All Forum Posts by: Russ Wallace

@John Wooten first thing you should do is determine the current zoning district for the parcels. Try searching Mecklenburg County property records or use the Charlotte Geographical Information System (GIS). Once you know the zoning (e.g., R-8 = Residential 8,000 SF lot min), find the "permitted uses table" in the Land/Unified Development Ordinance. It will give you more details about what can be constructed on the site given the current zoning. Next step is find the Future Land Use map. It's commonplace for property currently zoned for a specific use (e.g., residential, office, etc) to be targeted for a different use in the future. Armed with these two important pieces of information, you can contact the Charlotte Planning Dept to ask any other questions that come to mind. But do some homework first; they'll appreciate you having put forth the effort. And it will be good training; you may want to investigate developing/redeveloping other property in the future. Or, you may decide to pursue land development full-time. I have.

"I have always had a strong interest in real estate and would like to make the career switch to commercial real estate. Are there any CRE professionals out there that could give me some advice on how to get my foot in the door with a firm? Even though I have no formal real estate training or experience."

@Steven McAdoo:

“I've known that I wanted to get involved in commercial real estate for quite a while now, just not sure in what type of role exactly. Now I'm pretty certain that I want to get involved with a brokerage but haven't done enough research regarding specific firms or niches yet.”

I was lucky enough to attend the CBC Emerging Broker training in late 2009 (finished 2nd in class of 30-some from across the US). Ralph Spencer was our instructor. He drilled us on the importance of becoming experts in a very specific niche of the commercial realty universe. To prove his point, he told us about getting an opportunity to advise the founders of Circuit City on one of the first, if not the very first, of their locations for their once dominant company. He became their national “broker of record” from that sole face-to-face meeting. So, my advice is to decide what aspect of commercial realty you really enjoy doing, find the brokerage that does it best and pursue them until they demand you stop, or offer you the opportunity to hang your license with them. FWIW, if, you’re interested in investment sales (hotels, apartments, shopping centers, etc), you might be able to leverage your accounting education. A local CPA I know is extensively experienced with income property underwriting and taxation issues. His clientele “runneth over” with investors who pay a hefty hourly rate for his counsel. Imagine what leveraging a similar skill-set from within a commercial realty brokerage that specializes in investment properties, and has a large database of potential buyers and sellers, might do for you.

Google "Wisconsin Residential Landlord-Tenant Law" and check-out the info on the Wisconsin State Law Library website (wilawlibrary.gov). It appears to be a comprehensive resource.

@Scott S.

Try Pierce Redmond at Security Mortgage Group (585-423-0230). Frank Rolfe (of Mobile Home University) regularly suggests buyers speak with him about the possibility of financing potential acquisitions on the MHU forum.

Post the information on forummobilehomeuniversity.com and ask for input like other potential buyers do.

Investing in Income Properties: The Big Six Formula by Kenneth Rosen, Wiley & Sons publisher, and Cash Flow & 36 Other Key Financial Measures by Frank Gallinelli,  McGraw-Hill publisher, are the two texts I highly recommend. Between them, you should be able to develop a clear understanding of how to buy income properties.

Dave, I was recently involved in an attempt to obtain title to several abandoned homes here in NC and was curious about how the problem can be resolved elsewhere so I investigated further. The document you referenced (Indiana Abandoned Mobile Home Title Application Checklist) stipulates it can't be used for a home abandoned in a MH community as defined by Indiana statute 16-41-27-5, which says "mobile home community... means one (1) or more parcels of land that are subdivided and contain individual lots that are leased...." If the park is like most I've looked at, the property isn't subdivided into separate recorded lots so it may be possible to use the application after all.

Dave, there are several posts on the Mobile Home University website about this subject that may be helpful. Google 'Mobile Home University Forum' then search for 'abandoned home Indiana'.

Matt, it might also be possible to sell the park owned homes (POH) to investors. If the current POH rental rates are below market, investigate remodeling them as they become vacant from tenants moving out. Once remodeled, they could command a higher rental rate thus supporting a handsome sale price to an investor.