All Forum Posts by: Joshua Diaz

@Jacob Davis yup.  It’s going to be work but it looks like you have a good head on your shoulders about it.

All I can say is that don’t skimp on the phase 1 environmental survey.  If it fails that, run lol

@Jacob Davis  as far as price goes, there’s this nifty calculator that should give you a good idea what the park is worth in its current condition as well as what it can be worth after the improvements.

http://dealfindersformula.com/home

Usually with parks like this, most lenders wouldn’t touch it because of its condition so seller financing is usually the way to go.

One good tip I hear from other owners is “they can set the price if you can set the terms “. They being the seller and you being the buyer.

However, it seems as if he has the term set already in his head.  Might be worth asking why he wants to sell or what he would use that money for.  May be an opportunity to be creative and solve a problem he has while making this sale happen in your favor.  Win/win.

Hello! Welcome to Biggerpockets !

The good news about commercial deals (which is what you are doing with buying that mobile home park) is that it is less based on your personal finances and instead focused more on the deal itself. 

That being said , the first thing you should be focused on is education on your desired niche. Which seems to be MHP.  The due diligence is super important.  The first thing you want to do is make sure the area isn’t in decline.  Take the zip code of it, go to bestplaces.net and type it in.  Then go to the metro area of that zip code.  What you are looking for is a large population (100,000) , median income of $40,000,  average real estate prices of at least $100,000, and decent rental rates of a 2 bedroom apartment which is what your lot rents are based off of. (The lost rent is by rule of thumb half that of an2 bedroom)

You can run the park however you wish but the general idea is to own the land and not the homes themselves.  You would collect lot rent and not deal with the hassles if the homes themselves.

Also definitely make sure the park is legally allowed to be a park and verify the spaces it has.   Verify if it’s on city water/sewer, if it has any liens against it, of the phase 1 environmental survey comes back ok, how the utilities are, if the profit and loss statements are accurate, and anything else that the park has.  (Some parks have additional buildings, for example)

Just a quick tip: a park that is nearby a walmart or super Walmart is an indication of a decent area.  The Walmart people spend tons of money to analyze an area before they put a store there so piggyback off their research.

Hope this helps!

@Jim Johnson ah I understand.  Yes that’s definitely a plus to have groups set up by folks who have been in the industry for years and years.

@Jim Johnson on the topic of mastermind groups for this niche, I discovered one called MHP Tribe.  They recently started doing meetups but I went to one in April and I loved it. They have a Facebook group as well.

https://www.facebook.com/MHP-Tribe-335633473734326/

@Chase Louderback  awesome advice! Thank you so much.

@Patrick Truhlar  I haven’t been able to take the boot camp but I did do the home study course and there is so much info to digest .

Are you in Frank’s dedicated Facebook group as well?

Sounds like a good plan.

Could you offer some insight @Mindy Jensen?

Also @Frank Rolfe thank you so much for your insight.

There is definitely a lot to consider .  I also went through MHU but not the boot camp and I was also trying to figure out the best way to go about it.  Do I do a smaller deal that’s less capitol intensive?  Do I do a bigger deal and try to bring in partners while doing the leg work to attract investors? There’s a lot to think about but I think once you identify your strategy and stick with it, is when you can really power through.

Awesome deal! Thanks for sharing your experiences