Common Capital Repair Expenses For Older MHP

[Chester Transo]

As a long time lurker, but first time poster, I have to tell you all that I am really impressed with the quality of the posts and all the awesome cooperation shown in this forum.

In an older post Jim Johnson said "In older parks, like the ones built in the 50s, 60s and 70s you can expect many more issues because of the materials used to build the parks. Sewer, water, electric and gas lines were held to a entirely different standard then. So do your due diligence well, understand the common problems and have a short list of contractors and fixes for the most common problems. Older parks are a far more complicated dance..." (http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/30/topics/41955-water-and-sewer-under-pads-)

So that raises some questions:

1. What would be some of the common problems and capital expenses that would need to be budgeted for with an older park, assuming that it is on city water/sewer?

2. What would be a good short list of fixes for the most common problems?

3. How often could we expect to see these expenses over the long term?

4. What are some of the most common areas where sellers try to hide deferred maintenance?

5. What signs can we look for that would indicate that a park has a lot of deferred maintenance?