Welcome back,
This is a Public Service Announcement for anyone considering investing in a lucrative mobile home deal located inside a mobile home park. If you haven’t already heard that mobile homes are cash-cows then consider this your wake-up call.
Mobile homes are categorized in 2 distinct ways:
- Those within pre-existing mobile home parks
- Those located on private land.
The big difference between the two is if the mobile home owner owns the land the home rests on, or if the mobile home owner pays the land-owner monthly for the right to use their land and utilities.
If you own your land you are King — assuming you pay your mortgage, property taxes, and abide by local and state laws. Popular opinion suggests that in many respects a person’s home “should” be his or her castle. This does not hold true for those who live in a mobile home park. You and everyone else living in the community need to realize that the park managers and park owners have the ultimate and final say. In a nutshell, the mobile home park hold most of the proverbial cards…
As long as you understand the pecking order of this business and your role in it, you and the park can have a very happy and profitable working relationship together.
What is the “pecking order of the business” and what is “my role in it?”
As an investor when you purchase a mobile home inside a park you may do so inexpensively, without bank financing, without escrow, without Realtors, without expensive insurances, and can close in just hours or days. The flexibility and affordability of mobile home investing are amazing features that most other traditional investors only dream about. The cost we pay for all these positive investing attributes is that we must abide by any and all of a mobile home park’s seemingly asinine rules and continual lot increases.
How to fight back?
I say don’t bother unless you have been severally wronged. If you have aligned yourself with the right mobile home park, there is a slim chance you will need to worry about being taken advantage of or bullied by any park employee. Do remember — park owners and managers are REAL people with their own emotions, troubles, greed, and joys that can transfer over into their professional work. Use this as a barometer or guide for their character, management and accountability standards. Maintain your degree of professionalism even if theirs seems to wane.
I have heard many times of park residents filing law suits against parks with mixed results. If a park is even moderately well organized, it has likely positioned itself and the existing contracts each resident must sign prior to moving into the park, in a way to give the park owner every advantage possible.
Clever park owners…
Don’t fight back, just correct issues, smile, and go on collecting money from your buyers. If you piss off an unstable park manager they are not likely going to hold you in high regards.
If you are already living in a mobile home park and are being harassed weekly by a dictator-like manager, it may be in your best interest to speak with the owner of the park directly. If this does not help perhaps legal counsel is in order.
If you have any further questions about mobile home investments please do not hesitate to reach out.
Love what you do daily,
John Fedro
support@mobilehomeinvesting.net
Related Mobile Home Investor And Park Relationships video:
6 Comments
Judy Mer
July 25, 2012Hi John.
How do you feel the first meeting with a park manager should go? Any tips or thoughts?
Thank you in advance,
Judy
John Fedro
July 25, 2012Hi Judy,
This is a very very very important stage in the relationship between you and any park. Basically this is the point where you define your relationship to the park, ask for help, ask for resources, and build instant rapport (hopefully) in the matter of 10-20 minutes AND hope that the Pm agrees to your proposition. I do have a very specific script that is reserved for my investor clients. But without giving this exact script away I can certainly help you avoid being chased out of the office. See the key points below:
1.) Always agree with a PM.
2.) Do not use the word “Investor”
3.) Smile
4.) Practice what you are going to say when you go into the park office.
5.) Ask questions that would lead the PM to think you will be a very good asset for the park in the near future.
hope this helps Judy.
Best,
John
Guest
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Ulysses Freedmont
May 2, 2013Hi John, Your method of telling everything in this post is really really nice and refreshing! Thanks a lot. You’re the best in the MH bus.
Codo Neutman
November 3, 2016Outstanding post Jon, you have pointed out some good things I had not considered until now. Keep it up and I will return with more questions. Codo
John Fedro
November 5, 2016Hi Codo,
Thank you for reaching out and connecting. I’m very happy to hear that this article has helped in some way thus far. Moving forward if you have any additional follow-up questions or concerns never hesitate to reach out to me anytime. Always happy to help if I can.
Talk soon,
John
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