Marketing to attract new home owners to park with vacancy

[Tucker Long]

Hi,

I'm brainstorming with a family member who is part owner of a mobile home park in Ohio that has about 100 lots. The park is the nicest one in the area, we just need to fill the empty lots. We've thought about about direct mailing residents at other parts advertising an incentive to move, it just seems a bit unethical or in bad taste if nothing else. Poaching tenants feels wrong, what do you think? We have good relationships with other local park owners and wouldn't want to damage their business just for our gain. We have a dealer we refer new buyers to, but we just don't get enough calls on them. When they do call and find out the new home payment and lot rent combined would be a nice mortgage payment, they often lose interest. Most of the tenants have been there for a decade or more and the population is aging. We really need to start filling these empty lots to avoid getting behind the ball. We've done some lease to owns in the past but are trying to get more owners in, not more rental homes.

So, does anyone else have strategies to attract owners that's worked well? 

Thanks for any ideas!

[Curt Smith]

We own a park in Gulf Shores AL near the beach and demand is good from test ads at $745 combined per month for a brand new 3/2 single wide.  I suggest you put up several blind (no address) test ads in craigslist.  Harder in zillow rent manager at different prices and advertising rental, and ownership with lot rent to see what your market is looking for.  Hopefully home ownership....

I posted here in another thread that radical change has come to the new home market in the last 12 mo and even in the last months.  At the wholesale level direct from manufacturs a park can buy a nice 14'x80' 3/2 for $19k  Yes I'm not fibbing.  A 16'x80 3/2 for $24k plus hauling to your park from what ever factory is closesd plus set up plus septic and utilities.  So maybe add $10k to the home price all in.    Contact Clayton homes which now owns some 30 brands in all price ranges.

The best part we learned at the Birmingham Clayton home show was that century 21 has partnered with Clayton to offer community (parks) 100% financing of new homes, including hauling AND setup, zero out of the communities pocket excepting for placing the water, septic, electric, roads in place.  We used to have to buy the home with cash as well... No more.

PM me for the Century 21 "community CASH" program contact if it isn't googleable.

Century will finance to the tenant you find and screen, then they qualify and the loan is to the tenant to avoid the community hasseling with Dodd Frank issues.  Its a win win.

Bottom line:  buying used homes, moving and fixing is no longer economic vs this new home model.  The old tale of advertising to poach homes from other parks also never worked in any volume plus you give up too much to get them to move.  Better off raising your lot rent a BUNCH, putting a new home in with tenant paying the mortgage.  That is the best of all scenarios.