All Forum Posts by: Edward Hamill

"The Cheap Comes Out Expensive" - Author unknown.

I second @John Fedro!  Ask yourself "why is it free".  Having managed a 1306 lot senior mobile community in Florida, I can tell you that all owners want is lot rent... what is on the lot tends to be an after thought.  As soon as you take control of this home, you start paying lot rent (so much for free).  If it is owned by one of the REITS in the area (ALL, ELS, HTA, CAL-AM, ETC), the manager is not in a position to live up to the promise of waiving lot rent (notice... didnt say they cant offer it... they just cant live up to the promise).  

Replacing the floor is a pretty big job, depending on the manufacturer.  Also, once you pull up the floor, you see the plumbing, frame, tie-downs, etc... which can uncover a whole new list of problems.

I would LOVE to get back into the MH business, flipping homes, but I have enough Florida Park knowledge to know that a deal too good to be real is just that (see line 1 of my post).

Feel free to shoot me a PM with the park and I may be able to provide you with some additional ammo if you decide to proceed.  I have worked with well over 200 Senior parks across Florida over the past 10 years and have physically been in a heap load more than that.

Look into modular multi-family.  In my past life, I was involved with a number of these in the Southeast and the benefit is that they go up in a few days so are not open to the weather (rain for us...snow for you) and can be move-in ready in under 6 months.  Also, they are more cost effective generally (unless you can run as GC on your build, which would help keep costs down) and usually come with a 1 year (or longer) warranty so your out of pocket the first year is lower.  

Not sure of pricing in your area, but definitely worth looking into. Here are a few samples of ones I was somewhat involved in (I focused more on higher-end net-zero homes vs multi)

Must be the water in Florida... My main goal for investing is to support my personal efforts in Haiti (I build homes, send kids to school, work with a few orphanages, etc in the Simonette region).  Looking forward to seeing you progress in your dreams of blessing others!

Never rented TO the Mafia, but certainly rented a 13,000sqft facility from "them" when I ran my computer software training business in New Haven, CT... No matter the month, good or bad, the owner got paid first!  My CFO (aka, my dad) has an aversion to cement shoes.  :-)  Honestly, he was the nicest guy, got permits pushed thru and even got a few "issues" overlooked to get my CO in a timely manner!  

Come to think of it, I may have to pay him a visit in Danbury Federal Prison next time I am in CT.

I own a web hosting company and even I have to agree with @Lucas Hall on this one!  Postlets.com and CL are your best bet!  No need to spend any money!

 Sent you a private message/colleague request.

Microsoft offers a free product called StoryBook 3.0  I have used it an it is actually really good (and did I mention free?)

Few issues that are pit falls for small parks in Florida:

Review the lease and then review it again!!!!  AND confirm that all homes (a point many miss is that leases are specific to home site and NOT the home owner) have the same lease or you could get burned badly!  In Florida (only know Florida rules) you will find caps in the lease and verbiage about going to market rent only on certain occasions.  This could mean you buy today but cant raise rents to market for 10 years!  I would get a good lawyer (Jody Gable at Lutz Bobo,etc is among the best in FL and covers whole state) and have them do an initial review. (Tell her you want the Ed Hamill discount).

Confirm with the city or county that the community is not plotted.  There was a time when you had to provide a plot plan to the city/county.  Owners did this and then went ahead and did whatever they wanted anyway.  Now, when you go to replace a home you get hung up in permitting and are required to replot the whole park (last time I consulted on one of these, it cost the owner 100s of thousands because he didn't listen to me in coconut creek!)

Finally, check with the FMHA to see if the park is a member and/or if they are aware of anything about the park.  They are a great team (FMHA dot org)  *Disclosure - I used to be a board member, so I am biased.

I have probably been in the park you are looking at.  Feel free to shoot me a message.

On another note, does the lease cap your annual increase to CPI or are you stuck with increasing rents to "market" over a longer term? 

@Dawn Anastasi- I think you already found bags of $100 in this property!!!!!  Awesome deal!