All Forum Posts by: Rob Chamberlain

@Justin Tahilramani

I am not looking for them to locate the leak, just accurately tell me which of the two city water meters the leak is occurring. There is a city street between the separate parcels of land.

The bill has an account number but it doesn't distinguish between the two water meters. It just has two line items for consumption and sales tax. 

When I called them for more information they told me the leak was on the "east" meter and they emailed me additional readings where they were labeled this way. As it turns out the labels are wrong.

The reassured me multiple times it was the east meter with the leak.

Not sure it changes anything, but only the city can turn off the water and read the meters since they are in a pit. 

I have a small mobile home park with a large water leak that is causing thousands of dollars of bills monthly which started about 3 months ago. The park is on city streets with city water sewer and has two water meters with a city street dividing the service for the two side of the park (East and West). I have spent about 10k in leak detection and repairs. 

I now have a strong evidence that the city has the meters incorrectly labeled and I have been searching for the leak in the wrong place. There is no separate service address for these meters and they are on the same bill without any labels. 

How much responsibility does the city have for the incorrect information? I think I have now located the leak and am hoping to have it fixed this week. 

Does anyone know how the rental market in Kewaunee, WI near Door County? I have a solid lead on a significantly discounted home that I am considering for a rental. 

For some states I have found mobile home park owner associations that publicly post their members with addresses. I have had some luck marketing this group.  

Also a tip if you have to view these one by one it can be cheaper sometimes to pay a freelancer to do this for you. I had someone from Upwork do this for about 500 mhp owners. Just depends on how much they sell the list for. 

I have owned a park for almost a year and here are a few things I have learned. I bought a park for a great deal, but it's in rough shape. Thankfully it cash flows despite these challenges.

1. It can be expensive to trash a trailer if it's no longer repairable. (1-5k). The dumping fees can get expensive.

2. When evicting someone ensure that you know both the owner and occupant. I stayed an eviction and learned half way through that he didn't own it. Just amended the eviction to include both people.

3. Depending on the state certain fines that are accessed to the home owners will be passed to the park owner if unpaid. 

I went and met everyone in this small town to get their take on the park (e.g. Police chief, town administrator, local mobile home store sales man)

HI Paul - did you ever find out the answer to your question? I am in discussions on a property, where the elderly owner and his adult kids considering selling. They would like to get rid of the park  sooner, but also want the tax advantages of step up once he passes.

I am also wondering how seller financing might play into this and if it could help achieve both our goals. 

Hi Tyler, how much are the lot rents you are receiving and home rents? Make sure you separate the lot rent and home rents during evaluation. 

I haven't renovated any homes yet, but I know that home removal can be quite expensive. If you think you might go this direction you might want to get an estimate and make sure it includes disposal. I am in the process of removing my first home.

Rob

Hi Alphonso,

I just bought my first MHP a few weeks ago and I can tell you some of the things I considered. 

1. Check if in flood plain

2. Ensure licensed for the proper # of lots. Usually through state board of health. 

3. Check if all back taxes are paid

4. Get title insurance, when my property was being reviewed, 2 liens were found and needed to be resolved

5. Verify rent roll records for on time payment. 

6. Get as much info as possible on utilities. (water and sewer source)

7. Are any trees in position to damage an homes from falling limbs?

I focused my due diligence on potential liability and future capital expenses. Also ensure you evaluate the value of the park for the lot spaces and then add the park homes on top. 

I bought my park in a small town a few hours away that I don't know very well, so I met with city officials, the police chief, and a local mobile home park dealer to get their input. 

Hope this helps,

Rob