All Forum Posts by: Brandon Tarby

Would this apply to a park that only has tenant occupied homes? I’m new to this, could you explain what the purpose and benefit of this study?

Quote from @Jordan Moorhead:

@Brandon Tarby what are the lot rents? You said the gross income is only $5000, per month?

@Jordan Moorhead gross monthly rent is $5k, lot rents are $250. Others in the area are between $350-$450/month. And current owner pays the public water/sewer. Lots of room for value add I think  

Quote from @Andrew Keel:

Quote from @Brandon Tarby:

Buying a MHP where lot rents are a decent amount under market value, around $100-200 under. The owner also pays water/sewer. I don’t want to go in spike the tenants monthly payments right away but something needs to be done. Should I raise rents and still pay utilities? Or back bill utilities and keep rents the same for now?

Hi Brandon,

I recommend adding Metron-Farnier submeters asap and billing back utilities as quickly as possible. This should drop the total consumption by around 30% right away because now it’s being tracked. Make sure to hire a plumber to insulate and heat tape the submeters really well if this park is up north where it gets cold.

I recommend waiting then to increase rents until around month 3 after you've invested some CapEx dollars into the park through road improvements, tree trimming, new signage/fencing etc. This does wonders for morale and residents in our communities have been more willing to pay the increase after seeing our improvements.

Best of luck to you and congrats on the value add park - it sounds like a good one with rents so low. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

Good luck,
Andrew Keel

Thank you for your valuable input! And thanks for suggesting those submeters. I will certainly look into them. I was thinking at the very least I could back bill some set amount to everyone, to cover most of the utilities, until I can get the meters installed. 

And great suggestion about making updates prior to raising rents. That makes a lot of sense and shows that the increase is worth it. 

Quote from @Jordan Moorhead:

That may be too small to support a manager but otherwise looks good

Thanks. Since posting this I've found an off market deal. 25 lot park with room for possible future expansion. 20 TOH occupied, public water and sewer. They're asking $350k, current gross is $5k. As mentioned in my other post which you also graciously posted on, rents are significantly under value. I'm leaning towards this deal rather than the one above, simply because all are TOH and public utilities, which eases my mind being more of a remote owner.

Quote from @Jordan Moorhead:

Bill back first IMO, maybe a slight rent raise also

Thanks for you input. That's what I was leaning towards. Current lot rent is $250/month. Other MHP in the area have a lot fee of $400 and backbill utilities, so even a slight rent increase would be under market value.

Buying a MHP where lot rents are a decent amount under market value, around $100-200 under. The owner also pays water/sewer. I don’t want to go in spike the tenants monthly payments right away but something needs to be done. Should I raise rents and still pay utilities? Or back bill utilities and keep rents the same for now?

I'm looking to purchase my first MHP, what are some things you wish you knew heading into your first purchase? Questions to ask, financing options, things to look for, etc. Was your first MHP close by, or remote?

I'm in SE PA, found a property in western PA, about 4-5 hrs away. It has 19 lots total, 7 park owned homes, 1 RV and 11 vacant spots. Currently on private water/sewer but public is available. At the asking price of $260k and current monthly gross of $6k, it seems like a good deal considering there are a few ways to add value. It has a positive cash flow, even if I had to finance the deal.

Ideally, I'd like something that has all TOH, to avoid that maintenance, but the MHP above has a larger ceiling compared to others I've seen. Thanks for your opinions and thoughts!