Welcome back,
If you’re reading this article than you’re currently dealing with a park manager that is bullying you and/or your potential buyers or you’re simply planning for this future event. In this article and video we’re going to talk about some of the different strategies and options we have moving forward when dealing with an unreasonable park manager.
Disclaimer: Most mobile home park managers are ethical and want nothing but the best for their communities. However some mobile home community managers are beyond greedy, judgmental, spiteful, vindictive, racist, sexist, mentally unstable, aggressive, etc. In the article below we talk about how to avoid these managers in the first place and also what to do once working with them.
Mobile home park managers may be “difficult to work with” for a variety of reasons. Sometimes the managers are never in the front office, sometimes they give us violation notices over the most trivial issues, sometimes they want serious changes made to the home unexpectedly, and sometimes the management makes it difficult for certain buyers to get approved in the community. Alternatively, the management may be singling you out and making it difficult for you to resell on purpose.
Steps to take when dealing with a park manager that is not approving any of your buyers.
First things first, we have to understand our strategy moving forward. If we are intending to keep this mobile home in the community than we want to try to work things out calmly and be non-confrontational or angry with the mobile home park manager and/or community owner.
Pro Tip: Before making any purchase offers to a mobile home seller, make sure to speak with the park manager and understand the park’s application process and approval-criteria. Is the park easy or strict?
Do this after your first (1st) potential buyer is turned down or denied…
It is certainly not uncommon for mobile home park managers to deny certain applicants that do not pass the park’s criminal, eviction, employment, income, pet, and/or credit background.
After your first applicant is declined it is important to try to figure out why and how you could improve this process moving forward. Learn exactly what the park manager is looking for in a future resident. You may now verbally screen people before sending them to the park office to become approved.
Pro Tip: Some managers will be helpful and suggest that the potential buyer obtain a cosigner or pay a higher-than-normal security deposit in order to get approved.
Do this after your second (2nd) potential buyer is turned down or denied…
If your second potential buyer gets declined at the park’s office, try to understand why this person was declined to live in the community. The park manager may or may not be willing to tell you why the potential applicant was declined. A park manager that is open and communicating well with you is a better sign then a park manager that is closed off and not providing any additional help.
Now is the time to overwhelm the park manager with potential applicants. The manager can not likely deny everyone. Depending on how you are selling your mobile home you may have many buyers that are interested, or you may only have a few.
If you send in multiple potential buyers to get approved it will be difficult for the park manager to deny everyone. Disclaimer: Some park managers will only run one application per home at a time. This can be a problem if the background check takes the park longer than a few days to perform. If this is the case proceed to the next step below.
Pro Tip: Call any other sellers in the same mobile home park as your home. Inquire if they are having difficulties in getting potential buyers approved as well.
Do this after your third (3rd) potential buyer is turned down or denied…
If your third potential buyer gets declined begin screening your potential buyers prior to sending them directly to the mobile home park office. Since by now you understand what the park is looking for in a resident, you will now only send approved buyers to the office for approval.
Alternate scenario: In the event that your potential buyers are not calling you back after they speak with the park manager, make sure to call each potential buyer that vanished after they said they were going to the front office. Ask specifically what has changed or what they may have heard from the manager to change their attitude about living in this home and community.
Do this after your fourth (4th) potential buyer is turned down or denied…
Now maybe the time to start taking things personally. It can be wise to personally go down with the potential buyer to meet with the park manager in person together. At this point everyone can introduce each other and you can even be proactive to ask the park manager in person, “what type of things they look for during the application process” with the applicant there. The attitude of your park manager at this point will be very telling and how helpful or harmful they want to be with you.
The reason for this step is to make sure the park manager is not trying to steal your potential buyers away from your property and towards a park-owned mobile home. You being with the potential buyer when the application is turned in may help in deterring the manager from insulting your property or stealing your buyer.
Pro Tip: If you ever discover a park manager is stealing your applicants for other park-owned homes, it may be a wise idea to never work in this community again.
Do this after your fifth (5th) potential buyer is turned down or denied…
If your fifth potential buyer is turned down or denied, it is important to keep pushing forward. While you continue to advertise, aim to get in contact with the park-owner if possible. You may be able to check online to the public tax assessor’s website, County Clerk website, or property appraiser’s website to understand who owns this mobile home park and what is their mailing address. By searching the Internet you may be able to find the place of business or telephone number to reach out to the owner or general manager of this mobile home park organization. When speaking to someone in charge clearly and tactfully explain your situation and why you think you are being targeted and your potential buyers treated unfairly.
Pro Tip: Perform a skip trace (or name/number lookup) to find the park owner’s contact info with the help of a recommended skip tracking company.
If the park manager finds out you are going above his or her head, then he or she may be insulted and cause you even more trouble. However at the current stage this is a risk worth taking.
Do this after your sixth (6th) potential buyer is turned down or denied…
After your sixth potential buyer is turned down or deny at the community it is important to have a heart-to-heart with the manager and vent-your-frustrations to them tactfully. We need to let the park manager know that we are not made of money, and since we continually have to pay for monthly lot rent we want to know the steps/park rules when it comes to removing the subject home from the community.
Pro Tip: Aim to not be emotional or judgmental in this conversation. You are simply looking to stop the monthly loss with regards to Lot rent, and if you have to remove your home to a different community you will do so if needed.
Disclaimer: Some mobile homes may be difficult to move because of their age, size, cost, or location within a mobile home community. For this reason make sure you are actually willing to remove the home before asking the manager about steps to take for removal.
Mindset: Your specific mobile home park manager will have one of two mindsets. Mindset A: Your specific mobile home park manager definitely does not want to see the mobile home removed from the park. This will look negatively on her as a manager and decrease the parks revenue for the owner. The park manager will likely approve your next buyer. Mindset B: Your specific mobile home park manager does not care if the home leaves, or actually wants the home to be removed from the community. Obviously, Mindset B will mean that the manager will be excited that we are thinking about removing the home. This mindset will not help us to get a buyer approved. Proceed to the next step.
Finale: The park manager is still denying your potential buyers.
From this investor’s experience, most mobile homes will sell for cash or payments within around 45 days if priced competitively. However at the end of the day you cannot continue to hold a mobile home in a park that is vacant and seemingly impossible to get somebody approved for. The solutions are to:
✔ Transport the mobile home to a nearby park to resell. Call around for Move-In specials at nearby parks.
✔ Sell to a buyer that wants the mobile home on their land. If the new buyer wants the mobile home pulled out of the park, then the new buyer will not need to be approved to live there.
✔ Transport the mobile home to a piece of land you own, or partner with someone that owns a piece of vacant land zoned for a mobile home. Split profits.
✔ Contact local mobile home dealers and mobile home movers to see if they purchase used mobile homes.
✔ Lower the sales price & terms and overwhelm the park manager again with more motivated buyers.
✔ Give/sell the home to the park.
How to prevent this from happening in the future?
Moving forward it can be important for you to avoid working with these type of community managers in the first place. See the three tips below before agreeing to live in any particular mobile home park.
✔ Talk with the park manager at least three separate times. People have good days and bad days. Meet with the manager a handful of times and aim to get an understanding of the park manager’s attitude towards her job and residents. Working with a rude, difficult, authoritative, or angry park manager will not make for a good living/investing experience.
✔ Look up reviews on Google & Yelp. Some of these reviews may be true, and some of them may be false. However if you hear the same things over and over again this may be a sign that these things are true.
✔ Talk to your potential future neighbors and other sellers in the community. How do they feel about this management company and this particular park manager in general? Have they had any difficulties with this park manager or corporation?
In conclusion, no one aims to work with a difficult mobile home park manager, however it may happen unexpectedly. Managers come and go. Some are hard-working. Some go the extra mile Some watch out for their residents. Some are tough but fair. Other managers make the whole park an awful place to live. As an active mobile home investor you will experience almost all of the different types of park managers above. Remember that you are providing a valuable service and there are always more communities to explore. Continue helping others and making offers weekly.
Did we miss anything? Any mobile home investor comments or questions please let us know below.
Love what you do daily,
John Fedro
support@mobilehomeinvesting.net
Related mobile home investing videos:
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42 Comments
Tiffany
July 24, 2019This sounds all too familiar for me. My husband and I lived in a nice trailer park in Florida through the 90s. It was sold to new owners who quickly ran it into the ground. Now it looks like a ghost town compared to its better years. Looking back I did not know how to deal with the manager that constantly made it difficult for us to live in the community and treat us very unfairly. We still live in a trailer park. However this one we are much happier with. I will now know how to deal with the park if they start being difficult to work with. You are very smart. Thank you for putting this together. Sincerely Tiffany Moran
John Fedro
July 24, 2019Hi Tiffany,
Thank you so much for reaching out and connecting. I very much regret to hear about the negative experience you had back in the 90s. It is amazing to me how much one community manager can improve or corrupt an entire mobile home park. Moving forward if you have any specific or general mobile home related questions never hesitate to reach out any time. Happy to help you or your husband if you have any questions. Feel free to keep in touch. All the best.
Talk soon,
John
Joe Remierez
August 30, 2019Hello John. Having a dilemma about what to do. Have been working in a park for over a year and have invested in three mobile homes and now have the opportunity to remove one to sell to a guy that will pay all cash. I know the manager does not like this but I don’t know what to do. Should I talked to the manager. If I do what should I say. Any help is appreciated. Your friend Joe
John Fedro
August 31, 2019Hi Joe,
Thank you for reaching out and connecting. First things first, congratulations with regards to these three investments in the same community! I have no doubt that these deals and successes did not come without a good deal of hard work and daily effort on your part. Keep up the great work moving forward. I would very much encourage you to have a heart-to-heart with the park manager to find out if she has any problem with you removing the mobile home if a new buyer wants to take the property out of the park. If the manager does not want this to happen she may offer to purchase it from you or she may ask you to not remove it. In my opinion I would honor her request and not remove the home. As you already understand, these mobile home deals can be quite profitable and we are able to help put good people inside good mobile homes inside of pre-existing parks. There will always be more mobile homes that “must be move” however this one try to keep in the park and do not burn a bridge with the manager. We want to keep the manager happy so we can continue investing in future mobile homes in that park and helping the community increase revenue and not decrease the revenue. If at all possible do not sell to someone that wants to remove the home. I know this is very easy for me to say as it is not my potential profit on the line, however if you can sell for payments inside of the community for a higher price that may be a good option as well. However if the manager is being difficult for some reason that is a bit of a different story. If the manager is rude or you do not foresee doing future business than perhaps having the home removed would not be as big of a deal since you are not looking to preserve a relationship with this community. With that said the manager can make your life difficult if they are angry with you. I hope this helps and gives you a bit more to think about. There are certainly many different types of situations so if you have any follow-up questions or concerns please never hesitate to reach out any time. All the best. Keep in touch.
Talk soon,
John
Lyria Hill
June 6, 2021Hello. I recently purchased a mobile home to live in and almost finished with my rehab. I came across a bigger mobile home and now want to sell; but the park manager won’t allow my prospective buyer to put in their application. Is this legal? The park manager threatened me by stating they will make me move the home. Can they do this? I look forward to your response.
John Fedro
June 15, 2021Morning Lyria,
Thank you for reaching out and connecting. I very much regret a year that you are in this situation. Most communities and park managers are very normal and nice. They want what is best for the community and are thoughtful people. However some managers are toxic and evil. You have a few different options on what you may do. If the manager does not want you to sell perhaps you can fill the home with a renter or payment buyer, however in most situations the park would still want them to be approved. However sometimes they will approve you to have a renter in the home as long as your name is still on the lease and you are on the hook. Clearly a park that is threatening you is not somewhere that you want to be. Additionally, if you argue with them they clearly sound like they do not care about hurting your feelings or burning a bridge with you. I’m curious to age of the home and if it can be removed from the park due to its size and location within the community. If it is possible to remove the home then by all means this may be an option to sell to someone that wants to remove it and place it on their land or in another community. Some nearby mobile home parks may also be having promotions where they will pay the moving cost as an incentive for you to move into the community and stay there for many years. You may also want to seek legal counsel to get their opinion as well. You may have to call around to a number of real estate attorneys to find one that is experience with mobile homes. You may also want to contact your state’s manufactured housing Association to see if they can point you in the direction of a mobile home experienced attorney. For now I would stay pleasant with the park manager however quickly understand your options and/or be willing to move the home if needed. Keep in touch moving forward. If you have any follow-up questions now are moving forward never hesitate to reach out any time. All the best.
Talk soon,
John
Cary Hathaway
September 12, 2019Hello John.
Want to say thank you. I am becoming more and more fascinated with mobile homes as I watch your videos. Thank you for doing all of this. It really is the most comprehensive site I can find online on this topic.
Cary H
John Fedro
September 13, 2019Hi Cary,
Thank you for reaching out and connecting. Additionally, thank you for the kind words. Moving forward if you have any mobile home related questions or concerns never hesitate to reach out any time. All the best. Keep in touch.
Talk soon,
John
Kathy
February 18, 2020How long in general will a park that is corporate owned possible waive the lot fees as I rehab and flip. We had success in Florida but getting nervous about being stuck with the lot fees. Also my husband is trying to make a living and I just don’t see it. It’s lots of work and he is in his 50s. Any advice thanks
John Fedro
February 21, 2020Hi Kathy,
Thank you for reaching out and connecting. Working with parks and already cleaning up some of these mobile homes. Most parks certainly do have their limit however where their corporate or mom-and-pop owned it is easier to negotiate if you are purchasing a mobile home directly from the park and negotiating price/terms. It is much harder to negotiate if you already own the home and would just like a discount due to a hardship.
If possible, explain your situation a little bit more. His fixing and flipping not working for you locally? If you are not currently in Florida, where are you located now? How many hours per week do you have to devote to this business? Are you only aiming to sell for cash or selling for payments is acceptable as well?
Talk soon,
John
Sandy Coren
June 3, 2020Hi John, I hope you are still on this blog. I am owner of a Mobil home that I bought and let a friend live in. he is now in a nursing home. When I enter the home it was so filthy, I started gagging. He is also a hoarder. I rented a dumpster and it is fill to the brim on a 400sq foot home. Part of the floor is soft or soggy. Part of a room addition roof has some rain damage. I want to repair what is necessary and sell the unit. I have gotten bids of $9,000 and upward. I just want to move it. Any suggestions on what is necessary repairs, that I would have responsibility for. I have totally cleaned unit, put in new toilet. I am a deer in the headlights any info would be appreciated. Sandy
John Fedro
June 3, 2020Hi Sandy,
Thank you for reaching out and connecting. Additionally, thank you for the detailed comment as the certainly does help me understand your situation a bit better. I very much regret to hear about the situation that you are in. It sounds like there was a great deal of junk in the home. Great job getting this cleaned out. I would absolutely encourage you to market the home online and off-line as much as possible. Make sure to let people know that it is a handyman special and needs a lot of work. Perhaps even make it sound a bit grosser and smaller than it really is. Try to break even or make a little bit of profit and move on. I hope this helps and starts to point you in the right direction. If you have any follow-up question or concerns never hesitate to reach out any time. Keep in touch.
Talk soon,
John
Linda
September 22, 2020What is a reasonable time for a park to approve or deny a qualifying applicant?
John Fedro
September 23, 2020Hi Linda,
Thank you so much for reaching out and commenting. Very good question about the reasonable timeframe to get approved or denied. Most park managers will tell you this up front. They will know how long it typically takes people to get approved or denied. Most parks will have this process done within a few days assuming that they have all of the paperwork needed from the applicant. However some parks will only do a very quick background check and look up the local sheriff departments website. This may take as little as 15 minutes. They may also use a third-party website that are literally takes just a few minutes as well. However normally this process will take a few days or longer. Some parks that send all of their information to a corporate office out of state may take a week or two or longer. Keep in mind that if the application process is going to take a week or longer you absolutely may want to get a deposit from your potential buyer. This way if things take too long or they get cold feet and bail you will have a little bit of money to account for the holding costs. Keep the home on the market until you get somebody approved and you have closed with money in hand. I hope that this helps and points you in the right direction moving forward. If you have any follow-up questions never hesitate to reach out anytime. All the best.
Talk soon,
John
Filomena Ornelas
January 16, 2021Thank you for helping people!!!
Will email tomorrow.
JC Hanson
March 23, 2021John,
First, thank you for this post. It was informative and I believe it will be helpful. Have you ever run into park owners that may be denying prospective buyers in order to obtain the mobile home themselves? My mother past recently and a bit before her passing, the owner of the park offered to purchase her home for about one half of its value. He insured her that she could live there until she chose not to. She declined the offer.
Now we are receiving information from buyers that have put money down on the property, that the owners are very rude, and declining their applications on the bases of no proof of income. These are people who have been retired for years, and pass all other background checks. I am going to schedule a sit down with the owner/manager. When would it be appropriate to consult an attorney? Can they “evict” the trailer from the park even if all rent is current and upkeep is maintained?
Thank you again,
Jeff
John Fedro
March 29, 2021Morning JC,
Thank you for reaching out and connecting. Additionally, thank you for the detailed comment as the certainly does help me understand your situation a bit better. I very much regret to hear about your mother’s passing. I also regret to hear that the park owner is treating you like this at the moment. To answer your initial thought and question about, if the park is actually denying people for the purpose of stealing the home back… The answer may be yes. This absolutely does happen around the country. Sometimes the management will tell you the reason they denied people and sometimes they will not. Almost all parks will want to see some type of verifiable income, however in some cases a large amount of money in a bank account will work as well. You may want to run a background check or verify income yourself prior to sending people to the park manager’s office. This way you can verify income and look for what the park looks for, assuming you know the criteria to be approved. If the management denies folks that should be approved then this is all the more reason to seek legal counsel. In my opinion you should go seek a mobile home experienced attorney sooner rather than later. You may want to call your states manufactured housing Association. Every state has one in these folks may be able to help point you to a competent mobile home experienced attorney. I hope this helps and point you in the right direction. Feel free to keep in touch moving forward.
Talk soon,
John
Alice
April 4, 2021I am having the exact same problem. I have had two people offer me cash for my mobile home, and neither of them passed whatever it is the park is checking on. Be it background, or credit . My fear is that they want my mobile home. They did say that they would look into buying it from me, for a fraction of what it’s worth. The last guy had a 710 credit score according to him. But the park manager told me that his credit was not good. However, when they declined him they didn’t mention credit at all. They said they did not accept his form of income. As he is currently drawing unemployment. And he breeds great Danes. Which he did offer to sell, if they would not allow them in the park. He had $20,000 cash to purchase my home. And they are concerned about $360 a month and Lot rent. Something sounds fishy.
John Fedro
April 6, 2021Hi Alice,
Thank you for reaching out and connecting. I very much regret to hear about the situation that you are going through. It can definitely be more difficult when the park manager is not communicating with you at all. If possible, you can perform your own background checks using different third-party online websites to check your potential buyers credit and background before sending them to the community. It is important to have a exit strategy in the worst case if the managers are trying to delay the sale and cause you to abandon the home or sell to them. I’m curious if your mobile home is a single wide or double wide with any pop outs or add-ons. If the mobile home is a single wide without any additions that is from the 1980s or newer, it may likely be able to be moved and purchased by a buyer in your area that wants to relocate the mobile home to his or her property. With that being said you will not sell the home for as much money, in most cases, if it does have to be moved. Also, check with neighbors to verify if this has ever happened to them or anyone else. You can check on Google reviews to see if this park has a history of doing this as well. Begin advertising that the home must be moved to see what interested parties you may be able to find. You can then go to the manager and let them know that you are at your wits-end and confused about why nobody is getting approved. People have been calling about wanting to move the home however you have been pushing them away… However if you are unable to sell it to someone that wants to get approved you will entertain selling it to someone that has to move it out. Do not be argumentative, but rather flustered and emotional when speaking to the manager. Do not blame the manager for denying people, but rather keep referring to your confusion as to why you are unable to get people approved or passed the background check. I hope this helps and makes sense. Keep in touch moving forward if you have any follow-up questions or concerns. All the best.
Talk soon,
John
Alice Mae Hilt
April 23, 2021Thanks for your response, I found a buyer that wants to move the home but the park is stating that the outbuildings that are on the lot behind the home need to be removed before they will allow the person who purchased the home to move it. There is nothing in the lease that states that the outbuildings need to be removed ahead of time, and the buyer stated that she wanted the outbuildings. It would be impossible to remove one of the outbuildings without First moving the mobile home. This is a Doublewide home. There was a room addition on it but that is being removed by a third-party because the buyer did not want to have to move the addition as well. I’m confused as to what to do about the landlord/park owner refusing to allow the Mobile home to be moved. The only thing in the lease about moving a mobile home is that the park is in direct control of mobile homes being moved in or out of the park. She states that them being indirect control means that they can tell us in what order things have to be removed. What she’s wanting is for me to tear down the sheds/outbuildings. Lot rent is current. There are no fees due to the park. There are no past due utilities. I have never had any issues with the park until I decided to sell the home and move.
John Fedro
May 28, 2021Hi Alice,
Very good to hear back from you. Thank you for the detailed reply. My apologies for the delay in this response. I’m assuming by this time you have already moved forward one way or another with the opportunity. I do agree that it sounds like the manager is trying to force you to demolish these buildings. The manager is putting you in a difficult situation I do not want to argue with the management in most cases. We typically want to be the to work with and amenable. However they are definitely trying to force the next buyer to do exactly what they want. If the numbers make sense for you to demolish the buildings then by all means that is definitely an option. Depending on their condition you may be able to sell these to someone that wants to demo them, remove them, and rebuild them on their own property. You may also be able to purchase the title of the mobile home and resell to someone that wants to move it out of the community. Or you may remove it out of the community yourself once you have the title. However this may upset the manager in most cases. Keep in touch moving forward. Comment back here anytime or email me directly at support@mobilehomeinvesting.net.
Talk soon,
John
Tammy
March 29, 2021My brother is trying to buy a mobile home. He has cash. The mobile home parks keep asking him for a co-signer. He is retired but has good credit and the means to pay it. Are they just trying to get someone else on the hook to have to pay the lot rent in case anything happens to him since he is older? I don’t want to have to pay on this for the rest of my life. I think the park is really doing a disservice to the current owner by not letting them sell it and don’t want the same to happen to me if I co-sign. A couple of Parks in central Florida.
John Fedro
April 6, 2021Hi Tammy,
Thanks for reaching out and connecting. I regret to hear that the park is putting your brother over the coals as he seemingly has decent credit and income. You may be right about his age, however this could simply be park policy as well. You are definitely not wrong about them making things difficult for you in the future as well. However most parks are understandable, even if they are tough. Only few parks are malicious or really trying to prevent you from selling. With that said some parks are ridiculously strict in my opinion. Perhaps your brother could put down a few months worth of deposit instead of the cosigner. However if the park is demanding it then this may be needed in order to become approved. Hope this helps some. Keep in touch moving forward. All the best.
Talk soon,
John
Cassie
July 22, 2021Hi,
Over a month ago, I applied and was denied to get into a trailer park due to an expensive car loan.
My ex refinanced the car in his name only so it is no longer on my credit.
Since then, I have been approved for a mortgage for a trailer home in that park.
When I went to reapply for the park, the manager told me I have to wait 6 months.
Is this a typical policy for trailer parks? Can I ask for written proof? I feel like the manager doesn’t like me.
Thanks,
Cassie
John Fedro
July 26, 2021Hi Cassie,
Thank you very much for reaching out and connecting. I very much regret to hear that this Park and Park manager are being so strict and not working with you as you are clearly trying and willing to work with them. Most mobile home parks differ from one another in a number of different ways. In addition to the “corporate policy”, the park managers put their own personal spin on almost everything that they do. For this reason, it is possible that in some parks the manager will look the other way and take your application prior to six months if possible. However in some parks the manager does not have this leeway. With regards to your questions, a mobile home park can have this six-month requirement. This is certainly something that I’ve heard of before. You can ask for written proof however this will probably not start the relationship off on the right foot. Park managers are certainly normal people, and normal people are judgmental and emotional etc. If you feel like the manager does not like you, then unfortunately you’re probably correct. However this is something that can be overcome and changed over time. Perhaps bring the manager some doughnuts when you are ready to turn in your application next time if possible. Certainly be kind and appreciative and thankful. This goes a long way with many managers. I’m sure that you know most of this already. Feel free to keep in touch moving forward. If you have any follow mobile home related questions never hesitate to reach out any time. All the best.
Talk soon,
John
heather griffies
September 8, 2021I purchased a mobile home with cash paid in full from the owner of the home. I did check with the park first about what is necessary for approval and I met all criteria so I purchased the home and put in my application and to my surprise I was denied due to a small claims from over 5 years ago. They stated they didn’t go back further than 5 years. I then had someone apply for the lot that also exceeded all of their criteria to rent the lot the home is on and they were denied as well with no reasoning. The woman who sold the home to me told me they had offered her a ridiculously low amount for this home and she denied their offer. So I am under the assumption we are being denied due to their efforts to bully her into selling to them but she already sold to me. What are my options? I have considered allowing them to buy it back from me for what I paid her, or re selling to someone else. It is a 1972 so I do not think it can be moved. The park sold one recently for the same year for $20,000.00 so I can almost guarantee this is their goal with this home. What I can I do to keep them from bullying me away? This mobile home was a great buy for me as I pod only $5,500.00 and do not want to pass it up as I would like to be able to finish college and the low lot rent allows me to do so instead of work full time. Thank you in advance
John Fedro
September 23, 2021Hi Heather,
Thank you for reaching out and connecting. I very much regret to hear that you’re going through this situation. My apologies for the delay in this comment reply. It certainly does sound as if this mobile home park is not being very forthcoming and may absolutely be denying people for no particular reason. Or rather, the reason is they want the mobile home for themselves. I would check with other residents in the community or sellers to see if they are having the same issue. It sounds like you’ve already purchased the mobile home and paid cash, so I doubt the previous seller would return the money to you at this point. For this reason the park may be even more upset with you that you did not wait to get approved prior to purchasing the home. However since you have title you now have the ability to resell the home or remove it if possible. Due to the age this will be difficult to move, however not impossible. Perhaps you could reason with the park and you would be approved with a cosigner or putting down a higher than normal deposit. If you plan to resell the home I would encourage you to bombard the park manager with a number of applicants. If this keeps happening then contacting a local attorney or news channel may be wise. You also may want to put the home up online at a discounted price to see who may be interested in moving an older home like this. You may be surprised to learn that there definitely still buyers that might want to move a home from the early 70s. Again, I very much regret to hear that you are even going to the situation in the first place. These managers should be held accountable and it is terrible the way they are trying to manipulate people they are hired to look out for. I hope this helps a bit. Feel free to keep in touch moving forward. All the best.
Talk soon,
John
Len Nguyen
February 23, 2022Hi There,
I’m a Realtor who represent my buyer to buy a mobile home in San Jose, California.
my buyer is in the purchase contract with all the contingencies have done but they got the denied from park manager because of they have no credit history. They found a cosigner but unfortunately park manager wouldn’t give them an application. she said park rules don’t allow same people apply within a year. Now It looks like we have to cancel the contract and escrow.
Can you please give us some advises?
Thanks,
Len
John Fedro
April 4, 2022Hi Len,
Thank you very much for reaching out and connecting. My apologies for the delay in this comment reply. By now I assume some things have changed. However I will definitely answer the question and please let me know any changes by commenting back emailing me directly at support@mobilehomeinvesting.net.
I regret very much to hear about your buyer situation. It absolutely sounds like this park manager is being difficult for no good reason. Perhaps there is a “corporate policy” however this can absolutely be looked the other way on or forgiven. The park manager or the park owner if you can talk to them are the gatekeepers to this community. It is not ideal to bully the manager or talk to them about bringing in an attorney to threaten them this will not help you, even if the buyer wins they will still lose as the manager will make their life difficult moving forward. Perhaps you could very politely try to bribe the park manager with a few hundred dollars. Additionally, perhaps another person can get approved at the park however the title can be in your client’s name. Many mobile home parks will not confirm who exactly is the owner on record.
Again, I regret to hear that your client is going through this. There definitely are a number of things that can happen moving forward. Please feel free to keep in touch moving forward and if you have any follow-up questions never hesitate to reach out anytime.
Talk soon,
John
George Moody
March 15, 2022Once my application is approved how long is it valid
John Fedro
April 4, 2022Hi George,
Thank you for reaching out and connecting. My apologies about the delay in this comment reply. Parks very from business to business. However typically if you are approved in one mobile home park then you will be approved in many of the other parks that are owned by the same company. As far as the length of time goes, usually six months or less. Occasionally a year. Very occasionally they will not ask you again as long as you are paying on time and an easy resident. Hope this helps and answers the question. If you have any follow-up questions never hesitate to reach out anytime.
Talk soon,
John
George Moody
March 15, 2022My park application has been approved this is in Iowa, I’m waiting for home owner to move in the Fall Park management said application is only good for 90 days and then I have to reapply in this true
John Fedro
April 4, 2022Hi George,
Thank you for reaching out and connecting. I do not believe there is a statute for this. Parks can choose how long they want to keep your application good for. If this is for an RV park then it is a bit more understandable however if it is a mobile home park then that is very weird and I have never heard of a park requiring its residents to have to run their credit and background check every 90 days. Perhaps a new lease needs to be signed, which is still unusual, but that may have something to do with local laws or benefits of keeping the lease short-term for 90 days or less. If every 90 days your credit has to be run this is definitely going to bring down your credit score and I would encourage you to find somewhere else if possible. Let me know if this helps and any follow-up questions. I assume by this point you have resolve the issue however keep in touch with any follow-up questions moving forward please.
Talk soon,
John
Melanie
September 20, 2022Hello, thank you for the troubleshooting tips. We lived in a senior mobile home park in California. Our home is legally too old to move. The Park Owner has now turned down six buyers with accepted offers. Our home has been for sale for 9 months now. All other homes for sale in the park have been successfully sold, while ours has not.
In the beginning, we asked twice for the criteria so that we could pre-screen buyers as you suggested. Unfortunately, the park owner will not tell us what her criteria are which makes it a guessing game. Our realtor has been screening to make sure all buyers are making three times the lot rent, which is the only criteria of which we are aware. BTW, the mobile home residency law 798.74 in CA code says Owner needs to supply in writing the criteria but we’ve had no luck in obtaining anything.
Do you have any advice for when the Park Owner will not provide the criteria which she uses to screen buyers? Is our only option to abandon the home?
John Fedro
October 3, 2022Hi Melanie,
Thank you very much for reaching out and connecting. Additionally, thank you for your detailed comment as the certainly does help me understand your situation a bit better. I very much regret to hear that you are in the situation in the first place. It absolutely sounds like the park manager/management is making it extra difficult for you to sell your property in particular. I am sure they know the home is too old to legally be moved, however this does not mean somebody would not buy it and move it anyway. However that is not the best course of action. It is obviously best for everyone if the home remain in the park so lot rent can continue to be paid. I assume if they did not want you there they would’ve already given you a nonrenewal of lease type of letter instructing you to remove the mobile home so they could add in a brand-new one. However since they are not doing this they made be trying to steal the home from you and hope that you just abandon it. I’m curious if any of your neighbors have had the same problems. Does the park manager want you to sell through their management company?… So they get a commission when the home sells? Is this why they are slowing things down perhaps? Like I mentioned in the video above, perhaps lower the price even further so that you are able to send multiple buyers to the park office to get approved all at the same time. Ideally this park will allow multiple people to try to get approved. Additionally, if the price is low enough you will have these buyers that will get irritated or pushy about why they are not being approved at the community. This may help push the manager to approve one of your buyers. Out of curiosity, you may also want to list the property online as a “must be moved” type of mobile home. Some buyers will have a few tricks up their sleeve is the how they can move these older homes and where they move them too. If the park knows you are serious about having the home removed this may change their attitude. Hope this helps him and point you in the right direction. Feel free to keep in touch. Again, it is terrible that they are doing this to you. This definitely happens around the country however it is certainly the minority. Do not abandon the home for sure. Keep in touch. All the best.
Talk soon,
John
Diane
September 18, 2023Hi John, here it is 2023 and I found your site after looking for an answer for days. I live in a Mobile home park in Oregon and about 4 months ago, my elderly neighbor said it was time for him to go into assisted living. He said he was selling his home and my son asked if he could buy it. “Ralph” my neighbor said yes, and he explained a person was going to come in and remodel the home and it would take around a month or so before he could sell it to my son. There was a written letter to Ralph that my son and his partner would buy it. I stupidly told my neighbor on the other side of me that my son was buying Ralph’s place. His eyes lit up with excitement, which I thought was strange. The next day the manager of the park went to Ralph and told him she would not accept my son, because he wouldn’t qualify. Ralph told me and I said it was a lie, he makes good money and how would she know when he hasn’t had a chance to apply yet? I kept talking to Ralph telling him the manager cannot tell him that. It’s against the law. My other neighbor on the other side had a friend of his rush down and offer Ralph $20,000 cash right then! To make a very long story short, there are 2 men in this park who are in cahoots with the manager. The men are from a village in Mexico and any time a home is sold in the park, it is only sold to family or friends who all come from the same village in Mexico. The park is now filled with many people from the village. I called the owner and told them what was happening and the woman I talked to was pretty mad and said she had received complaints before. She said it was going to change so it wouldn’t happen again. I called her back in two weeks, only to find she was either terminated or quit. She was the owners office manager. Then I called the owner directly and told him the manager was lying and steering “Ralph” away other applicants, so he would only have the cash offer left. To make matters much worse, I found out the owner and the manager are old childhood friends and honestly the owner does not care what the managers are doing. As long as he gets the rent each month, he’s happy.
I know it’s too late for any recourse , but how does one deal with such unethical,
corrupt people? I don’t know if you’ll see this, but I’m glad to have written it done.
Sincerely,
Diane
John Fedro
September 18, 2023Hi Diane,
Thank you very much for reaching out and connecting. Additionally, thank you for the detailed comment is a certainly does help me understand the situation a bit better. I very much regret to hear that you and your son and his partner all went through this situation. It absolutely sounds like there was a good deal of fishy business going on in the backend. Clearly people did not care about living up to the agreements and you are absolutely right about them likely steering your son away so your other neighbor could purchase the property. I’ve seen this happen a number of times over my career. Sometimes I’ve been involved and cut out of the deals, and other times it is people that I know that are going through the situation. We’ve tried different versions of contacting attorneys, the state attorney general’s, Better Business Bureau, etc. However in my experience there is very little to no recourse in these gray area type of situations. In short your son is definitely the one that lost out and it definitely sounds like it is no fault of theirs. They did everything they were supposed to and they still got the short end of the stick. I am really sorry to hear this. Moving forward if you have any follow-up mobile home related questions big or small please never hesitate to reach out anytime. I’m happy to say that people like this are the minority most folks are good people that live up to what they agree to. Keep in touch moving forward. All the best.
Talk soon,
John
Lee
December 12, 2023Do you have advice & knowledge about light nuisance directed at our home by park owner. Stated it’s for insurance but intended site is for lot behind it. To top it off John, it’s a very bright double led.
We want to sell now but with this harassment doesn’t seem possible. This guy is notorious for this behavior.
Thanks
John Fedro
December 19, 2023Hi Lee,
Very good to hear from you. I very much regret to hear about the difficulties and headache you are having from this Park manager. Through first-hand experience and secondhand experience I have heard of and dealt with some really really evil park managers. Then again, I have definitely dealt with a lot of emotional and immature Park manager as well that are much less toxic. I hope you are dealing with a Park manager that can be easily bribed or swayed by some flattery type of talking. Then again, if you sell the mobile home the next person will simply have to deal with this guys harassment. It would be great to get this gentleman fired or arrested however that may not be likely or possible. With regards to suggestions, the Park manager can definitely deny anybody from comfortably living there. In reality, they can deny people that are likely approved, however the Park manager simply may not like them on that specific day. It is definitely not right or fair, however it is reality most of the times. Even if you fight this in court and win by getting your buyer approved, the buyer will not likely want to live there in the Park manager will really make your life difficult at that point. Depending on the age and positioning of the home in the park, you may be able to remove this one if possible. If the home is built after 1976 then there is a good chance it could be removed if possible. If the manager is telling you the reasons the people are not approved, then perhaps you can do your own background check and bring everything into the Park manager with the potential resident to make sure things go smoothly. However park managers like this can constantly move the goalpost and change things up on you. Keeping them happy with you are making a few repairs on the home to get somebody approved may be the easiest thing to do. I do not like giving in to awful managers like this, however sometimes it is easier to be friendly to these types of managers than being difficult. However that is easier for me to say is I am not currently dealing with this guy. Additionally, contacting your states Atty. Gen. might be helpful if this guy has a pattern of harassing multiple homeowners in previous occupants. Any follow-up questions never hesitate to reach back out anytime or email me directly. All the best.
Talk soon,
John
Diane
September 18, 2023Hi John,
Thank you so much for your speedy response! I expected there would be no recourse for my son. The park is filling up with all the family/friends from the village in Mexico and that is planned by the managers and their 2 good friends who live here. When I sell my MH, (which may be sooner than planned), I will only use the Realtor I bought this home from and I will choose who to sell to, not the managers. I am living in the middle of the two who were instrumental in getting the manager to steer only to the one who paid cash. It’s very uncomfortable and I am pretending they are invisible to me,
Life is not fair. But, we move on to something better!
Thank you so much for your fast response!
Sincerely,
Diane
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