Affordable Housing Investors - Quick question

[Ian Tudor]

Currently, I'm working towards building a mobile home park portfolio. I have one under contract and a few more in the pipeline. 

I'm interested in others who invest in affordable housing especially apartments. As with mobile homes parks, I assume there is a negative stigma. 

How did you get into the space? 

How many hours a week do you spend managing your apartments?

[Curt Smith]

Hi Ian,  We recently bought our first park, 100% lot rent.  Nothing to manage really.  Time and problems occur with park owned homes.  You didn't say if 100% 55+ parks or not.  

In FL I presume there's no stigma within the parks or near by.  There will always be the snooty better then others vs the practical and find parks are FAR superiour living than apartments.  Where I hear you don't have a choice of the genre of music or when it's played, smells of cooking, crime etc etc.

We are expanding our park with 30 more new homes, all will be tenant owned, they desparately want out of apparments.  This is not a new story.  I now feel that if the park has any kind of desirable location you can get MORE for a park unit than apartments.  Frank and Dave have always said you have to be under prevailing apartment rent.  This may be true in podunk LA with no location but most places FL or our location near a beach Gulf Shores AL, we can get more than an apartment.

We got into parks because we like 10% cap rate vs 6% for apartments and 25% cash on cash vs 12% in apartments.  Plus you can actually offer and get accepted on parks vs apartments.

BTW have you ran into problems with FL statute re community renter boards?  IE there's state statue that gives home owner (even renters) say over the parks ability to raise rents.