans are tribal, they're meant to be in community. And when they're not, and they're in their own environment, and they can just order their groceries online and have them delivered to the dorm and they don't really have to go anywhere…I mean, imagine that the American knowledge worker sits at a computer all day, gets paid by direct deposit, doesn't have to go pick up a check. And they can order their groceries online, they don't have to leave their house, all the services are networked to their one place, and they live in isolation. And it's crushing their soul.” (Drew, 8:53) “I realized, like, we've got to start pulling people out of isolation and getting them into community…there's just a lot of spiritually unmoored people out there drifting.” (Drew, 8:53) “I just started this group, and I started inviting people online, and it slowly formed and morphed a little bit. But ultimately, it became known as FOB truth. (Drew, 8:53) “I was spiritually lost when I was out there in the thick of combat in Afghanistan.” (Drew, 15:07) “God's word can transcend culture and timeframe.” (Drew, 17:50) (On going to church as a child) “I remember just getting up on Sunday and getting dressed, going through the motions, doing the whole hand gesture, get the wine, I'm like, you know, a 10, 12-year-old boy during a while feeling like I was, you know, I was on top of the world, and the communion as well, and go home, and then forgetting about it. And then as I've gotten older, you realize, like, it's just not as powerful as the community aspect that you're talking about. (Max, 21:56) “That's been one of the things that God blessed me with over the last decade, was to keep my mouth shut and listen to people.” (Drew, 28:13) “I kind of view FOB Truth as a halfway house church.” (Drew, 35:33)

In this episode of The MHP Broker's  Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed The MHP Broker's Paul Schaaf regarding his recent sale of a storage facility, mobile home park and RV community in Parkersburg, West Virginia. As with every Tips and Tricks podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: Max introduced broker Paul Schaaf to discuss his sale of Gihon Self Storage Facility and RV Park in Parkersburg, West Virginia. (00:22) The owner had acquired the park as part of a bankruptcy settlement, so his heart wasn't really in it. He was running it from out of state. It had three verticals: a mobile home park, RV community and self-storage facility. He had a good on-site manager taking care of the day-to-daay, but contacted Paul because he was getting unsolicited offers. The self-storage vertical was running pretty well, with 150 units and about 75 percent occupancy. The mobile home vertical was a mess, though. A lot of houses in poor shape that had to be taken out.  The offers were generally just for the self-storage business, but the owner wanted to sell everything as a single unit. They put together a nice marketing package and had multiple offers. The seller had a nice financing program, which helped attract qualified buyers. (Paul, 1:12) The owners offered self financing on a portion of the loan at about five percent with a three-year balloon payment. (Paul, 3:15) The deal went well, even though the buyer was taking on the mobile home vertical that needed a lot of work. The deal closed in about 45 days. (Paul, 3:49) The buyer was someone Paul had worked with in the past. They had money from family and friends, and had invested in commercial properties before. They were just getting into buying mobile home parks, and had a few properties. Having worked with him before, Paul trusted that they could close without major issues, and that's what happened. (Paul, 4:05) Paul's takeaway was that sellers must be patient, especially if they have properties that are challenging to sell. This one, for instance, had problem houses that had to be removed and replaced. But when you have good buyers and sellers, as he did here, the deal can go quickly and smoothly and be a pleasure to work. (Paul, 4:49) Bring us your most challenging deals. At The Mobile Home Broker, we have years of experience selling mobile home parks, RV communities and all of the other verticals that might be part of the transaction. Call Paul Schaaf or Max Baker at The MHP Broker, (678) 932-0200. Op drop ‘em a line at info@themhpbroker.com. Power Quotes in This Episode: “We are good at those deals in the secondary, tertiary markets. Don't get me wrong. We do big deals. I mean, we just closed a nice $9 million deal recently, and have done upwards toward the multi-million dollar deals as well, up in the 30s. So, we do a lot of deals. We do all types.” (Max, 5:23)

In this episode of The MHP Broker's  Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed The MHP Broker Jeff Dodge regarding his recent sale of a beautiful two-park portfolio. As with every Tips and Tricks podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: Max explained how he and broker Jeff Dodge worked together on the sale of a two-park portfolio, with Jeff doing the majority of the work. (Max, 00:22) The park seller had been in the business for a long time, having bought and sold many parks. These two parks were big and beautiful. Together, Eagle Trace and Edgewood consisted of 116 park-owned homes, 11 tenant-owned homes and nine vacant lots. The parks were very well maintained and the homes were new or impressively renovated. Everything was direct billed, making it more of a turnkey operation for the buyer. There was also an opportunity for value-add rent increases. (Jeff, 1:23) There were also park-dedicated roads throughout both properties. And the parks carried an asking price of a CAP rate that was above 6. (Max, 2:31) Rents averaged at about $100 under market value, a major selling point for fairly immediate increased revenue generation. (Jeff, 3:39) One major challenge Jeff foresaw was the presence of all of the park-owned homes–116 of them in total. This can sometimes be a sale obstacle if prospective owners don't want the cost and responsibility of having to maintain homes they own. Despite all the park-owned homes, the portfolio received multiple offers. (Jeff, 3:58) They ended up in negotiations with three serious buyers. (Jeff, 4:24) The park owner also had an office building that he wasn't going to include in the deal. Max convinced him to keep that in his pocket as a possible bargaining chip. Sure enough, they were able to add the building to the deal and pull down an additional quarter-million dollars. This was a tactic Max had learned in the process of selling some 500 mobile home parks over time. (Max, 4:30) The story has a happy ending. Buyer and seller were both happy with the transaction. (Jeff, 5:53) The Mobile Home Broker has years of experience selling mobile home parks, and the brokers know tricks of the trade that can help you get maximum price on your park. Call Jeff Dodge or Max Baker at The MHP Broker, (678) 932-0200. Op drop ‘em a line at info@themhpbroker.com. Power Quotes in This Episode: “So, you know, you're worried about the financing aspect and finding that right buyer that's willing to take on 116 park-owned homes. But, you know, ultimately, we received multiple offers.” (Jeff, 3:58) “I want to say I've probably sold well over 500 mobile home parks in my career.” (Max, 4:30) “...issues can come up at any time up until closing, but it seems like we always find a good resolution. Yeah, we got it to the finish line. Both parties were happy with the outcome.” (Jeff, 5:53) “I've moved the ugliest thing on the street to the most beautiful park, like this one. We do all sorts of stuff.” (Max, 6:14)  

In this episode of The MHP Broker's  Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, chatted withThe MHP Broker's Paul Schaaf about his recent closing on a mobile home park in Flowery Branch, Georgia. As with every Tips and Tricks podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: Max asked broker Paul Schaaf to discuss his Trails West Mobile Home Park in Georgia. The park included a little lakefront property on Lake Lanier, a definite feature attraction for prospective buyers. (Max, 00:22) Trails West MHP is in Flowery Branch, a very desirable community near Lake Lanier in northern Georgia. It's got a good school system and home values have skyrocketed. (Paul 1:30) The sellers were mostly involved with the development of single-family homes. (Max, 1:44) The selling group actually consisted of four investors, which brought added challenges. Paul had to make sure that everyone was on board for every decision and marketing strategy. It was a large and highly ranked park, so selling it was a major endeavor. (Pal, 2:05) The property has city water and city sewer, always desirable factors for buyers. The owners had made major investments in infrastructure, including electrical. But there was still ample opportunity for buyers, including the infilling of about 30 lots and rents that were about $200 under market rates. So while a buyer was getting a park in excellent condition, there was still plenty of “meat on the bone” in terms of adding value. (Paul, 2:56) The buyers held a short-term loan and made a large down payment to attain seller financing. It was a very smooth transaction and both parties were happy with the outcome. No major hiccups at all.  (Paul, 3:40) The buyers were a man and woman who Max had done business with on more than one occasion. In addition to having a good buyer pool, as this sale proves, The MHP Broker takes the competitive edge with great customer service and effective process orientation, the use of relevant data and the ability to put investors and motivated lenders together. (Max, 4:27) This deal, with 150 pads, was larger than what Paul usually sees, but he was thrilled to have the opportunity to handle Trails West along with the small and medium-size deals he's more accustomed to. (Paul, 6:03) The brokers at The MHP Broker all have the talent and instincts to form good working relationships with buyers and sellers, which helps them get ahead of any problems that might come up, and move the transaction successfully forward. (Paul, 7:52) You got a large mobile home park or RV community you're thinking of putting on the market? Medium? Small? Whatever the size of our manufactured home community, Paul Schaaf and the other brokers at The Mobile Home Broker have the experience and the knack for selling it at your optimal price. Call Paul or Max Baker at (678) 932-0200 or drop us a line at info@themhpbroker.com Power Quotes in This Episode: (Regarding this deal) “I think the buyer benefited from all that work, and that was what was appetizing for them. The work was already done and there was still meat on the bone with infilling about 30-some odd lots. The rents were, you know, I want to say $200 below market.” (Paul, 2:56) ”It was just a very smooth transaction…both sides of the table were very satisfied.” (Paul, 3:40) "Y'all, we have the same buyer pool (as the competitors). It's really about customer service, and it's really about knowing the local markets, and it's really …about the data that we have, that we've all dug up personally here at the company, and just the amount of value that we add to the situation. We've seen a thing or two. I mean, we've got other competitors out there that forget to check whether or not the money's been deposited in escrow. We're here at our firm. We're very, very like clockwork, yeah, systematic, yeah.” (Max, 4:27) “...we've been there and done it. And at the end of the day, we're gonna get the job done.” (Max, 5:21) "I think that it's always fun times on these larger deals, and count on us to continue to be in whatever market we're in. Even with these higher interest rates, we can put deals together that make sense for all parties.” (Paul, 6:39) “(It's) our job is to be two, three steps ahead of any catastrophic drama that would affect that deal. That's why our closing ratio is north of 86 percent. Once we put a deal on our contract, we typically close it because we've done impeccable upfront due diligence on your community or communities, and we try and get debt lined up.” (Max, 6:55)

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed The MHP Broker Jeff Dodge regarding his recent sale of New Beginnings MHP despite losing the first buyer to financing hassles. As with every Tips and Tricks podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: Max wanted to start with a heads-up to buddy Steve Massell, who came up with the “Closing Cocktails” concept of quick hit podcast interviews. Then he hailed company broker Jeff Dodge for his success with New Beginnings MHP, a nice community that got multiple offers and a quick, relatively painless close. (Max, 00:22) The owner was  selling because they lived out of state and had experienced difficulties in managing the park from afar. New Beginnings had a lot of very appealing features, including city water and sewer direct-billed to tenants, and newer-model park-owned homes. The community was very clean and well maintained. Twenty-nine of the 32 lots had homes and were occupied. So there was some value-add opportunity filling those last three pads. Jeff felt that the location might be the biggest hurdle he'd face in that it was fairly isolated, and not within easy reach of retail establishments or the interstate system. That didn't seem to faze prospective buyers, though. The property got multiple offers quickly. Their first choice of buyer couldn't get financing, but Jeff already had a second buyer waiting in the wings. Jeff helped this buyer get financing from a credit union The MHP Brokers have worked with in the past. There were no additional hang-ups from that moment on, and the sale closed in a timely manner. (Jeff,  1:37) As an additional buyer incentive, the privately owned roads were paved. (Jeff, 2:58) The buyer was an experienced real estate investor, but mostly in other asset classes. He did have some familiarity with mobile home investments. Jeff enjoyed working with him and hopes to do business with him more in the future. (Jeff, 3:11) One of the lessons Jeff took home from this deal was the importance of having a backup buyer whenever possible. That's important because financing today can be tricky, and your first deal might easily fall through. (Jeff, 3:53)l Jeff also appreciates how the company was able to list the park with a realistic price point before going on the market. That's why they were able to get a full-price offer and close the deal so quickly and smoothly. (Jeff, 5:22) One key seller advantage is The Mobile Home Broker's network of motivated lenders. Call Jeff Dodge or Max Baker at The MHP Broker, (678) 932-0200 and we'll help you find–and find financing for–a qualified buyer. Or drop us a line at info@themhpbroker.com. Power Quotes in This Episode: (Regarding his buyer on this deal) “It was great working with him, and I look forward to working with him in the future.” (Jeff, 3:11) “You know, it's kind of a tricky market with financing out there, but you always want to have your backups ready to go.” (Jeff, 3:53) “It was a win-win for both parties, because the buyer got a turnkey (deal), but a little upside as well, and then the seller could take that money and invest it in something a little bit closer to home.”  (Jeff, 3:53) “We can find the right buyer for you. This is a great example, so just give us the opportunity.” (Jeff, 4:26) “Yeah, we're able to move stuff, y'all, even though the market right now is a little tricky with the financing, We are still able to get deals done. A lot of our competitors are out there stooping to buying listings, if you want to call it that, where they promise the pie in the sky type of price. In reality, they know that it's not going to sell for that. They're just literally trying to look busy. We don't do that, y'all. We will give you a No BS evaluation on your community.” (Max, 4:31) “This was priced where we sold it, you know, full asking price. So, it tells you our valuations. We're right on the money here. So definitely work with us. We're gonna give you a true market value that's fair, and we're gonna get you the most money that you possibly can, for sure. (Jeff, 5:22)"

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed The MHP Broker Jeff Dodge regarding his recent sale of New Beginnings MHP despite losing the first buyer to financing hassles. As with every Tips and Tricks podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: Max wanted to start with a heads-up to buddy Steve Massell, who came up with the “Closing Cocktails” concept of quick hit podcast interviews. Then he hailed company broker Jeff Dodge for his success with New Beginnings MHP, a nice community that got multiple offers and a quick, relatively painless close. (Max, 00:22) The owner was  selling because they lived out of state and had experienced difficulties in managing the park from afar. New Beginnings had a lot of very appealing features, including city water and sewer direct-billed to tenants, and newer-model park-owned homes. The community was very clean and well maintained. Twenty-nine of the 32 lots had homes and were occupied. So there was some value-add opportunity filling those last three pads. Jeff felt that the location might be the biggest hurdle he'd face in that it was fairly isolated, and not within easy reach of retail establishments or the interstate system. That didn't seem to faze prospective buyers, though. The property got multiple offers quickly. Their first choice of buyer couldn't get financing, but Jeff already had a second buyer waiting in the wings. Jeff helped this buyer get financing from a credit union The MHP Brokers have worked with in the past. There were no additional hang-ups from that moment on, and the sale closed in a timely manner. (Jeff,  1:37) As an additional buyer incentive, the privately owned roads were paved. (Jeff, 2:58) The buyer was an experienced real estate investor, but mostly in other asset classes. He did have some familiarity with mobile home investments. Jeff enjoyed working with him and hopes to do business with him more in the future. (Jeff, 3:11) One of the lessons Jeff took home from this deal was the importance of having a backup buyer whenever possible. That's important because financing today can be tricky, and your first deal might easily fall through. (Jeff, 3:53)l Jeff also appreciates how the company was able to list the park with a realistic price point before going on the market. That's why they were able to get a full-price offer and close the deal so quickly and smoothly. (Jeff, 5:22) One key seller advantage is The Mobile Home Broker's network of motivated lenders. Call Jeff Dodge or Max Baker at The MHP Broker, (678) 932-0200 and we'll help you find–and find financing for–a qualified buyer. Or drop us a line at info@themhpbroker.com. Power Quotes in This Episode: (Regarding his buyer on this deal) “It was great working with him, and I look forward to working with him in the future.” (Jeff, 3:11) “You know, it's kind of a tricky market with financing out there, but you always want to have your backups ready to go.” (Jeff, 3:53) “It was a win-win for both parties, because the buyer got a turnkey (deal), but a little upside as well, and then the seller could take that money and invest it in something a little bit closer to home.”  (Jeff, 3:53) “We can find the right buyer for you. This is a great example, so just give us the opportunity.” (Jeff, 4:26) “Yeah, we're able to move stuff, y'all, even though the market right now is a little tricky with the financing, We are still able to get deals done. A lot of our competitors are out there stooping to buying listings, if you want to call it that, where they promise the pie in the sky type of price. In reality, they know that it's not going to sell for that. They're just literally trying to look busy. We don't do that, y'all. We will give you a No BS evaluation on your community.” (Max, 4:31) “This was priced where we sold it, you know, full asking price. So, it tells you our valuations. We're right on the money here. So definitely work with us. We're gonna give you a true market value that's fair, and we're gonna get you the most money that you possibly can, for sure. (Jeff, 5:22)

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed The MHP Broker Eric Wanck regarding his sale of a small park in a tertiary market in southern Alabama with a challenging appraisal.  As with every Tips and Tricks podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: The MHPBroker Eric Wanck recently sold a small park, for the second time, in a tertiary market in southern Alabama–but not without its challenges (Max, 0:22) The park made for a challenging sale because it was small, with less than 30 pads, and had an abundance of park-owned homes (POH) and rent-to-own (RTO) homes, On the other hand, it had city water and a good septic system. There was plenty of buyer interest, and Eric found a buyer with some industry experience, but not a whole lot. The buyer needed help getting financing, and Eric and The MP Broker were able to find a good debt source. (Eric, 1:22) However, the appraisal process became a hitch. The bank appraisers came back low. Eric didn't give up on the deal, but got his clients to hit the middle ground on price so the deal could go through to the satisfaction of all parties. This took a little more time than he would have liked, but they were able to close in five or six months. (Eric, 2:55) The appraisers didn't appreciate the presence of the several POHs. They didn't take into consideration the significant rent deposits due to all of those POHs and RTOs. Eric worked with the lenders to get that stable income considered, but it was the kind of challenge that park sellers always run into when selling properties with a lot of POHs. Lenders tend to see that as more of a liability than the consistent income-producing asset it might be. (Eric, 4:22) At the end of the day, Eric and the MHP Broker team knew how to handle the obstacles, and they kept in constant communication with the appraisers and put together a deal that was beneficial to their client as well as the buyer. (Eric, 5:56) Even the toughest obstacles can be overcome if you have talented and experienced mobile home park brokers on your side. At The MHP Broker, we guarantee a park sale at the highest possible price. Call Eric Wanck or Max Baker at The Mobile Home Park Broker, (678) 932-0200. You can also drop us a line at info@themhpbroker.com. Power Quotes in This Episode: “...because we had buyers coming to us left and right, saying ‘How am I going to get this done?' and we provided that solution.” (Eric, 1:28) “We're not biased. As long as you can come and you can show that you can get the deal done, we will work with you.” (Eric, 1:28) “...we always figure out a way to get it done, and that's what we pride ourselves in, that we're not just going to toss up our hands and say, ‘Let's cancel the contract.'“ (Eric, 2:55) “We do our best in terms of marketing and providing information to the appraisers.” (Eric, 4:22) “At the end of the day, every deal has a little bit of its bumps, and this one did with the appraisal, but the good news is that we knew how to navigate it, and we got it to the closing table.” (Eric, 5:56)  “We do sell the easier ones, which most brokers are fighting over. The ones that they don't fight over are the ones that we are very good at, and those are the value-add deals. We don't mind getting our hands dirty, albeit, we do like the easier ones out there, but, you know, obviously not every mobile home park out there is a beauty up front. They're just diamonds in the rough, and we are very good, especially Eric, at explaining how the next buyer coming into the deal will be able to make some money.” (Max, 6:12)

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed The MHP Broker Eric Wanck regarding his sale of Five Points Mobile Home Park, and the challenges that wereinvolved. As with every Tips and Tricks podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: Super broker Eric Wanck recently sold Five Points Mobile Home Park, though not without a little drama. (Max, 0:22) From the outside looking in, it was a great park. Five Points is in a favorable metro, it has a good, solid resident base, all tenant-owned homes, with direct-billed city water and sewer. Everything investors are looking for. (Eric, 1:28) On top of all other buyer advantages, the park was priced at an almost 11% CAP. (Eric, 1:56) The reason for the high CAP is that the tenant-owned homes were all pretty old and run down, from the late 1970s and early 80s. (Eric, 2:10) Max remembers being highly unimpressed with the homes as he rode through the park, inspecting it and taking pictures. He knew then it would be a hard sale. (Max, 2:28) The seller had approached Eric probably about a year before the sale, and asked him to evaluate the property. Eric appraised it and recommended that the owner spend a little money on improvements. The seller did so, and Eric was ultimately able to get about $800,000 more for the property than he had originally thought it would sell for. (Eric, 2:44) They got a lot of interest in the park, and the high bidder was a man who owned real estate, but had never owned a mobile home park. He already had a lender in place, but the lender got nervous. It made so many unrealistic demands that it looked like they didn't really want to fund the deal. (Eric, 5:36) One and a half weeks before the proposed close date, the lender pulled out of the deal. Fortunately, the buyer was already in backup communication with another lender who came into the deal. They were able to complete the sale in 30 days with the new lender, and that included a new appraisal. (Eric, 6:36) The prospective buyer was a little gun shy with the appraisal, based on what he'd already been through with a lender, and the general aesthetics of the park with the old homes, so he did something Eric had never seen before. Even though he wasn't the owner yet, he paid about $10,000 out of his own pocket to improve the look of the park. The strategy worked. The appraisal went through without a hitch, and the park was sold. Proof that even a drama-filled transaction can be successfully overcome with experienced mobile home park brokers. (Eric, 7:33) We can't guarantee a total lack of drama, but we do guarantee a park sale at the highest possible price. That's the bottom line. Call Eric Wanck or Max Baker at The Mobile Home Park Broker, (678) 932-0200. You can also drop us a line at info@themhpbroker.com. Power Quotes in This Episode: “It's not a deal without drama, bro.” (Max, 3:38) “Every Tuesday, we talk about all the deals that we're working on. We talk about all the drama that everybody's coming across. We are a giant think tank for you, the seller and the buyer. So that's why you pay us.” (Max, 4:21) “It just goes to show that you always run into something with these transactions…great cash flowing park definitely had its rough edges, but I think at the end of the day he's going to be very happy here, in the long run, with the asset that he purchased.” (Eric, 7:33)    

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed broker Paul Schaaf regarding his successful close of Pine Meadows RV Park.  As with every Tips and Tricks podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: Pine Meadows was a very fun deal for Paul. The owners had bought a decrepit mobile home park, ripped out everything and transformed it into an RV park running on natural gas and high grade infrastructure. (Paul, 1:30) When they sold, their buyers financed the deal through a national lender that the buyer had successfully dealt with before. Paul and The MHP Broker helped by providing data that showed impressive rent growth over the last three to six months at the park. (Paul, 2:31) The only real challenge to the sale was the sellers listening to a friend who brought in a prospective buyer. But Paul's buyer offered more money and better terms, and was better vetted by Paul. As a result of listening to Paul and accepting his buyer, the seller put some $100,000 more in their pockets than they would have if they'd considered their friend's buyer. (Paul, 4:10) That other offer came through an old buddy of the seller. His buyer wanted 120 days for due diligence and was only offering a scant $1,000 in earnest money. Paul, along with his team partner Ryan Ramseur, convinced the owners about what a bad deal that would be, and they delivered that much better offer at a much better sale price. (Max, 5:00) A savvy, experienced broker makes all the difference and will put more money in your pocket. If you're thinking of selling your mobile home park or RV community, call Paul Schaaf or contact Max Baker at The Mobile Home Park Broker, (678) 932-0200. You can also drop us a line at info@themhpbroker.com. Power Quotes in This Episode: Regarding the park sellers. “They ended up clearing six figures more, due to our recommendations and experience in the field.' (Paul, 4:10) …we saved them a boatload when it closed. So that was a really good part of the deal where the owner was just thrilled with our expertise and we put a big check in their pocket at the end of the day.” (Paul, 4:10) “(We're) here to put more money in owners' pockets.” (Paul, 6:26)        

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, founder and CEO of The Mobile Home Park Broker, will discuss the company's Sellers Guide, a book he authored with valuable advice for selling mobile home communities.  As with every Tips and Tricks podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: Max overviewed and read directly from the book he wrote to help mobile home community sellers recognize and avoid disastrous obstacles, bad decisions and sleazy buyers and brokers. (Max, 0:22) You'll learn how to pick the right broker and dodge the wrong ones. Here's how Chapter One starts. (2:03) Chapter One of the Sellers Guide starts by highlighting the importance of knowing the value of your park before it goes on the market. It can be equally disastrous if you price it too high and drive buyers away, or leave money on the table by pricing too low. Make your park as attractive as possible before it goes on the market by improving the infrastructure, cleaning up books and records, and making other changes that improve curb appeal and heighten buyer interest. The better the the condition of your financial records, and the more data you have, and can show interested buyers and their lenders, the more money you'll make. Also, keep up the reputation of your community. Get rid of the riffraff. No one wants a park where the police are called in nightly, (2:35) It might be tempting to do a lot of cash business as you run your park, keeping your tax responsibilities low, but that will bite you in the ass when you go to sell your park and it looks, by the records you do release, like the park made very little money. So keep clean, honest books, pay your taxes, and make more when you sell your park. Buyers and lenders want to see receipts and deposit slips as proof of what you say you make. (5:00) The less risk for the buyer the better when it comes to sewer and utilities. Septic systems can go bad and have to be expensively replaced. City water and sewer and roads are always a prime attraction in a sale because these responsibilities can be ignored by the new park owner. (10:13) Max frequently gets emails from rookie investors looking for 10 percent CAP deals, and he laughs them off. 10 CAP deals go off the market very quickly, and not to newbie buyers. Get realistic. Also, the least desirable parks are those with lagoons or privately owned sewage treatment plants. (11:30) When it comes to park-owned homes on your property, institutional lenders don't like to see many. Community lenders, on the other hand, are more generous. Institutional lenders generally like to see no more than 15-25 percent of homes to be park-owned, though it can sometimes go as high as 30 percent. Park-owned homes can also be a stumbling block for buyers. Many don't want the responsibility of having to keep up with maintenance and repairs, and would rather have a park full of tenant-owned homes. (12:27) The most valuable communities are those where the city owns and maintains all of the roads, and the water and electric utilities are direct billed. Dirt roads command the least respect by buyers, but it's helpful if at least those dirt roads are owned and maintained by the city. (13:32) Your buyers are also going to be very interested in knowing about your park management. Do you have someone on site? Will they want to stay on for the new owners? Some buyers prefer to install their own professional management team, but it's a subject of critical importance during negotiations. This is where the topic of park-owned is back in the conversation. If you have a lot of park-owned homes, buyers think they'll have to have someone on-site for a lot of repairs and maintenance. If it's mostly tenant-owned homes, they might feel more confident that it's more of a turnkey operation nd they can operate the park from afar. At any rate, be ready to discuss the management situation. (14:17) Chapter Two of the Seller's Guide is about some common mistakes park sellers make. First of these is to miscalculate expense ratios. Unless your park is big on such hands-off features as direct billing of utilities, and city-owned roads, your expense ratio is probably in the neighborhood of 30 to 40 percent. (17:47) Another leading mistake this chapter points out is the failure to prepare the park for sale at the highest possible price. You want to put it in its best light possible, even if it's just a matter of cutting the grass, getting rid of debris, and patching potholes if you own the roads. This cleanup might not be as important if your park sits in the middle of a retail center and your prospective buyers are all developers who plan to tear the park down and redevelop the space. Otherwise, basic cleanup can put thousands of additional dollars in your pocket that you'll miss otherwise. (19:10) Big seller mistake #3, according to Max's book, is not being honest and straightforward with your management team about your plans to sell the park. Your on-site manager is at the heartbeat of the community. Everyone knows them, and you don't want this person spreading rumors or bad vibes. Buyers can smell turmoil in a community, and they want no part of it. They also don't want an on-site manager who might be pissed off and leave right after the deal closes. (22:16) Another mistake can be doing business with Wall Street “wheeler-dealers” without having a broker like Max and his people on your side. Max made this point with an anecdote about an Alabama park seller who asked him to review a deal by Wall Street types. The buyer was demanding 120 days due diligence that wouldn't even start until the seller turned in a load of requested paperwork that could take 30 days to acquire. The lesson here, according to Max, was to not try to deal with the highly educated Wall Street types without having someone on your side who understands your culture, speaks your language, and knows how to run a deal that's fair to the sellers. (25:29) Once the Alabama seller dumped the Wall Street guys who wanted to close in something like 180 days, Max was able to get them a buyer who closed in 45 days. (29:31) The next big mistake sellers make is neglecting to formulate an exit strategy. They're going to get a lump sum of cash, and it's in their best interest to be able to keep as much of it as possible. That means knowing how to invest that lump sum and reduce your tax load as much as legally possible. Max works with, and can put you in touch with, tax experts who can help you negotiate your state and federal tax load. (30:27) Another big mistake park owners make is with insurance. They might carry too much homeowners insurance on old homes worth no more than $5,000. On the other hand, they won't have liability insurance, which can leave them liable for getting sued for a dog that bites someone, or someone wanders into the community and gets hurt. Rethink your insurance coverage. (32:42) Chapter Three of the Sellers Guide is about how to cash in on your financials. Keep good books, is the bottom line. Have at least two years of tax returns you can show a buyer or lender, and at least eight to 12 months of rent deposits. To illustrate this point, Max told of a seller in mid-Georgia who “didn't like to pay taxes.” He also didn't deposit rent checks. He had a nice, tidy park, but zero financials. The only interested buyer said he wanted a six-month close. During those six months, he wanted the seller to deposit rents in a bank so he could prove the revenue generated. During this very long closing, COVID took place, the buyer's partner left, and the deal fell through. The lesson: have your financials clean and lined up, ready for inspection. AND PAY YOUR TAXES! (41:21) Another mistake with financials that sellers make is in not keeping the titles for the mobile homes they own. Typically, a community bank is going to want to see the title for every park-owned home in the deal. For some reason Max doesn't fully understand, big institutional lenders tend to care less about those titles. Max can usually still get the deal done if you don't have titles, but it could be more of a hassle than you need. (44:33) Owner financing can be a very good thing for sellers. For one thing, they can get a better price. It's worth the extra money for the buyer, who gets to avoid the multiple hassles of getting loan approval from a bank or other commercial lender. (47:03) Max can show sellers how to put together a good owner financing deal, at slightly higher than market interest rate with 20-50 percent down. (48:21) Chapter Four is on tips to prep your park to maximize your sale price. First impressions are critical, so make sure your community is as aesthetically pleasing as possible. Such niceties as landscaping and freshly paved roads do matter. (50:46) Replace and install skirting around your homes and pressure wash the gunk off them. Get rid of rust spots on metal roofs. (52:22) Max points to a park in Birmingham, Alabama. It was an ideal community in a lot of ways: city-owned roads, city water and sewer, etc. But the grass was overgrown, the park sign was old and hidden in vegetation, there was moss on the homes. Max recommended a series of improvements, but the next time he came by almost none of them had been done. The owner said he was old and just wanted out. So Max sold the place as is. It was a park worth $1 million, but he got only about $800,000. For, at most, less than $25,000 in general cleanup and improvement costs, the retiring owner lost about $200,000 in sale price. Not very smart. (54:29) The title of the next book section is, “Appraisers and Buyers are Eagle-Eyed.” In addition to looking at the financials and curb appeal, bank appraisers look at sale comps–what similar properties are selling for in the market. That's why Max's company stays current on sale and rent prices and can provide lenders with the information they need to evaluate sale price. This is a valuable selling tool. (56:04) In Chapter Five, Max has indicated five kinds of buyers (including one to be avoided at all costs.) This includes The Turnkey Buyers…they want deals where they won't be needed day to day because on-site management is in place, as is direct billing, high occupancy, etc. But they'll pay for that hands-off ease, so they're good buyers. Retirees…are looking for a good place to live, as well as a business. Your park will be appealing to them if it's in the Sun Belt and a quiet community. Value-Add Buyers….want properties that they can get for a bargain because the parks need work. These are often in secondary or tertiary locations. They're good buyers to find if you basically want out without doing a lot of work to maximize profit, but others go around all the time making inadequate offers on properties, which makes Max think of them as time vampires because they just suck the time right out of you. First-Time Buyers…these buyers might have gone to seminars and are trying to work “no money down” deals. They often have little or no money, so they can be tough to work with. (1:00:39) Scam Artists are, by far, the worst type of “buyers.” Max has a database of these individuals and he actually labels them as “Scam Artists.” These people never put up earnest money, they make big promises and have no intention of delivering. Max and his brokers immediately recognize these people, which is yet another reason you need The MHP Broker, to help you avoid wasting time with Scam Artists. The Max team can also immediately identify other buyers by type, and know how to relate to each. (1:01:10) Chapter Six of Max's book deals with the risks of trying to sell your park by yourself. You need a professional, extending professional guidance and mediator services when you sell. We can direct your community to the right kind of buyer and be able to tell you whether or not a buyer is legit. We're professional negotiators who can help you get the optimal price for your community. (1:03:21) One section of Max's book, “Mythbusters” blows up the myth that you, the park owner, can easily sell your own property and make more money than if you hire a broker. In truth, you might be left vulnerable to wheeler-dealers or scam artists who can leave you hundreds of thousands of dollars shy of what you should be able to sell our park for. (1:08:06) Chapter Seven deals with how to get the RIGHT broker for your deal. Hiring a specialist is always your best option. In other words, a real estate agent who only deals with mobile home parks as opposed to one who might sell commercial real estate or traditional homes. This market is unique, and it needs someone with a unique skill set and area of experience and expertise. Max has, over his 15 years of experience, identified several versions of the WRONG broker: the Wheeler-Dealer Brokers…they're fast talkers who come across as untrustworthy sales guys. Then there's the brokers who promise you an unrealistically high sale price, one that's nowhere near what the market will bear, just to get the listing.  The Brokers Who Buy Listings…want to get your listing at any cost. They don't care if it doesn't sell, because they're using your listing to get more listings. They just want to look busy in their marketplace. (1:11:04) Max has also identified so-called National Brokers…those who say they operate all over the country–and they might–but they don't have a clear idea of where your market rate is at. If you're in rural Georgia, you have no interest in what mobile home parks are going for in Boulder, Colorado. Maybe the worst broker is…The Ghost Broker…that's the one who basically disappears as soon as your property goes under contract. It's as though this broker's job was to get the listing..not to actually sell the property. That's hard work. (1:13:30) And finally, there's The MHP Broker…These guys have researched the entire state and found out where rents are at, and have identified the most active buyers. They set realistic sale expectations and stay engaged once your property goes under contract. The MHP Broker stays two steps ahead of all situations on your deal, so we can put out any potential fires before they even happen. This broker will advise you to possibly make improvements to increase your price and lower the park's perceived risk profile. Finally, your The MHP Broker team has connections with most, if not all, of the local lenders who will finance the deal in transaction for you. This brokerage team only deals with mobile home and RV parks, and is a one-stop shop for anything related to this industry's marketing and sales because we do it every damn day. (1:14:20) The book's next section is called “Thinking Regional.” It's here where we present the way we do business, with the regional data that matters to you when reaching for an optimal price. We crunch numbers to see what the local economy is like, employment, culture, and the mood on the ground. All that and a lot of other numbers that help us set optimal sale price strategy. 1:15:25) “Thank you for listening to this summary of my book,” says Max Baker, signing off of Sellers Guide. (1:17:46) Are you thinking of selling your mobile home community? @Would you like to get optimal price–guaranteed. Reach out to Max Baker at The Mobile Home Park Broker, (678) 932-0200. You can also drop us a line at info@themhpbroker.com. While you're at it, ask for your free copy of our Sellers Guide. Power Quotes in This Episode: Failing to research a plan and exit strategy can spoil your future or leave you vulnerable to excess taxation.” (30:27) “The more information you have, the higher the price you're going to get.” (35:56) “...appraisers look at your property much like buyers. They'll examine the local lot rent and their sales comps. They're going to look for curb appeal and for what the park's first impressions would be due to its current appearance. (56:04) “We do come across bad eggs (among competitive brokers) every once in a while, we label them as Scam Artists in our actual database. We all know that every industry has them. These people do things like re-trade deals for no reason right before closing, never deposit Earnest Money, make big promises with no intention of delivering. (1:01:10) “We have the ability to ask the right questions, interpret prospective buyers' answers, and gear the marketing of your community to a certain type of buyer.” (1:03:21)          

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed MHP broker Eric Wanck regarding the challenges he faced in his two-park sale in Talladega County, Alabama.   As with every Tips and Tricks podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights Eric recently sold a two-park portfolio in the Talladega, AL area. They were good parks, with city water and nearly full occupancy. But there were also challenges, such as the fact that both parks had fewer than 30 pads, and it was a mix of park-owned and tenant-owned homes. Also, there weren't a multitude of qualified buyers in the local economy. As a result of the various challenges, the parks sat on the market for four months. Then a buyer's agent approached Eric with a client who was a local investor who could buy one of the parks with no financing. As a result, that park closed quickly, in about 30 days. (Eric, 1:22) This sale proves that even smaller markets can sell. It was a good job on Eric's part, especially when you factor in that Talladega is a very small town, with few potential investors. (Max, 3:13) It was a win-win for everybody. (Eric, 4:29) Do you have a smaller-market mobile home park with all sorts of challenges thrown in? Contact Eric Wanck or Max Baker at The Mobile Home Park Broker, (678) 932-0200. You can also drop us a line at info@themhpbroker.com. Power Quotes in This Episode: “Talladega is a prime example of us being able to succeed when others could not.” (Max, 3:13) “We keep grinding, so to speak, for the seller, and trying to find a buyer. At the end of the day, they were very happy and it was a win-win all around.” (Eric, 4:29)        

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed broker Jeff Dodge regarding his sale of Mercer Mobile Home Park. As with every Tips and Tricks podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights:  Jeff Dodge sold Mercer MHP, a community also known as Hawaiian Village Mobile Home Park. It's the third time Max's company has sold that park over the years. (Max, 0:22) The park had certain attractions, including good lot rents, city water and sewer, and paved roads throughout. But there was a downside, culminating in a low 35 percent occupancy rate. Many of the park-owned homes needed extensive rehabbing or removal. The broker' challenge would be in finding a buyer who understood the problems and could add value and stabilize the community. (Jeff, 1:27) Jeff received multiple offers for the park and settled on an investor with which The MHP Broker has successfully done business with on multiple occasions in the past. He paid cash. Jeff knew the investor had the capital and the familiarity with the area to make it work. (Jeff, 2:19) Max remembered the park being a rough sale even when he first sold it, twelve years previously. (Max, 2:45) The deal was hanging in the balance for awhile, but one thing that incentivized the buyer was when the seller added an adjoining ten acres that was originally not part of the deal. The lesson is to get creative and stay flexible to keep a good deal alive. (Jeff, 4:19)  Even the “hairiest” deals can be kept alive if you have a talented and experienced broker on your side. Contact Jeff Dodge or Max Baker at The Mobile Home Park Broker, (678) 932-0200. You can also drop us a line at info@themhpbroker.com. Power Quotes in This Episode: “We sell these types of deals all the time. They're rough parks. If you can handle the riffraff and the management, you can make a lot of money doing these deals, they just require a lot of TLC, a lot of hand holding, and really running it with an iron fist. So, that's the only way people could really turn this park around.” (Max, 2:53) “So if you all have some hairy deals, there is a buyer out there for you, and I can promise you that. And we typically are really good at finding all-cash buyers, if you want to structure the financing, we're good at getting that structured.” (Max, 2:53) “It was great to work with reasonable sellers and an experienced buyer and at the end of the day we were able to get to the finish line and feel like it was a win-win for both parties.” (Jeff, 4:19)

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed MHP broker Paul Schaaf  about his Adventure RV Park close in West Virginia.     As with every Tips and Tricks podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: Adventure RV Park in West Virginia had a nice mix of mobile homes, RVs and cabins, but one of its leading challenges was its 30 percent year-round occupancy. It was a mom and pop operation whereby the original owners had sold it to a party that failed, and then those original owners had gotten it back. They invested some capital in upgrades, but there was still plenty of “meat on the bones” for the right buyer. (Paul, 1:03) The park had some things going for it, including the fact that there was a new gas line project bringing in workers to the area, and a ski resort in close proximity. (Max, 1:48) The Mountain Valley pipeline project kept bringing in workers in need of housing. Even before closing, the park went from about 30 percent occupancy to nearly 100 percent RV occupancy. (Paul, 2:01) The park's business was improving so quickly that the buyer actually snipped the closing timeline by about 30 days. (Paul, 2:32) The buyer refinanced some of their existing parks so they could present an all-cash deal. (Paul, 3:05) The lesson buyers might learn by this deal is to not be threatened by low occupancy. There are often things you can do to improve occupancy figures and increase the value of your new park. (Max, 3:22) The park sale was a win-win situation, with the buyers getting plenty of potential and the sellers being able to retire with an all-cash closing. (Paul, 4:07) Whatever challenges your RV or mobile home park might have, let Paul Schaaf and The Mobile Home Park Broker team will find you a qualified buyer and maximum value. Call Paul of Max at (678) 932-0200 or drop us a line at info@themhpbroker.com. Power Quotes in This Episode: “I think we actually improved the closing timeline by about 30 days so (the buyers) could capitalize on that fresh income.” (Paul, 2:34)  “We'll figure out a way to find the right buyer for you and get you as much money as we can and, you know, just give us an opportunity to consider…what your goals are and I'm pretty sure we can obtain them. So, just give us a shout when you get a moment.” (Paul, 4:07)

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed MHP broker Eric Wanck about his very unique mobile-home-park-turned-RV-Park deal in Florida.    As with every Tips and Tricks podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: Eric had a couple unique challenges in closing on Cracker Lake in Florida. In the first place, the park was totally vacant. And in the second place, it HAD been a mobile home park, but it was being converted to an RV community. The conversion followed a hurricane that completely wiped out the mobile home park which, at the time, had a few smaller mobile homes and some tiny homes. The city refused to let the owner continue operating the community as a mobile home park unless they raised the homes a foot off the ground in the floodplain. However, the city recommended the conversion to non-permanent housing in the form of an RV park. Rhus was born Cracker Lake RV Resort. (Eric, 1:36) This follows a trend where the brokers are starting to see a lot of vacant mobile home parks get attention from buyers. (Max. 3:23) The sale was to a local buyer who had 1031  funds and only needed a small seller note of less than ten percent for 12 months. Due diligence was done quickly and smoothly, and the buyer and seller worked well together. The park sold at near list price. (Eric, 4:23) Eric agreed with Max's comment about seeing a good market for vacant or near-vacant mobile home parks. (Eric, 4:44) If your mobile home park is vacant or near-vacant. No problem. Eric Wanck can find you a motivated buyer. Contact Eric or Max Baker at The Mobile Home Park Broker, (678) 932-0200. You can also drop us a line at info@themhpbroker.com. Power Quotes in This Episode: “We were selling essentially vacant land with infrastructure in place.” (Eric, 1:36) “It was a really nice project for someone to come in, do a little bit of work and capital expenditures, and essentially open the gate” (Eric, 1:36) “I chuckled because there's always a little bit of a hiccup with due diligence. But for the most part, it was smooth and very happy all around. Great folks to work with on the sell side and the buy side.” (Eric, 3:42)

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed fellow podcaster, mobile home community portfolio owner and industry syndicator Andrew Keel. As with every Tips and Tricks podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: - Veteran mobile home park owner Andew Keel also runs the Passive Mobile Home Park Investing Podcast as well as running park investing syndications all over the country. (Max, 0:22) - The current count is ownership of 42 mobile home park communities. Andrew graduated from Augustana University in South Dakota. (Andrew, 1:30) - Andrew started out in sales after college. He ran a small team that sold websites, business cards and other sales merchandise to real estate agents. From that influence, he started buying, fixing up and flipping homes as a side business. (Andrew, 2:27) - One day Andrew got a lead on the availability of two vinyl-sided mobile homes for sale in Ocala, FL for just $2,200 for the pair. Figuring it would cost more than that just to manufacture the homes, he quickly resold them to an eager market of homebuyers. He earned $2,500 down payment for each, and monthly payments of $250 for five years. From that point he started watching Youtube videos on how to buy and sell mobile homes. He also met a park owner who educated him on how he could raise investors' money through syndication in order to buy mobile home parks in quantity at at a quicker pace. (Andrew, 3:07) - It was quite an accomplishment, going from buying two mobile homes to owning 42 communities in just a few years. (Max,5:16) - Andrew also takes advantage of a bank investing program known as Cash LEAPS. As a syndicator who might have a few millions dollars accumulated in a checking account, Andrew lets his bank invest it overnight, when he doesn't need the cash, and have it back in his checking account by first thing the next morning. In this way, he earns significant interest during the time of day when he doesn't need the money anyway. (Andrew, 6:56) - There is a fee of about $100 a month for this service, but it's well worth it. (Andrew, 7:59) - Andrew cautions mobile home park prospective investors about ways it can cost more to operate a park in the north. He owns a park in Minnesota and another in North Dakota where each home runs on propane heat, and he has to take that into cost consideration during the winter. There's also snow removal costs which southern park owners don't even think about. (Andrew, 9:10) - Eviction laws vary, state by state. In general, red states have fewer regulations, and evictions are faster and easier, and blue states make it more difficult. Andrew mentioned a park in New York State where the judge would give the evicted tenant 90 days to move out, and then grant the party an additional 90 days afterwards, for no additional reason. He tries to buy parks in red states where eviction laws are minimal. (Andrew, 11:35) - Andrew and Max discussed recent class action lawsuits on large mobile home community chains for price gouging. Andrew isn't sure that the communities will lose all of these suits, but it will be expensive. (Andew, Max, 14:09) - Local zoning laws can also make it difficult to move homes into communities. Some say they won't accept any home older than ten years, regardless of its condition. This creates an added challenge to park owners who want to expand their footprints.  (Max, 15:03) - Park buyers need to immediately make appointments with zoning officials and find out exactly what they can and cannot do. The local authorities aren't necessarily in the wrong. They just want to save their larger communities from having a rundown park in its boundaries. (Andrew, 16:00) - Andrew's long-range goal is to continue to expand his mobile home park portfolio and to  be able to offer good, affordable housing to those most in need of it. (Andrew, 17:47) - Once they have a park, they work hard to add value by bringing in new homes and rehabbing existing homes, metering the water, etc. (Andrew, 18:23) - In his time as an entrepreneur, one of the things Andrew learned is that the number one reason people leave an organization is because they don't feel valued. Another valuable lesson is to avoid “time suck” activities that don't add value to the job and just create a drag on productivity. (Andrew, 19:20) - Andrew has also learned to use people's names because it has a profound affect on drawing them in. It's their favorite sound. (Andrew, 20:26) - And finally, he's learned to move a little slower, not constantly make deals and to be choosier in the deals he makes. He's now a more careful community buyer. (Andrew, 21:48) - You can reach Andrew through his website at keelteam.com. Fill out the online form and make a Zoom appointment to talk shop personally with Andrew. (Andrew, 23:01) Would you like to expand your mobile home park portfolio like Andrew. Reach out to him at Keelteam.com. Or contact Max Baker at The Mobile Home Park Broker, (678) 932-0200. You can also drop us a line at info@themhpbroker.com. Power Quotes in This Episode: After buying two used mobile homes for $2,200 total. “It had to cost way more than $1,000 to build one of these things. So I bought them, got the titles, came home and got on YouTube and typed in ‘how to make money with mobile homes.'” (Andrew, 3:07) Upon learning how to put together syndicate deals and be the managing partner. “That was the a-ha moment.” (Andrew, 3:07) “It's…awesome, being able to provide that affordable housing for people that desperately need it. But also create a good return…for your time and effort and money invested.” (Andrew, 5:30) “The asset class has been good to us and we have subsequently been able to provide affordable housing units that otherwise would have sat vacant, you know, with the previous owner.” (Andrew, 17:47)

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed company broker Paul Schaaf on his recent success handling the Glenwood Mobile Home Park transaction in Tennessee.  successful deals.  This and every episode of Closing Ccktails is presented by The MHP Broker's'  proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: -       Paul took on Glenwood MHP, a great TN park that proved challenging to market because of the small size of its lots. But Paul found the right buyer, and the right solutions to the park's problems, and was able to close--just as he can close on your park despite whatever challenges it might have. (Max, 1:09) -       The park's in a good location of eastern TN, which is turning into a strong retirement area. The region also has some of the best golf courses in the state. Glenwood had about 60 lots, but was only at about 37 percent occupancy. There was a lot of opportunity there since other mobile home parks in the area were at about 90 percent occupancy with home rents at the $900 - $1,200 range and lots averaging about $400 - $450 a month. There were a lot of offers for Glenwood, but those small lots ultimately drove serious interest away. (Paul, 1:43) -       One of the big stepsPaul had his client take was to move some of the power lines to open up the space. They also found a couple manufacturers who ere making smaller, two-bedroom homes that would better fit the space and could be arranged strategically with the larger homes to improve lot sizes and the look of the park. The fact that the property was on city water and all pads already had infrastructure in place were good selling points. And there was a big demand in the area for affordable housing, so the newly laid out park was now much more desirable. (Paul, 3:27) -       The buyers were a family very experienced with commercial real estate ownership, but they were breaking in to the mobile home park business for the first time. They were very careful with their due diligence. Paul thinks they've already raised rents and are infilling those empty lots. (Paul, 4:41) -       Paul learned from this deal the importance of knowing what you're going to be up against that might challenge the sale and to come up with effective solutons. You've got to be able to see the park for what it is, and how it can be improved if it has to be to meet market expectations. (Paul, 5:35) -       If you're a buyer in a decent market, even a park with problems can be improved and value added if you know how to do it and are willing to invest the time and money. (Paul, 6:24) Even parks with warts can attract motivated buyers. We can show you how to add value to a park in a great location, even if significant work must be done. Call Paul or Max at The Mobile Home Park Broker, (678) 932-0200. Power Quotes in This Episode: “We are very good overcoming (challenges) because we've seen everything thrown at us in the mobile home park and RV world.” (Max, 1:09) “It was just a matter of putting together the best plan because the demand for affordable housing was there.” (Paul, 3:27) “I think (the new owners) are already infilling and have raised rents. And they're already off to the races and have done well.” (Paul, 4:41) “If you have the right plan together, and you know how to infill quicker, and you're in a decent market, you know, when things change in the next three to five years you're gonna be sitting in a really good position.” (Paul, 6:24))

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed The MHP Broker's Eric Wanck on his recent Lake and Acres Mobile Home Park sale. Just like with every Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails podcast episode, this one's brought to you by The MHP Broker's'  proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call up Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: -        Max Baker asked Eric Wanck to review his successful transaction in selling Lake and Acres Mobile Home Park. (Max, 0:22) -        The park owner approached Eric to ask him to sell Lake and Acres, an approximately  50-pad park in a good location, with city water and sewer, but with about fifty percent vacancy. Eric saw it as a nice value-add potential and was eager to take it on. At this same time, Eric was selling another park for a seller who turned out to be interested in buying Lake and Acres. As it turned out, the Lake and Acres buyer sold his park the day before he closed on buying Lake and Acres, so it was a very busy 24 hours for Eric. (Eric, 0:55) -        Lake and Acres had a mix of park-owned and tenant-owned homes, and was in need of a little tender loving care. Eric realizes that parks in less than ideal condition and in need of rescue can be just what certain investors are looking for. This was such a park. (Eric, 2:27) -        The park that Eric was in the process of selling for the eventual buyer of Lake and Acres was going for a couple of million dollars more than Lake and Acres, so the eventual buyer had the money to invest. He didn't have to take out a loan and so there were no issues with appraisals taking time or going south. (Eric, 3:17) -        One of the lessons Eric learned on the deal was the importance of patience. While he was able to put buyer and seller together quickly, the closing took longer than expected because they had to wait on the buyer's close on the park he was selling. (Eric, 3:59) If you're an investor interested in buying and selling mobile home parks, Eric Wanck and The Mobile Home Park Broker can help you on both ends of your deals. Contact The MHP Broker at (678) 932-0200 or drop them an email at info@themhpbroker.com.    Power Quotes in This Episode: “We closed on (the buyer's) park and literally the next day turned around and closed on  Lake and Acres. So, it was a beautiful transaction all around.” (Eric, 0:55) “At the end of the day, it's all about getting to the finish line. Both parties understood and  there was a firm commitment from the buyer here to close, and that's what we got here.” (Eric, 3:59) “I love how every deal is a little bit different, and this one was definitely different in it own  right, but hey, back-to-back closing almost on this one. I'd love to do them again!” (Eric, 5:11)

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed Kirby Horton. As president and CEO of The Firm, Inc., Kirby is involved in acquiring, developing, and operating manufactured home communities. As with every Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: - Kirby Horton serves as the park acquisition lead and project manager at his company, The Firm, in Franklin Tennessee. Kirby has worked deals with Max's company. (Max, 0:22) - In reviewing his career path. Krby explained how he almost accidentally got into his current line of work. He earned a degree in Economics, then spent the next 20 to 25 years in financial services. Over time, he started to see that field becoming a commodity and the possibility for making a good living shrinking. He began to feel bored and less able to use his creativity. (Kirby, 1:35) - As a voracious reader, Kirby eventually stumbled on a book by Lonnie Scruggs, the legendary mobile home investor and author. (Kirby, 2:49) - Following the Lonnie Scruggs pattern, Kirby made a part-time job of buying cheap mobile homes and selling them on a rent-to-own (RTO) basis. His first sale, of a mobile home he paid $800 for, was to a park manager who has, since 1009, been Kirby's employee for the longest tenure. (Kirby, 3:2) - Over time, Kirby bought and sold on RTO contracts a total of maybe 50 or 60 mobile homes. He'd spend the first week of every month knocking on doors and getting rent from his RTO contract holders. - When the SAFE Act regulation of Dodd Frank came out in 2008, Kirby realized that would pretty much kill his mode of business. zThe purpose of the SAFE Act was to regulate those who sell housing, and the rules and requirements were so complicated and involved that he figured he'd have to redirect the way he moved forward. (Kirby, 4:49) - That's when Kirby began buying mobile home parks. He lost his shirt on that first deal, but learned plenty. For starters, he learned that owning communities isn't “mailbox money” a matter of just waiting for the checks to arrive by letter carrier. It's harder than that, and there's much more to do to successfully run a park. (Kirby, 5:21) - In describing a park deal he worked with Max's company, Kirby mentioned that a community that was shaky when he first bought it is now stabilized, with 100 percent occupancy and 90 percent collections and only responsible residents. (Kirby, 7:17) - When he bought it, the community was all park-owned homes (POH). One of the first things Kirby did was determine who he wanted living there and who he wanted out in order to clean up the community and improve the culture. He also turned all of the POHs into opportunities for the preferred residents to buy them. (Kirby, 7:37) - Kirby basically had only three park rules, and those who couldn't follow them were evicted. The rules were, be a good neighbor…keep your yard clean…and pay your rent on time. (Kirby, 7:56) - Kirby enjoyed working with his good tenants, and either getting money upfront or working out payment plans so they could own their homes and he was only dealing with lot rent. Some of the homes were in such poor condition that he literally gave them to his tenants. His dream is that eventually the community (and others he owns) will become so stabilized that people will be proud to live there and fond of their childhood memories in a manufactured home community. (Kirby, 8:39) - Max observed that his start in the industry was much like Kirby's, including being heavily influenced by Lonnie Scruggs books. (Max, 10:10) - Asked whether he's ever tried syndication as a way of raising acquisition capital, Kirby said that it makes him nervous if he has to report to major investors. His preference is to go one deal at a time, with him and his family usually the sole investors on reasonably small deals. In the case of larger deals, he might bring together one or two friends who can invest, but he stays away from large pools of investors. (Kirby, 11:45) - Asked if he buys new or used homes for his parks, Kirby said that he'd love to be able to find affordable higher-quality used homes, but they're almost impossible to find. Even if he could, they would each cost about $20,000 to $30,000 to buy and move in. (Kirby, 13:31) - Kirby mentioned some of the new home manufacturers he uses, and highlighted Hamilton Homes out of Hamilton, Alabama for how they came through when the supply chain was held up after Covid. He also had words of praise for Champion Homes, and Clayton for the high quality of their homes. Kirby said that the quality of new mobile homes today is generally as good as he's ever seen. (Kirby, 14:21) - He says that talk of mobile homes depreciating like cars is false, and that a good quality mobile home, properly installed and cared for, will maintain its value for a long time. (Kirby, 15:12) - Stabilized lot rents should be set at $400 a month, bare minimum. (Kirby, 17:20) Kirby resents experts who talk about “value add” as solely a matter of raising rents and metering the water. Where's the value in that for tenants? While that kind of revenue raising sometimes must be done, he thinks park owners need to also create value for tenants by improving the communities, not just making them costlier to live in.. (Kirby, 18:01) - Asked by Max if he'd consider selling to a developer who wanted to turn the property into more expensive apartment units, Kirby said he'd probably sell if it was profitable As a business person, it's his responsibility to keep his company healthy. (Kirby, 21:35) - Kirby said that, upon further consideration, that he might first go to the local government after receiving such an offer. He'd explain that he's now offering affordable housing to families that would probably be displaced, and what can the local authorities do in terms of zoning and other issues to help him be able to responsibly reject the offer and expand instead. (Kirby, 22:50) - In 2022, Kirby's company bought and installed 500 new homes in parks around the country. The rate has slowed somewhat since then, but they're still very active. (Kirby, 31:34) The lower number of homes purchased and installed is inversely related to rising interest rates. (Kirby, 31:47) Do you need expert support and guidance in buying or selling manufactured home communities? Call up Maxwell Baker at The Mobile Home Park Broker, (678) 932-0200. You can also drop him a line at info@themhpbroker.com. Power Quotes in This Episode: (On Kiry Horton's desire to improve the communities he owns.) “We want to create memories for those young kids that we want them to have a safe, fun place to grow up.” (Kirby, 10:02) (On his reluctance to bring in outside investors.) “It's one thing to follow your gut when it's your money. Yeah, it's somebody else's money, you better be following something more than just your gut.” (Kirby, 11:45) “I'll lose my own money, but I sure would hate to lose someone else's.” (Kirby, 13:05) “The quality of new homes is just so great today, there's just no comparing a (manufactured) hom today to even ten years ago. The quality is that much better.” (Kirby, 14:21) “If that new home, if it's a quality home, and it's placed properly and installed properly, in the right location, will maintain its value over many, many years.” (Kirby, 15:12) “Once you clean the place up…as you're doing that, (residents) know what the rent increase is coming. It's just…a whole lot easier to swallow and to deliver if you've (first) improved their community.” (Kirby, 1801) (On raising rents without improving communities.) “I see a lot of investors do that. Typically, it's the ones that are on razor-sharp margins when they buy that kind of stuff.” (Max, 19:35) “If the media is going to interview me, I want it to be because of the progress that we've made because of improving the neighborhood, improving the community, not because I'm a carpetbagger, or somebody who's trying to gouge the poor.” (Kirby, 20:39)

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed newbie broker Jeff Dodge on his first sale for the firm. Just like with every Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails podcast episode, this one's brought to you by The MHP Broker's'  proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call up Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: -        New broker Jeff Dodge was asked to review his first sale for The MHP Broker,which was a West Virginia deal. (Max, 1:01) -        Mountain View is located in the mountains of WVA, in Marlington, which is about 30 minutes from Snowshoe Mountain Resort. Mountain View is a hybrid community, consisting mostly of mobile homes, but also including some stick-built cabins and an RV pad.  The homes were all occupied at the time of the listing, but there were also four vacant lots for a value-add opportunity for the next buyer. It was a well-run mom and pop operation. Although the seller's daughter is a real estate broker, they sought out The MHP Broker for their specialized market knowledge. (Jeff,  1:19) -        The buyers were able to get a bank loan from a source they already knew in the area, and the property appraised over value, so there were no issues with financing. (Jeff, 2:58) -        Another key sales advantage was city water and 1:1 sewage. (Max, 3:13) -        Jeff thought the community's secluded rural location would make it a hard sell, but he was pleasantly surprised to learn that it didn't. He ultimately closed with the first prospective buyer who went under contract. (Jeff, 3:35) -        The deal closed in about 30 days. The buyer was someone the company had worked with before, so he came to the deal well vetted. That helped the process immensely. (Jeff, 3:53) -        Jeff also realized that another factor in the success of and trouble-free nature of the transaction was the constant communication with the seller/client. This was a great way of heading off issues before they became problems, and keeping trust and confidence high between the two parties. (Jeff, 4:16) Mountain View in West Virginia is one of the latest examples of the positive impact The Mobile Home Park Broker can have in delivering quick community sales at top dollar. Contact The MHP Broker's Jeff Dodge or Max Baker at (678) 932-0200. Power Quotes in This Episode: “When it comes to brokers, better to be a mile deep than a mile wide. And here at the firm, we are definitely a mile deep (in experience in this real estate market niche), and a lot of park owners choose to work with us because of that. We're just extremely niched,  we're able to bring in buyers a lot quicker than a lot of different people out there that are trying to sell communities because, like I said, we specialize in this. We've got the connections with the lenders, with the mortgage brokers, debt placement guys…We are very good at structuring deal stories, structuring debt and making sure you're getting the highest price when you exclusively list with us.” (Max, 2:15) “I had a lot back and forth with the seller. But the more communication, I believe, that you have with your client, the more they'll have that trust in you to get to the closing table.” (Jeff, 4:16)

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed leading broker Paul Schaaf on one of his latest deals. Just like with every Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails podcast episode, this one's brought to you by The MHP Broker's'  proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call up Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: -        Paul Schaaf was The Mobile Home Park Broker's top producer at the mid-year mark. He'll talk about a recent challenging but successful transaction in Arkansas. (Max, 1:06) -        The sale had a few stumbling blocks that made it take longer to close than usual. For one thing, the owners had to do a lot of work before they could even list the park. It had been in bad shape when they acquired it, and they had to bring in new homes, improve the tenant base and get cash flow to the point where it would appeal to buyers. (Paul, 1:16) -        The appraisal went fine, but local banks were reluctant to get involved due to high interest rates and the presence of a lot of park-owned homes in the deal. Fortunately, the owners kept good books and showed how revenue had increased steadily. Paul found a motivated buyer who'd just sold a farming business and wanted to own a mobile home park, especially one that could add RV lots. The buyers had a good business plan and Paul was able to connect them with an ideal mortgage broker. (Paul, 2:23) -        The buyer got rejected a few times from lenders, and had to prove how they'd successfully run previous businesses, and collaterize some of their assets. So it wasn't easy, but buyer and seller both ended up satisfied. (Paul, 4:03) Regardless of the unique challenges and obstacles you might face, we think there's a buyer for every park. Just make sure you sell through brokers who know the business and have connections that can help make the deal go through faster and at a better price--with fewer hitches. Contact Paul Schaaf or Max Baker at The Mobile Home Park Broker, (678) 932-0200. Power Quotes in This Episode: “We've got the connections with the lenders, with the mortgage brokers, debt placement guys…We are very good at structuring deal stories, structuring debt and making sure you're getting the highest price when you exclusively list with us.” (Max, 4:36) “Times are changing, but we're the broker that knows how to evolve and adapt.” (Max, 5:43)

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed broker superstar Eric Wanck regarding a couple of his recent and very successful deals. Here Are the Show Highlights: -        Eric recently closed on Cozy Homes Mobile Home Park and Dogwood Estates MHP. (Max, 0:22) -        Cozy Homes was an off-market deal on a park that Eric sold to the current sellers in 2020. They reached out to him again this year when they wished to sell. (Eric, 1:11) -        It was a nice park, with 75 pads, city water and sewer, and paved roads. It easily met appraisal and sold in about 90 days, from initial contact to the sale date. However, the owners had managed the park from afar, installing local day-to-day management. This proved to be problematic. (Eric, 1:53) -        The local manager did a poor job of maintaining the park, some residents left, the park lost value, and the owner had to refinance, with a balloon payment due in twelve months. That's why they decided to sell. The lesson is that passive owners still have to check in regularly and know what's going on with their property before it loses value. (Eric, 2:35) -        As a result of the local management's shortcomings, monthly park revenue had dropped from about $23,000 when Eric first sold it three years ago, to about $14,000 or $15,000 by the time it sold again. (Eric, 3:45) -        The sellers had bought the park three years ago for $2.2 million and had to sell it for a lot less than that due to its deteriorating condition. (Eric, 4:06) -        Despite the drop in value of the park, Eric did an excellent job on the sale and the sellers still got a premium price. (Max, 4:23) -        Eric's second recent success was with Dogwood Estates near Martinsville, Virginia. It was a smaller park than Cozy Homes, and also had city water and sewer, and paved roads. But its location wasn't ideal…right next to a McDonald's restaurant. (Eric, 6:24) -        The lesson to be learned here is that sellers sometimes need to practice patience if the property has some challenges. It might take time, but there's a buyer for every deal. This park had good books and records, and it easily passed the buyer's due diligence. (Eric, 7:09) -        The new owners ended up with a park with a ten-CAP on day one, and lots that were under market rate by about $50. Infilling opportunities also existed. (Eric, 8:01) -        There's a lot of opportunity out there, a big market for mobile home parks even with the high interest rates. So stay patient if you're a seller, and The MHP Broker can help you find a buyer regardless of what challenges or obstacles your park might face. So caall us. (Eric, 9:58) -        Some of the large banks and other lenders aren't even interested in deals under $2.5 million or even $5 million. That's why Max's company has established connections with credit unions that are enthusiastic about lending for smaller deals and at more favorable interest rates than the major lenders are willing to give--if they'll accept a deal at all. (Max, 11:07) Regardless of the challenges and obstacles your park might face, we believe there's a buyer for every park. Just contact Max Baker or Eric Wanck at The Mobile Home Park Broker, (678) 932-0200. Power Quotes in This Episode: “Don't ever think that parks are a hands-off, passive business, because they're not.”(Eric, 2:35) “(The closing price) wasn't close to where we sold it in the beginning. But…we still got a pretty solid price for this deal.” (Eric, 4:23) “So if y'all have some parks out there that are mismanaged, give us a call.” (Max, 5:33) “That's (678) 932-0200 or email us at info@themhpbroker.com. Ask for Eric if you're going to call. He is the man with the plan and his pipeline is massive, still. So you guys give him a call and let's keep moving forward!” (Max, 12:45)

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed lawyer Fern Niemann about his legal focus on representing mobile home park owners. Just like with every Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails podcast episode, this one's brought to you by The MHP Broker's'  proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call up Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: -        Lawyer Ferd Niemann runs the website TheMHPLawyer.com, and specializes in representing the legal interests of mobile home park community owners across the country. Up to about 80 percent of the firm's business is within this industry. (Max, 0:22) -        Ferd began his professional career as a commercial real estate tax analyst for Jackson County in Kansas. He flipped and bought and kept homes for rental on the side. He couldn't scale up quickly, so decided to get into apartment investing, but found it to be a competitive market out of his financial range. Instead, he started buying and selling mobile homes, which were much less expensive. He did this while attending law school at the University of Kansas. His intention was to get into tax law and real estate investment law. (Ferd, 2:07) -        Around 2018, Ferd got out of law practice and focused exclusively on building his mobile home business. He's bought and sold parks, and currently owns 19 communities, mostly in the Midwest. Ferd has also gotten back into his law practice, with a mobile home specialty, and hosts a podcast covering the topic. (Ferd, 3:51) -        Ferd's firm does a lot of business fighting zoning laws established by localities that seek to shut down mobile home parks with home age restrictions, park size restrictions, infill timelines, utility restrictions and other penalties. The majority of his clients have parks that are “legally non-conforming.” That means that they were legal when established, and they've been grandfathered in to protect against current regulations, but might fall short of current legal requirements when they change hands. Many cities use the zoning charge of abandonment to shut down mobile home park activity. The idea is that if a lot sits empty for a designated period of time, which might be as little as a month or two, it's considered abandoned, and the park owners loses the right to rent it. (Ferd, 6:09) -        Age restrictions seem especially illogical to Ferd. He's got a 2022 mobile home that's falling apart and a classic 1957 model that's in beautiful condition. The point is, a home's age isn't necessarily a valid indicator of the condition it's in, and age restrictions are arbitrary and unfair. (Ferd, 7:52) -        There are several violations that can get a mobile home park shut down, including fire code  violations, public health safety, welfare, and morals. But abandonment provisions are the most commonly enforced by hostile cities. (Ferd, 8:38) -        Ferd's firm uses zoning letters to nail down what the park can and can't do in a locale. He attempts to get the cities to sign off on the zoning letter to protect the client in future zoning battles. The city will sign off on the letter maybe 25 or 30 percent of the time. (Ferd, 10:37) -        About a third of the time, the city will agree to sign the zoning letter once revisions are added and changes made. Ferd's firm haggles for the best case possible with revisions. (Ferd, 11:10) -        This works more effectively in smaller cities. The bigger cities have much larger law departments and are less likely to simply sign off on a zoning letter. (Ferd, 11:38) -        The challenges vary by state and region, too. As examples, Tennessee and Iowa are cooperative with zoning letters, while North Carolina tends not to be. (Ferd, 12:22) -        Ferd rarely sees “carve outs,” in which the regulations are changed for one park, but he can sometimes get communities to change the zoning code altogether. In other cases, he's gotten communities to grant grandfather rights for parks that were in existence before the zoning code was updated. (Ferd, 14:29) -      Sometimes cities that can't get parks shut down because the park was in existence before zoning codes were put in place will instead try to shut down individual lots that haven't been infilled within a designated time. Ferd compares that kind of vacancy with a motel with a room that hasn't been rented for some time. That doesn't mean the entire motel or that room was abandoned. (Ferd, 17:27) Zoning issues related to floodplains, fire code violation, egress and ingress are also tough to fight. (Ferd, 17:27) While zoning issues constitute about half of Ferd's law firm's work load, with an average of about five to 10 cases in front of them at any one time, it's not all they do related to the mobile home park industry. They also handle contracts, leases, closings, syndication issues and others.  When it comes to floodplains, cities might tell a park owner that 30 or their 100 lots are in a floodplain and that while those 30 lots are grandfathered into current law, they can't be replaced in that location if they're even burned out, flooded or otherwise lost. That's a tough ruling to fight. (Ferd, 21:05) It's hard to move a flood map. Sometimes Ferd can get variances on a 100-year floodplain, and occasionally even a 100-year map, but FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers tend to push back hard. (Ferd, 22:27) It's hard to get floodplains changed because no one wants to take the chance of changing the map and then people drown in a major flood. (Ferd, 23:03) Right of first refusal provisions can be additional challenges to park owners looking to sell. In states that have such provisions, the park's current residents can get together and try to match the sale price to take ownership. Realistically, they're unlikely to be able to come up with the sale price, but it can slow a sale and create additional stumbling blocks. For one thing, tenants who know that a sale is proceeding might stop paying rent, knowing that the sellers won't evict them and therefore lower the occupancy level during negotiations. Ferd is handling such a case in Colorado now. (Ferd, 25:17) Those who wish to contact Ferd for legal advice can drop him an email at Ferd@themhplawyer.com. (Ferd, 36;18) Do you have legal issues related to the sale or purchase of a mobile home park? Reach out to Ferd Niemann at TheMHPLawyer.com. Or call up Max at (678) 932-0200. You can also drop him a line at info@themhpbroker.com. Power Quotes in This Episode: “I can work on zoning every week, but it's not every day.” (Ferd, 18:21) “...nobody wants to be the person that raises their right hand and in front of the federal government says, ‘I think that this area that someone else said was not safe for habitation is now safe enough that I'm gonna modify the (flood) map' and put people for the rest of time at risk of drowning to death when I put my career on the line for that move and so it's really hard to get a map changed.” (Ferd, 23:03)

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed PA Manufactured Housing Association President Mary Gaiski about key issues for park owners and investors in her state. This and every Tips and Tricks podcast episode is brought to you by The MHP Broker's'  proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Ask Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: -        Mary has been a member of the PA Manufactured Home Association since 1986. The association will celebrate its 75th anniversary next year. (Mary, 1:20) -        Mary has been in the industry since 1978, As a state, Pennsylvania is quite active in manufactured home manufacturing, with 11 factories exporting homes to several nearby states, especially in the north. (Mary, 1:35) -        PA also has 30 to 40 retailers selling homes to residents, and over 2,200 mobile home communities, including the very smallest. (Mary, 2:20) -        That includes a number of parks below what Max thinks of as investment grade for buyers' purposes. The MHP Broker data report finds about 1,000 parks in the state that are mid-size to larger. (Max, 3:42) -        Waves of investors have already bought many of the larger parks in the state, and now they're starting to buy the mom and pop-size parks too. A single investor might typically buy several parks within a geographic region to achieve dominance. (Mary, 4:34) -        Many of these smaller parks have fallen below market rents over the years, so the new owners immediately raise rents, which gets them in conflict with the state over issues such as rent control and right of first refusal, whereby tenants have the right to buy their communities before sales to outside investors. (Mary, 5:30) -        Max has seen similar legislation enacted in Virginia, in that tenants have 90 days or so after a proposed sale to determine if they want to buy their communities. (Max,6:06) -        In Pennsylvania, legislators want to give residents as long as 365 days to decide first refusal, which would be crippling for park buyers and sellers. (Mary, 7:16) -        Most regulations in the state are at the state or the local levels. (Mary, 12:41) -        The state is basically divided into three geographic areas in terms of regulatory environment. The southeast park is the most progressive, and therefore most aggressively regulate. Central PA has some local communities that are aggressive in terms of regulations, and some others that aren't. The western part o the state is the least regulated, and park owners there are hoping things stay that way. (Mary, 14:44) -        Like elsewhere in the U.S., PA suffers from the aging of the mobile home moving industry. As movers retire, fewer take their place. Home installers, service and repair people are also in short supply in PA. (Mary, 16:14) -        Less than ten percent of mobile homes are moved from one park to another in the state. (Mary, 17:17) -        Mary Gaiski of the PA Manufactured Home Association can be reached at (717) 774-3440 or Mary@PMHA.org. (Mary, 19:35) Want to know more about the ordinances and regulations that affect mobile home park ownership in your state or locale? Just reach out to Max Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, (678) 932-0200. Power Quotes in This Episode: “About 70 percent of the homes built in the Commonwealth are shipped out (of the state)(Mary, 2:20) “The mom and pops weren't very big on keeping rents at market rate or worrying about all of that. So, these communities are being sold with rents well below market rate and because of that, it has left us right for having to address issues such as rent control, or  right of first refusal and we've been seeing a lot of that in our legislative halls this year.” (Mary, 5:30) “There's no other business out there in the Commonwealth, or probably even in then nation, that you're going to give their customers a whole year to determine if they can sell their community, you know, sell the business. Because, you know, that's the sad part. They don't look at these as businesses. And sadly, they are. I mean, they have an income and expense statement(Mary, 8:23)

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed Marc Henn about tax decisions that can positively influence mobile home park and RV community owners.   This and every Tips and Tricks podcast episode is brought to you by The MHP Broker's' proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Ask Max for details.    Here Are the Show Highlights:  Max met Marc Henn of Harvest Advisors of Cincinnati in a Strategic Coach program last June. They discussed tax strategies that would be ideal for investors who sell their parks and want to save as much of their money as possible from taxation, or use their land for additional revenue growth. Marc introduced the topic of the five super asset classes and Max thought Marc would make an excellent podcast guest. (Max, 0:22)  Marc has been in the investment field for over 30 years. In that time, he helped his clients get into the super asset class or classes that were most appropriate for each. For those with wealth to invest in the range of about a half million to $2 million, many choose investments in the paper asset class, consisting mostly of stocks and bonds. (Marc, 1:50)   Marc found a particularly under served client group to be those in the asset range of about $4 million to $15 million. In addition to paper assets, the five asset super classes include real estate, personally owned businesses, oil and gas, and investments in other commodities. (Marc, 3:12)    Max invited Marc to be a podcast guest because of his experience with oil and gas investment tactics and strategies and tax benefits that might be of value to his audience. (Max, 4:36)  One effective way of investing in oil and gas is to get involved in a direct drilling program, which can provide a significant tax write-off in year one. Keep in mind, like a lot of investments it's not risk-free. (Marc, 712)  Take as an example a client making a million dollars a year. His last $100,000 will be federally taxed at a 37 percent rate, so they'll lose $37,000 in taxation on that income. But invest that money in an oil and gas drilling program and they'll pay about $3,700 in taxes on that $100,000, for about a 90 percent tax write-off. That's just a starting point. (Marc, 8:04)  You're also given a depletion allowance on income earned, because the IRS knows that the well revenue will deplete over time. So instead of being taxed on 100 percent of income earned, you might only be taxed on 85 percent. However, some wells have a much longer life. Mark has a well in his family that's produced for 110 years, though that's not typical. (Marc, 9:07)  As an advisor, Marc and his company don't promise any sort of investment return on oil and gas, but finds that it's not unrealistic to get a complete return on investment in a well-chosen drilling program in a year and a half to two years. (Marc, 10:36)  One big determining factor is the price of a barrel of oil, which can fluctuate greatly. If it gets down to $30 or lower, the investment could be at risk as a revenue producer, but the tax benefit is still there. (Marc, 11:46) You need to watch out for companies that might have just recently gone into the drilling business in reaction to rising oil prices, but lack experience, insurance and adequate capital for such essentials as drilling platforms and rigs. Instead, invest in experienced producers with good track records and connections to the large drilling companies such as Anadarko and Occidental. Marc and his people can help vet their clients' partners in oil and gas investments. (Marc,  13:40)  For many clients, Harvest Advisors offers diverse investments in multiple super asset classes. So your money might flow from paper asset class investments to oil and gas to real estate and other commodities. (Marc, 15:40)   Mobile home park owners are used to owning what's called surface rights on their land, but they also own subsurface rights which they can sell to oil and gas exploration companies. That means that your property's mineral rights can also quality you for a 1031 exchange just like your property above ground. (Marc, 20:57)  Your mineral rights can also be sold just like any other investment if you need quick cash. (Marc, 23:42)  Mineral rights investments are earning higher returns now. That's in part because oil and gas investments are being shed by endowment funds due to political and social concerns. However, Wall Street still highly values these companies, so they can be better investments now than ever. (Marc, 25:53)  If the price of oil goes down, drilling on your land might stop until the price goes up enough to make drilling profitable again. Your mineral rights are safe in that you wouldn't have to sell pumped oil at cheap prices at a loss. (Marc, 27:23)  Think of your mineral rights as a long-term investment. Drilling could stop for many years if the price of oil isn't right, but you still get 1031 exchange tax benefits. And as soon as oil prices rise again, drilling resumes. (Marc, 28:08)  Your oil and gas investment can also flow with your opportunity zone tax benefit, which lots of mobile home communities have. This can further maximize your return. (Marc, 29:22)  These oil and gas investments can be ideal for park owners who might otherwise be hesitant to sell their land on account of the tax burden. Now they can keep their land and count on a regular check from their investment. (Max, 33:39)  Marc Henn can be contacted at (513) 779-3030 or by email at Marc@HarvestAdvisors.com. His company website is HarvestAdvisors.com. (Marc, 37:13)  Want to know more about wise investments for mobile home park and RV community owners that can create tax benefits and generous revenue returns? Contact Max Baker and The Mobile Home Park Broker team at (678) 932-0200. We'll be happy to put you in touch with Marc Henn of Harvest Advisors.   Power Quotes in This Episode:  “I love the idea of strategies that when we look at investors and the biggest expense, they face…taxes…we can address that issue and keep more money in your pockets and less for the federal government. I think it's it's every American's duty to do that.(Marc, 1:18)  “...our job really is to kind of design for a client a strategy to really save on taxes, have a great diversified mix, and if possible, if it's something the client wants as well, to go outside of just those paper assets (stocks and bonds).” (Marc, 3:12)  “Those (oil and gas investment) tax write offs carry over into a Roth IRA strategy or a 1031 strategy or opportunity zone strategy as well…” (Marc,9:07)  “...when you factor in the tax benefits of a drilling program, we're looking for a return of your capital probably in about a year, (or) between a year and a half to two years.” (Marc, 10:36)   “...you want to have a company that has enough insurance behind them as well, just to protect everything. And typically a company that's also partnering with larger drilling companies like an Anadarko or Occidental, things like that.” (Marc, 13:40)  (Regarding the sale of mineral rights.) “So it operates and acts just like owning property above ground, and of course, that's one of the many reasons that can qualify for that 1031 exchange.” (Marc, 20:57)  

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed Mark Brisebois, the founder and managing partner of EZ Evict USA.     This and every Tips and Tricks podcast episode is brought to you by The MHP Broker's'  proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Ask Max for details.    Here Are the Show Highlights:  Mark Brisebois recently started EZ Evict USA, a company serving mobile home park owners as well as the owners of single- and multi-family homes with non-paying tenants. (Max, 1:05)  Mark has worked in the real estate industry for almost 40 years. His responsibilities have taken him into such related fields as title and mortgage servicing, loan origination, training and wholesaling. From there, he started working with mobile home park owners, improving their valuation before sale. From this he learned about the high cost of evicting tenants, which can be as much as $8,000 in some cases, and the negative impact a high eviction and non-payment rate had on parks. He was not particularly impressed with the actions of local professionals he saw in the eviction line of work. (Mark, 1:44)  Mark was seeing evictions taking 60 to 90 days, and wondered why it couldn't be done sooner. He realized that the tenant who wasn't paying rent was a non-performing asset, so the eviction needed to happen as soon as legally possible. (Mark, 4:04)  He also noticed that there was not a national eviction service. All existing services were local, and of varying quality. Another shortcoming was that the client was rarely able to see the process in real time to know how it was going. In frustration, he decided to start his own service, which he launched in March of this year. (Mark, 4:55)  His company, EZ Evict USA, works with attorneys across the country and is currently active in 25 states. (Mark, 6:14)  Max said that Mark's earlier comment about some evictions costing $8,000 were situations where the resident was renting and not paying for the pad, but had their own mobile homes. It was when the entire home had to be moved out of the park in a legal manner that generated that high eviction cost. (Max, 6:32)  The EZ Evict UA process starts by providing the client with an app through which all of the client's documents and information on the eviction can be submitted, and the company can provide an agreement that outlines all that EZ Evict will do. It also provides the client with information on how they should proceed (or not proceed) to stay within the law in their state and to not jeopardize the case. (Mark, 7:19)  The agreement allows the company to be the legal intermediary between the client and the lawyer used for the eviction. That means the client doesn't have to deal with the lawyer, but can monitor every step taken via the app including the activities of the process server and all court dates. (Mark, 8:04)  Max pointed out that there are several forms of eviction related to mobile home parks, including lot rent evictions, park-owned home evictions, lease option evictions and foreclosures. (Max, 9:24)  Mark said that most of the types boil down to non-payment, and can all be handled more or less the same way. (Except lease option non-renewal, which is not a non-payment issue). He emphasized the importance of park owners reading their leases and following the process carefully to stay in compliance with their state laws. (Mark, 10:03)   Before working in a state, Mark learns whether it's what he calls a “tenant-friendly” or a “landlord-friendly” state. He's not actively pursuing business in tenant-friendly states where it can sometimes take as long as six months to evict a non-paying resident and require at least two court dates. (Mark, 11:31)  Mark pointed out the bottom-line benefit to park owners of being able to process an eviction in 30 days rather than 60 or 90 days, or longer. The faster they can get in a new paying tenant, the better for cash flow and the valuation of the park when selling. (Mark, 12:55)  The best way to reach Mark and hire his company is through his website, at EZEvictUSA.com. (Mark, 14:56)  If you're a mobile home park owners losing revenue from non-paying tenants or concerned about your non-payment rent when considering selling, check in with Mark Brisebois and EZ Evict USA by visiting EZEvictUSA.com. Or reach out to Max Baker at  info@themhpbroker.com or give him a call at (678) 932-0200. He'll put you in touch with Mark.    Power Quotes in This Episode:  “Sometimes tenants don't always pay.” (Mark, 1:44)  “I was having a hard time wrapping my head around as to why, you know, why should this take 60 to 90 days to get someone out? And you know, obviously, during that time, you're not getting any money off of that non-performing asset.” (Mark, 4:04)  “...we launched in March, and I'm happy to say that, you know, July looks to be our first  break-even-slash-mildly-profitable month. So we're movingin the right direction.” (Mark, 4:55) “What I want to be able to do for the community out there is to provide a service that would actually save you money, because if you're normally doing 60-90 days, and I can do it in 30 days, you know, that month or two of non-rent is paying for your eviction.” (Mark, 12:55)  “...the eviction process, in my mind, is a critical piece to the overall management of that park.” (Mark, 12:55) 

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed Kevin Caiacci, a closing attorney who represents multi-family and mobile home park investors and sponsors.      This and every Tips and Tricks podcast episode is brought to you by The MHP Broker's'  proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Ask Max for details.    Here Are the Show Highlights:  Kevin Caiaccio is a closing attorney who works with Robinson Franzman in Atlanta and represents investors and sponsors in the multi-family, and specifically mobile home park sector of commercial real estate. (Max, 1:21)  Kevin graduated from the law school at the University of Georgia in 1995 and has specialized in commercial real estate transactions for most of 28 years. (Kevin, 1:48)  His primary focus has been on multifamily housing transactions, and a subset of that--mobile home park transactions all over the country. His focus is on trying to make sure deals happen, rather than stifling deals. (Kevin, 2:30)  Kevin cautions investors and sponsors to remember that, in the vast majority of deals, they're using other people's money as part of the capital stack, so they have to stay in compliance with the various loan covenants and obligations. (Kevin, 4:46)   For instance, if it's a Fannie Mae loan, there might be limits to the number of park-owned homes you can have in the deal. Other lenders might mandate tenant protections. You must be aware of all such regulations and restrictions regarding the lender portion of the capital stack. (Kevin, 5:31)    When you take investment money from other parties, whether it's a corporate syndicate or family and friends, you have a fiduciary duty to act diligently and invest that money prudently. (Kevin, 6:08)  Sponsors should also remember that no one wins every deal. Some go bust, and when they do you end up with unhappy investors. There's always a threat that they'll sue you as the failed sponsor, so it's imperative that you've acted prudently every step of the way. (Kevin, 6:40)  Kevin writes operating agreements for investment partners that clearly spell out the rights and disclose the risks to all parties. (Kevin, 7:25)  There's no guarantee that you won't be sued for a deal that goes south, but a well-written operating agreement can help reduce the risk. (Kevin, 7:59)  Kevin sees more uncertainty in the market today than has been there in many years. The value of real estate has steadily climbed since coming out of the Great Recession in 2010. Even the pandemic didn't create much of a shock to the system. (Kevin, 9:48)  But today, a couple factors have created a heightened sense of uncertainty. Steadily rising interest rates and questions as to when they'll come down and how this will impact rent growth have shaken the market despite very low unemployment figures. (Kevin, 10:33)  Another negative point is the insurance situation, especially in Florida. Increased hurricane activity of late has disrupted insurance markets. Despite all of this, and the confusion in the capital markets, business is still going strong and transactions are still getting done. Kevin's clients are bullish on the markets, at least in the mid-term. (Kevin, 11:29)  As a broker, Max has seen lost titles to park-owned homes as a common challenge for sellers. (Max, 12:32)  Some park owners don't keep great records, and sometimes the titles to older homes or those bought through affiliates can get misplaced and need to be retitled. Sponsors need to be aware of this problem upfront and address title access as soon into the transaction as possible. (Kevin, 13:15)  Do this before going to close because the lenders will be sure to ask for all titles, and it will disrupt the timing of the sale if you don't have them. There are title service companies that will help get homes retitled. (Kevin, 14:14)  Another due diligence challenge is utility deposits, some of which can be as much as $20,000. (Max, 14:45)  As with title acquisition, the issue of deposit money must be addressed during early due diligence. Buyers should not feel pressured to close quickly, as the seller wants. Make sure you've first handled all loose ends such as questions related to titles and deposit money during well before the close. (Kevin, 15:36)  Just make sure all of these questions get answered before the transaction deadlines so as not to put your earnest money at risk. (Kevin, 16:22)  Proration issues can cause problems at closing, too. That's money collected and held by park owners for taxes, insurance, homeowners fees or other purposes. It's important that park owners hold these funds in segregated accounts so it can be properly handled during a sale. (Max, 19:08)  For investors and investment sponsors who want Kevin's help, he can be reached through rfllplaw.com, which stands for Robinson Franzman Limited Liability Partnership Law. Or contact Kevin by email at Kevin@rflpla.com or 404-255-2503.   If you're a sponsor or investor in a real estate deal, reach out to Kevin Caiaccio at Robinson Franzman in Atlanta for deal closing legal issues. If buying or selling, contact Max Baker at  info@themhpbroker.com or give him a call at (678) 932-0200.     Power Quotes in This Episode:  “As soon as you get a lender involved, you're going to have loan covenants and obligations, there's going to be personal guarantees (and) leasing restrictions.” (Kevin, 4:46)  “The most important concept to remember is as soon as you take someone else's money, you have a fiduciary obligation to act diligently and prudently with that money. It's no longer you making whatever decisions you want, you have an obligation to these investors.”(Kevin, 6:08)  “I would say that if if you haven't had any deals that didn't exactly work out, you haven't done enough deals, because ultimately over your career, you're gonna have some that might lose money. And when that happens, investors are unhappy. And there are lawyers out there, that will come in after the fact.” (Kevin, 6:40)    “So it's always extremely important to not go cheap on your attorney in the people creating your paperwork if you're raising hundreds of thousands or even hundreds of millions of dollars.” (Max, 9:14)   (On the economic state of the mobile home park industry) “I think if you take the kind of mid-term or long-term view, things will be fine.” (Kevin, 11:29) 

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed Ed Bridgman, president of EOB Consulting. They discussed the services his team delivers to mobile home and RV community owners.   This and every Tips and Tricks podcast episode is brought to you by The MHP Broker's'  proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Ask Max for details.    Here Are the Show Highlights:  This is a return visit to the podcast for Ed, who addressed several additional topics of interest for mobile home park and RV community owners and investors. Max and Ed started the conversation with the challenges related to monitoring (and getting paid for the electricity used by RV community guests. (Max, 00:59)  RV destination owners are starting to understand the importance of metering guests' electricity consumption. But most don't have the infrastructure in place to do it effectively. (Ed, 1:21)  Those owners are starting to understand the importance of individually charging guests for their electricity use. Ed used as an example a guest to his own state-of-the-art Homestead RV Community. The guest arrived in a 32-foot RV decked out with an extensive solar panel array and about 800 pounds of batteries, so Ed didn't expect this guest to use much, if any, community power. (Ed, 2:03)  What Ed didn't expect was for the guest to boondock under tree cover. As a result, he wasn't able to recharge his solar batteries, and the guest ended up using $45 worth of community electricity in just a few days. (Ed, 3:35)  As another example, Ed had several RVs arriving together over the Christmas holiday. Several had heated floors, and each consumed 125 to 150 kw of community electricity. In other cases, guests might have electric cars or golf carts being recharged through the park electrical, or have freezers, space heaters, air conditioners or other big appliances tapping in. The point is, park owners must charge individually for consumption or go broke. (Ed, 3:47)  Besides encouraging RV park owners to monitor electrical use, Ed also consults on helping new owners of parks turn a profit on a previously unprofitable property. (Max, 5:09)  Ed gets called by both sellers and buyers. He helps sellers appraise their property for sale value, and will walk a property with the prospective buyer to suggest actions to increase park value and satisfy lender concerns. When investors are building parks, he'll consult during the layout design stage to find potential problems and opportunities. (Ed, 5:46)  Ed's review can be so comprehensive as to include interviewing city officials and local businesses to see about the regulatory and employment environment. For instance, he might call Walmart to see if rumors are true about the company building a new distribution center just miles from the park. He also researches local affordable housing demand and the market competition, and looks for other advantages or obstacles to profitability. (Ed, 7:01)  With all that he learns, he creates a CAD site layout for new builds or existing structures, emphasizing strategies that might be used to maximize park value. With that, they arrive at a preliminary ten-year budget that goes into a spreadsheet to give a good idea of expected capital expenditures and when the company can expect to earn a return on initial investment. (Ed, 8:02)  For  this consulting service, Ed charges a flat rate of $20,000 plus lodging and travel expenses. (Ed, 9:35)  Through this service, Ed and his team design and maximize the profitability of an average of about three client properties a month. And through his own Homestead RV Community, they have over 240 guest reviews, for a Google review rating of 4.9.. (Ed, 10:44)  The company website, at EOB_Consulting.com, includes a section called Step by Step. This is a free and informative tutorial that lists actions you should take in developing your own RV park, whether from new construction or purchase. It includes a thorough explanation of the five different destination RV communities. (Ed, 12:19)  Ed can be reached either through his website, EOB.Consulting.com, or by calling him at (512) 785-1379. You can also learn more about Ed's own property, Homestead RV Community, billed as “the most technologically advanced RV destination in the world.” Just visit HomeRVC.com and take a virtual tour. (Ed, 13:30)  When thinking about buying or selling an RV community, it pays to start with a consultation with Ed Bridgman of EOB Consulting. When the for-sale sign goes up on your mobile home park or RV community, trust The Mobile Home Park Broker and our innovative Community Price Maximizer platform to optimize your park value and sale price. Drop Max Baker a line at info@themhpbroker.com or give him a call at (678) 932-0200.    Power Quotes in This Episode:  “...we come out, we walk the property with the owner, and we develop an understanding of what their vision is for this property. That's one of the ways that we are unique from our peers, we don't try to do it from the basement of our house back in Texas. We actually travel to the property, we find every property is unique. Every property has some nuances that need to be brought out during the layout design.” (Ed, 5:46)  “...we know what the market wants, we know what the vision of the owner (is), we know the correct RV destination type, we know what the revenue generation is going to be. Now we put together a CAD design site, a complete site layout of how to maximize that value of that property.” (Ed, 8:02) 

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed Ed Bridgman, president of EOB Consulting and a go-to expert in the field of RV communities.   This and every Tips and Tricks podcast episode is brought to you by The MHP Broker's'  proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Ask Max for details.    Here Are the Show Highlights:  Max's podcast guest, Ed Bridgman, is an industry expert who Max and his wife, Kathryn, met at SECO 2022. Ed makes feasibility studies and works with client who want to build RV communities. (Max, 0:22)  Ed has a degree in electrical engineering and an MBA. In working at Motorola, he was one of five co-authors of Six Sigma, which developed processes for businesses to utilize to gain greater efficiency and generate less waste while pleasing customers and turning a profit. That won his and his team the first Malcolm Baldridge Award, which was granted by President Ronald Reagan. Ed spent the next thirty years as a consultant. (Ed, 1:52)  He owned a tiny home community in 2010 and learned more about Gulf Coast tourism when he read about BP Oil starting to invest $24 billion to support tourism, in part to pay for an oil spill. This is how he began to research the RV community industry and the opportunities to be found. He discovered, for instance, that 247,300 new RVs were sold in 2010, but by 2022, that annual figure had jumped to 614,100. (Ed, 3:28) However, the number of places for putting RVs during the season and off-season were not keeping up with the RV manufacturing numbers and customer demand. There were about six or seven more new RVs being manufactured than hosting and storage locations. (Ed, 5:00)  So many people with million-dollar RVs are restricted by zoning codes from keeping them in their driveway or on the street in front of their homes. So where do they store their beast? (Max, 5:59) For about the last decade, EOB Consulting has been in the business of designing and building RV and boat storage facilities. (Ed, 6:58)  There are five different kinds of RV destinations, each serving a very different need. First, there are the short-term parking places where RV owners can pull in to take a nap or break from driving while getting from one destination to another. The second destination type is a campground. (Ed, 7:49)  The campground has few, if any, amenities because it's located in close proximity to a recreational destination such as Epcot Center, Disney World, Mt. Rushmore, etc. The entertainment comes from that venue. RVers will stay at such campground typically for several days or a couple of weeks at most. (Ed, 10:00)  The third type of RV destination is the resort. That's where RVers might stay for a long weekend or take a vacation. The resort must provide entertainment options since this sort of destination isn't in close proximity to larger entertainment districts, and the RVers don't expect to go elsewhere. So resorts have pools, fitness centers, party rooms and other similar amenities for vacationers. (Ed, 11:21)  The fourth type of destination is for RVers who wish to live in their vehicles for extended periods, such as snowbirds who come from cold environments to stay in the Sun Belt all winter. These destinations are communities, where RVers get to know their neighbors and, if they're still working, continue to work remotely from wifi-enabled RVs that can be used as offices. (Ed, 12:44)  The fifth type of RV destination is a hybrid, in which RVers might more permanently settle in to a campground or resort type of destination. (Ed, 15:00)  The challenge RV destination developers have is in fully understanding the different needs associated with the different types of destinations. RVers who wish to live long-term in a community will need more of a neighborhood feel than those in a resort or campground environment, who must be provided different levels of entertainment options. (Ed, 16:28) Manufacturers are becoming more diversified now, from creating RVs with slideouts for those who'll park their vehicles and stay longer, to simple “tube” vehicles for RVers who will “boondock” with their vehicle, which is parking it somewhere primitive without even electrical or water/sewer hookups and roughing it. (Ed, 18:16)  Another industry trend regards homeowners who used to have second brick-and-mortar homes for seasonal use, but the high cost of homes has made this less of an option.Now that second home is an RV. Those people might buy a luxury RV and permanently install it in warmer locations to serve as their winter home. (Ed, 21:10)  One big challenge in designing RV destinations is accessing city water and sewer. So an estimated 90 percent of Ed's storage locations include septic systems. (Ed, 23:02)  Today, Ed's designing climate-controlled boat and RV facilities for vehicles that can cost millions of dollars.Many people are living permanently in such sites, and don't even own vehicles that can pull their RV away. (Ed, 25:30)  As a site design consultant, Ed will spend several days with the entrepreneur at the designated site to gain a full understanding of the client's vision. He'll get a thorough understanding of the local market, the intended audience and challenges and variables. The goal is to maximize the value of the property before starting the design layout. (Ed, 28:41)  For those who wish to discuss such a site design, Ed can be reached at www.eob-consulting.com or (512( 785-1379.   Want to learn more about investment opportunities in RV parks and mobile home communities with a leading brokerage for manufactured home environments? Just drop Max Baker a line at info@themhpbroker.com or give him a call at (678) 932-0200.   Power Quotes in This Episode:  “I discovered that the RV industry is a 100-year-old industry, but it's ramping up at a pace that would put any biotech company to shame. …the RV industry is just blowing  up.” (Ed, 3:28)  “(An RV) community is less money to develop (than a resort RV community) because you don't have to have two swimming pools, you don't necessarily have to have a fitness center. These people are working adults, who want to come home and have a beer and go to bed and get up the next morning and go to work…” (Ed, 12:44)  “So, if you can anticipate where the next Disney World is going, by all means, buy all the land you can around the next Disney World.” (Ed, 16:00)   “So, do you want to babysit a resort-type guest? They paid more, but they demand more.” (Ed, 16:28) (A friend who owns an RV community) told me that…these RV campers, they're really only made to move around 40 times, and then they just start falling apart. And he said, you know, once they get into my community, they don't ever leave.” (Max, 16:58)  “You can also have a concierge service where you put their RV in storage, and then they call you and they'll say ‘we're going to be down the first of the next month,' and you get it out of storage and set it up on the site for them.” (Ed, 27:25)  

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed park owner Steve Case about his industry experience and involvement with SECO. This and every Tips and Tricks podcast episode is brought to you by The MHP Broker's' proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Ask Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: - Steve Case has conducted numerous mobile home park transactions, and was a co-founder of the innovative and highly influential Mobile Home University series of educational programs. (Max, 1:10) - Steve started investing in mobile home parks while he was still an active-duty Air Force pilot planning his eventual retirement. In 1999 he became interested in the industry and started by networking with, and picking the brains of, legendary industry mentors Lonnie Scruggs and Lonnie Too. Steve bought his first park in 2000, after reading and studying Lonnie's book on the topic, and later ran a few deals with Lonnie. (Steve, 1:54) - Along with partner Corey Donaldson, Steve started Mobile Home Park University in 2004 as a prime industry educational resource. By the time he retired from the Air Force in 2006, Steve owned six or seven mobile home parks and about as many self-storage facilities, all of them in the Southeast. Through Mobile Home Park University, he brought in such industry heavy hitters as Lonnie, Dike Spottiford, Dave Reynolds and Frank Rolf to speak. They also ran boot camps for more in-depth industry training. (Dave, 2:50) - By 2008, Steve's commitments to a growing family led to him taking a backseat in the educational program. Eventually, he and Corey sold mobilehomeuniversity.com to Frank Rolf and Dave Reynolds. (Steve, 3:50) - In potentially running deals with their students, Frank and Dave run the program a little differently than Steve and his partner had, but it's just as informative and innovative. (Steve, 4:27) - One of the first things Max did after becoming a mobile home park broker was to take Frank and Dave's home study course. He found it to be very valuable. (Max, 5:22) - More recently, Steve was also a co-founder of the Southeast Community Owners (SECO), a very influential industry association and annual trade show to this day. The specific audience for SECO includes mom-and-pop mobile home park owners, rather than big corporate entities. SECO is a non-profit, and virtually every penny is raises goes to help support U.S. military veterans who are park residents in financial need. (Max, 6:16) - Steve had met Spencer Rohn, a fellow board member, when asked to join the board of the Georgia Manufactured Housing Association. He and Spencer discussed the need for establishing an organization that would address the education and networking needs of those who owned parks, as well as those who were considering buying or selling parks, or were otherwise interested in joining or growing their place in the industry. They founded SECO in around 2008, initially with as few as eight or ten participants, and it's steadily grown since as an important annual event. (Steve, 7:11) - Today, the name is misleading since the organization isn't exclusive to community owners in the Southeast U.S. anymore. They come from all over the country. In addition to park owners, attendees have included manufacturers, brokers, vendors and others even peripherally connected to the industry. While Steve went largely inactive by around 2018, Spencer asked him to take on the educational element of the program this year. In response, Steve put together a program of twelve educational sessions with park operators. (Steve, 8:03) - Speakers involved with this year's program, which will take place September 10-13 in Atlanta, include Ben Braband, Cole Phillips and Jefferson Lilly, among others. Whether you're a rookie or have been in the industry for years, there's something for all. One of the popular topics, for instance, is the importance of due diligence and how to do it right. (Steve, 9:08) - There will also be a series of round-tables which might include 700 to 800 participants this year. There will be two industry-expert hosts at each table, and participants can ask questions and get answers directly from the pros. (Steve, 10:04) - In addition to being a great networking and granular educational resource, SECO performs a valuable service to military vets in need. That's a no-brainers since so many of the people in the industry and involved with SECO are themselves military vets. That includes Max (U.S. Marines), Steve (U.S. Air Force), Dave Reynolds (Army), and Spencer Rohn (Navy), among others. (Max, 13:06) - A recent example of where SECO donations went is a vet in need of air conditioning in his home who wa helped through the referral of park owner David Roden. This year, since the event will take place over 9/11, the speakers will include two high-ranking military officers who are now involved in the industry. These are retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Scott Mann, and retired Marine Major Scott Using. Both have written highly respected books on the industry. (Steve, 13:30) - Scott Mann is routinely on Fox News and he spearheaded Operation Pineapple Express, which got people out of Afghanistan before it fell. (Steve, 14:45) - There will be no selling during the course of SECO. That's not its purpose. (Steve, 15:18) - This lack of promotion is what makes this show different than entrepreneurial events led by the likes of Tony Robbins,and Grant Carbone. While those shows are great in their own way, the ultimate purpose is to upsell additional information or activities. That's not how SECO operates. (Max, 15:34) - While it might be too late to attend this year's show (unless you happen to live in or near Atlanta), you can join SECO at any time so you can be sure you're in attendance next year and beyond. Just go to the website at secoconference.com to learn more and to join. (Steve, 19:45) - You can also reach out directly to Max and he'll tell you how to join SECO and answer all of your questions. (Max, 20:12) Thinking of joining SECO? You should be if you're currently involved in the mobile home industry in any way, or plan to be. You can call Max atThe Mobile Home Park Broker, learn more about SECO and our innovative Community Price Maximizer platform to optimize your park value and sale price. Just drop Max Baker a line at info@themhpbroker.com or give him a call at (678) 932-0200. Power Quotes in This Episode: (About Mobile Home University) “And we just had a blast teaching people about the industry that were new to it, maybe coming from the multifamily or office space, and we did a few boot camps along the way and it was a great time.” (Steve, 2:50) “...that was the very first thing I did when I jumped into mobile home park brokerage. I bought (new Mobile Home University owners) Frank and Dave's home study course. I mean, it's a great course, man, and if they were able to absorb the stuff that you were doing and during that time, man, the course has been pretty amazing over the years, and it's gotten better and better.” (Max, 5:22) “We came up with an idea, Spencer, myself and another operator up in the northern part of Georgia, to get together just for a day, get as many community owners as we could to get together and talk about how we could help each other out with different tips, techniques, things that we were experiencing. I think at that first meeting there was eight or ten of us. I think it was in 2007, it could have been 2008. After that we did this annual thing that kept growing and growing.” (Steve, 7:11) “Spencer has done a phenomenal job in expounding upon it, bringing in manufacturers, bringing in vendors like yourself, the brokers, the different lenders, service agencies, those sorts of things, putting them all into what we call a convention.” (Steve, 8:30) “So I think this year is going to be the best educational platform we've ever had.” (Steve, 10:04)

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktail podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed two top company brokers, Paul Schaaf and Ryan Ramseur, who worked together to close a 73-pad mobile home park in South Carolina. This and every Tips and Tricks podcast episode is brought to you by The MHP Broker's' proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Ask Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: Max spoke with brokers Paul Schaaf and Ryan Ramseur on a large mobile home park in South Carolina, a community sale that the two teamed up on. (Max, 0:22) It's a very desirable park, with a high occupancy rate. Mostly well-maintained park-owned homes with stable, long-term tenants at a good location right off of I-95 in SC. Rents were well under market rates, which would be very appealing to buyers. The low expense ratio of close to 30% was highly desirable, too. (Paul, 1:28) The ratio was so low because the tenants were responsible and took good care of the homes. And when irresponsible tenants left, the park owners were able to quickly replace them with more reliable tenants, keeping expenses low. (Paul, 2:32) One challenge to the sale was that the property was individually parceled out. This created headaches with obtaining titles and surveys, but no contract deadlines were missed. (Paul, 3:34) The issue of transfer taxes, how much they are and who pays them, can be a challenge in South Carolina. It reminded Max of a Florida transaction consisting of individually parceled homes in which they found during the close that $70,000 was owed in transfer taxes. (Max,4:02) The transfer taxes weren't particularly high on this deal, so there were no unpleasant surprises. The cost was dealt with upfront and the buyer was okay with assuming the cost on account of the significant upside in the investment. (Paul, 4:30 and 4:48) The financing was hassle-free in that the buyer had already found a lender and acquired pre-approval, and Paul and Ryan were able to close the deal in 60 days. The biggest hurdle was in making sure they had titles to all property, and minor confusion on transfer taxes owed. (Paul, 6:34) Besides some minor challenges in getting all books and records together from the seller, the deal went pretty easy. It helped that there was a reliable buyer who'd already obtained financing, and they had a timely closing. (Ryan, 6:57) Want to buy or sell your own RV park or mobile home community? Trust The Mobile Home Park Broker and its superhero brokers such as Paul Schaaf and Ryan Ramseur to get you the best outcome with the fewest hassles. Just drop Max Baker a line at info@themhpbroker.com or give him a call at (678) 932-0200. Power Quotes in This Episode: “Then the rents were significantly below market, so the buyer was really excited about all the meat on the bone.” (Paul, 1:28) “We just had the right pieces to the puzzle to really understand the deal from the front end of it and there were no big surprises at the end of it.” (Paul, 4:30) “So that's one thing that we've started doing here at our firm is negotiating the transfer taxes upfront when we're at the contract stage of the deal, because we almost lost that Florida deal because of the $70,000 transfer tax that we had to deal with. But now, in this stage in the game, we try to get that upfront, negotiated. Who's paying and how much? Because as we always say here, guys, surprises kill deals, problems don't. Right?” (Max, 5:19) “With this particular owner, they had invested a lot of their time and money in the park. We understand that and we're just trying to make sure we can tell the best story about it and get a return on all that sweat equity. We're always trying to look out for all of that investment each owner has put into their park and that's what we're looking to do on future deals, to make sure every seller is taken care of. So that's really it.” (Paul, 7:28)

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed top broker Eric Wanck about his success with three recent transactions, including a five-park Tennessee deal.   This and every Tips and Tricks podcast episode is brought to you by The MHP Broker's'  proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Ask Max for details.   Here Are the Show Highlights: -       Leading MHP broker Eric Wanck was interviewed by Max on Eric's success in closing three recent across the country. Let's begin with the five-park deal in TN. (Max, 1:16) -       This involved one owner of a total of 88 pads in five TN locations. The portfolio has mostly park-owned homes (POH) in place, which brings its own set of challenges. The seller's motivation was a planned retirement. The eventual buyer was someone Eric had worked with in the past, though never been able to bring to contract. (Eric, 1:40) -       One week from the anticipated close date, the buyer contacted Eric to say that the bank had changed the financing terms, and they couldn't close. (Eric, 2:16) -       Eric had seen that sort of thing happen in the past, but never so near a close date. He went over the options and suggested that the buyer drop the price slightly to make the bank happy and the deal work. It took an additional two or three weeks to close, but the seller was still happy with the closing price and transaction. (Eric, 2:48) -       To Max, this illustrated an ongoing challenge with banks, which he blames on swiftly rising interest rates. One successful strategy that's worked for him is to attempt to steer deals to credit unions, which are more motivated to work with buyers and sellers. (Max, 4:05) -       The Byron Mobile Home Park was the second recent win for broker Eric Wanck. The challenge here was unrealistic price expectations on the part of the seller. It was the second time they tried to bring this park to market, but it had only about a 60%-65% occupancy rate. Eric suggested that they first work to add value by increasing the occupancy before listing Byron. The seller took the park off market for about a year and a half, and increased the occupancy level to a very impressive 85%, which made it much easier to get their desired price. (Eric, 4:40) -       The fairly large park had more than 70 pads, which increased its desirability. It was a rare case in which the seller brought the prospective buyer to the attention of Eric, rather than the other way around. They closed the deal smoothly at a strong price, and everyone was happy. (Eric, 5:18) -       The third recent deal, the Fitzgerald park in South Georgia, is an example of Eric building such great relationships with buyers that they later turn to him as sellers. This “second-time deal” came in a part of the country where lot rents are still incredibly cheap and park deals are particularly valuable. This park had good books and records and the price was reasonable. (Eric, 6:47) -       Lot rents even in these lower-cost regions are rising, due to inflation, and that makes the parks more attractive to investors than ever. (Max, 7:21) -       Eric's advice to investors is to pay a fair price and don't worry about the underwriting or financing. He can help buyers obtain financing if problems arise. (Eric, 9:06) Looking to buy or sell an RV park or mobile home community? Max's team can help you through the process. Just drop Max Baker a line at info@themhpbroker.com or give him a call at (678) 932-0200. Or email Eric at ewanck@themhpbroker.com.  Power Quotes in This Episode: (Regarding the five-park TN deal.) “We were one week away from closing. And the buyer called me, saying, ‘Look, the bank's changed their finance terms. It's completely thrown off our numbers, and we can't close.'” (Eric, 2:16) “...we've had it happen where banks are changing terms midstream, and it's very frustrating. But to be so close to the finish line, and then almost have a little bait and switch, you know, had us kind of going back to the drawing board.” (Eric, 2:48) “One thing we've been able to source here is debt through credit unions.” (Max, 4:05) (Regarding the Byron deal) “…at the end of the day, it's about getting it done, and everybody's happy, and we put money in their pocket.” (Eric, 5:18) (Regarding the Fitzgerald deal) “I love deals that come around to me multiple times…it's about building relationships.” (Eric, 6:05) “Demand for affordable housing continues to increase.” (Max, 7:21) “I would encourage (investors) not to try to price in a price hike on your rate in your offers. You know, because I've seen some buyers doing this whether adding a buffer so, hey, if it goes up 50 bps on me, I still have room.” (Eric, 8:18) “If financing ends up being a snag, then we can always revisit that and I can have a conversation with the seller. But I see a lot of deals not getting done because buyers are being so cautious with their financing and their underwriting.” (Eric, 9:06) “(Interest) rates are the highest they've ever been. So, like I said, give us a call.” (Max, 9:48)

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed Aaron (“Chacha”) Chachamovits, president of a website design and creation company serving the mobile home park industry known as Rodesi.  This and every Tips and Tricks podcast episode is brought to you by The MHP Broker's'  proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Ask Max for details.    Here Are the Show Highlights:  Today's interview is with Aaron Chachamovits, also known affectionately as Chacha. He owns a website development company called Rodesi. (Max, 0:22)  In 2017, Aaron started working for Snickfish, a title management company serving the mobile home park community. He was handling marketing, sales, web development, advertising and other areas, when he decided to go on his own. His company would provide web development and design services for the mobile home park industry. He named it Rodesi, a name that combined the name of his son, Roman, and the word “design,” which is Aaron's career passion. Through Rodesi, Aaron began to pitch smaller park owners who want a web presence as impressive as Sun Communities and RHP. (Aaron, 1:19)   Rodesi provides park owners with a website that's highly functional and user-friendly for tenants and park owners alike, able to handle billing, rent payments, and other areas.  Basically, the intent is to provide clients both a marketing tool and an automated streamlined online operation for dual audiences. (Aaron, 4:32)  His company's website functionality includes listings platforms, enabling park owners to list and prospective tenants to easily find and apply for pads or mobile homes for sale or rent. There are also forms on client websites that make it easier for residents and prospects to work with park employees in sales, back office and other areas. (Aaron, 4:57)   Rodesi has also integrated Rent Manager functionality and resident application forms into newly created sites. (Aaron, 6:25)  Rodesi-designed websites also give tenants multiple ways of paying their rent online, including Zego and CashPay. This is both more convenient for residents and it removes one level of labor for park owners. (Aaron, 6:40)  Rodesi will soon be fully automating the listing process and offering clients turnkey hosting, maintenance and listings creation of client websites through ParkWeb. Yet another key service offered park owners through Rodesi is branding, including logo development and a branding identity package. (Aaron, 7:02)  Rodesi can build separate websites for park communities, and to attract investors. It's important to segment these two audiences and not try to communicate with both on the same website. (Aaron, 8:02)  In Aaron's two years in business he's learned the importance of staying structured. In creating and following and documenting processes and systems to achieve success and avoid getting lost in the high day to day workload. (Aaron, 9:34)  Max remembers a quote from real estate guru Ron LeGrand: “The less I do, the more money I make.” This illustrates the importance of automating tasks and relying on processes and systems to break the workday down and simplify it. (Max, 10:26)  Aaron also learned the importance of planning by mapping out future activity at least by the quarter if not over the longer term. (Aaron, 11:41)  Aaron can be contacted a number of ways. He likes taking calls at (888) 222-4451. But you can also reach him at Rodesi.co or Aaron@Rodesi.co if you're a park owner who'd like to explore the possibility of Aaron and his company creating or improving your digital presence. You can also reach out to Max if you'd like him to put you in touch with Aaron and his company. Just drop Max a line at info@themhpbroker.com or give him a call at 678-932-0200.   Power Quotes in This Episode:  (On his inspiration for starting Rodesi) “Hey, nobody is servicing mobile home park owners and RV park owners the way they need. Why can't we provide web design and web development for these guys like Sun Communities and RHP?” (Aaron, 1:19)  “...it's more than just a website. Rodesi focuses on mobile home park owners and RV park owners' web presence, period.” (Aaron, 4:32)  “So if someone goes to your community pages, right, they'll see all the available listings or whether it be RV pads, open locks, or just mobile homes for sale, or rent. Those are all listed in each of the community pages, as well as the general search page where people can filter through those listings.” (Aaron, 4:57)   “...we make it really simple and easy for current residents to know how to pay their rent, whether it's through Zego, CashPay, or I don't know, if you'd have them go deposit it in your bank, we simplify that and make it really simple for them. So, they stop asking your managers the same questions over and over.” (Aaron, 6:40)  “I would say the biggest lesson I've learned is systems, processes, documentation.”  (Aaron, 10:12) 

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktail podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed rockstar broker Paul Schaaf about his experience selling Muldraugh, a mobile home park in Kentucky. This and every Tips and Tricks podcast episode is brought to you by The MHP Broker's'  proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Ask Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: Leading company broker Paul Schaaf was interviewed by Max on his recent transaction selling Muldraugh MHP in Kentucky. (Max, 0:22) This was a park that had been owned and operated by the sellers for around 30 years. The couple wanted to retire, and asked Paul to help them exit the property properly. Paul helped them prepare the park for an optimal transaction by getting their books and financial records in order and boosting rents to market value to make the revenue more appealing to investors. As a result of all of this upfront attention and diligence, they got a few offers almost immediately. They quickly found a buyer and closed in the 28th day of a 30-day close. (Paul, 1:25) The seller extended some lending to expedite the deal, but under very good terms for both parties. The community consisted of mostly park-owned homes, in addition to a eight-plex dwelling. In all, it was a very attractive package of housing inventory, with rents that supported the shell value of the homes. (Paul, 2:49) Paul helped establish the value of the homes and the eight-plex. The approximately 37 homes had their value set individually, for about $34,000 apiece. This was a very good price for POHs in this market. Paul also showcased the maintenance and upkeep performed, and the low turnover rate on each home. They were further able to show that when a unit did become available, it was filled in as little as a week or two--a very positive finding. (Paul, 3:32) The valuation of the eight-plex unit was set by taking into consideration all of the rents and the expenses on it. (Paul, 4:34) The buyers were experienced investors, having owned parks in several other states. The area appealed to them due to the thriving local economy, with jobs associated with a new Ford billion-dollar auto battery plant and a $1.7 billion core plate steel mill. These and other employers made it a strong area for economic development, with workers who'd need abundant affordable housing. (Paul, 4:47) When it comes time to sell your mobile home community in Kentucky or elsewhere, let The Mobile Home Park Broker go to work for you, with our innovative Community Price Maximizer platform to optimize your park value. Just drop Max Baker a line at info@themhpbroker.com or give him a call at (678) 932-0200. Work for Max, or ask for Paul. Power Quotes in This Episode: “It was just a great relationship established between us and the owner, and they trusted us to get the job done and we were very successful. We actually rolled this out to the market and immediately had a few offers.” (Paul, 1:25) “So, it was a big home value. But it helped having all the titles together, you know, (and) good pictures of each unit.” (Paul, 3:32) “We're here to make sure everyone is satisfied at the end of the day, and looking forward to more opportunities coming up here in the rest of the year.” (Paul, 5:48)

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktail podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed top broker Ryan Ramseur about two of his recent transaction successes.  This and every Tips and Tricks podcast episode is brought to you by The MHP Broker's' proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Ask Max for details.   Here Are the Show Highlights: -       Max spoke with broker Ryan Ramseur on his recent transaction wins in Orange, Texas and in Fayetteville, North Carolina. (Max, 0:22) -       White Oak Mobile Home Park, in Orange, Texas wis a very stable, 25-pad park that had been under “mom and pop” ownership. It's located about halfway between Beaumont, TX and Lake Charles, Louisiana, on the border of the two states. The community boasts large lots, city water and sewer, and all park-owned homes. (Ryan, 1:18) -       It was a very well-kept park with stable, long-term tenants who also showed pride in the community. It was obvious that the seller had invested both time and capital in the park, so Ryan was able to quickly draw buyer interest. It took just ten days on market before he had an executed contract from a local investor with a portfolio of parks in the general area. (Ryan, 1:47) -       The winning bid was an all-cash offer. (Ryan, 2:47) -       The second recent deal was Evergreen MHP, in the fast-growing Fayetteville, North Carolina metro. Because of its booming economy, centered on Fort Bragg, Fayetteville is one of the five fastest growing cities in the nation. This created a lot of interest in Evergreen. The park was also popular to investors because the current owners had invested significantly to turn it around. They had upgraded most of the infrastructure, including installing electric water meters on every site, new landscaping and the repaving of all roads. They'd also turned all park-owned homes into rent-to-own (RTO) through 21st Mortgage Corporation. (Ryan, 3:34)  -       The sellers were able to show the park to be a turnkey operation, with direct-billed water and sewer, and very low operating expenses in a major and still-growing metro. Ryuan was able to get as many as seven or eight serious offers in just a week or two before finding a buyer and closing relatively quickly. (Ryan, 4:33) -       As for industry market trends in general, buyers and sellers seem to be a little leery of the economy, but the market is still active. (Ryan, 6:25) Want to buy or sell your RV park or mobile home community in Texas, North Carolina or just about anywhere in the nation? Just drop Max Baker a line at info@themhpbroker.com or give him or Ryan a call at (678) 932-0200.  Power Quotes in This Episode: “Given the layout of the park (White Oak) and the income there, it was pretty much a no-brainer for (buyers).” (Ryan, 1:47) “If you're looking to do a lease-to-own program, (“21st Mortgage has) some great incentives for sellers, as well.” (Ryan, 4:33) “Buyers, you know, I think are still a little sceptical of what's going on with interest rates and where the market's heading, understandably, and sellers are still kind of grappling with the way that things are currently with the market.” (Ryan, 5:43) “If sellers have realistic expectations about where the market is today, part of what we do is to be very transparent upfront. And our job is to show them where the market is, and where we see deals trading.” (Ryan, 5:43)

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktail podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed top broker Eric Wanck about two of his recent transaction successes. This and every Tips and Tricks podcast episode is brought to you by The MHP Broker's'  proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Ask Max for details.   Here Are the Show Highlights: -       Top-performing broker Eric Wanck was interviewed by Max on Eric's success closing two recent deals, one in South Atlanta and the other near Lake Oconee in central Georgia.  (Max, 0:22) -       Eric had made contact with the then-owner of Fernwood Mobile Home Park in South Atlanta five or six years ago, but nothing happened at that time. More recently, the property came up as an estate sale by inheritors who wanted to unload it. The park was a serious challenge in that it had more than 100 pads but only about 19 tenants in a challenging location, making the transaction “a big heavy lift,” in Eric's words. Nonetheless, he had a local buyer in mind, and made a deal come together in a relatively smooth transaction. (Eric, 1:37) -       A potential deal-killer was the fact that the park had an on-site sewage treatment plant (which can be considered an issue/obstacle by some prospective buyers). (Max, 2:33) -       However, the buyer conducted due diligence on the condition of the plant and found it to by well maintained and in good working order, and not an obstacle to the transaction. (Eric, 2:36) -       Yet another challenge was that Eric was working against another buyer not represented by The MHP Broker, but Eric's buyer offered more and closed the deal. (Max, 2:57) -       Eric's second deal, Eagle View, on exclusive Lake Oconee, was far from a typical mobile home park. -       The very desirable park consists of 25 luxury double-wide tenant-owned mobile homes, each on half an acre of land right on the shore of this exclusive lake. (Eric, 4:06) -       Eric had several interested backup buyers lined up, but an investor from California jumped in with a bid over the property's list price. He was great to work with, and the appraisal and financing went off without a hitch. The buyer was highly motivated to leave California and eager to resettle in the more conservative and landlord-friendly southeast. (Eric, 4:42) -       If you'd like to work with Eric on a deal, call him at The MHP Broker or email him at ewanck@themhpbroker.com.  Want to buy or sell an RV park or mobile home community? Just drop Max Baker a line at info@themhpbroker.com or give him a call at (678) 932-0200. Or email Eric at ewanck@themhpbroker.com. Power Quotes in This Episode: (Regarding the Fernwood park in South Atlanta.) “So this was over 100 pads, and there's currently about 19 tenants in the park. So this was a big heavy lift, but we knew the buyer for this, they were local, this is their bread and butter.” (Eric, 1:37) “...all the park owners out there that are listening to this, just know that we do come across sewage treatment plants and they do sell. We do a lot of upfront due diligence on them…” (Max, 2:57) (Regarding Eagle View) “…they put double-wides, it was all double-wides. Twenty-five homes and they're sitting on nice half-acre parcels. And I joke with the buyer on this because I said ‘hey, if you didn't buy it, I was gonna buy it.' It's just that unique of a deal and as Max said, ‘if you can get real estate on Lake Oconee it's worth buying.'” (Eric, 4:06)  “...everybody's moving to the South because they are landlord-friendly states, one of the last few states in the nation, before they go out dodo-bird style.” (Max, 5:12) “The double-wide dream neighborhood community. I would call it double-wide dreams because you sit there and you're double-wide, looking out at the lake, and just enjoying all the cruisers with a cold cruiser in your hand, y'all.” (Max, 5:34)

In this Closing Cocktails episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed rock star broker Eric Wanck regarding the ins and outs of his recent 4-park Kentucky sale.    This and every Tips and Tricks podcast episode is brought to you by The MHP Broker's'  proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Ask Max for details.    Here Are the Show Highlights:  This interview is with The MHP Broker's Eric Wanck, a superstar mobile home park and RV community broker who recently sold a 4-park package in Kentucky.  (Max, 1:31)  There were a lot of park-owned homes (POH) in this portfolio, which can sometimes scare off investors. But there was a stable tenant base and very good cash flow, which increased interest. The rent rolls were impressive. (Eric, 1:46)  The overall global occupancy was in the high 80 percents, and low 90s by the time the sale closed. Those numbers are good with the pad count at nearly 100 total. (Eric, 3:09)  The park had a great local management situation in which the third party handled everything from rent collection and deposits to daily maintenance and park upkeep. This made for a very passive, turnkey operation for the current owner as well as for the new owner if they want to continue the relationship. (Eric, 3:30)  The global expense ratio was around 10 or 11 percent, which is pretty normal. (Eric, 4:30)  The park owner was fortunate to be able to find a good onsite manager, because most management companies don't want to be involved with mobile home parks. (Max, 4:40)  The fact that there was city water and sewer (with some septic) and direct billed also increased buyer interest. (Eric, 5:47)  The buyer was a local investor who was very familiar with the Kentucky real estate market and already owned some single-family units in the area. (Eric, 6:06)  There was no financing contingency in that the buyer had already secured bank financing. That removed one serious hurdle to all such deals. (Eric, 6:25)  Eric didn't look forward to the bank appraisal since the high number of park-owned homes can sometimes make lenders hesitant. While the initial appraisal came in a little low, Eric was able to plead his case and successfully boost the numbers. (Eric, 6:50)  The portfolio was the third deal this year in which Eric had to get the appraisers to “move the needle” by further educating them on rent rolls or other park advantages that justify a higher appraisal. (Eric, 7:40)  Reach out to Max Baker if you'd like him to learn how we can help you get the maximum price for your park. Just drop him a line at info@themhpbroker.com or call The Mobile Home Park Broker at 678-932-0200.   Power Quotes in This Episode:  “…strong rent rolls make for easy closings.” (Eric, 2:45)  “Now there was a great local manager that the seller put in place. Not only did they handle the management portion, collecting rents, deposits, knocking on people's doors for rent, but they also handled all the maintenance. Kind of the dream setup for an owner.” (Eric, 3:30)    “This was somebody that was familiar with the Kentucky area and just having that familiarity of where this was located helped a lot.” (Eric, 6:06)   “Kind of a dream scenario on the broker side. We didn't have to worry about a financing contingency, even though it did go through a bank. So, it just shows you we had some financial strength from this buyer.” (Eric, 6:25)   “Never think that the deal is done or dead.” (Eric, 7:40)  “We're able to move the needle a lot of times for these appraisals that come in low.” (Max, 8:32)  “You know, these are very complicated transactions at the end of the day, a lot of variables, but we have the track record, and we know how to get them from A to B.” (Eric, 9:12) 

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktail podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed rockstar company broker Paul Schaaf, who discussed details of his recent sale of Sunrise Village, a mobile home park in Texas. This and every Tips and Tricks podcast episode is brought to you by The MHP Broker's' proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Ask Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: Max spoke with broker Paul Schaaf about his primary challenge and ultimate victory in selling this Texas mobile home park. (Max, 0:58) The park owners were, themselves, licensed real estate agents who nonetheless approached Paul about selling their park. (Paul, 1:21) They could have sold their property on their own, but they recognized that Paul and The MHP Broker had more specialized knowledge and experience in this niche of the industry and could get the job done quicker and easier and at a better financial return. They were right. After multiple offers, Paul found a prospective buyer after having the park on the market for just a week or so. From there, they closed in around 45 days, with a buyer who had financing. (Paul, 1:43) Paul credited having a great buyer who knew the industry and was highly motivated to get the job done. But even at that, there was one potentially high-risk hitch during due diligence. (Paul, 2:29) There was a phase one environmental discovery that the property had long ago been used as a service station or tire shop and that at that time it had held a long-gone gas tank. The prospective buyer wanted assurance that there would be no costly need for soil remediation once they became the owner, (Paul, 2:57) It cost a little money upfront, but the soil was tested and quickly found to be clean and problem-free. (Paul, 3:28) The buyer obviously felt it was worth proceeding with the transaction. The park's in a prime location, adjacent to a Walmart Supercenter and a hotel, and with good road frontage in a growing area. The park was becoming hybrid, with some RVs moving into unoccupied lots. The occupancy was just around 75 percent, giving the buyer plenty of opportunity to increase revenue by infilling. The utilities were provided by the city, with direct billing to residents--making this part of ownership turnkey. The park also had an onsite manager who was willing to stay on. And the seller was motivated to close and to move on with other investments that interested them more. So everyone was happy and highly motivated to close. (Paul, 4:28) As far as the financing went, the buyer brought significant cash and they were able to get approval in a week or so from a lender they'd worked with on previous commercial deals. The only thing that slowed the sale at all was that phase one discovery, which proved to be just a minor hitch. (Paul, 5:37) The lesson, from Paul's perspective, is that sellers must be as organized as possible, and then find well-qualified and motivated buyers. That involves having a broker who knows the business and can help get them over whatever unexpected “speed bumps” might be found along the way. (Paul, 6:16) Want to buy or sell your own mobile home park or RV community? Trust The Mobile Home Park Broker and its superhero brokers to get you the best outcome with the fewest hassles. Just drop Max Baker a line at info@themhpbroker.com or give him a call at (678) 932-0200. Power Quotes in This Episode: (On the client trusting Paul and The MHP Broker to represent him rather than handling the sale himself despite being a licensed real estate agent) “…It saved him stress. And we also got him more money than he probably could have done on his own.” (Paul, 1:43) (On the soil testing) “…Everything checked out, it was quick, the dirt was solid.” (Paul, 3:28) (Such hitches are) “…not common, but they do happen from time to time and as a brokerage firm we've been through enough that we know how to navigate them…successfully…” (Max, 3:42)

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed three representatives from Women Advancing in Manufactured Housing, or WAMH.  This and every Tips and Tricks podcast episode is brought to you by The MHP Broker's'  proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Ask Max for details.   Here Are the Show Highlights: -       This interview is with Justine Natalie, Maria Horton and Max's wife, Kathryn Baker. All three women are involved with a young non-profit organization, Women Advancing in Manufactured Housing (WAMH). (Max, 00:22) -       The idea of WAMH originated with a group of women who were all members of  Southeast Community Owners (SECO) and started a chat line to network and converse about their experiences, needs and opportunities. They put a panel discussion together for a SECO meeting and decided to expand their concept into becoming this new organization. (Justine, 1:41) -       The purpose of the group is to help women in the industry network, to recognize their achievements and offer education and support, but the over-arching goal is really to help everyone in the industry regardless of gender. The group started by offering webinars and Zoom meetings featuring successful women in the industry who could inspire other women. (Maria, 2:57) -       The group initially started connecting with members and running contests through LinkedIn. (Maria, 4:06) -       Justine owns an industry consulting group called Dynamic MH Solutions. She works with manufactured home community owners in multiple facets of their operations. She and partner Mike Schaeffler started the business in 2021.  (Justine, 5:27) -       Maria has worked for Newport Pacific, a property management company, for the last 18 years and worked for another company in the same line of business for three years before that. She also has her brokers license and sells manufactured homes, and is on several industry groups locally and statewide in California. (Maria, 6:24) -       Kathryn handles the day-to-day operations and manages team members at Mobile Home Park Broker, the company she co-owns with her husband, Max. (kathryn, 9:01) -       One of the pursuits the group is working on now is WAHM Workwear for Success, an initiative which is centered around the clothing for women and men in the industry.This includes proper attire both for those who are working in the office or with others, such as salespeople, and for park workers who might have to climb under mobile homes or otherwise work outdoors. (Justine, 11:10) -       Another initiative by WAHM is an educational excellence program held in partnership with the Manufactured Housing Educational Institute. The winner of this scholarship gets to take for free any one of 39 courses offered by MHEI on all aspects of succeeding in the manufactured homes industry. (Justine, 14:09) -       Those interested in joining the group or getting further involved can go to WAHM's new website at womenadvancingmanufacturedhousing.com. You can also join the LinkedIn WAHM group. The group also has corporate support at three sponsorship levels: The $250 sponsors are called Single Wide Supporters. (Justine,  15:01) -       In ascending order, the group also has Double Wide ($500) and Triple Wide ($1,000 and more) supporters. (Justine, 16:41) -       Those interested in joining or learning more about WAHM can also call Maria directly at (949) 500-4794. (Maria, 18:06) -       Or call Justine at (303) 619-7948. (Justine, 18:14) -       In addition to co-chairs Maria and Justine, other members of the WAHM executive committee are Deputy-Chair Sherrie Clevenger, Secretary Kim Schultz-Rainford and Treasurer Maryun Barberan. (Justine, 20:06) -       In general, WAHM wants to uplift the reputation of mobile home parks as being a high quality lifestyle totally divorced from the old image of trailer parks. (Maria, 21:22) -       The women in the group have followed many avenues of employment in the industry from park operators to sales and leasing agents, and others. (Justine, 23:36) -       Key sponsors so far include Pentagon Properties, Manage America, Dynamic MH Solutions and Nelson Communities (Triple Wide Supporters), Rent Manager, Zippy and Legacy Housing (Double Wide Supporter) and Mobile Insurance and Affordable Casa Group (Single Wide supporters). (Justine, 30:53) Besides the phone numbers given, you can also reach out to Max and Kathryn if you'd like him to learn more about WAHM. Just drop them a line at info@themhpbroker.com or call The Mobile Home Park Broker at (678) 932-0200.  Power Quotes in This Episode: (At SECO) “…we were all virtually chatting and…it became very clear very quickly that there was a need for a female-based group where people could find other females within the industry, and network with them.” (Justine, 1:41) ”So we started thinking of having webinars or Zoom meetings where we could have speakers who could inspire others.” (Maria, 2:57) “SECO is an amazing, amazing group that is very supportive of the women's movement here in the industry.” (Maria, 8:05) “I've always said that women are better managers than men.” (Max, 10:20) “I just think 2023 is going to be where we really start the momentum going forward and get more exposure and get more women involved.” (Justine, 11:10) “...we need to make sure people understand what our industry is about. That it is not the old trailer parks of yesteryear, it is now about beautiful communities that people live in and share a wonderful lifestyle. (Maria, 21:22)

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktail podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed leading company broker Ryan Ramseur about his recent deal selling Hawk's Nest, a metro Tampa mobile home park.  This and every Tips and Tricks podcast episode is brought to you by The MHP Broker's' proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Ask Max for details.   Here Are the Show Highlights: -       Top-performing The MHP broker Ryan Ramseur got interviewed by Max on his recent transaction selling Hawk's Nest Mobile Home Park in metro Tampa, FL.  (Max, 0:22) -       This was a 43-pad park with a well water and septic system for which the park owner was also the licensed operator. One major sales perk was that the owner was willing to stay on for awhile after the sale to help the new owner get established and make the transition as smooth as possible. (Ryan, 1:23) -       Ryan was able to get almost list price for the property, which was a stable asset and a turnkey operation. He was also able to show the new owner the potential for increasing rents to get them up to market value. (Ryan, 2:06) -       One takeaway that Ryan learned was that pride of ownership really shows, and increases the value of a park. The seller was very much a hands-on, involved owner who knew every tenant by name. By steadily investing in your property you can command a higher price when you go to sell. (Ryan, 2:42) Want to buy or sell an RV park or mobile home community in the Tampa area or elsewhere through our innovative Community Price Maximizer platform? Just drop Max Baker a line at info@themhpbroker.com or give him a call at (678) 932-0200. You can also get in touch with Ryan directly at RRamseur@themhpbroker.com.  Power Quotes in This Episode: “It's nice when you have sellers that you know care enough about the incoming owner not to leave anybody hanging, and and willing to do whatever they can to make sure that the transition runs smoothly.” (Ryan, 1:23) “Whether they have a third party management company, or whether they're very hands-on, and (as a buyer) having visited the property multiple times, you really get the takeaway of pride of ownership.” (Ryan, 2:42) “When you're invested in your business, it shows on the back end, and you're able to command a higher price ultimately.” (Ryan, 2:42)

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktail podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed rising star broker Paul Schaaf about his challenges and ultimate triumph in brokering the Darlington SC 2-park mobile home park portfolio.  This and every Tips and Tricks podcast episode is brought to you by The MHP Broker's'  proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Ask Max for details.   Here Are the Show Highlights: -       Max interviewed The MHP Broker's Paul Schaaf regarding what he went through in successfully selling a two-park portfolio in Darlington, SC. (Max, 1:13) -       This was a mom and pop operation with a lot of park-owned homes. This would be an advantage for a buyer in that rents in that booming market could go for nearly $1,000 a month after some remodeling work. (Paul, 1:25) -       But the parks got a short appraisal. That was unexpected to Paul since lot rents were at about $100 under market. He tried contesting the appraisal, but that failed. So he got buyer and seller together and found that they both still wanted to complete the transaction. They were all on the same team, so Paul was able to get the seller to agree to a carry back financing program to self-finance the deal. (Paul, 2:11) -       This deal was like many from The MHP Broker, in that the sale went through to the first prospective buyer. Max credits that to the careful front-end due diligence the company always performs in order to put the right buyer in front of the seller. (Max, 3:17) -       One reason Paul believed in the sale price, and tried to stay as close to it as possible, was the presence of a storage unit that sat empty and wasn't currently bringing in any income, but he felt it had nice potential for a buyer. (Paul, 4:37) -       The deal came about from a referral. This emphasizes the impact of doing great work for clients so they refer your company to friends and associates, and it further demonstrates the power and influence of the The MHP Broker brand in satisfying clients. (Paul, 5:14) Want to learn more about how The Mobile Home Park Broker team can save even the most challenging transaction and close your deal? Drop Max Baker a line at info@themhpbroker.com or give him a call at 678-932-0200.  Power Quotes in This Episode: “There's always a little bit of drama, but we're able to get through it and close the deal at the end of the day.” (Paul, 4:37) “Our brand is so strong that we can continue to fill the pipeline with listings and make sure we're doing a good job. So, referrals would be the key takeaway I'm thinking of right now.” (Paul, 5:14) “Problems don't kill deals, surprises do. And Paul is one of the biggest researchers on our team to make sure that your contract and close ratio is as close to 100% as possible.” (Max, 5:47)

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed Ryan Narus, a syndicator and the owner of multiple mobile home parks. Ryan discussed the many ways that digital automation has improved the business for himself and his team.  This and every Tips and Tricks podcast episode is brought to you by The MHP Broker's'  proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Ask Max for details.   Here Are the Show Highlights: ·       Max interviewed Ryan Narus, the owner of 74 mobile home parks, with some 4,000 total lots, in six southeast U.S. states. (Max, 0:22) ·       The interview primarily focused on Ryan's success with automation, especially with the digital application Rent Manager. (Max, 2:02) ·       While some might think of automation as the technology that kills jobs and replaces workers with robots, Ryan sees an entirely different side, one in which today's digital technology can improve productivity and even create jobs in the long run. (Ryan, 3:27) ·       Ryan first got into computer programming and his appreciation for automation in pursuing his bachelors and MBA degrees at Wake Forest University, especially while studying business analytics. Therefore, he's never had a fear of encroaching technology, and sees the multiple benefits. That's why he embraced Rent Manager, an application that automates much of the day-to-day duties of mobile home park management, as soon as he explored it. (Ryan, 4:02) ·       Ryan even found drawing up lot leases, a particularly labor-intensive park management job, to be fast and easy and more efficient with Rent Manager. (Ryan, 5:09) ·       Such menial tasks as lease signings and termination agreements and recording the handover of keys are now automated, so Ryan's park managers don't have to knock on doors. By signing certain automated documents, residents leaving voluntarily can be reminded to turn in keys so park managers don't have to chase them down and the former residents don't get mistakenly labeled as being evicted. (Ryan, 5:58) ·       Ryan estimates that today about 95 percent of the time spent on his company's books and most of his accounting is automated. And he never has to handle checks or money orders. (Ryan, 6:29) ·       Ryan saw the benefits when nearly everyone in his workforce came down with COVID at one time or another, and he no longer had the manpower to do the many small tasks that could be automated. With Rent Manager, his team and investors get daily automated reports that land in their inboxes every day by the time they awake. It was also during this time when Ryan came to appreciate Metron, the digital water management system his company's mobile home parks use. Metron eliminates the act of physically reading meters, tabulating and turning in data, and billing residents. And residents benefit from the daily data by not receiving surprise water bills at the end of the month, due to the accumulated cost of undiscovered leaks.  (Ryan, 7:08) ·       Ryan hasn't laid off a single employee as a result of the automation his company now relies upon. Instead, workers who no longer have to take on the tedious everyday tasks the automation can better handle now have the time to focus on their talents and the work they really want to pursue. (Ryan :40) ·       The training on Rent Manager is immersive. Ryan lets his employees learn and improve on the system by doing, even though there is almost always initial frustration on his workers' part. He mentioned that the app also offers Rent Manager University, an advanced training service if employees need it. (Ryan, 9:42) ·       Metron's WaterScope software is especially valued by Ryan and his company. With it, they get daily data on everything the water meters show, such as water usage per gallon, per minute, per unit. This immediately alerts park operators to unusual water usage, and potential leaks or unwarranted excessive use (such as from filling pools). (Ryan, 13:19) ·       Ryan pays about $7 a month per meter for the new meter system, including data reading and alerts. (Ryan, 19:44) ·       Ryan related an unwanted memory from the pre-technology days when he had to take a day's drive from Spartanburg to Charlotte to physically read meters at a park in the pouring rain. He first had to pump mud and rain off of the meters so he could read them and got bit by ants in the process. This contrasts with today's method of getting daily automated readings as an email or text message. (Ryan, 19:56) ·       As for Ryan's book reading habits, he tends to jump from book to book and read several at a time. Favorites right now include The Referral Engine: Teaching Your Business to Market Itself, by John Jantsch, and Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, by Cal Newport. And anything by Robert Greene. (Ryan, 22:09) ·       Check out Ryan's own podcast, Mobile Home Parks in Real Life. (Ryan, 25:06)     Want to learn more about automation in manufactured home communities or othere strategies for business improvement? Drop Max a line at info@themhpbroker.com or give him a call at 678-932-0200.  Power Quotes in This Episode: “I have Metron to read the meters and automatically upload meter (data) to me and  automatically tell me if they think somebody has a leak, which has saved people hundreds of dollars in water bills.” (Ryan, 7:08)  “(With Metron) “…every business day, my employees and my fellow investors and owners, they have reports that hit their inbox at 2am. So, they wake up early at 5am. Guess what? Reports waiting for them, they don't even have to turn on Rent Manager. It's sitting there waiting.” (Ryan, 7:08) “What (the Metron conversion) has done is made my employees happier and more  productive because they don't have to do stuff they don't want to do like scan 100,000 money orders. So yeah, it's been fun. I like the robot.” (Ryan, 8:40) “...just like learning Spanish or French or whatever, like (employee expertise with the automation) ain't happening in an afternoon.” (Ryan, 12:03) “You're removing menial tasks, replacing that with the robot, allowing people to be more  productive and more happy.” (Ryan, 17:28)

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktail podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed rising star broker Paul Schaaf about his challenges and quick success in the recent sale of Grace Mobile Home Park.  This and every Tips and Tricks podcast episode is brought to you by The MHP Broker's' proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Ask Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: -       The challenge with the sale of this park was that Paul was dealing with the family of the park owners who'd recently died. None of the survivors knew much about mobile home parks or how to market them. They needed Paul to evaluate the park and the sale opportunity. It was primarily a park-owned home asset. (Paul, 1:27) -       Paul's first task was to educate his clients on the marketing of a mobile home park, and to set realistic expectations. (Paul, 2:08) -       Paul quickly got some solid offers for the park, and went with a regional buyer who knew the market. He carefully conducted due diligence on the buyer, made sure the buyer was comfortable with the transaction, and held hands with the sellers to make sure they understood every step in the process and could provide all documentation needed to complete the closing. As a result, the park closed in an incredibly fast 35 days. (Paul, 2:32) -       Paul's experience with this sale reinforced The Mobile Home Park Broker commitment to a strong contract-to-close ratio through due diligence and by doing business repeatedly with trusted entities. Many competitors need to bring five or six “buyers” to a seller before successfully closing with that last one. That's the result of weak due diligence, which can complicate and painfully slow down transactions. (Max, 3:14) -       One key takeaway to this deal was that the parties came together through a referral from a satisfied former client, which emphasizes the importance of maintaining a strong brand with a reputation for good, clean transactions that generate enthusiastic referrals. (Paul, 4:33) Looking into the possibility of selling your community? Ask The Mobile Home Park Broker team how they maintain their high contract-to-close ratio to sell your park as quickly and as cleanly as possible. Drop Max Baker a line at info@themhpbroker.com or give him a call at 678-932-0200.  Power Quotes in This Episode: “They really appreciated our thoroughness and service every step of the way and it was a good transaction between all parties.” (Paul, 2:19) “Typically, when we put your community under contract it's going to close the very first time.” (Max, 3:14) “Our brand is so strong that we can continue to fill the pipeline with listings and make sure we do a good job.” (Paul, 4:33) “(Paul and our other dealers)...make sure that your contract-to-close ratio is as close to 100% as possible.” (Max, 5:05)

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed Gabriel Elendu of ABT Water Management. Gabe's company sells, installs and services digital water meter systems to manufactured home communities all over the country.  This and every Tips and Tricks podcast episode is brought to you by The MHP Broker's'  proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Ask Max for details.   Here Are the Show Highlights: ·       Max interviewed Gabriel Elendu for this episode. Gabe has been with his family's business, ABT Water Management, for the last seven years. (Max, 0:22) ·       One trend Gabe is seeing all over the country is the high and rising cost of water, and park owners trying to contend with that and the additional challenge of dilapidated water metering systems. (Gabriel, 2:20) ·       Currently, the focus is on helping existing customers sort out their system needs. (Gabriel, 2:25) ·       The infrastructure into which the meter is placed plays a big part on how well your park's meters will perform. That can means such obstacles as no heater tape or non-working outlets. (Gabriel, 3:51) ·       Full line replacement is often recommended. (Gabriel, 4:37) ·       The local climate often plays a part in how well water meters will perform. (Max, 5:28) ·       Another way to wear out the device prematurely is to install it vertically when it's not supposed to be installed that way. (Gabriel, 5:34) ·       In reading the data, some systems pick up a signal just like a cellphone, while others operate off of a fixed-signal radio service. The cellular service technology is especially appropriate in rural areas and other locations where WiFi service isn't common. If broadband is readily available, the radio service works fine. (Gabriel, 6:13) ·       These new “smart meters” eliminate human error in reading meters, and can send water usage data back to the park owner the next day rather than at the end of the billing period. That way, increased usage patterns by residents can be realized much sooner, before the bills escalate dangerously. You'll also know almost immediately if residents are tampering with the meter to escape paying the full amount. (Gabriel, 7:47) ·       The meter system from Metron is so durable that it comes with a 20-year warranty, covering the entire system, including the radio. (Gabriel, 9:44) ·       The smart meters sell for $249.50, plus $2320 for the centralized data receiving station (which digitally reads the water usage data). (Gabriel, 10:45) ·       Gabriel's company can also do the installation of a smart water meter for around $250 to $300, or the new owner can hire their own plumber to install. The installation cost can increase or decrease depending on such factors as the number of units to be installed, and the distance that must be traveled. (Gabriel, 11:48) ·       It's quite possible to pay off a meter installation in nine months to two years, in water savings and billing accuracy. (Gabriel, 12:18) ·       ABT Water Management only charges a fee of $5 per month for data reading and reporting, and the billing of all tenants. (Gabriel, 14:09) ·       ABT can collect water bill payments from your tenants and send park owners a monthly check so the owners can send it to their municipality. (Gabriel, 15:13) ·       The meters operate off of a lithium ion battery that costs about $50 and comes with a 10-year warranty. (Gabriel, 17:59) ·       As far as books of interest to business owners, Gabriel recommends Be the One: to Execute Your Trust, by David Robinson and Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now. (Gabriel, 20:29) ·       Gabriel is also known as rap singer Gabe Gizz, with a presence on Instagram. (Max, 21:04) ·       In addition to performing his own music, Gabriel has started a record label and has signed 16 other artists. (Gabriel, 22:37) ·       You can find him at Gabriel@ABTWater.com, or find Gabe Gizz on Instagram. (Gabriel, 23:47)  Want to learn more about smart meters or other trends, strategies and technologies that make community ownership easier and more profitable? Just drop Max a line at info@themhpbroker.com or give him a call at 678-932-0200. He can put you in touch with Gabriel Elendu at ABT Water Management. Or reach out to Gabe directly at Gabriel@ABTWater.com.  Power Quotes in This Episode: “...what I've seen is a bigger factor, more so than the actual build of the meter, is the infrastructure that the meter is going into. So, if you have a dilapidated infrastructure, if you have, you know, no heat tape, which we see a lot… your power outlets  aren't working underneath…the environment that the meter is going in is going to play a role rather than the actual meter itself.” (Gabriel, 3:51) “...as opposed to getting your bill at the end of the month and having a huge bill, we're  actually detecting the high usage of water the next day because our meter's flagged for a 24-hour continuous water flow through the meter. So, you have that advantage, as well as the advantage to know if people are tampering with the meters.” (Gabriel, 7:47) “...it's a lot easier to get your tenant to pay a $100 water bill as opposed to a $700 water bill, because you weren't proactively pinpointing issues.” (Gabriel, 9:13) “I have meters pay themselves off in nine months, two years at the max, you know. Whereas with the (competitors') no-money-down option, you could be paying for the meter for 10 years, long after the cost of the meter has been paid for.” (Gabriel, 12:18) "Wow! So it's five dollars a month for them to give you all the data, read the meters and do the billing.” (Max, 15:31) “I see people all the time, see parks all the time go under because the water usage is  completely out of control. So definitely, definitely, definitely look into getting metered. You don't need a fancy system. If you don't need the full automated system, at least get, you know, the manually read system where you walk around and read it just so you can at least quantify the amount being used and go back to your tenants.” (Gabriel, 18:51)

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed Kurt Kelly, president and CEO of Mobile Insurance. Kurt's company specializes in selling mobile home community insurance products to park owners.  This and every Tips and Tricks podcast episode is brought to you by The MHP Broker's' proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Ask Max for details.   Here Are the Show Highlights: ·       Today's interview is with Mobile Insurance owner, Kurt Kelly. Kurt has been a faithful advertiser in Max's newsletter for ten years. (Max, 0:22) ·       The company Kurt leads was once owned by General Electric. In the 1990s, GE did most of the financing for commercial and consumer mobile home sales. (Kurt, 2:01) ·       In 1991, GE decided to get out of the business, which would have put Kurt's stepfather out of business, so the older man bought what was left of Mobile Insurance, and ran it. (Kurt, 2:21) ·       Kurt joined his stepfather in the business in 1996 and took it over in 1998. Kurt took inspiration and lessons from Jack Welch, the former CEO of GE, when running his own business. (Kurt, 2:52) ·       Kurt works with a network of insurance companies across the nation that specialize in some aspect of insurance needs for community owners. He sees one key responsibility as helping park owners realistically evaluate their mobile home values. He points out one park owners who had his newer homes severely undervalued at $10,000 to $12,000 each for insurance purposes and would have gone bankrupt if the park has sustained significant damage such as by tornado or hailstorm. (Kurt, 3:59) ·       Max pointed out that he's seen parks both undervalued and overvalued for coverage. (Max, 5:24) ·       Today, the main problem is that parks are undervalued in about 95 percent of cases because of the escalating rise in the value of parks, though improper valuation either way can lead to major loss. For instance, if your park worth an estimated $1 million is insured for $2 million, your insurer will settle for replacement cost or what you insured the park for, whichever is less. So you're probably only going to get $1 million. (Kurt, 6:14) ·       Coverage is getting more expensive because of climate change. Now we're seeing more severe storms everywhere, and fires in the West. This increases building costs so that building that might have been built for $200,000 just three years ago might cost $300,000 to build today. When the structure is more expensive, so is the insurance. (Kurt, 8:24) ·       Property owners should therefore look at their valuation annually, so their insurance keeps up with rising value. Kurt offered a personal example of what can happen if property is undervalued. He owns a condo in a building in a ski resort in Montana. The building was insured for $15 million, but informal appraisals put the replacement cost at more like $50 million. If the building burned to the ground, they'd be severely underinsured and condo unit owners would get pennies on their investment. (Kurt, 10:02) ·       General liability insurance is important for park owners, but they must be aware of what the exclusions on coverage are. (Kurt, 11:26) ·       Such exclusions such as for contractor bodily injury, swimming pool accidents or animal bites might cost owners plenty. Park owners also need to get site revenue insurance. If a tornado knocks everything out for six months to a year, you won't be making any revenue for that long. (Max, 11:43) ·       Cyber liability is a new need for park investors today. (Kurt, 12:39) ·       People in the business tend to have big chunks of cash sitting around in bank accounts between deals. Cyber criminals know this and make every attempt to get it. Both Kurt and Max have experienced serious attempts at high-dollar cyber theft. (Kurt, 12:52) ·       Wire transfers can be particularly risky, so, in addition to having cyber insurance, it's important to have protocols worked out with your bank as to how transaction requests are handled. (Kurt, 15:04) ·       Among Kurt's business book recommendations is Never Split the Difference, by Chris Voss. It's on the art of negotiating, from a former FBI negotiator. Kurt, 17:06) ·       If anyone is looking for mobile home community insurance, or just has questions on the topic, they can reach out to Kurt by calling his cell phone at (281) 460-8384, or dropping him an email at Kurt@MobileAgency.com.  Reach out to Max to learn more about winning strategies in the mobile home park industry and to find out how to sell your property for the best possible price. Just drop Max a line at info@themhpbroker.com or give him a call at 678-932-0200. And be sure to check out Kurt Kelly at Mobile Insurance for all of your mobile home community insurance questions or needs. Power Quotes in This Episode: “(GE was) going to spin off the little insurance agency that my stepfather ran and lay him off when he was 55. So, he decided to buy what was left of that agency and make it even more of a commercial-focused agency.” (Kurt, 2:21) “...valuation of property may be the biggest mistake that most investment property owners make…if you insure a million-dollar property for $2 million, and the property burns down, they're gonna come out and write you a check for a million. They're gonna write you a check for either the replacement cost, or what you…insured for, whichever is less. ” (Kurt, 6:14) “...the house that you used to have insured for $15,000, that was a 1990 single section three bedroom, two bath in good condition. Is that worth it? Can you go out and buy another one like that for $15,000 today, bring it to your park and install it for 15 grand? No. In fact, if they gave it to you, you probably couldn't bring it to your park and install it for 10 grand.” (Kurt, 8:45) “The good news for owners of those properties, your property's worth more. The bad news is, when you value it for insurance, you're gonna pay more.” (Kurt, 9:33-9:34) (On the rising threat of cyber crime) “You know, when I first started in insurance,probably 90% of theft was physical. Today, I would say that 70% of theft is electronic.” (Kurt, 12:39)   "We love the Southeast, and then parts of the Midwest.” (In announcing recently buying a Nebraska park) . (Sam, 1:32) “When we got into this business we determined…we needed to be vertically integrated.” (Sam, 2:33) “Anybody bidding in that market kind of knew they had us over a barrel and we were not going to be a great customer for them because we're gonna do this one job and then we go away, right?” (On why he thinks he got outrageously high quotes from local contractors.) (Sam, 4:23)  “We're going to build our own communities, too.” (Sam, 8:54) “We got to be ready for the next year or two or whatever, and I think it can be a little tough.” (Comment on economic headwinds) (Sam, 17:35) “The mobile home park investment is more about operating a business than it is about owning real estate. Right? I mean, there's not very much real estate out there where you can have such huge impact on your bottom line by how you operate it, but mobile home parks, there's a ton there, right? (Sam, 23:26)

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed Sam Hales, president and CEO of the Saratoga Group. We talked about Sam's strategy of founding his own construction company to work on all of his various projects rather than having to hire locally every time.  This and every Tips and Tricks podcast episode is brought to you by The MHP Broker's'  proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Ask Max for details.   Here Are the Show Highlights: ·       Today's interview is with mobile park owner Sam Hales of the Saratoga Group. Sam is a mobile home park owner with whom The Mobile Home Park Broker has closed several deals. (Max, 0:22) ·       Sam is one of the top owners in the country, with 97 parks and a total of more than 6,100 lots in 17 states, with more deals closing in the next 30 days. (Max, 0:55) ·       Sam loves operating in the southeast U.S. and in certain Midwest states. (Sam, 1:32) ·       When Sam and Max met at SECO, Sam mentioned his new strategy of bringing in his own construction contractor and crew rather than being at the mercy of local contractors for park projects. (Max, 1:50) ·       When Sam bought a 312-lot park in Kentucky, he inherited a serious sewer line repair challenge. (Sam, 3:45) ·       His first two local bids were each for over $2 million. (Sam, 3:59) ·       Local contractors seemed to know they could charge what they wanted because they were the only game in town. And they saw it as a one-off project, so they figured to get as much as they could. Even when Sam got a bid from someone he'd worked with before, it still came in at $1.7 million, which was still way too much. (Sam, 4:23) ·       Then Sam got to talking to a contractor who was doing construction on his home in Tennessee, and found that the contractor had built mobile home parks from scratch in the past. So Sam made him a deal to send him and his crew to the Kentucky park for a couple months, set them up in RVs and with per diem living expenses and pay them by the hour. (Sam, 5:49) ·       The final bill came to $230,000, vs. the quotes for $1.7 million to $2 million-plus he'd received from local contractors. (Sam, 6:30) ·       The contractor they brought in was a problem-solver who could figure out how to get things done in fewer steps and was able to cut out over half of the scope of the work. (Sam, 7:18) ·       Now this same contractor and his crew are working on a drainage problem at a Memphis park of Sam's. (Sam, 7:21) ·       And from there the team will go to a park in Marietta, GA that Max sold them. Two old buildings need to be torn down and replaced with additional lots. (Sam, 7:59) ·       Sam found that by controlling one construction company and sending them where needed, he could control his project priorities and get the work done when needed, and at a cost savings over constantly having to bid and hire locally. (Sam, 8:23) ·       After seeing the success of this working arrangement over his first few projects, Sam's now in the process of officially establishing a construction company and hiring his contractor and team. He can use this approach not only for handling work projects in his parks, but also for building communities from scratch. (Sam, 8:54) ·       Sam has an experienced project manager on payroll, and his brother is an engineer to handle all job planning. (Sam, 10:24) ·       The contractor loves being free of the administrative responsibilities of running a company, and being able to focus his time and attention on construction, so he loves the arrangement. (Sam, 14:05) ·       His contractor also hated the constant hassle with getting paid so he can pay his crew. (Sam, 15:02) ·       It took awhile before the contractor saw that he was regularly getting paid per schedule by Sam, so that was a big worry he no longer had to focus on. (Sam, 15:44) ·       Sam's attention now is on economic challenges he sees on the horizon. He's reading books and listening to economists to position his company for ongoing success, whatever happens over the next year or two. (Sam, 16:26) ·       Sam thinks his company can ride out a recession since he's in a somewhat recession-proof industry. (Sam, 18:12) ·       Max remembered a situation when he started out, in 2009, where a lot of mobile home park residents in Alabama were foreign-born day laborers. When the authorities showed up to the parks and requested green cards, the parks emptied out. This is an example of how the ever-changing political landscape can have a serious impact on the economics of park owners. (Max, 19:05) ·       Sam's parks are about half occupied by Hispanics. He's not concerned about residents being detained and deported, but if the economy dries up will there be enough work for his tenants? If not, will they leave the parks and return to their home countries? (Sam, 21:20) ·       Sam doubts that this will be a problem, because economic conditions in the countries where the immigrants are from are already much worse than it's likely to get in the U.S. (Sam, 22:16) ·       Asked his favorite business-related books, Sam chose The Art of the Deal, by Donald Trump, Am I Being Too Subtle? by Sam Zell, and a Warren Buffett biography. (Sam, 22:58) Reach out to Max to learn more about winning strategies in the mobile home park industry and to find out how to sell your property for the best possible price. Just drop Max a line at info@themhpbroker.com or give him a call at 678-932-0200. And be sure to check out The Saratoga Group at saratogagroup.com.  Power Quotes in This Episode: “We love the Southeast, and then parts of the Midwest.” (In announcing recently buying a Nebraska park) . (Sam, 1:32) “When we got into this business we determined…we needed to be vertically integrated.” (Sam, 2:33) “Anybody bidding in that market kind of knew they had us over a barrel and we were not going to be a great customer for them because we're gonna do this one job and then we go away, right?” (On why he thinks he got outrageously high quotes from local contractors.) (Sam, 4:23) “We're going to build our own communities, too.” (Sam, 8:54) “We got to be ready for the next year or two or whatever, and I think it can be a little tough.” (Comment on economic headwinds) (Sam, 17:35) “The mobile home park investment is more about operating a business than it is about owning real estate. Right? I mean, there's not very much real estate out there where you  can have such huge impact on your bottom line by how you operate it, but mobile home  parks, there's a ton there, right? (Sam, 23:26)

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed Jimmy Cotty, the executive director of the Georgia Manufactured Housing Association, or GMHA. This and every Tips and Tricks podcast episode is brought to you by The MHP Broker's'  proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Ask Max for details.   Here Are the Show Highlights: Jimmy Cotty has been executive director of the Georgia Manufactured Housing Associaton (GMHA) since April, 2022. (Jimmy, 1:13) Jimmy was previously executive director of the Georgia Ready-Mix Concrete Association for 12 years. Before that, he was with sister organization, the Georgia Construction Aggregate Association. So, going back to 2006, Jimmy has significant relevant association experience in the state. (Jimmy, 1:52) Jimmy sees his primary mission as making the state more business-friendly to the manufactured housing industry in general. (Jimmy, 3:43) Coming out of the last recession, former Governor Nathan Deal made it his mission to make Georgia more business friendly, and current Governor Brian Kemp has continued that tradition. As a result, over the last eight or ten years the state has earned the number one ranking for business friendliness from a number of leading business publications and economic development organizations. (Jimmy, 7:17) More growth means more jobs, and not just in the major cities, and an increased need for affordable housing throughout the state. (Jimmy, 8:20) The state needs to develop a housing policy in which housing needs are broken down geographically, so that workers don't have to live some two hours away from their jobs. (Jimmy, 9:11) Builders are eager to build the $400,000 to $500,000 homes, but where is more affordable housing being developed? That's where manufactured housing and communities come in. (Jimmy, 9:47) The loss of laborers and tradespeople is hurting the home construction industry too. (Jimmy, 10:49) Research from Max's sister company, Mobile Home Wholesalers, has shown that one in ten people nationally live in a mobile or manufactured home. In Georgia, the rate is one in eight, making the state one of the highest in terms of residents living in manufactured housing. One result of that statistic is that there are some 4,000 used mobile home sale transactions conducted monthly in the state. So there's great opportunity here. (Max, 11:54) The first challenge to the industry is perception. Local communities are taken in by the stereotype of trashy mobile home parks, and don't see today's quality housing construction in manufactured homes. (Jimmy, 13:27) Local zoning ordinances can make it difficult to nearly impossible to establish manufacturing home communities in some places in the state. (Jimmy, 14:10) State taxes on home sales are also a challenge. Working the tax into a monthly house payment makes the manufactured home unaffordable to some prospective homeowners, so we've got to look into how we can tax these homebuyers more fairly. (Jimmy, 15:33) Some county tax commissioners have a better understanding than others on the value of affordable property taxes that encourage the establishment of new and higher quality mobile homes over the older and less attractive stock. (Jimmy, 19:43) Max saw, in talking with industry people in Alabama, that a big obstacle everywhere within the industry is the lack of home movers and installers. Most are getting p into their sixties or beyond and retiring or dying. Greater effort must be made to bring younger people into the trade. (Max, 20:41) Those who remain in the moving/installation industry can charge outrageous rates, which can make mobile homes beyond the means of many residents. (Max, 21:58) Jimmy has found the absence of commercial truckers to be an impediment in every industry he's been in. He's talked to insurance commissioners about it, and sees it as a further knock on the quality of the mobile home housing if the stock isn't installed right. (Jimmy, 23:59) The GMHA has added quality healthcare benefits as an additional incentive to join the association. (Jimmy, 25:13) Cybersecurity is another feature of membership they're exploring, for members who must use digital programs to handle sensitive personal information to pre-qualify tenants. They're also looking into the possibility of offering property insurance to members. The more services and features GMHA can offer, the more they can increase membership. (Jimmy, 26:12) GMHA is also establishing chapters across the state so more people can meet face-to-face regionally. (Jimmy, 27:12) The GMHA has, and continues to build upon, a great and fruitful relationship with the state's Realtors Association. (Jimmy, 28:54) The GMHA is also working on building connections with the Georgia Association of Tax Officials and the Georgia Association of Code Enforcement in order to make mobile home ownership fairer and easier. (Jimmy, 30:05) GMHA is further working to raise local awareness of the Abandoned Mobile Home Act, which would make it easier to remove eyesores and replace them with new and attractive mobile homes, for the benefit of all. (Jimmy, 33:03) If interested in joining the GMHA, you can contact Jimmy directly at Jimmy@GMHbA or visit the GMHA.com website to register online. (Jimmy, 35:32) Reach out to Max to learn more about trends in the mobile home park industry and to find out how to sell your property for the best possible price. Just drop Max a line at info@themhpbroker.com or give him a call at 678-932-0200. Power Quotes in This Episode:  “Georgia has, over the last ten or 15 years, built an incredibly friendly business environment. (Jimmy, 7:00) “The state has numerous programs to incentivize businesses in more rural areas.” (Jimmy, 9:11) “There's not too many young people trying to get into the mobile home moving industry, and it's very lucrative. I mean, I know a guy that's, you know, his first year in the Industry he made half a million dollars moving mobile homes…” (Max, 21:28) “Every industry that employs commercial drivers, they are struggling…” (Jimmy, 23:39) “...we want to be good partners and help offer solutions through our product for one of the most compelling issues the state faces, which is adequate housing for the citizens of Georgia.” (Jimmy, 34:05)

In this episode of The MHP Broker's Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed Lance Latham, president of the Alabama chapter of the Manufactured Housing Association. This is part of Max's informative series of podcast discussions with MHA leaders across the country.  This and every Tips and Tricks podcast episode are brought to you by The MHP Broker's'  proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Ask Max for details.   Here Are the Show Highlights: Lance Latham has a political background as chief of staff for the Alabama legislature. He's been with the Alabama chapter of the Manufactured Homes Association (MHA) for the last six years, working his way up from deputy director to executive director. (Lance, 1:11) Alabama has 17 manufactured home plants. (Lance, 2:31) Alabama sells its manufactured homes throughout the southeast, in parts of the Midwest, and even near the Washington D.C. area. The market is now slowing slightly, but that's a good thing because it was so overheated for so long. (Lance, 2:34) An interesting phenomenon Max has noticed, through his sister company wholesaling used homes to mobile home communities, is that new homes are now priced even slightly lower than homes that are a year or two old, just on the basis of supply and demand. (Max, 3:15) Supply and labor shortages had driven pricing up for new homes during COVID, but these challenges are working themselves out and that's reducing costs. (Lance, 3:58) Today, used homes represent about one-third of manufactured home installations in Alabama. This includes both homeowners selling their own, and rent-to-own (RTO) options by community owners. (Lance, 4:28) The top major challenge being addressed by the Alabama MHA is the scarcity of younger home movers/installers. Most are in their sixties, and few are in their thirties. This raises the price of manufactured housing to make it beyond the budgets of many potential buyers. The Alabama MHA is tackling the problem by partnering with community colleges in the state. (Lance, 5:23 and 5:44) The MHA is developing a training and certification program－or “boot camp”－to graduate a core of knowledgeable and more affordable installers. (Lance, 6:25) That's a program that would also be a valuable add to the Georgia market, in that the absence of qualified movers/installers slows down the installation process and raises costs in the Peach State too. (Max, 6:55) It's costing manufacturers tens of millions of dollars (or more) to correct installation problems due to incompetence. This is a major complaint of homeowners, and one that can be solved with qualified, educated installers. (Lance, 8:01) The state started the program at Bevill State Community College in Sumiton, and has introduced it in additional community colleges throughout the state. (Lance, 9:11) With the price of site-built housing continuously rising, it's a great time to introduce new market audiences to the concept of manufactured housing, including demographics that might not have considered such housing before, and have no idea about the high-quality construction standards of today's manufactured homes. (Lance, 10:32 and 11:06) As a way of promoting that quality distinction, the Alabama MHA is conducting Promotions with the University of Alabama and Auburn University to pick contestants who can win a $75,000 down payment on a manufactured home. (Lance, 11:35) The Alabama chapter is also making a point to educate local zoning board members and city counselors on the quality of the homes as a way to address their concerns for new communities without establishing adversarial relationships. (Lance, 12:08) Alabama park owners can join the state's chapter of the Manufactured Housing Association by checking out the website at alamha.org. Contact Linda Drumheller, the chapter's director of member services. Membership costs $75 per location per year. Benefits include guidance on and samples of lease agreements and pet policy language, marketing guidance to help park owners get residents, statistical information regarding installations, sales and other valuable data, and other benefits. (Lance, 20:40 and 21:30) Reach out to Max to learn more about the accomplishments of MHA chapters and trends in the mobile home park industry. You'll also find out how to sell your property for the best possible price. Just drop Max a line at info@themhpbroker.com or give him a call at 678-932-0200. Power Quotes on This Episode: (On Alabama's leadership in building manufactured homes.) “Only Texas builds more homes than we do.” (Lance, 2:20) “We have a sister company called Mobile Home Wholesalers. We wholesale used  homes to park owner and we're noticing that the new home pricing is actually cheaper than the one- or two-year-old homes, as the pricing for used home is just, for some reason, still elevated. But, from what I've been seeing and hearing from some of the park owners, the new home pricing is finally starting to come down as the cost of  goods is starting to level out a little bit.” (Max, 3:15) “Used homes are about a third of the installations we see in the state.” (Lance, 4;28) (On problems with manufactured home installers.) “…it is both a quantity issue and a quality issue.” (Lance, 8:01) “...(installers) who are willing to go out and work and hustle for the business can pretty much write their own paychecks right now…there's a lot of money to be made if you're willing to do the work…” (Lance, 10:10) “I think there's a lot of first-time homeowners, a lot of young couples, for example, a lot of retiring couples who want to downsize, who might not have ever thought about a manufactured home, but with the market being the way it is right now, I think they might start looking at us. I think that we need to be ready to kind of meet that need.” (Lance,11:06) “Our biggest political issue tends to be zoning problems.” (Lance, 11:38) “...the greatest compliment I've ever received in this job was when somebody on Facebook accused us of false advertising because they didn't believe the picture, (that) the home was an actual manufactured home.” (Lance, 13:35)