All Forum Posts by: Jennifer Rysdam

Hey everyone. I'm evaluating 2 mobile home parks. This is my first time offering on this type of property. What is the best way to find the best offering price?

#1: 12 tenant owned, private septic and well, park pays garbage, $275 lot rent, 10 acres.

#2: 17 tenant owned, tenant pays their own city water/sewer/garbage, $204 lot rent, 2.6 acres.

I would like to purchase both, but I'm not sure what to offer. Comparables are hard to find and prices are so all over the place these days. Thanks!

If someone has credit that is less than I would like I'll ask for double deposit. If you call it "last" rent then they'll use it for that. If you call it double deposit then you can use it for repairs OR if they skip out on the last month of rent. Works for me.

I always use SmartMove and have been happy with it. You can pay or they can pay.

Buy a duplex, triplex, or four-plex and live in one unit while renting out the others. You can get a low down FHA loan as long as you promise to live there for a certain amount of time, usually 1 year. The other tenants will pay all of your bills for you. Then do it over again in one year and rent out the one you were living in. Otherwise, get a house and rent out the other rooms in it.

The first thing to do though is start listening to the podcasts and reading the forums on here. It's quite the education! Good luck!

 Hi Jim. I had put the website link on the post but it must have gotten removed. It's hardwickplace . com (no spaces)

My first home was a brand new MH. I knew exactly what I was purchasing and full well knew it would depreciate. I was a college student and was sick and tired of dealing with landlords and sharing walls with neighbors. I put it on 2 acres of land and enjoyed every bit of having a 3 bedroom home that I could afford. After college I moved into a suburb of Minneapolis and had it towed down there into a park. Living in a 3 bedroom home, 17 miles from downtown Mpls., for a grand total of $500 per month worked great for me. It was an easy commute to my accounting job downtown. I could also have my dog. 
People do what works for them. I was certainly not poor or uneducated.

I manage my own property (8-plex) because most of the time it just flies solo. PM's don't clean units, vacuum, mow, or shovel snow, so those are the things I pay for or do myself. However, I am going to be moving a couple of hours away from my property next year. At that time I will hire a local realtor to just show my property when needed. I usually only show them once I have an approved application anyways, so it won't be too much. They can also do an open house type showing as well if needed (or I can). Everything else is done right here from my computer. I have a great website with pics of my units and all of the leasing information. There is also an application link they can click to fill out a Word document and email it to me. I will probably get a subscription to an online document signing app to be able to do those online as well.

I'd say no. I don't allow any cats because I can't stand the smell the leave behind. I only allow little dogs in my apartments without laminate floors. I require $25 pet rent per dog, max of 2, and extra $300 pet deposit that is refundable.
I'm sure you won't be the first one that has told them no.

Stick with your lease and follow up quickly before they get a dog. Make it very clear that having a dog would be a violation of their lease and lead to an eviction. Also be sure to mention to them that your floor will not hold up to a dog and would cost them thousands to repair. Sometimes if you explain it to people they'll see that there's a good reason and not that you are just limiting them. Good luck!

If I were you I'd be driving by and doing quarterly inspections. It's very easy to tell if there is a dog there.
Also, be sure to deliver your written response in person, unscheduled. That way you can see if there is already a dog there. You can't do an unscheduled inspection, but you can knock on the door and stick it to the door if they don't answer. If there is a dog you'll probably know as soon as you knock.

When you are new at this it gets exciting to show your property to possible tenants. Over time you will get to the point where you show it to people and then forget about them. They will tell you all sorts of things, but most will just walk away. I had one family that wanted to pay rent and deposit right there on the spot - cash! I told them they'd have to fill out applications first and do the background and credit checks. They all 3 took applications and disappeared. Lots of shady and unorganized people out there.
One thing that has helped me a ton is a website. I have a page for each unit and when that unit is available I'll make that page visible on the site. Everyone can see all of the pictures of the unit and see all of my rules and requirements. They can also click on the link and fill out an application. It's just a word document that they can then email to me. I direct everyone to the website. If they can't get to the website, read it, fill out the application, and figure out how to get it to me via the email address provided then they probably aren't that interested in it. Once I get the application and check the references I'll show them the apartment. If they still are interested at that point I do the credit/background check. Our market is very tight and people have a hard time finding a place, so most don't even care to see it, they just want it. Mine are some of the nicest ones in the area because I've remodeled them. I feel like I give them enough information on the website that I can do it this way.