All Forum Posts by: Sean Kremer

If I was closer and it cash flowed I'd buy it from you........Be careful and check with zoning before you change the mobile home spaces to rv's. Sometimes if you do this, they won't let you go back to mobile homes, which may or may not screw with resale. Of course they won't tell you this until its too late. On a different note, around here we've been buying FEMA trailers from the GSA. If they have sales in your area they are a great way to get newer model, all electric 3 bedroom trailers anywhere from $9,000.00 to $15,000.00 per unit. We've bought about 12 already and people like them. We are getting $600.00 per unit per month around here. FYI

   Sorry I just saw that you have experience with trailers, so I assume most of the stuff I just said you probably already know.....Sorry, Good luck 

I may be able to help a little here as I currently own a few of these babies. If the parks don't have newer homes in it you will probably need to run it yourself. Believe me, these parks are a goldmine, but it is NOT money for nothing. You need to actively be involved in them. Most  tenants that live in older trailers are are going to be one step above dealing with children for you. Their lives are almost always in turmoil....they  are almost always broke, in the process of Divorce, in the middle of legal action and probably living off of the government. (There are exceptions to this rule but just remember what the nice lady told you about being tired and burnt out of it.) She didn't get that mindset because that park ran like a well oiled machine on its own. 

     But again, if managed and maintained properly, these little courts are a goldmine if bought with the right terms.  Just a little insight from my experiences here.....when your young and hungry these are great because the money you can make more than offsets the headaches that you will have. But as soon as you gain experience through life's ups and downs and get to the point where money isn't a problem anymore, you will get tired of the police calling you at 3:00 am because some dude decided to beat the crap out of his wife and threw her out in the snow and the cops want you to come down and open the door for them so they don't have to kick it in. That's what can happen in a town of 5000 or less where everyone basically knows everyone.  And that's one of the reasons you may want to live closer to the park. Plus the fact that older mobile homes take ALOT more maintenance than houses do. 

     If you get an obese person living in the unit, you will need to be good at repairing floors because the floors in them are pressed  sawdust and a fat person will pretty much fall through wherever they step. 

     That being said, I would still buy it if it met your criteria, but please talk to someone that owns a small park first, they will know things you may not that will really help. I hope I didn't scare you off yet because the parks I own may be work intensive, but they are also part of the reason that I'm planning on retiring at 50. By then Ill probably be as ready to sell as your seller is. :) Contact me if you have questions, I'll help if i can. 

Sean 

    It may not be PC enough for some, but I believe that if you feel you are being wronged in some way, first try to resolve it amicably, then if that doesn't work, raise hell. I absolutly don't subscribe to the notion that one must swallow ones pride to appear "proffesional".  Its not that hard to hold ones composure in sticky situations, to work torwards a deal, but in my opinion one should never let themselves be walked on, or disparaged without calling a spade a spade.....you know the old saying...."if you mess with the bull, don't be upset when you get the horns." 

My business is flipping like crazy........you have to put your head down and root out good deals....They don't always fall in your lap.....If your standing in a crowd of investors with money in their hands, you are probably wasting time.....Just my opinion....There are a lot of people out there that will pay way too much for things, either because their situation is different, or they are not that good at what they do?? :)

    Thats kind of how I took it, I didn't feel i was being sold anything.....Thanks Hermie 

In my opinion if you've done all the due diligence on this house, before I'd walk away, I'd raise hell with the sellers, telling them that you don't  trust them or their realtor with the way this deal has been handled, then throwing out an offer to them that would regain your interest in the house. If your going to walk anyway, and you've got time and money in this house, what could it hurt to lowball them on the way out. If its  possible and you raise enough of a stink about the wasted time and money you've invested in this deal, the deal may come your way......It'll be easier to play around with them now that you don't care if you even buy the house. ( I would not let the sellers forget this fact for sure.)  I've gotten a few bought  this way........When you have nothing to lose.......its hard to lose.Do NOT close on this property before satisfied, after closing you'll have to argue your disagreements in front of a judge..not good.  Just my opinion......

4.75 % on 5,10,15,or 20 years, I don't do 30 year loans and I've always used the equity in the homes that I buy for down payment, never my own. I bank with a small home town bank and have never had to put any money down on anything ever if I didn't want to. My banker has loaned me money since day one, over 35 years ago so I've built up serious equity with other real estate that he's been a part of.  I've got a great relationship with my banker and over time we have grown to trust each other and have made each other a lot of money. At least up to this point. 

   Reading my post again from above, I realized something may be a little misleading. My success rate is probably around 30% not 3%. I probably on average buy three out of ten homes that I go look at.  Forgive my math, I never made it to college......was too busy working. 

I think I would have held the whole deposit back, (only because of the way they acted towards me) and dared them to sue me.....If I got a letter from an attorney telling me to pay or else, I would have my attorney....(who is a friend), send numerous letters back and forth so I could run up their attorney bill, then pay up. I can't stand being pushed around, and will usually push back, but that's my nature .  Also I've found pepper spray to work alright and I don't have to go to jail after I pull the trigger on pepper spray....That being said, I've also returned deposits to people that may not deserve it back, but they were nice to me and made my life as easy as they could.....I like to reward that behavior too.  I hate hassles, but haven't totally gotten over my enjoyment of passive aggressive revenge either.   If you're a dick to me, expect the same back from me. Just be nice...:)

This approach is not for everyone I assume....