Reorganizing/Renovating existing dump I mean Park.

[Nicholas Caldwell]

I am looking at a park that is pretty awful, which too me is exciting because I see lots of potential to take this poorly maintained commercial property and polish it up for some killer profit. My concern is, as the saying goes, "you can polish a turd and it's still just a turd"! Obviously depending on the specifics, which I am still waiting on a call back, is it worth taking a run down, disorganized property that isn't anywhere close to its potential and putting the time and money in to develop it into a nice community? My thoughts are.... Reorganize the homes into a well thought out , functional, and aesthetically pleasing layout. (I think a blind man could have placed the homes better than they are now!) Weed out the dilapidated MHs (which from the outside is most of them) Sell off as many MHs as possible striving to be that no park owned homes kind of place to reduce the maintenance costs Hire professional management which should ultimately make the park more efficient therefore creating more cash flow Dress the place up with some landscaping, maybe a new sign at the entrance, an overhang for the mailbox area, maybe a play park to really make is a classy family community.... basically whatever will make it appealing but still cost effective instead of the junk yard it is now There are roughly 5-7 of the approximately 9 acres for sale that are undeveloped. Use that land to increase the park from 30 lots to anywhere from 50-90 lots. (The 30 lots that exist currently are barely using 2-3 acres) Would have to clear out trees and run the water and sewage and electrical.... the whole nine yards. Work some sort of deal with a MH dealer to place homes on the lots and then we would do all the ground work to get people to come finance them. At which time either the park would outright buy the home and do owner financing to the tenant or the tenant could straight buy it from the dealer whatever works best for the situation. That way everyone wins. The dealer sells homes that are already pre placed (maybe at the parks expense to sweeten the pot) the park doesn't have to outright buy millions of dollars worth of MHs up front just to fill the lots, and people get a nice new trailer to live in. All of that within the first year should increase the cash flow and therefore the value of that park exponentially I would think... What do y'all think? What am I missing?

[Sonia Spangenberg]

The plan is a basic concept, find poorly managed and neglected property, rehab it to force appreciation and increase cash flow.  The trick is in the numbers.  The cost of acquisition, deeply itemized to make sure you have a real number, acurate analysis of market lot rent potential , and cost of engineering srudies then install or rehab of wells and septic install, cost of new or upgraded electical hook ups,  roads, then the multiple meetings with county zoning and water departments before you even start the rehab. The approvals have to go back and forth between multiple departments.  Time frames will be dictated by the coordination with those departments.  Finacing for MHP is trickier as well.  You have to juggle development costs and carry all that until you can get the park filled.  It may take a little longer than you expect.  One of my next steps is to run a teaser Craigslist ads to determine how quickly and how much response you get.  I read that tip somewhere. It's a lot of work, it's not easy.  But it can be so worth it. I do suggest using the BP rental calculator as you would for a MF to help you make sure things make sense financially.  It helps you make sure you are not missing things.  I am also planning on buying a workbook for MHP due diligence from a website called mobilehomeparkuniversity.  They have a boot camp as well.  They have great forums and webinars you can tap into.  

I know because I have started the process on a "very similar scenario" myself.  My plans is almost exactly as you have described.  I am taking my time to make sure I'm not missing something and the deeper I get into it the more I am learning.  It's scary but I'm gonna keep at it!  Just be prepared for the work, it will be more than you initially anticipate.