All Forum Posts by: John West

40 - 50% depending on the age and shape of the park. This is what I hear from podcasts, but what do these expenses consist of? I can think of property management, plowing (in the colder climates), mowing, capex.... and what else? I'm looking at small (20-30 unit) parks that have water and sewer billed to tenants separately.

Anyone with a small park like this care to share their numbers? 

Good to meet you Jordan Kim . It’s always good to see a fellow Mainer on here. I am currently looking for my 3rd property - far from a veteran, but learning every day. If I can help in any way or you find yourself in the area, I’d be happy to meet up.

Welcome Rick! There are lots of resources for you around here. Buy some books, listen to the podcasts, go to some local REI meet ups. Every step no matter how small is a step closer to your goal. I hope you have great success. If you have any questions, be sure to ask. BP is a great community.

Thanks all for the input. I like the idea of marketing with permission of the seller and passing leads on. Sounds logical - it helps the seller, buyer and even the applying tenants.  

The park I'm doing due diligence on is a small park (20 spaces) that is about half empty. I believe it has just been mismanaged. A few years ago it was 75% full. When you run test ads, are you advertising for people to bring in their own homes, or are you bringing in a mobile home and advertising rent to own? 

WelcomeRylee Knox . It’s always good to see a fellow Mainer on BP. I’m glad your tenants are working out so far. Are they covering 100%+ of your mortgage? I purchased a single family in Bath and a triplex in Augusta in 2017. This year my goal is to acquire 3 more properties.

If you’ve ever listened to Jefferson Lilly, one of his recommendations during the due diligence period of purchasing a MHP is to post an ad on Craigslist. He suggests getting a response rate of two per week (if I remember correctly). Am I misunderstanding what is happening. It seems to get people to bite you would have to present it as though you had a lot/mobile home available. It seems to me that you would be getting people’s hopes up. I know there is no guarantee that they would qualify, and your not taking money from them, but it’s still dishonest isn’t it? Am I alone in this thought? Am I misunderstanding how investors place “test” ads?

Welcome to BP Joshua Goston ! I’m sure you can find seminars on anything - flipping, long term holds, short sales, wholesaling... you name it. Do you know what area you’re interested in getting into? There are a lot of people on here who have attended seminars, but I would guess most have not. A lot that have attended will tell you not to bother. While you’ll certainly gain some knowledge, most are not worth the cost. Set aside 3 or 4 days and spend hours listening to the BP podcasts, interacting on the forums, and reading real estate books.

I have had my eye on a mobile home park here in Maine. Finally a few days ago I decided to look up the owner via tax records and gave him a call. Turns out, he was thinking about selling, but hadn't had a chance to list it yet. I am meeting with him next week. I received some initial information from him, but we are going to discuss price and other questions I have then.

Here is what I know:

20 pad site

9 lots rented (8 lot rent only, 1 park owned)

city water and sewer (a rare find for rural Maine)

lot rent is $250

Water is not separately metered, but is split evenly among the tenants

Yes, vacancy of pads is high, but I think over time I could fill these. Marketing around here is not good. There are three MHPs in this town all about the same size (though the other two are full). You can't find a phone number on google for any of them, let alone a website. One of the other parks charges $295 for lot rent, the other I cannot find info on. 

I've listened to Jefferson Lilly and Brad Johnson's Park Street Partners podcast and received some great tips. He did a quick evaluation of what a park is worth by considering a 40% expense rate and a 12% cap yielding an offer price of $135,000 (27,000 lot rent only *.6/.12)

Any thoughts? Is this a fair price to offer?

@Brian Garrett 

Nope. I had refinanced within 2 months and half of that was because appraisals were so backed up.

Good to have you on here Nick. I’m currently seeking to invest in the Bath/Brunswick market as well. I have a couple places right now - one is a house in Bath. The demand for rentals in Bath is high. If you need help with anything in the area, just let me know. I’d be happy to help. What are your plans for multi family in Maine? Are you looking for small multis like duplexes, tris, and quads or are you hoping to find more doors in a building?