Finding your first mobile home park to buy

[Patrick Truhlar]

Hello fellow MHP investors!

Went to Frank and Dave's bootcamp in Austin a year or so ago. Been busy on raising capital for an M&A rollup in another sector so delayed beginning to invest in this space. Looking at beginning to search for assets to buy. Unlike other buyers I am likely more interested in fairly high-quality assets that are already running fairly well. Don't need to put the absolute minimum down, etc. Just want to begin building (near) "passive" monthly income. I am sure you have to work a good bit to unearth the value plays, but how hard is it to just buy a 100+ lot park on CW&CS if you are wiling to pay a market rate for the asset and can qualify for the financing that is generally available? Biggest concerns/priorities are (1) losing money on a bad deal; (2) MHP competing for my time in the other deal I am working in (outside the real estate sector). (And don't get me wrong, an easier value play would be great, but it is a time/resource allocation issue over the next 5 years or so).

Thanks for your input folks. Hopefully I will be speaking with some of you in the coming months and years as I build a position in the space. If the question is too basic I apologize in advance. Just wanted to get a sense for how difficult it is to put some capital to work.

Thanks for the time and consideration,

Patrick

[Chase Louderback]

I would echo what @Thomas Eddie said.  If you are mostly looking for stabilized deals and are not interested in value-add plays, then brokers will probably be your best bet.  That being said, a 100+ lot park on CS&CS in a solid metro will likely have a very low cap rate so be prepared for lower returns.  Also, this business will take work, especially when you are starting out and getting your systems in place, so keep that in mind.

Some tips for finding brokers in the markets that you are looking would be to go to: Mobilehomeparkstore.com, Loopnet.com, CRExi.com and then search for mobile home parks in the area that you are interested in.  The brokers that show up the most will be the ones that you should start establishing a relationship with.  Let them know exactly what you are looking for and be sure to always provide feedback when they send you deals.

Best!