Hi everyone, I just came across this thread, and wanted to address a few items. I'm the founder of Park Place Communities (http://parkplacecommunities.com/) and Four Peaks Capital Partners (www.fourpeakspartners.com). I formed Park Place Communities in 2014, and we started purchasing communities in early 2015. Currently, we own and operate around 1,900 lots in 12 states, and headquartered in Phoenix, AZ (1176 E Warner Road Gilbert AZ). We have about 22 full-time W2 employees in the office, approximately 40 traveling construction folks -- and managers and maintenance W2 employees at each community we own and operate. Also, my business partner Mike Ayala has owned and operated mobile home communities since 2007. He also founded an HVAC company with 110 employees, and also ran several construction companies. We’ve worked together for about 2 years now, and he is focused on the operations side of the business.
There are many solid sponsors and operators in this asset class, some newer than us, and some older – and quite a bit of new money coming into this space (part of this is where we are in the market cycle, and other asset classes being overpriced like apartment buildings).
I’ve personally had several conversations with @Jefferson Lilly (and met him at a conference), and he knows the space well. Dave & Frank (also partnered with Ryan & Jamie Smith) have been acquiring and operating parks for a long time (I believe they go under MHC America). Dave & Frank also put on a great boot camp 4-5 times a year (https://www.mobilehomeuniversity.com/mobile-home-park-investing-books-and-courses/mobile-home-park-investors-boot-camp.php). The boot camp is great for anyone looking to become an operator in the space, although it’s also a good general overview over the course of a weekend (I believe it’s Friday Night to Sunday Night).
To address the @Marty Sellis comments – we were a virtual company up until about a year ago, with employees around the country. We had a Grandville, MI address which was a maildrop for several years, but now everything comes to Gilbert, AZ. All of our main entities (i.e. Park Place Communities, LLC etc.) are created in Wyoming (and the address is a registered agent). Ask any asset protection attorney, and they will recommend WY, NV or DE as best states to use. And you are incorrect about some of the states. I lived in CA for 20 years, and we had W2 employees in CO and NJ, where we do not own communities.
Also, we take much pride in the work that we do to renovate the homes. Here are a few examples: https://fourpeaks.box.com/s/heitpydgv3s6gtbiudszgtglhzn7gj29
Our park size is usually 40 spaces up to about 230 spaces. And yes, we’re focused on value-add and lower occupancy communities. And we have an ownership in all of the communities we operate, so that is incorrect information. Again, NJ is where one of our employees lived (when you have W2 employees, you must register the state they live in). And no, we don’t own Princeton University. Marty, feel free to reach out to me at any time. I don’t seem to know your name and would be great to get to know you. It sounds like you have a lot of experience in this space, and I'm always interested in learning more.
I think one takeaway is that this is a difficult asset class to own and operate, and just like @Jay Hinrichs mentioned, having a great team is essential! And due diligence is key with good tips from @Mike G. Good luck to everyone and always do your homework!
Andrew Lanoie
cc:
@Ji Yang @Rachel H. @David Calme
