Mobile Home Park Mastery

One of the most profitable segments of the mobile home park business is the “heavy lift” turn-around. But it’s definitely not the right choice for every investor and comes with a slate of potential pitfalls. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to drill down on the good and bad aspects of bringing nearly dead parks back to life.

Since most cities hate mobile home parks, it’s imperative that you understand your rights under zoning. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to review the components of a certificate of zoning compliance as well as other issues that have an impact on your rights to operate.

Across America, mobile home park owners are in a race to provide more amenities for residents to increase the perception of “value” for their rent. But not all amenities are created equal. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to review some of the worst amenities you can build, as well as provide caution on the location of some of the good ones.

The simple “trailer” becomes a ball of complexity when you examine the laws governing remodeling and selling these units. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to review the basic rules on getting new and used mobile homes refurbished and sold so you can stay on the right side of federal, state and local laws.

Webster’s defines “fear” as “an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous and likely to cause pain, or a threat.” However, how you react to fear can be either hugely beneficial or a roadblock that can ruin your future. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to explore how fear can be good or bad, and why its existence can be an important tool to b...

The Studebaker brothers built one of America’s largest and most successful carriage and automobile businesses using a simple motto: “always give more than you promise”. So how do we do that with mobile home parks? That’s the focus of this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast in which we try to unlock how to utilize this simple formula to deliver exceptional customer satisfaction.

The demand for affordable housing is huge, but finding the applicant with the necessary down-payment, earnings level and credit score to actually buy your vacant mobile home is more difficult. One great way to spur traffic to any mobile home park is to hold an “Open House”. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to focus on how to hold these events successfully and unlock the potenti...

There have been a number of recent articles predicting lending problems for “commercial real estate”. But there is no such thing as generic “commercial real estate”. There are simply several different niches that aggregate into that term. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast, we will explore the similarities and differences between mobile home parks and the other commercial real estate sectors...

America is in a labor tsunami in which it’s harder to find and retain workers than ever before. In this environment, many mobile home park owners face the reality of managers asking for more money. But should you give in to their demands? In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast, we will review how manager compensation works and share thoughts on navigating this new reality.

Mobile home prices have nearly doubled since the advent of Covid, and that has put a stress test on selling “trailers”. However, many mobile home parks continue to sell new homes despite the higher prices. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast, we’re going to make some observations on what is needed to sell a $70,000 mobile home in today’s market.

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank – the second largest in U.S. history – may be ushering in a new era of banking collapse. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast, we’re going to scientifically review the risk of mobile home park loans and explore some of the lessons I learned from the 1987 Texas Savings and Loan Crash.

A few years ago Time magazine declared that “mobile home parks are the gated communities of the less affluent” and raved about their strong sense of community. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to drill down on the origins of that sense of community and what park owners can do to foster a stronger bond between residents.

As the mobile home park industry evolves, owners are constantly pondering not only what the new role of community manager is becoming but also the necessity of them living on-site. Larger parks have allowed for on-site or off-site manager possibilities for years, but smaller parks have been relegated to strictly on-site options. However, those lines may be blurring. In this Mobile Home Park Master...

Mobile home lenders set very low expectations on customer credit scores yet enjoy very low default rates. This seems to be contrary to all the physics of extending credit but it’s supported by fact. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to dig deeper into the topic of why a low FICO works just fine when it comes to customers buying mobile homes.

Even though all cities hate mobile home parks, they tolerate them because of property laws governing legal non-conforming use – also known as “grandfathering”. But not all mobile home parks share that protection. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast, we’re going to review the attributes that make a mobile home park at risk and without “grandfathering” rights.

Owning a mobile home park is a noble calling, but you must protect yourself from the residents you are trying to help. While 99% of park customers are wonderful people, there is that 1% that want to take advantage of your role as the owner to try to borrow money, harass you, get out of rules violations, get your manager fired – basically try to drive you nuts. The solution is to build a firewall b...

Mobile home parks have always been viewed as the lowest-cost form of housing while dollar stores serve that same niche in the retail sector. Yet there are many more similarities between “trailer parks” and “Dollar Tree” than meets the eye. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast, we’ll review the similarities and why both businesses are underappreciated – a fact that’s about to change.

With interest rates up significantly, some sellers may propose a construction called a “wrap” in which you leave the existing mortgage intact as part of the deal. But does that work? In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to review the good and bad aspects of this deal construction and discuss methods to mitigate the risk.

When a mobile home park sits lower than the city’s main sewer line, the only way to get the property’s sewage pushed upstream is with a “lift station”. Yet many mobile home park buyers don’t know what these are, how they work, and what the dangers are. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to drill down on this unique feature of many communities to understand the fine points to buyi...

Webster’s defines “fair” as “impartial and just, without favoritism or discrimination”.  And obviously, based on this definition, life in 2023 will not be “fair”. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to review the unfair opportunities that are out there, how to take advantage of them, and why there’s nothing morally wrong in doing so.

We all know the government enacted the HUD SEAL program back around 1976. But are you aware there's some other requirements that HUD placed on mobile homes that are important that you be aware of? This is Frank Rolfe with the Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast. We're going to talk about snow loads, wind loads, and thermal zones.

It’s pretty clear that we’re heading for a U.S. recession in 2023. So what will that do to the mobile home park industry, and what are the statistics from the 2000 and 2007 recessions to support these observations? That’s the goal of this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast: to dissect what the 2023 recession may look like and what the impact might be.

When you have two mobile home parks in the same basic market, you always wonder if you would be better off hiring one manager to supervise both or having two separate managers to do the job. The concept of “sharing” management is not restricted to just mobile home parks, as many other industries have tested and employed it. However, mobile home park manager “sharing” has its own unique issues to c...

Mobile home park managers have an extremely difficult role. They are supposed to wear two hats: 1) the nice person and 2) the tough person. This is extremely confusing to residents and often fails to accomplish what you desire as the owner. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to explore why this is not a healthy situation for your property and offer tips on giving the manager a mo...

America is at a breaking point on crime. It’s rampant, the system is overwhelmed, and in many states the judicial system itself has become dysfunctional. In times like these it’s up to the community owner to help to make their property the safest it can be. Not through adding expensive security personnel, but instead by enacting common sense strategies and enhancements to the mobile home park that...