All Forum Posts by: Chris Ebert

Sorry Aman, I don't know that market or the condition of the home. Your best bet is to check VMF Homes - https://vmfhomes.com/

I've thought about doing this myself but at the end of the day, the business model of operating a laundry facility is vastly different than operating a mobile home park. That's why when you go to sell the property this could turn potential buyers off. Where is the garage located on the property? Could you parcel it off and transfer it to a new LLC that owns and operates the laundry facility? That way you have two assets that you could sell separately when the time comes.

Got it. I would ignore the trade-in value and make an offer that works for you. Otherwise, what's the point?

@Kat N. - I know most investors take into account population growth however you're looking at an MSA with over 2 million people. I think it would be different if you were looking at a town of say 5k. Plus, with the infrastructure, universities, and large employers already in place, you never know when a renassaince might be just around the corner (e.g. - Amazon 2nd HQ).  Just my two cents. 

@Aman S. are you looking to buy the home?

Kurt Kelly with Mobile Insurance is a great source - MHPs are what they do - http://www.mobileagency.com

I can only speak from experience owning a duplex and then MHPs. I would say that owning parks is more hands vis-a-vis traditional multifamily as 99% of park owners do not rely on third party management. Instead of your traditional property mgmt firm, you would hire someone to be your onsite manager and have that person handle the day-to-day tenant issues (and there will be issues). At the end of the day, it's a collections game. If you can buy the right asset and stay on top of collections then you can do very well in the space.

@Harinath Pottam, yes, those are metrics used for valuation however when analyzing park specific characteristics, here are a few items we look at to see if it meets our criteria:

-the infrastructure (water/sewer provider, metering of utilities, water pipe material, etc.)

-# of park-owned homes vs. tenant-owned homes

-Avg. rents vs. market rents

Obviously this is not an exhaustive list but I would say it's the first three things we review.

@John Jacobus, over time we've offered to convert homes to RTO for about 15-20 residents. Despite the fact that it'd result in no increase in the monthly rate, less than half took the offer. I know it's market specific but I've heard that the acceptance rate is closer to 50% than 100%.

@Michael Willis, if this is your first park purchase I would recommend you not buy a park with all private utilities. You need to be well versed in the risk-reward of private utilities.