CREUniversity Audio Files: Recent Episodes
Brandon Reynolds
Diana Dailey is our Special Projects RVP and is the person that we inject into new or turn-around communities to bring them back to life. One of her mantras to get the park back into shape is to get back to the basics and build from there. In this MHU Investor’s Club Special Report she’s going to give you some no-nonsense tips on how to re-focus your manager on the important things. As J.W. Marriott , the founder of Marriott Hotels once said “it’s the little things that make the big things possible” and that’s just as true in mobile home parks.
Joanne Stevens is a prominent mobile home park broker, having been in the industry for over 30 years. In this MHU Investor’s Club Special Report we’re going to discuss her thoughts on the current market from the perspective of a park buyer battling rising interest rates and educating sellers on the reduction in price this necessitates – and a bunch of other topics.
The MHU Investor’s Club not only serves as your best resource to buy and operate mobile home parks successfully but also to meet like-minded peers and potential partners. We are big believers in the power of relationships and have greatly expanded your networking resources at MHU Investor’s Club. So we wanted to review for you all the networking opportunities inside the club. We urge you to take action to be a greater part of the community and to meet new faces and expand your networking base. This Special Report will help you do just that.
We have sold over 1,000 homes a year for nearly the past three years, while maintaining on-target collections and huge improvements in property appearance. How do we do it? In this MHU Investor’s Club Special Report we’re going to review the “A/C” system we have been employing with your managers which stands for “Accountability and Contests”. This one-two punch will keep your manager performance strong and focused, and yield results you thought were impossible.
Jerome Powell at the Federal Reserve is playing havoc with loan interest rates and cap rates. We’ve titled this Bank Chat episode “Fed Up With The Fed” and it’s a lengthy discussion with M.J. Vukovich from Bellweather – one of the nation’s leading loan brokerages – on the past, present and future of Fed moves and the corresponding interest rate implications. At a time in which every time Powell opens his mouth the stock market can drop 1,000 points or mortgage markets spin wildly, we thought this was a discussion you needed to hear to help bring clarity to these uncharted times.
Eddie Biller bought his first mobile home park in Texas over a decade ago, and then added on 13 more parks over time. Today he manages, with his partner, around 1,400 lots in Texas, Ohio, Wyoming, South Dakota and Iowa. In this edition of the MHU Investor’s Club “Lessons Learned” series, Eddie is going to give us his top lessons learned on operating mobile home parks.
Perry Burget has supervised the due diligence on over 500 mobile home parks over the past 15 years. In this episode of “Diligence Dystopia” Perry is going to review the five third-party reports related to buying a mobile home park: 1) Survey 2) Phase I Environmental 3) Zoning 4) Property Condition and 5) Appraisal, including the cost, timing, and importance of each one as well as what he watches out for when he receives the report.
Megan Haggerty is both a park owner and broker with IRE Investment – a large and active player in the mobile home park brokerage sector. In this edition of Pitches and Hits she is going to review three deals she has listings on in New York and Florida. As always, Frank will be adding in color commentary on the markets. If you are looking for a park to buy, one of these might work and, if not, you definitely will want to reach out to Megan to get on her email list or discuss other offerings that she may have.
How can a recent college graduate get into real estate from his coffee table and build it into a giant business? And then after selling out to a public company start from scratch and do it again? In this episode we’re going to discuss how you can get into real estate with no capital and no experience, and how that’s done every day by average people who only have in common the desire to make money. If you think that “starting from scratch and making it big” is just a fake concept from infomercials, then here are two real stories that may change your mind.
Webster’s defines “creativity” as “the use of the imagination or original ideas”. And success in real estate today demands some use of creativity to get an advantage over the competition. So how do you make deals using “original ideas”? These can include a fresh approach on an old industry like AirBNB, or using an unusual structure like seller financing, or maybe paying a little extra based on the ability to immediately increase occupancy or rents by transitioning to internet marketing. If you want to get the edge on the competition, then this podcast will broaden your horizons.
John Jacob Astor was America’s first real estate millionaire – and that was back in 1800. But much of what fueled Astor’s success still holds true today, and that’s the powerful combination of factors that makes real estate capable of creating huge returns. From leverage to security to the simplicity of the business model, real estate has been one of the main ways to create wealth in the U.S. for over two centuries. If you are looking for an investment platform that has the best odds of success, then this episode will explain the strong case for creative real estate.
The MHU Investor’s Club started in 2016 and this marks our 350th weekly Special Report. In this edition we’re going to look back on some of the big topics from the early days and discuss where those news stories stand today as the industry continues to evolve. While there are some similarities today in these mobile home park tips and topics, others are now 180 degrees different and some are just out of style.
Can you really sell a mobile home for $80,000 or so? Shannon Smith, our Regional Vice-President handling Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Iowa and Illinois has sold several of them and in this MHU Investor’s Club Special Report she’s going to review what she’s learned about selling new mobile homes for $70,000 to $80,000. Until prices come down, most new singlewides are going to come in at these type of lofty price points and you need to know if your community can move product at that price or not. This episode should give you some basic points on what does and does not work.
It’s now official: the United States is in a recession after having a second quarter of negative GDP. It’s been a long time coming, as the last official recession was in 2007 – that’s roughly 15 years ago. Most Millennials have never been adults in a recession before (and that’s the largest segment of the U.S. population. So what does the new “recession” label mean for the mobile home park business? That’s the focus of this MHU Investor’s Club Special Report.
The mobile home park industry has been around for about 70 years, starting in the early 1950s. And the challenges that park owners have faced have changed dramatically over those years. In this Lecture Series Event we’re going to explore what those hurdles have been, and how the industry has adapted to those challenges and continues to morph itself as time goes on.
The speaker will be Frank Rolfe, who has been studying the mobile home park industry for the past 25 years in trying to unlock the science of how to make parks successful, as well as to understand what can be learned from its history and past performance. The New York Times calls Frank the “human encyclopedia of all things mobile home park” and it’s a title that he earned through constant assemblage of mobile home park history and reading the rarest of “trailer park” publications.
Todd Fletcher is the Executive Managing Director of Newmark, one of the largest mobile home park brokerages in the U.S. In this episode of Pitches & Hits he has four listings to go over in Maryland, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Anchorage. As always, Frank will be there to give color commentary on the markets.
This is a video of my mobile home park in Springfield, Missouri – or at least what the land looks like today. There used to be a 100-space mobile home park on this property called “Springfield Estates” but the value of the land ultimately exceeded the value of the park. In this MHU Investor’s Club Special Report we’re going to examine the land side of the mobile home park business and what the options are when the land value starts to catch up with the value of an operating mobile home park.
The State of Colorado narrowly avoided legislative catastrophe recently when the Governor – at the last moment – threatened to veto mobile home park rent control, and it was removed from the bill that ultimately passed. Over and over again, bureaucrats attempt to damage the mobile home park industry as a matter of routine, which can hurt your investment. In this MHU Investor’s Club Special Report we’re going to discuss with Ken Dale – who is in charge of this topic for our company – what he’s seeing out there on a state-by-state level regarding such items as rent control and other tenants’ rights issues.
The hottest topic in banking right now is the general direction of interest rates as well as the impact of the Fed’s recent increase of .75 of a point. In this MHU Investor’s Club Special Report we talk to MJ Vukovich from Bellwether about where he sees interest rates heading, the impact of the Fed’s action, and the general atmosphere of banking right now compared to past recessions.
Tyler and Jason have purchased 14 mobile home parks over the past 5 years and that’s a lot of activity ina short span of time. Additionally, they have focused their efforts on the state of Arkansas which is notan area most people have worked on in the past.In this MHU Investor’s Club Special Report we’re doing our popular Lessons Learned episode with them to discuss what the main takeaways are that they have experienced so far, as well as why they have strong confidence in the birthplace of Walmart.
Two deals. Two very different endings. In this episode of “A Deal Bought and a Deal Dropped” we’re going to review a property in Iowa that had a special problem and one in Oklahoma that had a special opportunity. We’re going to go through the numbers, the strategies, and what the components were that made one deal a winner and the other just too risky.
Diana Dailey is our Regional Vice-President of Special Projects and one of her specialties is establishing superior communications with residents. When residents feel their voices are heard – and that the management is striving to establish continual contact – it builds that “sense of community” that results in greater resident retention and happiness. In this episode, she offers constructive ideas for any community to improve their communications overnight.
America is experiencing a megatrend called the “Great Migration” in which the population is pushing out from cities to more suburban and exurban settings. This has made rural mobile home parks more desirable to buyers, but how far out can you push and still succeed? In this episode of our Diligence Dystopia series we discuss this topic with Perry Burget, who has done our diligence on hundreds of mobile home parks over the past two decades, and is well versed on this particular subject. As you’ll see there is a science to determining if a rural park qualifies for investment and it comes down to 1) employment construction 2) utilities 3) distance to shopping and other “city” services and 4) housing prices.
Mike Renz has been an environmental engineer for 37 years and is our #1 resource for Phase I Environmental Assessments. In this MHU Investor’s Club Special Report Mike is going to give you the top ten danger signs to watch for when touring – or even generally looking at – a property to let you know there is a risk of environmental pollution. This is a lessons learned like no other, as it took Mike 37 years to come up with this list.
With the advent of summer most mobile home parks enter the phase in which superior manager performance is essential in unlocking your property’s full potential. Whether it’s selling homes, cleaning up property condition, resolving resident disputes, getting the grass mowed – virtually all of the “action” events for the entire year – all of these tasks occur during the warmer months. So who are you banking your mobile home park’s future on? In this “Lessons Learned” episode we’re going to talk with our COO Todd Burget on his lessons learned from finding, interviewing, hiring, managing and firing literally hundreds of managers over the past 15 years.
The mobile home park industry has significantly benefitted from the continual evolution of technology as it has taken community management and acquisitions to a new level. But to harness the power of this revolution, you have to stay on top of the latest products, and that’s the purpose of this episode of “Tech Talk” with Brandon Reynolds. We talk about new options in everything from websites for park data to cameras and software.
Buying a mobile home park is an attainable strategy even in a depressed America. It is, perhaps, the last such opportunity left in U.S. real estate. But how big is that opportunity and how do you approach it? That’s the topic of our next Lecture Series Event.
While most Americans invest in the old standards of apartments and single-family homes, these markets are completely saturated and the only way you can do a deal today is to leave all common sense at the door and basically gamble that everything will work out ok. Warren Buffett recently declared the stock market to be nothing more than a “gambling establishment” that is not rooted in actual fundamentals.
At this Lecture Series Event we’re going to define what “attainable” is, why mobile home parks still have opportunity, how to approach that opportunity, what the risks are, and related topics. And then we’re going to have unlimited Q&A with no subject taboo – so bring as many questions as you like.
The speaker, of course, is Frank Rolfe, the guy the New York Times calls the “human encyclopedia of all things mobile home park” as well as one of the largest – with his partner Dave Reynolds – mobile home park owners in the U.S.
Some deals may be declared dead at the scene at certain moments in your due diligence. In this MHU Investor’s Club Special Report we’re talking with Perry Burget on the “Diligence Dystopia” program regarding deals that may fall into 911 emergency status. We’re focusing on five factors that can immediately kill a deal – and methods to try to bring them back to life. Those five deal issues are 1) zoning issues 2) floodplain 3) severe density 4) one owner exceeding 5% of homes and 5) poor locations. Before you dial 911 on a potential deal, listen to Perry’s thoughts on these topics.
Jeremiah from Las Vegas is a legend in deal assignments, having sold nearly 100 over a ten-year run before he started to buy mobile home parks on his own account (he now owns around 2,000 lots). We’ve been asking him for a while to do a Lessons Learned episode with us for MHU Investor’s Club, so we were delighted when he finally agreed. In this Lessons Learned segment he talks about such items as what makes sellers move forward, what he says on the phone, what he likes about direct mail, and many related topics.
When you buy a mobile home park, it often comes with park-owned homes and all types of tools and equipment. Even though these items may not be part of your loan collateral pool – and seem insignificant to the real property – nevertheless this inventory needs to be accounted for and carefully maintained. That’s the discussion in this “Dailey Rituals” episode with Diana Dailey, in which she talks about methods to maintain control of your home and equipment inventory.
Interest rates just went up a quarter of a point, and the Fed is threatening to raise them several more times in the near future. How do you mitigate that risk? In this episode of Bank Chat, John Medernach of First Secure Community Bank reviews some strategies to hedge interest rate increases on loans, as well as holding a lively discussion with Frank on the future of interest rate levels and some historic observations of these increases from the past.
Newmark is a well-known mobile home park brokerage group with a constant flow of new listings. In this episode of “Pitches and Hits”, Braden Weaver from Newmark discusses four new listings in the New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. All of these markets are major metros with extremely high home prices and great economic construction.
Over the weekend the Wall Street Journal published an article regarding rent control titled “Rent Control Measures Are Back as Home Rents Reach New Highs”. This article failed to point out some realities regarding these laws that all mobile home park owners need to know. In this MHU Investor’s Club Special Report, Frank is going to review the actual laws and probabilities and break it down to reflect exactly where the actual risk is to be found and what the barriers are even in those finite states.
Steve Baik has done a terrific job of amassing a 12-park portfolio in the very competitive markets of Washington and Oregon – and all in only four years. In this episode of “Lessons Learned” we’re going to talk to Steve about what he’s learned so far as a park buyer and operator, including how he finds and finances his deals, and how much time he spends managing them.
Sam Zell has a mantra that you should always buy a deal with high reward and low risk, never buy a deal with low reward and high risk, and give some exceptional though to one with high reward and high risk. That’s the focus on this episode of “A Deal We Bought/A Deal We Dropped” – coming to terms with high reward/high risk deals and make good decisions on them. We’re going to talk about a deal in Kansas that we bought and a deal in Iowa that we dopped. They were similar markets with similar dynamics, but one was just too much risk for us to handle.
Property tax can be a big deal in the financial performance of a mobile home park – yet few buyers, sellers and brokers understand fully how the system works. In this episode of Diligence Dystopia we’re going to focus on the topic of property tax on mobile home parks and discuss how essential it is to make the correct forecast on this line item in your budget.
Diana Dailey is our go-to person for turning around park operational problems, and in this “Dailey Rituals” she shares her observations on the science of selling homes in the field. With affordable housing at an all-time – and new home prices also at lofty levels – it’s important for every mobile home park owner to adopt a strong protocol to getting homes out the door as quickly as possible.
Not all deals that brokers have to offer are “large”. They come in all shapes, sizes and dollar amounts. In this episode of “Pitches and Hits” we’re going to review three smaller offerings in Illinois and Missouri from Jon Fisher’s “Mr. Landman” brokerage firm. If these deals don’t work for you, at a minimum you should start regularly contacting him for potential properties, as well as all the brokers in the industry since they all carry around deals (both publicly listed and “pocket”) that are both large and small.
The industry is going through some cycles that haven’t been seen in 20+ years. In this MHU Investor’s Club Special Report, Frank will review what he observed while speaking at the annual TEXCO (Texas Community Owner’s) event in Houston last week, and how many of these concepts have come full circle – and might have dangerous consequences for those who are unfamiliar with their historical precedence.
John Medernach is Executive Vice-President of First Secure Community Bank, as well as a long-time MHU Investor’s Club member. But most importantly, he has decades of banking experience and strong affiliation with mobile home park lending. He’s been through a number of recessions and market cycles, as well as having personally worked on hundreds of mobile home park loan applications over his career. That’s why we thought John would be the perfect person for this episode of “Bank Chat” focused on predictions for banking in 2022.
John’s going to talk about what the trends he’s seeing on loan applications, the current challenges in the financial markets, the future of interest rates, and a number of other important topics.
To ring in the New Year, we wanted to get Dave’s reflections on lessons learned in 2021, which also suggests the trends for 2022 as well. In this episode of “Discussions with Dave” we’re going to discuss what Dave observed to be the macro changes in the mobile home park industry and the factors that caused this adaptations.
We also would like to take this opportunity to wish you a Happy New Year! We believe that 2022 will be a very positive year for mobile home park owners.
RV’s are becoming a popular feature in some mobile home parks as RV sales have never been higher and the public sentiment towards them more favorable. In this episode of Diligence Dystopia titled “Making Sense of the RV Component”, we’re going to focus on evaluating RVs in mobile home parks both in mobile home lots but also dedicated RV sections. As you’ll hear there’s quite a bit of strategy that goes into doing proper due diligence on RVs.
Two smaller parks with sales prices under $700,000. Similar in size and infrastructure. Both markets are attractive. But one park survived due diligence and the other failed. But which is which? In this MHU Investor’s Club Special Report episode of “A Deal We Bought/A Deal We Dropped” we’re going to discuss each of these two properties and find out how the numbers and analysis worked and how the ultimate decision was made.
Mike Renz has been doing Phase I Environmental reports for nearly 40 years and, along the way, he’s seen some unbelievable stuff. In this MHU Investor’s Club Special Report, he’s going to review his wildest Phase I stories and we’ve titled it “Believe It Or Not” because it’s some crazy scenarios. But it will definitely open your eyes to the necessity for every park owner to get a Phase I report before closing on a property.
Tim lives in Texas and has done a terrific job of finding highly profitable deals with extremely low downside risk. In this edition of ‘Lessons Learned” we’re going to probe what he’s learned about mobile home park investing since he left the Boot Camp, and what it takes to get his attention with a deal today. If you are pessimistic by nature, you will enjoy this discussion.
We hope to get Tim to do a Lecture Series event with us in 2022 to further this conversation, so watch for that announcement sometime this coming year.
You are probably aware that Joanne Stevens is a major industry broker, but you may be unaware that her ties to the mobile home park industry go much farther back than when she got her broker’s license and began selling mobile home parks. Joanne’s parents were early pioneers in building mobile home parks – the classic “mom and pop” story of someone who took a concept and made it into a highly profitable reality. In this “Lessons Learned” episode we’re going to explore what Joanne has learned from a virtual lifetime of mobile home park experience.
Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac has some new restrictions on borrowing in the form of some “site lease protections” that all new borrowers have to agree to in order to get the loan. What is the significance of this new rule and what are the ramifications for your mobile home park? That’s the focus of this episode of Bank Chat. MJ Vukovich at Bellwether is one of the most prolific loan brokers in the industry – having personally originated nearly $1 billion in new loans per year for the past two years – and is the perfect expert to offer advice on this important topic.
One of the most common questions we get is “how much time would I actually have to devote to buying and operating a mobile home park?” That’s the topic of this event. It will offer a factual look at the time required to find, evaluate, buy and operate a mobile home park – with the actual science behind these estimates.
As we’ll discuss, mobile home parks are a much more passive investment option than most other asset classes for the simple reason that you are normally just renting land and customer turnover is extremely small. That being said, there are different types of parks and they have different types of time requirements, and we’ll review all that. We are going to organize our discussion into four sections:
I. The time required to find a park to buy (and the steps).
II. The time required to analyze a deal (both basic overview and due diligence).
III. The time spent managing a mobile home park investment.
IV. Time killers that you should try to avoid.
We all have a limited amount of time on earth and it’s important that we use it wisely. This event will help you determine if mobile home parks fit with our schedule.
Two deals and two different endings. In this edition of “A Deal We Bought/A Deal We Dropped” we’re going to discuss how park owned homes can impact the numbers as well as the attractiveness of the deal and illustrate it with two different properties and how the homes were the catalyst for buying one and walking from the other.
Diana Dailey is a master of doing mobile home park turn-arounds, and in this edition of “Dailey Rituals” she’s going to review “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Mobile Home Park Managers” – a topic she has learned from years of experience in fixing park manager performance. Diana’s going to go over what the key aspects are to a good manager, a bad manager, and a really terrible manager, with examples of each. Just like the 1966 western of the same name, this is a topic that is both entertaining but also has some important lessons learned.
Perry Burget has been involved in due diligence on more mobile home parks that probably anyone else in the U.S. In this episode of “Diligence Dystopia” Perry reviews the topic of park-owned homes and how to do exemplary due diligence on them. He also gives his opinion of the impact of high new home prices and what the side-effects may include.
In this event titled Preaching To The Quire, we hear story of Anthony Quire who owns and operates 5 mobile home parks what at the same time maintaining a full-time job as a teacher of special needs children. He accomplished all those mobile home park acquisitions despite the demands of a regular career and family. And it’s a really fascinating narrative on how the average investor can successfully juggle owning “trailer parks” while not missing a beat with their regular job.
Hosting the event will be Frank Rolfe, who is called the “human encyclopedia of all things mobile home park” by the New York Times yet has never achieved one item that Anthony has already succeeded in: holding an actual day job. However, Frank does have a wide range of experience in starting from scratch in owning mobile home parks, and he will keep the discussion lively and focused. So if you’d like to hear how Anthony started, found his parks, financed them, fixed them and operates them, then you won't want to miss this one!
Kurt Kelley has been a pioneer in mobile home park insurance, turning this targeted niche into representation of over 3,000 mobile home park owners. And along the way he’s seen every type of problem and disaster that can befall a mobile home park. In this new MHU Investor’s Club Special Report titled “Risky Business” he reviews the top risks that a park owner faces and how to properly mitigate them. Even though risk is a part of life, through property selection and insurance you can minimize your exposure, and that’s the purpose of this new series.
Jon Fisher calls his firm “Mr. Landman”, and they have frequent new mobile home park listings to share.In this MHU Investor’s Club Special Report, Jon will review a new listing he has in Illinois. Meanwhile,Frank goes over some color commentary on the market. If you are looking for a mobile home park to buy, then this new listing may be the one. Or you may want to reach out to Jon to simply get on his list to be contacted on the next deal that he takes to market.
Todd Burget has a special role in our company similar to a rodeo cowboy: we send him in on all kinds of troubled situations and he rides the problem until it is rectified. These issues include turn - around struggles, employee issues and city and state government catastrophes. His success in this arena has given him his own distinct set of lessons learned and in this episode he shares some of his most critical thoughts on solving the types of problems that most park owners face.
Dave Reynolds is probably the most prolific mobile home park buyer and seller in industry history. Of all the deals he’s sold, there are some that stand out both as deals he wishes he had not sold as well as deals that he is extremely happy that he divested. We look at every offer seriously, and try to make good decisions on which deals to go forward with selling, but there are some interesting lessons learned in this discussion that apply to both buying and selling mobile home parks and which attributes to be focused on.
So you’re doing the diligence on a mobile home park – how do you know that the revenues are what the seller claims? That’s the focus of this week’s popular “Diligence Dystopia” episode for MHU Investor’s Club. Perry Burget – the guy that does more park diligence than probably anyone on earth (and is Dave’s brother) – walks us through how he gets to the bottom of the actual rent received regardless of what the seller initially says. Since revenue is the life’s blood of any mobile home park deal, it’s essential that you have a handle on this precious resource before signing the closing statement.
MHU Investor’s Club Special Report we’re going to review the stats on two properties that both relied on evaluating the future as part of calculating the total return. One we bought and one we dropped. We’re going to review what led to those decisions and what the lessons learned are.
One of the most important tools in attracting and retaining customers – as well as elevating your property value in the eyes of appraisers and future buyers – is simply “curb appeal”. In this episode of “Dailey Rituals” our top turn-around manager, Diana Dailey, gives her tips on how to make any mobile home park look its best. Since we’re in the prime selling season for homes right now, this is a very timely subject.
Joe Kelly is the Executive Director of the Iowa Manufactured Housing Association. He is a legend in the industry, having served in this capacity for nearly a half-century. He started in 1981 and is retiring this year. In this MHU Investor’s Club Special Report we’re going to review his lessons learned from a lifetime in the mobile home park sector, with observations on how the industry has evolved as well as predictions for the future. You rarely get this much knowledge in one place and one time, and we think this is a landmark interview.
Alex and Steve came to Boot Camp in 2017 following a decision forged on a vacation in Japan. They pursued their joint dream of building a portfolio of mobile home parks and how own seven properties with two more under contract. How did they grow so successfully so fast? That’s the focus of this call. You’re going to hear all about how they found and financed each property, as well as raised the net income. But it doesn’t stop there. Lessons learned will abound, as well as tips and predictions on the future.
Frank Rolfe serves as the host of this conversation, and that means the focus and fast pace that you’ve come to expect. He will also make sure that the main points are covered and the lessons learned are abundant.
can’t be thinking about mobile home park investing without having a ton of questions. That’s where we were in the mid-1990s when we bought our first parks. Only – back then – there was nobody to answer concerns, or explain the science, or even hold out any hope that you could make money with “trailer parks”. All that has changed now, and the opportunity to get your questions asked has come. We’re calling this event “Ask Me Anything About Mobile Home Parks”. And that’s all it is: hours of Q&A regarding identifying, evaluating, negotiating, due diligence, financing, turning-around and operating mobile home parks, with no question taboo.
So who was answering these questions? Frank Rolfe who, with his partner Dave Reynolds, is roughly the 5th largest owner of mobile home parks in the U.S. He’s also the guy the New York Times calls “the human encyclopedia of all things mobile home park’ and also the guy that an entire episode of National Geographic was based on. Most importantly, he’s made a hobby of talking about the only industry in America too “nasty” to mention, based on the stereotypes the media creates with such shows and movies as ‘8-Mile” and “Trailer Park Boys”.
A common question we receive is “What would it take to replace my salary with a mobile home park?” We’ll be answering that question on our next Lecture Series Event titled “Swapping Your Salary With Spaces”. We’re going to go over the mathematics of how to replace $50,000, $100,000, $250,000 and $500,000 salary ranges with a comparable income from mobile home park investing, including what the playbook would look like.
At a time in which the U.S. has never been more unstable, it’s a very reasonable goal to find an alternative income source to meet your household needs that does not rely upon a corporate America. And, as you’ll see, the potential with mobile home park investing can be easily quantified using just a few assumptions.
Following the lecture there will be unlimited Q&A with no topic taboo, so be sure and bring all your questions.
Frank Rolfe will serve as host of this event – the same guy the New York Times describes as “the human encyclopedia of all things mobile home park”. But he’s also the person who, with his partner Dave Reynolds, built the 5th largest mobile home park portfolio in the U.S. from scratch, so he can give pretty good guidance on the mechanics of constructing winning deals that target different levels of income.
In World War II, V-Day was the day that Germany surrendered and victory was proclaimed. In this event, we interview Vijay and Sumeet on their victory in buying four parks in less than one year. Discussions include how they found each property, how they financed them, what the turn-around plan was, lessons learned, amount of time spent in managing them, and related topics that will be greatly of interest in evaluating whether or not to invest in mobile home parks.
The host is Frank Rolfe, who not only trained Vijay and Sumeet in the Mobile Home Park Investor’s Boot Camp, but also is the co-owner of the 5th largest portfolio of mobile home parks in the U.S. He will keep the discussion focused and lively and completely fact-filled.
We believe you will come away with a wide array of important information and perspectives, all crammed into roughly an hour.
Two smaller parks in Colorado. Both had potential but they had completely different outcomes in due diligence. Which one survived and which one failed to make the cut and why? That’s the discussion on this week’s MHU Investor’s Club Special Report on “A Deal We Bought/A Deal We Dropped”. As you’ll see, all parks are not created equal and there are some deal killers that can afflict parks that seem to have everything going for them, as well as some potential deal killers that can be overcome in due diligence.
One of the most frequent questions I get is “what software program do you use” and for over a decade the answer has been “Rent Manager”. In this MHU Investor’s Club Special Report, we’re going to review why we made that choice a decade ago and why we affirmed it a couple years ago when we did a second round of comparisons of all prevailing software options. Joining me will be Jeremy Moore who is the Director of Sales for Rent Manager and who can give the history of the company and why it literally began as a mobile home park software group back in the 1980s. Since choosing the correct software for mobile home park management is an important step, we wanted to give you visibility on how we determined which software was correct for our portfolio.
“Cable monetization” is the act of getting compensated for the cable company’s existing relationship with you residents and for having installed cable on your property without permission. In most mobile home parks the cable television, internet and phone lines have been run without any formal agreement with the property owner. When you “monetize cable” you trade the formalization of the easements and marketing agreements with the cable company for a one-time fee per lot (called the “door fee”) and a percentage of the revenue derived from the cable (called a “revenue share”). So how do you accomplish this? In this week’s MHU Investor’s Club Special Report we’re going to have a conversation with Jason Scutt, the founder of Worth Telecom Advisors, who has negotiated over 1,000 of these agreements for mobile home park owners. He’s going to review the action steps and what the options are. Although Worth focuses only on larger portfolio owners with at least 500 lots or more, the lessons learned can be adapted to any size mobile home park and basically offer you the chance to effectively get paid in the absence of any time, effort or risk on your part, for a service that already exists in your property.
Diana Dailey is our Regional Vice-President in charge of Special Projects – in other words, she is a “turn-around” expert who takes properties that are underperforming based on their potential and fixes them. And in the process she has created certain action steps to turn things around. In this, the first of our new MHU Investor’s Club Special Report series titled “Dailey Rituals”, she will review the initial five steps she takes when a property is not hitting its occupancy budget. It’s solid information that every community owner should follow.
Casey Thom is a well-known broker with Sunstone – one of the top mobile home park brokerages in the U.S. But he’s also a park owner and, as a result, has a significant depth of information on the park industry both in macro and micro terms. In this episode of Lessons Learned we’re going to discuss a variety of topics and lessons he’s learned about the mobile home park business.
Perry Burget is one of America’s #1 experts on performing due diligence – he’s the guy that has been in charge of the diligence on the approximately 400+ parks we’ve owned over the years. And, from that practical experience, he has become a master of many diligence issues that others find confusing or fly under the radar altogether. In this episode of Diligence Dystopia, we’re going to review private sewer utilities including septic, packaging plant and lagoon. Perry’s going to explain in detail how these things work, how they break, and what to watch out for – as well as how to test them.
Jon Fisher – also known as “Mr. Landman” – is an industry broker that specializes in mobile home parks east of the Mississippi River. In this edition of “Pitches and Hits” he’s going to discuss listings in the Indianapolis, Indiana metro and Rockford, Illinois metro. Both of these markets meet or exceed our minimum stats of population of 100,000+, single-family home price of $100,000+, three-bedroom apartment rent of $1,000+, and market vacancy at or less than 12.2%.
Two similar mobile home parks. Two due diligence efforts. Two different conclusions. In this MHU Investor’s Club Special Report, we’re going to discuss in detail why we bought a park in Michigan and dropped a park in Illinois. As you’ll see, often the fate of a deal hangs on the details, and it’s important to keep your white lab coat on (and absent all emotion) as it’s vital to focus on strictly on the facts regardless of how painful (or painless) those facts may be.
America is filled with comeback stories. Apple began as a computer manufacturer. After initial success, the company ousted its founder, Steve Jobs, and entered into a period of continual decline. In 1997, teetering on insolvency, Steve Jobs returned and brought out the greatest line-up of products in technology history: the iPhone, the iPad and the iPod. Apple was back on top. And then there’s the story of the Kansas City Chiefs, which had a roughly half-century between being Superbowl champs. The underdog story is a part of American lore, and there’s nothing more celebrated than when something or someone rises from the ashes to regain their respect and victory.
In the 1950s and 1960s, mobile home parks were the hottest sector of real estate. The demographics of mobile home park residents was higher than stick-built dwellings. Elvis lived in a mobile home park in two movies. Frank Lloyd Wright designed a mobile home prototype, and Stanley Marcus – founder of Neiman Marcus – designed a prototype mobile home park. And then the industry fell into decline fueled by an exodus to larger, suburban tract homes as a result of mass prosperity, as well as continual negative media which built the stereotype in most Americans that mobile home parks were undesirable. Well, it took years of hard work to bring mobile home parks back to life, new home designs, a national shortage of affordable housing and the stress test of the Covid-19 pandemic for the industry to return to its rightful place.
We’re calling this comeback story the NEW Golden Age of Mobile Home Parks and it’s the topic of our next Lecture Series event.
The host is Frank Rolfe who is not only one of the largest owners in the industry, but also the guy the New York Times calls the human “encyclopedia of all things mobile home park”. No topic is taboo so bring all your questions and spend an evening with us.
Randy Dailey is like an Army Ranger – you drop him into a property that has stalled and he attacks whatever’s holding it back so that it makes progress again. Whether it’s the initial turn-around, or a later-stage bump in the road, Randy’s the guy that can break loose the log jam. In this MHU Investor’s Club Special Report, Randy’s going to talk about a project he’s working on in Kansas City and how he boosted the net occupancy in this property by 10 units in one month. There are multiple lessons learned in this report.
If you want to start the New Year off on the right foot, you have to find contrarian investment options that flourish when the U.S. goes into decline. The best of these are mobile home parks. In this Ask My Anything event, students had the opportunity to ask whatever tthey would like regarding mobile home park investing – with no topic taboo.
Your host is Frank Rolfe. He’s not only the 5th largest mobile home park owner in the U.S. – along with his partner Dave Reynolds – but he’s also the person the New York Times calls the human “encyclopedia of all things mobile home park”.
We’re not putting a time limit on this event as it’s all about the questions and we intend to answer all of them. If you have been thinking about mobile home parks but want to know the truth before you give it further study, then this is your golden opportunity.
Politics has an impact on all parts of our lives – so what’s the impact on mobile home park financing? To explore this topic we’re going to be talking with MJ Vukovich of Bellwether, one of the nation’s top loan brokers. Where are interest rates headed? What’s the appetite for new loans from banks, CMBS and Agency lenders right now? What are the standard terms on loans right now? How will the election impact these items? There will all be covered, as well as other related items. If you’ll be borrowing in the days and years ahead, this should be of interest to you.
Glenn Esterson has been in the mobile home park industry for over two decades and is one of the leading brokers at Marcus & Millichap specializing exclusively in manufactured home communities. In this edition of Pitches and Hits he’s going to talk about four of his current listings in Florida, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, gleaned from his current group of over 40 mobile home parks for sale. If you are looking for a park to buy, then this MHU Investor’s Club presentation should be of definite interest to you, and you will definitely want to contact him to get his roster of over 40 current listings for sale.
The political climate in America has never been in greater upheaval. How does that impact the mobile home park industry? In this MHU Investor’s Club Special Report, we’re going to discuss such topics as eviction moratoriums, rent control, HUD installation standards – and other important items – with D.J Pendleton from the Texas MHA and Joe Kelly from the Iowa MHA. With so much at stake in the current political upheaval in the U.S., this Special Report is focused on distilling the issues down to those that are strictly important to park owners.
The political climate in America has never been in greater upheaval. How does that impact the mobile home park industry? In this MHU Investor’s Club Special Report, we’re going to discuss such topics as eviction moratoriums, rent control, HUD installation standards – and other important items – with DJ Pendleton from the Texas MHA and Joe Kelly from the Iowa MHA. With so much at stake in the current political upheaval in the U.S., this Special Report is focused on distilling the issues down to those that are strictly important to park owners.
The purchase contract is the document that spells out the terms and conditions of your deal. As a result, it’s important that it have all the right items to protect your interests and to ensure that the transaction goes as planned. Yet many sellers want to remove or change things in the contract. Can you do that and what are the limitations? In this MHU Investor’s Club Special Report we’re going to discuss with MHU Club member Ferd Neiman IV (also known as TheMobileHomeLawyer.com) what can and can’t be included or excluded in a successful purchase contract. If you’re planning on buying a mobile home park in the future, then this Special Report should be of extra interest to you.
The mobile home park business model is based on lot rents minus expenses – but one of those expenses is not intended to be manager embezzlement. So how do you minimize, identify it, and stop it in its tracks? In this Special Report we’re going to explore this topic with Todd Burget, who is not only a long-time industry veteran but a former police officer and someone who has had to deal with this issue many times in the past. With most embezzlement schemes costing thousands of dollars, this Special Report is well worth your time to listen to.
Over the past 25 years, we have strived to bring science every piece of the mobile home park business model. We have created and tested a huge number of models and applications to maximize net income and mitigate risk. We have unlocked the mysteries of which mobile home parks have the raw material to be “investment grade” and which should be avoided. And, in doing so, we invented the standard playbook for the industry, one that most of the mobile home park investors in the U.S. have adopted. So what are the basic mechanics of mobile home park investing?
Time is a precious commodity, and every minute you spend on one task is a minute that you could have used on another – possibly something more profitable. In this MHU Investor’s Club Special Report we’re going to discuss the topic of finding, hiring and managing virtual assistants to get jobs that can be delegated completed successfully and with no time or effort on your part. Leading the discussion will be Brandon Reynolds, who was an early adopter of the Virtual Assistant concept and has been successfully using this tool for nearly a decade. If you want to spend time on profit centers and not on mundane tasks, then a Virtual Assistant may be an important addition to your team.
The election is far from over – with legal challenges from all sides and votes still to be counted – but the issues pertaining to mobile home parks are clear and we wanted to review them with you. In this MHU Investor’s Club Special Report we’re going to discuss the megatrends created by the election results to date, as well as where we things headed from here. It’s certainly not the report you’ll get on CNN or Fox – but it’s the one that really counts to mobile home park buyers and owners.
Perry Burget has been involved in the due diligence of the bulk of the parks we have purchased over the years, and in this episode of Diligence Dystopia he’s going to focus on the granular detail of well water. As you’ll see, there’s a great deal you need to learn about wells before buying one, and it’s a trait that will either make your park a success or failure on the front end, based on the amount of diligence you put into that decision. This is the first of a multi-part report on private utilities with Perry.
There are many types of mobile home parks in the U.S. but only one of these is probably right for you. So how do you select the type of park that will fit your goals? That’s the topic of this event. Frank Rolfe – who along with his partner Dave Reynolds, is one of the largest mobile home park owner in the U.S. and has appeared as an industry expert in such publications as the New York Times, National Geographic, Bloomberg and Time Magazine -- will tackle the idea of how to choose the correct type of park to buy.
As you’ll see, there are many different types of parks out there – each with their own traits, strengths and weaknesses. The important item is how to make the right decision on which works for you, and that’s the focus of this event. We will also held an open Q&A following the lecture.
Shannon Smith is one of our Regional Vice-Presidents and has a lot of experience in working with city hall on sensitive matters related to mobile home parks. In this MHU Investor’s Club Special Report, she’s going to discuss the methods she uses to win in those discussions and negotiations with city hall, as well as how to avoid having problems. Since virtually every mobile home park walks a fine line with city, county and state government regarding potential issues we think it’s important that you have a basic play book regarding those relationships.
There’s a new entrant into the park-owned business: GoFresh Homes. Their model is a little different than some of the others in that they will buy your existing park-owned homes in as-is condition and then remodel them and rent them out. It’s a variation on the 21st Mortgage theme on existing park-owned used homes, only one in which you have no further responsibilities after the sale other than to charge lot rent. While we have never done a deal with GoFresh, we thought it was important to keep you abreast of all new industry offerings, and getting rid of homes is always a high priority for park owners. Frank leads the discussion with CEO Jim Davis and Michael Wilson on how the concept works in both macro and granular detail.
Two turn-around projects. Both need occupancy and much more. But one had the correct raw material to go forward and one didn’t. Which was which? In this MHU Investor’s Club Special Report we’re going to look at the granular details and explain our decision, as well as the important take-aways when evaluating a major turn-around deal. Sometimes the raw materials for success are in the right order, and other times they just seem to be lacking – and what’s important is to know one from the other.
Mike Escobedo is a broker at Marcus & Millichap that specializes mostly in RV parks – but he has a bunch of listings and we thought people would be interested to see what’s going on in the RV industry today (as many people buy both). He’s going to review listings in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California – most of which come with seller financing. It’s not our normal Pitches & Hits (which are strictly mobile home parks) but we thought it would be of interest.
Abraham had an idea: buy a mobile home park as an investment. Then another. And another. In less than two years he had grown to the 100th largest owner of mobile home parks in the U.S. with 11 mobile home parks and over 630 lots. How did he accomplish this? That’s the focus of our next Lecture Series Event titled “Zero to 100”. His has an interesting story with a lot of lessons learned, and you’ll see some important commonality in his strategy for both finding parks as well as negotiating them and turning them around.
Dave Reynolds has built the budget for more mobile home parks than probably anyone else in U.S. history – around 500 properties over his nearly 30-year career. And in this MHU Investor’s Club Special Report – part of our “Discussions with Dave” series – he’s going to talk all about building a proper budget from the ground up for any mobile home park you are buying or already own. He’s going to give granular detail about his latest thoughts on rough percentages per line item based on gross revenue, as well as some observations on what you need to make sure to address in your assumptions. If you are going to build a successful park budget, you need to review what Dave describes here.
We recently hired Neal Johnson, formerly of the #3 largest park owner RHP, to serve as our Field Utility Manager. And Neal has been bringing a science to finding and fixing leaks in our properties that we have never seen before. In this MHU Investor’s Club Special Report, Neal is going to give the granular detail of how to identify and find leaks in your water system at all forms of difficulty. In addition, he’s going to discuss such items as when to replace your water lines, how to obtain your own leak detection equipment, and many other topics. This is one of our best Special Reports, so don’t miss this weekly feature!
The mobile home park industry has always been based on a “no pay/no stay” philosophy. Never before in American history has the government shut down the ability for private property owners to evict residents for non-payment. When the CARES Act ended in July, it was assumed that this roadblock had ended. However, the CDC’s recent directive regarding evictions has created only more problems and confusion when it comes to the basic concept of collecting rent. In this Special Report we’re going to review the granular detail of the new law as well as the many discussions we have had with law firms regarding its enactment and what community owners can do about it.
For decades we had refused to produce any newsletters for our residents. We blamed it on the risk of a potential rogue manager writing incendiary copy, or the impossibility of an effective delivery mechanism. But all that has now changed, as we worked out some simple solutions to our fears. In this week’s MHU Investor’s Club Special Report we’re going to discuss how we started producing a monthly newsletter for all of our 200+ properties (hint: it’s just one for all) and how we do each issue in granular detail. With the focus of all owners growing the “sense of community” in their properties, we believe that this is an important tool to do so.
Webster’s Dictionary defines a “uniform” as ”a special kind of clothing that is worn by all the members of a group or organization (such as a team)” and “not varying or changing : staying the same at all times, in all places, or for all parts or members”. Both are correct when it comes to buying and operating mobile home parks. There’s no question that what you wear and what you say does have a material effect on your success in buying and running parks successfully. So what does that uniform look like? In this MHU Investor’s Club Special Report we’re going to discuss in depth what we’ve learned about how to dress and identify yourself when on property or meeting with a seller.
We are pleased to present an "Ask Me Anything" event this week, hosted by Frank Rolfe, probably the best known authority on mobile home parks in the U.S. – a right he earned through 25 years of buying and operating mobile home communities. This is a continuous Q&A session with no subject taboo.
There’s a “Book of Etiquette” for everyday life – but what about mobile home park buying? In this MHU Investor’s Club Special Report we’re going to discuss the right and wrong way to interact with brokers and sellers. Although there’s no written record of the rules, there are some certain guidelines that will allow you to have a more successful career in finding and buying investment-grade mobile home parks. Since so much of our industry is based on “the little things that make the big things possible” (J.W. Marriott) we feel that these rules of etiquette are important to embrace.
When you decide to sell a mobile home park there’s only one option, right? You list it with a broker and try to find someone who wants to buy the community at your target price. But there’s another alternative that’s working for many sellers and that’s selling the park to the residents.
In this event we discuss the basics and granular detail of this option with Paul Bradley and Angela Romeo of ROC USA – the largest facilitator of these transactions in the U.S. You’ll learn how the process works, the time involved, the benefits to selling to your residents, how to mitigate problems with the transaction, and some sample deals completed.
This event is hosted by Frank Rolfe, who not only is the 5th largest owner of mobile home parks in the U.S. with his partner Dave Reynolds, but also has successfully closed three transactions with ROC USA over the years in Texas, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
If you have a park to sell in the future, this discussion may be worth a fortune to you.
Closing on a mobile home park is an exciting moment – the culmination of your skills in identifying and negotiating the deal, coupled with successful due diligence and obtaining financing. However, about five minutes after closing, the real work begins. So what are the correct steps following closing? In this week’s MHU Investor’s Club Special Report we’re going to review what to do following closing to have a smooth and successful transition (as well as some things you need to do beforehand).
To our knowledge there has never been a more prolific and successful person doing deal assignments in mobile home park history than Jeremiah from Las Vegas. We alone have done around 80 deals with him, and that barely scratches the surface of his production of quality deals that were sold on assignment. Today Jeremiah is a park owner, having put those assignment funds to good use, but he does not mind discussing all of his lessons learned from being the effective King of Assignments for over a decade, as well as from being a regular park owner. This is – by far – one of the best MHU Investor’s Club Special Report we have ever produced.
“Dystopia” is the opposite of “utopia” – it’s a frightening, uncomfortable place. And that’s what due diligence needs to be: an effort in which you stay alert and take caution and watch out for potential problems that could derail your investment. In this first episode of our new MHU Investor’s Club Special Report series titled “Diligence Dystopia” we’re going to be discussing “The Top Ten Diligence Items That Can Spell Trouble”. Our guest is Dave’s brother Perry Burget who has successfully performed diligence on literally 500+ properties over the past 25 years for our company. As you’ll hear, there are some standard items that can trigger an uneasy feeling about any mobile home park. And being able to spot these problems quickly on the front end may allow you to not waste your time or to renegotiate well ahead of your diligence deadline. We think you’ll find this new addition to our MHU Investor’s Club Special Report lineup an important tool to making better choices.
Sam Zell wrote an entire book about risk and reward a couple years ago titled “Am I Being Too Subtle?”. And there’s no question that these fundamental laws must be in a healthy balance in order for a deal to proceed. But what are the issues with risk and reward in this sector, and how can you model that into the perfect mobile home park? That’s the topic of this lecture. We examine what the typical risk vs. reward scenarios under various basic buyer tranches from low capital and high risk to high capital and low risk. We also pinpoint items of risk that should never be agreed to, as well as concepts on mitigating all risks in a realistic manor.
Two mobile home parks of similar size. One made the cut and the other didn’t. Learn why in this week’s MHU Investor’s Club Special Report on “A Deal We bought And A Deal We Dropped”. We’re going to review each park in terms of the I-D-E-A-L system of evaluation, and point out the good, the bad and the ugly and what the drivers were that made us either move forward or cut it loose. You’ll see that different traits have different levels of importance and that sometimes things can pop up in due diligence that you would never expect and will change the course of the acquisition enormously.
Out of over 500 employees, one stands out as absolutely remarkable in their ability to manage others and set records on increasing occupancy: Patty. Patty is a District Manager responsible for the states of New Mexico and western Colorado, and her success there is legendary. So how does she do it day in and day out?
In this week’s MHU Investor’s Club Special Report, we’re going to discuss with Patty the granular details of how she so effectively manages the on-site managers and how she’s broken all company records regarding filling vacant lots and homes. Whether you own one park or one-hundred, this special report should be of interest to you.
Casey Thom and Hudson Bird are with Sunstone, one of the top mobile home park brokerage companies in the U.S. In addition, Casey is one of the co-founders of the annual Texco mobile home park event for community owners. In this edition of “Pitches & Hits” they have grouped together several deals with the theme of “good first-time parks” in the Wichita Falls, Dallas/Ft. Worth and Alice metros of Texas. We’re going to talk about the details of each deal as well as the market stats and other important facts. If you’re looking for a park to buy, one of these might work for you.
Covid-19 has had a profound impact on many parts of the U.S. economy – but how has it changed the financing of mobile home parks? In this Special Report, we’re going to talk with MHU Club member John Medernach of First Secure Community Bank in Aurora, Illinois. John’s going to talk about the current timing of a loan from start to finish, interest rates, loan terms and appraisal results. He’s also going to go over the Payroll Protection Program (PPP), which still has $100 billion in unappropriated funds as part of the Stimulus program from Covid-19. If you will be financing a mobile home park in the near future, there is some important information in this presentation to consider.
While the CASH program from 21st Mortgage is well-known to most park owners, few have ever heard of the REVIVE program from CAVCO. Yet it may be the better choice for some park owners based on how many homes they are trying to buy and what they intend to do with them after arrival. So what is the REVIVE program and how does it work? Tom Rusing from CAVCO is going to be on hand to explain how this home financing plan works and the unique freedoms it provides the right owners. If you are looking at bringing in new homes to fill your vacant lots, then you definitely want to know all the offerings out there and REVIVE may be the program you’ve been looking for.
We have never owned a mobile home park that was filled with more controversy than our purchase and operation of Austin’s North Lamar in 2015. Front the onset, we were blasted by the media for “ruining” the place by requiring people to follow rules and pay rent on time. We were called “evil” for making residents pay their own water and sewer since they were abusing it to the point that a $100 per month utility bill was a low one per lot – despite the fact that Austin is supposed to be all about “sustainability” and “conservation”. We were continually criticized for raising rent while we injected hundreds of thousands of dollars into new roads, entry, fences and playground. But it all proved worthwhile in the end, as this week we sold it to the residents through the non-profit ROC – the residents are now their own boss and only have themselves to criticize going forward. Hear the complete story, including the purchase and sale price and a discussion of where the profit came from.
John bought his first mobile home park over 40 years ago, and Judy started managing parks over 20 years ago. In this edition of Lessons Learned, we’re going to hear what they have garnered from 60+ collective years in the affordable housing business, and their experiences going through hailstorms and flooding and many emergencies like Covid-19. There’s an old theory that the only person capable of deciding the better of two options is the one who has experienced both, so we thought it would be interesting to talk to an owner who has been in the industry since the 1970s and has seen nearly every calamity and issue to tell us what they like and what they stay away from. You’ll even hear their worst day and best day ever, and what those represent. It’s a great use of 15 minutes of your time.
The biggest topic in America right now is the impact of Covid-19 on our economy. As a result we are hosted a thorough discussion of the pandemic and how it is impacting (or not impacting) the mobile home park business. We go to go over both the macro and micro levels of the industry to illuminate the good and bad aspects economically, as well as predictions for the future. If you own or are looking at buying a mobile home park in the near future, this discussion should be an invaluable tool in assessing the real risks going forward, and how to maneuver your business to mitigate the risk and harness the opportunity.
The host will be Frank Rolfe, who is the “encyclopedia of all things mobile home park” according to the New York Times and, as part of the 5th largest portfolio of parks in the U.S., able to give data on how Covid-19 is factually impacting the American “trailer park” sector.
Kevan Enger is a mobile home park-specific broker at Capstone with a decade of experience. In this edition of the MHU Investor’s Club Special Report he’s going to discuss the impact of Covid-19 from the perspective of a broker trying to get deals closed. He’s also going to review – on a macro level – the 16 new listings of parks for sale that Capstone has in inventory. He will also talk about his thoughts on how to get on a broker’s radar screen for greater attention, as well as how frequently to follow up with brokers for new listings. If you’re wanting to buy a park, this discussion should be of interest.
Jon Fisher has been brokering mobile home parks for three years now, through his company “Mr. Landman”. In this edition of Pitches and Hits, Jon is going to review two listings in Illinois and one in Indiana. He has some additional listings coming out shortly. Since we’ve never had him on the show before – and he is not well known in the industry at this point – you may want to add him to your broker contacts to review all of his listings as they come up (including pocket listings).
Mike Renz is a licensed environmental engineer, and he’s also our go-to person for Phase I studies. From his 33+ years of performing Phase I reports on over 1,000 mobile home parks he has amassed a huge body of knowledge regarding the normal environmental issues that park construction and operation can present. In this week’s MHU Investor’s Club Special Report, Mike is going to review the Top Ten questions that he receives regarding park environmental risks and then answer them for you. This topic should be of interest to every park buyer.
The 800-pound gorilla in the room for all park buyers and owners right now is the impact of Covid-19 on April rents, as well as many other segments of the industry. In this week’s MHU Investor’s Club Special Report we’re going to review early collections stats as well as what we’re seeing and hearing from other owners nationwide and our opinions on what the future of mobile home parks look like in the Covid-19 era – as well as how to harness some of the forces the crisis has created to improve certain facets of your business.
Stretching is more than a good idea before a run. It’s also a common practice in buying a mobile home park in which the seller wants more money than the property is currently worth. In this MHU Investor’s Club Special Report we’re going to compare the “stretching” potential on two different deals. Both are in great markets. Both have stabilized occupancy. Both have under-market rents. But the similarities end when you apply our standard formulas and look at the potential profit at the end of the movie. As you’ll see, there’s a time to stretch and a time to call it quits.
Our recent event is on a topic that should interest almost everyone at the moment: the impact of disasters (natural and economic) on mobile home park investing. Sure, Covid-19 is the current disaster in America, but it’s not the only one we’ve endured over the last three decades (The Texas S&L Crisis, the Dot.com bust, earthquakes, fires, tornadoes, Katrina, Harvey, and the Great Recession). So if catastrophes are a part of American life, what is the impact on the mobile home park industry and how will these events impact your investment?
Your host is Frank Rolfe who, with his partner Dave Reynolds, is the 5th largest owner of mobile home parks in the U.S. But more importantly, he has lived through every crisis in modern American history, and seen 16% interest rates, every office building in Dallas posted for foreclosure, floodwaters, fires, the mobile home “chattel crisis” of 1999 – and everything else you can name. And he has seen first-hand the impact on mobile home parks from these issues.
Shannon Smith is our Regional Vice-President for five states: 1) North Dakota 2) South Dakota 3) Minnesota 4) Wisconsin and 5) the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. She’s been in the industry for nearly a decade, having served with YES communities before our company. And she’s one of the best in the business.
In this week’s MHU Investor’s Club Special Report we’re going to discuss with Shannon the essential parts of community management focusing on collections, rules compliance, property condition, sales and marketing and budgeting. We’re also going to explore some of the considerations with properties that are subject to severe winter temperatures as low as 40 degrees below zero for weeks at a time.
The Covid-19 crisis is unparalleled in American history – we’ve never shut the nation down before to try to stop the spread of a virus. As a result, a huge number of businesses have been wiped out or weakened, and most Americans are having to stay home from work and endure self-quarantine. But the big question is “what will this do to the MH industry in the near term as well as long-term?” That’s what we’re going to focus on in this edition of the MHU Investor’s Club Special Report. We’re going to review the overall impact based on geography and tenant employment, and the impact on collections, home renovations, occupancy, rent control and similar laws, buying parks, financing parks, and the future implications for the industry. Together, we can get through this unique disruption.
Eric Wanck has been a mobile home park broker for nearly a decade, and is with The MHP Brokers agency. In this edition of Pitches and Hits, he’s going to review three listings he has in Alabama in Georgia. All three listings are priced based on lot rent only, and are in markets that meet most of the Boot Camp guidelines of around 100,000 metro population, $100,000 single-family home cost, $1,000 3-bedroom apartment rent and a diversified economy based on a large amount of education, healthcare and government employment. As always, Frank will be there to provide color commentary on the markets.
What is the time and travel commitment required to buy and own a mobile home park? Is it possible to own a mobile home park without disturbing your successful day job? These are the questions we are going to answer on this recording!
CAVCO homes really wants your business. And they are doing everything possible to make that happen, including hiring a dedicated salesperson just for MHU and our portfolio. That’s right, going forward if you are a member of the MHU community and want to order a home from CAVCO you simply call your personal agent, Tom Rusing, at (574) 596-8719. He can get you the home you need and have it delivered anywhere in the U.S. And this unique opportunity is the theme of this week’s MHU Investor’s Club Special Report in which Tom is going to talk about what CAVCO has to offer and how he can deliver a home to you within 4 to 6 weeks (about half the time of most other manufacturers). He’s also going to review CAVCO’s “Revive” financing program (similar to CASH but has only a 5-home minimum vs. 21st Mortgage’s 10-home), the huge variety of brands and product lines CAVCO has to offer, and even a rundown of how easy it is to buy a home from CAVCO.
MJ Vukovich of Bellwether is one of the top loan brokers in the U.S. – and Bellwether is an originator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac “agency” debt. In this edition of Bank Chat we’re going to discuss the topic “The Truth vs. The Myths on Conduit and Agency Debt” with MJ, and try to unlock the fact vs. fiction in this extremely attractive form of debt. With Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac now representing over 50% of all new mobile home park debt (based on dollar volume) it’s extremely important that all mobile home park buyers and owners understand this option and how it really works.
Gary Lester is a MHU Investor’s Club member in Moscow, Idaho who bought a park with significant vacancy and saw an opportunity to bring in alternative housing types such as RVs, park models and “tiny homes”. But the ordinances did not allow these housing types on a long-term basis. So he took on the many hurdles of zoning and city hall and, in the end, won. In this week’s MHU Investor’s Club Special Report we’re going to discuss his story and how he was able to convince a city that his property could solve the affordable housing crisis using housing types in addition to mobile homes. If you have even one vacant lot that might appeal to alternative housing demand, then this discussion should be of interest.
A small park in a metro of 4,500 and a large park in a metro of 7,100,000. One was a winner and one a loser. But which one? In this week’s MHU Investor’s Club Special Report we’re going to review “A Deal We Bought and a Deal We Dropped” and look at the granular details that made us close on one property and throw the other back. If you think that appearances can be deceiving then you are 100% correct on these two properties. We think that reviewing past deals is a great way to look for the key drivers to making the decision to go forward or not, and these two deals both have surprise endings.
“Stagflation”, “Texas S&L Crash”, “Dot.Com Bust”, “Great Recession” – we have no shortage of national recessions/depressions in the U.S. So how do you prepare for these potential shock waves? In this installment of our Bank Chat series, we’re going to talk with John Medernach, a long-time MHU Investor’s Club member and Executive Vice-President of First Secure Community Bank in Aurora, Illinois. The discussion will include what causes a loan to go into default, how to mitigate this, how to approach your banker, how to come to an amiable agreement with the lender, and what to do if no amiable plan can be forged. With a potential U.S. recession believed to be in store in 2021 (according to many economists) it’s never too early to be “prepping” for the next great downturn.
Brandon Pearson has been a broker in the Marcus & Millichap Denver office for several years and has a growing reputation as an aggressive source of new listings. In this edition of “Pitches and Hits” he’s going to discuss multiple listings in Georgia and Colorado. With brokers the source representing over 50% of every deal we’ve ever bought we think that establishing continual contact with brokers like Brandon are an essential part of finding the right property.
Ryan Wanner is an MHU Investor’s Club member who has grown to five parks owned and one pending in only three years. Along the way he has learned a huge number of truths about mobile home park investing. In this edition of “Lessons Learned”, Ryan is going to discuss his top strategies for success that he’s learned through experimentation and hard work. We’re firm believers that the best source of information on the mobile home park business is from those who already know the reality from the theory through owning and operating properties – which is what “Lessons Learned” is all about.
Lending is a huge part of the mobile home park industry and, with that in mind, we’ve chosen the first MHU Investor’s Club Special Report of 2020 to be our Bank Chat show. Our guest is M.J. Vukovich of Bellwether, one of the top loan brokers in the U.S. (and an originator on Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac debt). MJ will talk about the lessons learned in 2019, the toughest deals he got approved, and what the current gauges are reading on interest rates, LTVs and amortization lengths going into 2020.
Sure, it’s Christmas time, but parks are still going on the market throughout the holiday season. In this week’s MHU Investor’s Club Special Report, Joanne Stevens is going to review a three-park package that is about to go on the market in Iowa, as well as two parks in Michigan that have recently had their prices reduced (and the market’s not bad with over 100,000 population, nearly $100,000 home price and almost $1,000 per month 3-bedroom apartment rent). As always, Joanne is among the best in the industry at returning calls and emails, as well as giving you honest information on the property, its potential and limitations, and pricing commentary.
One of the most important aspects to owning a mobile home park is setting the correct lot at purchase, and then again annually in the form of a lot rent increase. It determines how much money you’ll make, how strong you will attract new residents, how well you’ll retain existing tenants, and many other key factors. In fact, it’s probably the single most important part of creating value with any mobile home park. So how can you do it professionally and correctly every time?
In this week’s MHU Investor’s Club Special Report, we’re going to examine in-depth this important business practice and unlock the mysteries as to the proper steps to selecting the right lot rent for your property.
One of the biggest aids to increasing your time efficiency are “virtual assistants”. In this week’s MHU Investor’s Club Special Report, Brandon is going to review how he finds, manages and saves a ton of money using virtual assistants on a number of tasks. If you have ever thought about delegating various mobile home park acquisition and management roles to the new-age labor pool of these internet-based workers -- at low rates and in the absence of the usual nightmares of U.S. labor law -- then this discussion will get you pointed in the right direction.
Randy Dailey is our ramrod in the field that gets things done in a big way, tackling tough issues on park turn-arounds and special infrastructure projects. He has agreed to start doing periodic reports with us we’ve titled “From the Trenches” and this first discussion is on the reality of renovating park-owned homes. If you’ve bought a park with park-owned homes – or are looking at buying one – this episode addresses the important steps to bringing old homes back to life the right way.
What happens when you’re trying to finance a mobile home park with park-owned homes in it? That’s the topic of this week’s episode of Bank Chat. We’re going to discuss this topic in detail with MJ Vukovich of Bellwether Capital. There are some pretty interesting strategies when financing parks with park-owned homes, and some banking limits that you may not be aware of.
Two properties. Two due diligences. One winner and one loser. Why did one make the grade and one fail? In this week’s MHU Investor’s Club Special Report we’re going to discuss the key drivers behind our purchase of a 112-space property in New Mexico and our cancelling of a deal in the Pacific Northwest. If you want to get granular detail on what shapes our acquisition choices, then you’ll find our regular Pitches and Hits episode highly informative.
Eddie Biller and David Joreteg have purchased several communities since they attended our Mobile Home Park Investor’s Boot Camp a few years ago -- and they’re still buying more. We’re going to discuss how they got into the industry, how they found each of the parks they own, the basic economics behind these acquisitions, the turn-around plans, and their lessons learned. It’s going to be a huge amount of facts in a short period of time and will then be followed by bottomless Q&A until all questions are answered.
Marcus and Millichap has been the dominant force in mobile home park brokerage for many years, and in this edition of Pitches & Hits we’re going to hear about a bunch of fresh listings from two new guests on the show: Robert Denninger and Brad Dorsey in the Dallas office. They will be reviewing new listings in Texas, Oklahoma and Arizona. As always, Frank will be there to give color commentary on the markets. If you’re looking for a park to buy, then here are some for your consideration.
There are few things more beneficial than years of experience distilled down to a few action points. Joanne Stevens has been both a park owner, as well as park broker through NAI Iowa Realty, for over 25 years and in this edition of the MHU Investor’s Club Special Report she’s going to talk about her lessons learned during that span. If you’re interested in a fresh perspective as both a park owner and broker, then this Lessons Learned makes a lot of good points.
Sam Walton once said “there is only one boss: the customer. He can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down.” With so much at stake in ensuring that customers like your mobile home park and don’t want to leave, it’s important to engage them in a positive manner to get continual feedback on how your property is doing without allowing these attempts at positive customer interaction to be derailed. In this week’s MHU Investor’s Club Special Report we’re going to discuss the different methods of talking to your customers that have proven to be successful, as well as those that should be avoided.
Two similar parks. Two similar sets of numbers. Only one emerged from diligence victorious. In this week’s MHU Investor’s Club Special Report we’re doing another “Deal We Bought/Deal We Dropped” and to make it extra interesting I selected two similar properties which both had hugely different endings. As you’ll see, things don’t always turn out as they appear when you first go into due diligence, and there are definitely some important lessons to be learned from these examples.
In tandem with our “Creative Deal Making” Lecture Series event, industry broker Enon Winkler offered to come on the Pitches and Hits show with some turn-around deals he currently has listed. Enon’s going to review deals in Indiana, Ohio and Florida that need some creative approaches to make them work correctly. Enon’s a good broker with strong knowledge of the industry and can offer you commentary on what he thinks these deals need to succeed, as well as what the right buyer’s traits would be.
We have long been an advocate of being a “deal maker” instead of a “deal killer” as one makes money and the other misses out on endless opportunities. Although every deal cannot be constructed in a successful manner, many mobile home parks require some creative thought in order to work out. In this teleconference, we’re going to explore the theme of “Creative Deal Making” and discuss the different methods used to bridge the gap between deals that can’t be done and deals that can. If you’re looking at buying a mobile home park, this is a conversation that should be of extreme value.
Perry Burget is Dave’s brother, as well as the head of our due diligence department. He has performed diligence on over a thousand mobile home parks, with around 400 of those ones that we ultimately purchased. In this MHU Investor’s Club Special Report, we’re going to find out the macro items that typically are representative of parks we buy vs. those we don’t. The goal is to give you an overview of some traits that lead to successful purchases as well as ones that should make you cancel immediately.
In this week’s MHU Investor’s Club Special Report it’s another edition of “Bank Chat”. We’re going to focus in on smaller park loans from $250,000 and up with loan broker (capital consultant) Brad Rymer from Cloverleaf Capital Group. He’s going to talk about things that lenders will lend on and things that they won’t, as well as current rates, terms, and 1001 other items. With only two options for smaller loans (seller carry and bank debt) it’s important to stay apprised of current lending conditions.
One of the most important tools to finding the perfect park is sheer volume of deal flow, and on that note we offer this week’s Pitches & Hits Show with Kolman Bubis, a principal of Sunstone Real Estate Advisors – one of the nation’s most prolific mobile home park brokers for over a decade. Kolman is going to review three listings in Maryland, Illinois and Tennessee. As always, Frank provides market color commentary. If you’re looking for a park, here are three more to consider. Kolman is well known for his professionalism and his dedication to returning all calls and emails.
So you’re buying a mobile home park and closing day is approaching. What are the key things to prepare for? In this week’s MHU Investor’s Club Special Report, we’re going to discuss this issue with Kevin Fosshage, who has served as the “park transition” person in the past (like the Army Ranger that hits the park on the front end) and is now our Regional Vice-President. We’re going to go over not only the steps, but also share stories of the crazy things you have to watch out for in order to have a smooth transition. This discussion should be of interest to anyone looking at buying a park and is packed with lessons learned.
How does the American mobile home park industry appear to the rest of the world? What can be learned from someone who has been studying the global issue of affordable housing? In this week’s MHU Investor’s Club Special Report, we’re going to review the lessons learned from my experiences this week in allowing an Irish film producer to follow along with me while driving our parks in Wisconsin, all part of his documentary film on the affordable housing crisis. I learned a lot, and I think he did as well. Apparently, what we do is much more favorably received in Europe than it is in this country – which is both alarming and disappointing. But maybe the industry can still change that perception going forward. That was the main reason we let him ride around, as I’m hoping he could make a good film that shows our industry in a favorable light.
Buying a park can be scary. Buying the wrong park can be worse. But as long as you are learning from the experience, it’s not all bad. Particularly when it teaches you exactly what you should buy and you end up with some great parks going forward. Such was the case for MHU Club member Frank from California. In this week’s MHU Investor’s Club Special Report, we’re going to have our Lessons Learned episode with Frank and hear the story of how he turned a rocky start in California into a successful adventure in Tennessee and Georgia. You will be amazed at the number of lessons learned in this show.
John Medernach is a well-known banker with First Secure Community Bank – and we’re one of the bank’s customers. John is also an active MHU Investor’s Club member. But what we like best about John is that he really understands mobile home park lending from both sides of the table. That makes him the perfect speaker on our topic of “Being a Good Borrower from a Banker’s Perspective”. We’re going to review what a bank likes to see on 1) park attributes 2) the loan package and 3) the borrower. It’s rare when you can get an honest assessment of banking from someone as experienced as John.
Anthony DiMarco is a well-known loan broker at Security Mortgage Group with over 30 years experience and a regular annual loan volume of over $400 million. He’s seen all types of deals over the past three decades and is well-known to be a master at getting financing on tough transactions. In this “Bank Chat” special Anthony is going to review the following potential financing killers and explain what the minimum requirements would be to get a loan done:
- High levels of vacancy
- Bad financial records
- Financial records that don’t align (tax returns vs. financial statements)
- Floodplain
- Private water/sewer
- Master-metered electric/gas
- Grandfathering problems
- Borrower lack of experience
- Contracts with short time frames for financing
- States or markets that banks hate right now
Some of his answers may shock you, others may give you hope on deals you’re currently working on. In any event, we think you’ll find this MHU Investor’s Club special extremely informative.
We’re going to talk with M.J. Vukovich of Bellwether (a bank and conduit debt broker and agency originator) about what’s going on right now in the world of mobile home park finance. He’ll discuss current interest rates and terms, what states are hot and not, real-life difficult loans and how they got solved, and a host of other issues. We think you’ll enjoy this new addition.
We’re going to go over the math of successful mobile home park deals, as opposed to what doesn’t work. Titled “E=MHC2: The Science of Buying Mobile Home Parks”, we’re going to break down all of the pieces of what a successful investment is comprised of in granular detail. Following the discussion we’re going to have unlimited Q&A so that all questions are answered.
Justin Donald has been buying mobile home parks for a decade, having attended the 2009 Boot Camp and quickly jumping into his first deal. Over the past ten years he has leaned a huge amount as he has grown to five communities under ownership. In this edition of “Lessons Learned” we’re going to find out Justin’s observations about what makes a mobile home park successful, as well as what mistakes he corrected. Since nobody knows the mobile home park business better than those who have experienced the methodology and metrics of buying and operating one, “Lessons Learned” is dedicated to the discussion of these important points.
In this edition of our popular Pitches and Hits program we’re going to hear from Steven Tomaso, a broker with IRE Investment. He’s been a broker for three years and was formerly the Senior Vice-President of SUN Communities (a REIT and 2nd largest park owner in the U.S.). He focuses on New York and the surrounding area. His deals range in price from around $500,000 to $5 million, and he’s going to go over two of his current listings in Albany, NY and Glen Falls, NY. It’s his first visit to the show, and he has a good handle on what community buyers want from his SUN experience. If you’re looking for a park to buy, Steven is a good resource.
What makes a deal worth buying and another worth cancelling? That’s the topic of this week’s MHU Investor’s Club Special Report: A Deal We Bought/A Deal We Dropped. We’re going to review a park in Bryan, Texas that we elected to purchase and another in Illinois that didn’t make the cut. We’re going to review the market, the numbers, the risks, the reward, and show you exactly how we made our decision. If you’re looking at buying a mobile home park and wondering what your final decision should be, this show will help you make that final determination.
Max Baker is a very prolific broker who always has a large number of mobile home park listings. He’s been an industry specialist for almost a decade and is with the group known as “The Mobile Home Park Broker”. In this edition of “Pitches and Hits”, Max is going to review about a dozen of his current listings in a variety of states including Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Alabama, South Carolina and Tennessee. If you’re looking for a park to buy, there may be something of interest to you on this show, and you should definitely add Max to your list of brokers for continual contact.
An Interview With Mobile Home Park Owner Chris R. From California, a Mobile Home Park Boot Camp Attendee
Nearly every mobile home park has a hidden asset that rarely gets talked about: the monetization of cable rights. In this week’s MHU Investor’s Club Special Report, we’re going to talk about the mechanics of monetizing these rights, as well as additional methods to make cable into a recurring or one-time revenue generator. Since this type of income is considered “real property” by lenders and subject to inclusion in the cap rate valuation, even a small amount of income can pay big dividends when you go to refinance or sell the property.
Buying smaller mobile home parks is often highly lucrative. Some of the best deals – from a cap rate perspective – some from parks under $500,000 in total price. But how do you financing these smaller properties, since most lenders are looking for deals more in the $1 million + range? In this first Lecture Series Event of 2018, Frank Rolfe is going to give an exhaustive review of the different options to finance deals at this price level. He’s going to go over both “inside the box” and “outside the box” approaches, and give real-life examples of each one, based on real deals that he and Dave have made over the years. As the 5th largest mobile home park owner in the U.S – in tandem with his partner Dave Reynolds – there will be over two decades of facts and experience discussed in this event.
So you are looking at buying a park with some vacant lots in it. What are some of the most important things to think about in filling those lots? In this week’s MHU Investor’s Club Special Report, we’re going to discuss ten important steps to filling lots – both in preparation as well as home selection and financing. Since you’re going to have vacant lots in virtually every community you buy, these are ten items that you definitely need to know.
A discussion of the issues and opportunities that should be considered based on whether you’re investing $0, $50,000, $100,000, $200,000 or $1 million in capital. As you’ll see, the path changes based on the amount you invest. It’s a great chance to learn more about mobile home park investing strategies.
With the aftermath of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, it’s hard not to be concerned about mobile home parks and flooding. In this week’s MHU Investor’s Club Special Report, we’re going to talk with Kurt Kelley of Mobile Insurance (who insures several thousand park owners) and get the facts regarding what the issues are concerning mobile home parks and water risks, as well as what you can do to mitigate them. You can’t feel good about owning a mobile home park if you worry constantly about flooding, so we’re going to try to bracket those risks, and see what’s out there to protect against water catastrophes.
Kevin Enger has been a mobile home park broker for over six years, and has a great reputation as someone that is easy to work with. In this week’s MHU Investor’s Club Special Report, Kevin is going to discuss over ten listings that he is currently offering, which range in states from Florida to Nebraska. And, as always, Frank will be there to offer color commentary on the markets. If you are looking for a park to buy, you should consider these listings and adding Kevin to your list of brokers for continual contact.