All Forum Posts by: Jim Tassoni

@Tyler Hardy This will be a huge lift and require a significant amount of capital and expertise to infill the lots and get the homes sold and/or rented.  Not saying it can’t be done if you have deep enough pockets, but in addition to that I would recommend partnering with an experienced operator who specializes in these types of distressed investments.  Also make sure you are buying the park for what it is and don’t pay up for the privilege of turning it into what it could be!  Best of luck! 

Hi Bob.

Welcome.  I am in Grand Rapids as focused on larger multi family deals as well.  Feel free to DM me if you’d like to chat further.

Best of luck.

@Carla Andrews You can search the forum as there are hundreds of posts on this topic.  Mobile Home University is a great place to start.  Best of luck! 

@Geoff Livingstone you have things like payroll, admin, Grounds Maintenance, mgmt. fees, Utilities, trash, insurance, taxes, legal, accounting, etc. this is not a complete list but should give you a place to start. Good luck!

@Geoff Livingstone I would really dig into those numbers.  They are claiming to run the park at a 9% expense ratio.  Best operators in the business are usually around 30%.  Possible they are doing a lot of the work themselves and/or cutting corners somewhere.  Not sure how you are planning to run/operate the park but numbers seem suspect.  Best of luck with your MHP journey!

@Ryan Pettit You want to make sure you are only “capping” lot rent and not rental income from park owned homes.  Park owned homes should be broken our separately and valued on an individual basis.  The value of those homes can then be added to your “capped” income to determine an offering price.  Hope that helps.  Good luck!

@Chad Carrodus It seems like you have identified the type of park you are looking for and geographic location so you’ve done a good bit of the work.  My advice would be roll your sleeves up and search for the park yourself.  Don’t rely on someone else to do it as most will keep best deals for themselves or if they’re a broker offer it to their top clients first.  There are plenty of places on line to find mobile home parks that meet your criteria. Once you identify you can search tax records etc to find owner and call them or send a personalized letter.  Alternatively you could take a day or 2 and drive the location you are interested in and jot down all the parks that look like they might meet your criteria and research from there.  Yes I trying to find opportunities on your own requires more work, but I think you’ll find the rewards well worth it.  Best of luck!

@Dominick Dahmen I would start by seeking out a local municipal attorney familiar with that cities laws rules and regs.  You can usually call the state MHA and they will help you with referrals.  That would most likely be the person best equipped to help you sort through the red tape.  Good luck!

@Charlotte Dunford I agree with @Tracy Jarchow I would always rather draft the contract.  That way you know exactly what’s in it and can tailor the language to your specific desires for the deal.  That’s why I prefer to send PAs when making offers as opposed to LOIs.  That way you get ahead of it.  Good luck!

@Danielle Clark My advice would be read listen and watch everything you can get your hands on.  Mobile Home University and Mobile Home Park Academy are great places to start.  I would also search for books/articles on investing in parks and devour those.  Once you feel you are starting to get a grasp on things jump on line and look at listings.  Begin underwriting them and getting a feel for the process.  Depending on your background and experience you can then start actively making offers or looking for partners that have a complimentary skill set.  Best way to learn is getting out there and doing it but make sure you educate yourself first to minimize the mistakes you will make.  Best of luck!