All Forum Posts by: Mike Blackwood

Hey Andrew !

We completed a flip in Ladson back in March. SFH 3/2 in need of TLC but had some moisture issues in the crawl space which I learned for this area is pretty common. Have you had any luck finding another property. Prices in this area are nuts. Seems like everyone's asking price is as if it were already rehabbed when it needs at least 50K reno.

Thanks Scott. I have Lima One on my list to check out.

I'm looking to do a cash-out refi on several townhomes I have. I see a lot of adds for Lima One, Dominion Financial, and LendingHome. So far only LendingHome seems to fit my needs. Has anyone ever used LendingHome ?  Did you get good service?

We love late fees.  We charge $40 if rent is paid past the 5th.  About 5% of our tenants pay late. We can afford for them to be late, we are not waiting on their money in order to pay our bills. However, with the ones that pay late every month what has worked for us is to tell them how much they have paid in late fees year to date. Surprisingly they aren't aware of the amount. It easily could equal a months rent. It usually will have an immediate effect...may not last, but it does give them pause to how the money could be better spent. 

My business partner was inquiring about a smaller park when the owner asked if he would be interested in a bigger park? We took the 3 hour trip, which is why I believe the owner wanted to sell and we could see the potential. We got financing from a local bank with 25% down. We have had significant cash flow from day one.

I don't want to sound like its all roses, with so many residents there are always issues like :

(1) Please pressure wash your home.

(2) No you can't leave living room furniture in the yard.

(3) Please throw your trash in a garbage bin not in the road.

(4) Yes there is a late fee for not paying your rent on time.

Soon we will be able to hire a park manager but we wanted to do it ourselves the first year to really understand the business.

I'm 3 hours from the park.  I visit every other weekend. I have several residents who keep me current on happenings in the park.

My partner and I celebrated our one year anniversary in the mobile home business June2019. It was the classic poorly managed park. Most of the homes there were 20+ years old and not well kept. What was appealing to us was that there were 62 homes on the available 87 pads. The park was designed and approved by the county to have 126 pads once a new road was added. We have increased the number of resident owned homes from 62 to 74. We have improved the entrance to the park in an effort to attract newer homes. That has worked as 3 brand new homes were added this year. We have increased lot rents from $150 to $175 and will move to $200 as we continue to enhance the park. Of the 74 residents 95% pay on time and the remaining 5% pay us a late fee of $40.  We have been cash flow positive from the very 1st month. If our second year is as fruitful as the first we should be cutting that new road in the 3rd or 4th year.

I recently purchased my first mobile home park this year.  It has been a great experience so far and I'm learning a lot. Trust me there is a lot to learn.  My single most important criteria whether purchasing single family or a mobile home park:

Is my cash on cash return. I want all my initial outlay back within 5 years or less. In other words 20% or better return. As that money comes back I just reinvest it.

For the mobile home park is there additional opportunity to increase income. Are you thinking of adding 4 more units and increasing rents on the7 POH's?. In my case we can add another 20 units and increase rents by 3% each year for the next 5 years. As I'm sure you know folks living in a park community don't want to move because of the expense. They can absorb a small annual increase.

Mike

Hi Andrew,

You were right...I have located a dealer in west Columbia who has several used mobile homes that are interesting.  I will let you know how things work out.

Mike

Thanks Brett !