The Mobile Home Park Broker's Tips & Tricks To Investing
Welcome to another beautiful episode of The Mobile Home Park Broker's Tips and Tricks Podcast. This podcast is brought to you by the Community Price Maximizer. It is our proprietary system that will guarantee you a higher price when you exclusively list your community with our four-step program.
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The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Podcast Interview with The MHP Broker Jeff Dodge About His Recent Tallahassee Mobile Home Park Estates Closing
06/06/2025
The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Podcast Interview with The MHP Broker Jeff Dodge About His Recent Tallahassee Mobile Home Park Estates Closing
In this episode of The MHP Broker’s Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, briefly interviewed company broker Jeff Dodge regarding his closing of an expansive Tallahassee, Florida mobile home park. As with every Tips and Tricks podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: Jeff explained that one potential challenge to this Tallahassee Mobile Home Park Estates deal was that the owners lived in another state and weren’t present during most of the transaction. In fact, it was their physical distance from the park that motivated their decision to sell, and to invest the proceeds closer to their home. (Jeff, 1:04) This transaction proves the point that The MHP Brokers can transact a sale whether or not the owners are present, from running drones to calculate footage to handling the underwriting and all contact with buyers. (Max, 1:278) The park had 90 percent occupancy, with 20 lots on about 15.5 acres. There were 11 tenant-owned homes and 8 park-owned homes, with one unoccupied home and one vacant lot. Being part of the thriving major city of Tallahassee and having city water and paved roads throughout, and plenty of room for expansion on those fifteen city acres, there was a lot of buyer interest. As a result, there were multiple offers, and the one they went with was a buyer who owned other parks in the area, and the brokers had worked with him in the past. The buyer was able to get bank financing, and the deal closed promptly. (Jeff, 2:06) Well, there was one little hitch. A lawyer forgot to include his fee, so MHP Broker had to do a little price haggling at the end. That proved a little harrowing for a while, but it all worked out fine in the end. (Max, 2:58) What Jeff learned (or relearned) from the transaction was that unforeseen issues can come up at any time. Sometimes you have to be creative, but the issues can all be dealt with if you think it out, and the transaction caan close to everyone’s satisfaction. (Jeff, 3:30) The Mobile Home Park Broker won’t let your deal go south. They’ve got tons of experience keeping deals on track and closing to the satisfaction of all parties. And you don’t even have to be on the scene while they handle your transaction. So reach out to Jeff Dodge, Max Baker or other team members at The MHP Broker, (678) 932-0200. Or drop them a line at [email protected]. Power Quotes in This Episode: “We had a little bit of drama at the closing when one of our attorneys forgot to add his fee, so we had to negotiate that out a little bit. Everybody got a little fluffy-tailed, but ultimately, Jeff was able to do the negotiation and get that closing. So yeah, it was a little scary there at the end, because everybody was getting all up in hands about it, but we were able to get it done.” (Max, 2:58) “Even though issues can arise any time up until closing…we can always find a good resolution and…sometimes we have to get creative. You know, those things can come up at any point and you have to be ready to overcome (them).” (Jeff, 3:30) “I'll just say that we're able to get to the finish line, and both parties were happy with the outcome eventually, and (to) everybody out there listening, we typically can find the right buyer for you. So, just give us the opportunity.” (Jeff, 3:58) “We can get funding. We can find the buyer. We can make the experience white-glove for you (the seller).” (Max, 4:07)
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The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Podcast Interview with 3 Female Leaders in the Manufactured Home Park Industry in Recognition of International Women’s Day
03/07/2025
The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Podcast Interview with 3 Female Leaders in the Manufactured Home Park Industry in Recognition of International Women’s Day
In this episode of The MHP Broker’s Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed his wife, Kathryn Baker, and two more female business leaders. These were industry business owners Justine Natalie and Maria Horton. As with every Tips and Tricks podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: Kathryn introduced herself as the co-owner and chief operating officer (COO) of The Mobile Home Park Broker. Her focus is on customer service excellence, optimizing workflow and driving growth. (Kathryn, 1:26) Justine Natalie introduced herself as the co-founder and co-owner of a company called Dynamic MH Solutions. THat’s a hybrid third-party park management operation she started with business partner Mike Scheffler in 2021.They started by offering sales and financing services, and then got into property operations. Their focus is in teaching and training community management. (Justine, 3:00) Maria Horton introduced herself as someone who has been in the business for about 23 years, mostly on the human side of the business: property management, community relations, and such. She said she loved watching her young residents grow up, get scholarships, and take on life. She also loves going to industry conferences and networking. (Maria, 4:10) Maria said she thinks the biggest challenge is trying to change the image and perception of her industry and the very concept of what a mobile home is. It’s also difficult to go up against the obstacles that local communities place on manufactured home parks to regulate them and seemingly control them out of existence. (Maria, 5:55) Max observed how intimidating an industry conference might be to some. For instance, the difficulty of someone just starting out trying to strike up a conversation with someone who owns 100 parks. (Max, 6:48) Maria noted that she has the social ability to approach anyone at a conference, and that she goes out of her way to meet someone who seems intimidated or on the outskirts of the social action, and introduce them to others. She’s also glad to see how many women there are at these shows now, compared to years before. Women are finally becoming a bigger part of the career path. (Maria, 7:07) Max then asked his guests to address the various business challenges they’ve had to take on, being women in the business. (Max, 8:00) Justine said that there are so many details and decisions she has to stay on top of, it’s easy to get imposter syndrome and wonder how she possibly has the talent and ability to thrive or survive in such an environment. She said that she thinks women might overthink this more than men, who might have a greater tendency to just “jump right in” with greater confidence and less insight. This, she thinks, is a daily challenge and one she’s always trying to overcome as a female business owner. (Justine, 8:23) Max said that he thinks women tend to be better business operators than men. The men prefer “flying by the seat of their plants” while women plan and strategize before taking action. (Max, 9:49) Justine and her husband have observed that the careful pre-planning is something she does in her business life, but not at all in her private life where she’s more spur of the moment. (Justine, 10:09) Maria thinks that might be because more people are affected by decisions she makes in the business life. At home, she can blunder her way through decisions because they affect fewer people. (Maria, 10:40) One of Maria’s biggest challenges is staying abreast of all of the organizations and associations she takes an active part in. She always wants to feel that she’s making a positive impact in her industry, but it’s easy to get sucked in and get overinvolved. Sometimes she just doesn’t know when or how to say no. (Maria, 11:29) Kathryn stated that she also sometimes experiences the impostor syndrome like Justine. She’s eventually come to realize that she doesn’t always have to have all of the answers, that she can rely on others on the topnotch team they’ve put together through the years. (Kathryn, 13:39) Justine has made a point of hiring great people who are good at what they do so she can let them make key decisions when they should. But it took her awhile to realize that she could trust others to help her run the business. (Justine, 14:21) Kathryn said that she learned how to accept the freedom to fail from a video biography of Spanx founder Sarah Blakely. She said that around the kitchen table as she was growing up her dad would ask her all the time, “Sarah, what did you fail at today?” The idea was to lose the fear of failing and be able to take decisions and get right back up on your feet if you failed the first time. Kathryn feels she is much more confident that way, now. (Kathryn, 15:12) Regarding advice she’d give for women who are trying to purchase a manufactured home community, Justine said that her first tip would be to join Women Advancing Manufactured Housing (WAMH). In that way, women business owners would join a network of seasoned professionals who could offer tips and suggestions and advice. That’s the purpose of WAMH, an organization with which Justine has been closely involved. (Justine, 16:49) Her second piece of advice is that the female entrepreneur should learn how to advocate for themselves and not to sit quietly by. The idea here is to control their own destinies. (Justine, 17:30) Justine said that she thinks there’s still a little of a glass ceiling working against female entrepreneurs, but it’s much more subtle than it used to be. She said that she can buy a community today, but if she goes to see a lender with a male partner, the lender’s questions and comments often get directed to her partner a lot more than to herself. You have to put yourself out there when that happens, and make sure you’re heard. She says she’s also lucky in having a male business partner who’ll turn the conversation back to her when he feels she’s being ignored or minimized as a woman and an expert. (Justine, 18:45) Maria doesn’t think there’s much of a glass ceiling these days in manufactured home communities. She said that female park management is becoming more common and there are fewer barriers than ever. (Maria, 19:57) Max credits Kathryn with being key to building their own company to where they’ve been able to take it. Without his wife’s involvement, he felt that he would be a solo broker with maybe one employee, but she’s been able to help them grow it far beyond that point with her organizational and management skills.(Max, 23:56) Max specifically credits Kathryn with being much better at managing people than he is. (Max, 24:45) To Max’s question regarding the most important lessons learned while in the manufactured housing industry, Maria responded that patience is required. That’s necessary because change is constant, and there’s always something new to learn. (Maria, 25:53) Justine observed that the industry is constantly evolving to stay ahead of changing economics or cultural changes. For example, when the economy is on a downswing, park operators will offer more in the way of home rentals rather than sales. It’s critical to be able to evolve with the industry because that’s how to stay profitably in business and survive the changes. (Justine, 26:44) Maria thinks one advantage women might have is their sense of flexibility. They really can change with the times and adapt to changing conditions. (Maria, 28:57) Kathryn is pleasantly surprised at how gorgeous today’s manufactured homes are. It’s not like the stereotype at all. (Kathryn, 29:27) On the subject of business role models for women, Maria said that Leslie Gooch and Paula Reeves are among the industry insiders who made the greatest impression on her, but that there were many others as well. These included bankers, association insiders, and too many others to mention. She also name-dropped Justine in this category. (Maria, 30:33) Justine mentioned Maria as one of her mentors through her activism in the associations and her ability as a “connector,” someone who can bring people together and inspire networking. She’s also done a lot to provide home ownership lending for community residents. Justine is also impressed with the leadership of WAMH and how they’ve encouraged women in the business. (Justine, 31:48) Justine is also impressed with Dr. Vrnka Boykin as a role model for women in business leadership. She addresses such topics as work-life balance for women. (Justine, 33:15) Kathryn takes inspiration from Brene Brown, a speaker and influencer from outside of the industry. Brown speaks in a communication style. Kathryn also sees Sara Blakely, the Spanx founder, as a role model. Max’s final question was on trends or developments that might shape the future of the industry for women. Justine mentioned the increased number of women buying and operating communities. She thinks that, as this happens, women will create more of a focus on creating clean, safe, affordable housing rather than just maximizing the bottom line. (Justine, 35:03) Maria felt that need to do more in the way of getting the word out on the high quality of the manufactured homes available today. Home ownership is the American Dream. And it really is readily available through manufactured homes. (Maria, 36:44) WAMH is an organization run by women, but not exclusively for women. Men are members, too. Today the organization has about 400 members. (Justine, (Justine, 40:27) WAMH has had a variety of educational classes for members on subjects as diverse as trends in technology and automation to pet screening. The goal is to educate park owners on the latest trends and developments in the industry. (Maria, 41:35) The Mobile Home Park Broker sees plenty of opportunity for men and women in the industry. Please call Max Baker at The MHP Broker, (678) 932-0200 and we’ll help you find a qualified buyer and an optimal sale price.You can also drop us a line at [email protected]. Power Quotes in This Episode: “...you;re working with people’s livelihoods, right? I mean, if you make a mistake for the business, you’ve got employees and clients and all sorts of people that you have to answer to. So yeah, being able to put a plan in place is very important.” (Justine, 11:07) “I think there really isn’t a glass ceiling any longer for women in this industry if they are strong business women that are ready to jump in and be assertive and get to know everyone.” (Maria, 19:57) “I think (manufactured housing) isa fantastic solution for affordable housing, and it surprises me that it doesn’t get more attention…I have learned that the homes are absolutely gorgeous.” (Kathryn, 29:27) “I think women will continue to have the thought process of advancing the industry forward, making sure it’s clean, safe, affordable housing for families, and things like that.” (Justine, 35:03)
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The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails Interview with MP Broker Eric Wanck Regarding His 2-Park Portfolio Closing in Talladega
11/16/2024
The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails Interview with MP Broker Eric Wanck Regarding His 2-Park Portfolio Closing in Talladega
In this episode of The MHP Broker’s Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed The MHP Broker Eric Wanck regarding his recent two-park mobile home park sale in Talladega, Alabama. As with every Tips and Tricks podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: Max introduced broker Eric Wanck and told how Eric had recently closed on two mobile home parks in Talladega, Alabama with good value-add opportunities. (Max, 00:22) With both being small parks, Eric knew he had his work cut out for him. Smaller parks tend not to attract big portfolio owners or Wall Street investors from outside the market, and can take longer to find more localized buyers. Both parks were on city water, which was an advantage. He did get a good all-cash offer for both from a local, but had obstacles that kept the park deals from closing for several months. (Eric, 1:39) The delay was caused by the need of the buyer to move money around, selling some properties in order to raise the cash they needed to complete the Talladega deal. (Eric, 3:03) The deal was of particular value to the buyer because the lot rents were very much below market at about $175 a month. This would create a strong value-add opportunity to raise rents and increase revenue soon after the purchase. (Eric, 3:17) Although the sale took five or six months, it turned out to be a smooth transition and everyone was happy. In fact, the seller was so pleased with the sale that they gave Eric a referral on another park sale. (Eric, 4:30) The delayed closing was something Eric hadn’t seen before, but it worked out to the satisfaction of everyone. The lesson here was that every sale is unique, and you just have to stay flexible an deal with it. (Eric, 5:01) The Mobile Home Park Broker is experienced at brokering parks that have a hiccup or two during the course of the transactions. We can handle it. If you’re thinking of putting your park on the market, call Eric Wanck or Max Baker at The MHP Broker, (678) 932-0200 and we’ll help you find–and find financing for–a qualified buyer. Or drop us a line at [email protected]. Power Quotes in This Episode: “The small parks are always a little bit of a wild card. How are they going to sell? Typically, we always look at it as a smaller buyer pool. These folks are likely going to be local to the park, instead of your bigger national portfolio buyers coming in and buying these 30-pad parks. So they sit on the market, and that's typical, sometimes a little bit longer than most.” (Eric, 1:39) “Anytime we see anything under $200 (in lot rents) in the southeast, we know that they're asking for a rental bump at some point.” (Eric, 3:17) “It was a pretty smooth transaction. At the end of the day, the seller was happy and, believe it or not, this seller turned around and gave us a referral on some other parks.” (Eric, 4:30) “We just essentially needed to kind of hang on for that closing date. So, it worked out nice, man!” (Eric, 5:01) (Regarding the market for mobile home park sales) “...as rates continue to push down here, this is a prime time to get back out there and start looking to buy parks, sell parks. Movement is happening for the most part. 2024 was probably slower across all asset classes, but things are definitely picking up. Give us a call, we can help get parks moved and find you something if you want to get on the acquisition side.” (Eric, 5:43)
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The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Interview with Non-Profit founder Drew Toothman
11/11/2024
The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Interview with Non-Profit founder Drew Toothman
In this episode of The MHP Broker’s Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, chats with old friend and fellow former U.S. Marine Andrew Toothman about his Mental Grenade blog site and FOB Truth non-profit plans. As with every Tips and Tricks podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: Max has known and been good friends with Andrew “Drew” Toothman since they met at U.S. Marine boot camp. They later attended the Marine Music School together. Max invited Drew on to discuss his non-profit ambitions for vets, first responders, and others needing moral, emotional and spiritual support. (Max, 0:22) After their School of Music time together, the two friends got separated. Drew was sent to Okinawa for a year. He got married to Misty, then got sent to Twentynine Palms, in the Mojave Desert. He was trained in explosive ordnance disposal and was deployed to Afghanistan. After experiencing multiple concussive hits and serious concussions, Drew was medically discharged from the Marines after more than 12 years. (Drew, 4:14) Drew, Misty and their three kids moved to Pennsylvania, and Drew attended auto diesel school. He had extensive problems transitioning from military to civilian life because of the relative lack of structure. He didn’t feel like he had a community any longer. (Drew, 5:42) Drew was dealing with PTSD from his military days and before, and going through a period of intense self-reflection. 7:38) Drew helped establish, then worked on, a non-profit organization dealing with the mental health needs of veterans, until he left the organization at the end of 2019. He learned the importance of community, so he worked to set up his own online community, which became FOB Truth. In the military, FOB stands for “forward operating base.” But in his new life, Drew had FOB Truth mean “fundamentals of Biblical truth.”) (Drew, 8:53) Drew started a blog called Mental Grenade, and used it to draw people to his regular Thursday evening Zoom meetings where they discuss the Bible and their own spiritual and emotional needs. That’s FOB Truth. (Drew, 17:50) The way FOB Truth is structured, the first two hours are Bible study, and the next two are support group chat. People check in and check out whenever they want, so it’s not a matter of having to commit to a four-hour Zoom meeting every Thursday evening. (Drew, 31:02) The stories that attendees tell can be very dark and personal, which is why Drew would never record or put the meetings online. (Drew, 32:46) While Drew’s community is currently online, he’d like to get to where he could meet with his community in person. To that effort, he invited two men who’d found him online to stay with the family for a while and help prepare his eight-acre property for future community events such as meeting around a campfire and talking in-depth. What Drew is trying to do is the opposite of establishing a mega church. He’s following Christ’s example of talking with small groups of people rather than large crowds. His efforts are more one-on-one. (Drew, 35:33) Drew’s weekly FOB Truth online meetings have drawn veterans, law enforcement personnel, nurses, EMT workers, therapists, pastors and civilians from all walks of life. Some just attend a meeting or two while others have become long-time regulars. (Drew, 38:11) The way to join FOB Truth is to reach out to Drew through his blog, MentalGrenade.com, or reach him at his personal phone number: (434) 473-8886. Join the community. (Drew, 45:29) You can also go to . (Drew, 47:06) If you’re thinking of selling your mobile home park or RV community, contact Max Baker at The Mobile Home Park Broker, (678) 932-0200. You can also drop us a line at [email protected]. Power Quotes in This Episode: (On leaving the military) “But then you get out and you're suddenly saying, ‘Who am I outside of this uniform? And what am I supposed to do with my life? Because if my rank is no longer part of my name, and my job title doesn't mean anything to anybody on the outside? What am I supposed to do,’ and you have these veterans who are left without structure.” (Drew, 5:42) “It takes more avenues of approach than you think it does to find stability in your mental health if there's been trauma and other things.” (Drew, 7:38) “Humans are tribal, they're meant to be in community. And when they're not, and they're in their own environment, and they can just order their groceries online and have them delivered to the dorm and they don't really have to go anywhere…I mean, imagine that the American knowledge worker sits at a computer all day, gets paid by direct deposit, doesn't have to go pick up a check. And they can order their groceries online, they don't have to leave their house, all the services are networked to their one place, and they live in isolation. And it's crushing their soul.” (Drew, 8:53) “I realized, like, we’ve got to start pulling people out of isolation and getting them into community…there’s just a lot of spiritually unmoored people out there drifting.” (Drew, 8:53) “I just started this group, and I started inviting people online, and it slowly formed and morphed a little bit. But ultimately, it became known as FOB truth. (Drew, 8:53) “I was spiritually lost when I was out there in the thick of combat in Afghanistan.” (Drew, 15:07) “God’s word can transcend culture and timeframe.” (Drew, 17:50) (On going to church as a child) “I remember just getting up on Sunday and getting dressed, going through the motions, doing the whole hand gesture, get the wine, I'm like, you know, a 10, 12-year-old boy during a while feeling like I was, you know, I was on top of the world, and the communion as well, and go home, and then forgetting about it. And then as I've gotten older, you realize, like, it's just not as powerful as the community aspect that you're talking about. (Max, 21:56) “That's been one of the things that God blessed me with over the last decade, was to keep my mouth shut and listen to people.” (Drew, 28:13) “I kind of view FOB Truth as a halfway house church.” (Drew, 35:33)
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The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails Interview with Broker Paul Schaaf Regarding His Sale of a Challenging Mobile Home Park in West Virginia
10/26/2024
The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails Interview with Broker Paul Schaaf Regarding His Sale of a Challenging Mobile Home Park in West Virginia
In this episode of The MHP Broker’s Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed The MHP Broker’s Paul Schaaf regarding his recent sale of a storage facility, mobile home park and RV community in Parkersburg, West Virginia. As with every Tips and Tricks podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: Max introduced broker Paul Schaaf to discuss his sale of Gihon Self Storage Facility and RV Park in Parkersburg, West Virginia. (00:22) The owner had acquired the park as part of a bankruptcy settlement, so his heart wasn’t really in it. He was running it from out of state. It had three verticals: a mobile home park, RV community and self-storage facility. He had a good on-site manager taking care of the day-to-daay, but contacted Paul because he was getting unsolicited offers. The self-storage vertical was running pretty well, with 150 units and about 75 percent occupancy. The mobile home vertical was a mess, though. A lot of houses in poor shape that had to be taken out. The offers were generally just for the self-storage business, but the owner wanted to sell everything as a single unit. They put together a nice marketing package and had multiple offers. The seller had a nice financing program, which helped attract qualified buyers. (Paul, 1:12) The owners offered self financing on a portion of the loan at about five percent with a three-year balloon payment. (Paul, 3:15) The deal went well, even though the buyer was taking on the mobile home vertical that needed a lot of work. The deal closed in about 45 days. (Paul, 3:49) The buyer was someone Paul had worked with in the past. They had money from family and friends, and had invested in commercial properties before. They were just getting into buying mobile home parks, and had a few properties. Having worked with him before, Paul trusted that they could close without major issues, and that’s what happened. (Paul, 4:05) Paul’s takeaway was that sellers must be patient, especially if they have properties that are challenging to sell. This one, for instance, had problem houses that had to be removed and replaced. But when you have good buyers and sellers, as he did here, the deal can go quickly and smoothly and be a pleasure to work. (Paul, 4:49) Bring us your most challenging deals. At The Mobile Home Broker, we have years of experience selling mobile home parks, RV communities and all of the other verticals that might be part of the transaction. Call Paul Schaaf or Max Baker at The MHP Broker, (678) 932-0200. Op drop ‘em a line at [email protected]. Power Quotes in This Episode: “We are good at those deals in the secondary, tertiary markets. Don't get me wrong. We do big deals. I mean, we just closed a nice $9 million deal recently, and have done upwards toward the multi-million dollar deals as well, up in the 30s. So, we do a lot of deals. We do all types.” (Max, 5:23)
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The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails Interview with Broker Jeff Dodge Regarding His Sale of an Appealing Two-Park Portfolio
10/19/2024
The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails Interview with Broker Jeff Dodge Regarding His Sale of an Appealing Two-Park Portfolio
In this episode of The MHP Broker’s Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed The MHP Broker Jeff Dodge regarding his recent sale of a beautiful two-park portfolio. As with every Tips and Tricks podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: Max explained how he and broker Jeff Dodge worked together on the sale of a two-park portfolio, with Jeff doing the majority of the work. (Max, 00:22) The park seller had been in the business for a long time, having bought and sold many parks. These two parks were big and beautiful. Together, Eagle Trace and Edgewood consisted of 116 park-owned homes, 11 tenant-owned homes and nine vacant lots. The parks were very well maintained and the homes were new or impressively renovated. Everything was direct billed, making it more of a turnkey operation for the buyer. There was also an opportunity for value-add rent increases. (Jeff, 1:23) There were also park-dedicated roads throughout both properties. And the parks carried an asking price of a CAP rate that was above 6. (Max, 2:31) Rents averaged at about $100 under market value, a major selling point for fairly immediate increased revenue generation. (Jeff, 3:39) One major challenge Jeff foresaw was the presence of all of the park-owned homes–116 of them in total. This can sometimes be a sale obstacle if prospective owners don’t want the cost and responsibility of having to maintain homes they own. Despite all the park-owned homes, the portfolio received multiple offers. (Jeff, 3:58) They ended up in negotiations with three serious buyers. (Jeff, 4:24) The park owner also had an office building that he wasn’t going to include in the deal. Max convinced him to keep that in his pocket as a possible bargaining chip. Sure enough, they were able to add the building to the deal and pull down an additional quarter-million dollars. This was a tactic Max had learned in the process of selling some 500 mobile home parks over time. (Max, 4:30) The story has a happy ending. Buyer and seller were both happy with the transaction. (Jeff, 5:53) The Mobile Home Broker has years of experience selling mobile home parks, and the brokers know tricks of the trade that can help you get maximum price on your park. Call Jeff Dodge or Max Baker at The MHP Broker, (678) 932-0200. Op drop ‘em a line at [email protected]. Power Quotes in This Episode: “So, you know, you're worried about the financing aspect and finding that right buyer that's willing to take on 116 park-owned homes. But, you know, ultimately, we received multiple offers.” (Jeff, 3:58) “I want to say I’ve probably sold well over 500 mobile home parks in my career.” (Max, 4:30) “...issues can come up at any time up until closing, but it seems like we always find a good resolution. Yeah, we got it to the finish line. Both parties were happy with the outcome.” (Jeff, 5:53) “I've moved the ugliest thing on the street to the most beautiful park, like this one. We do all sorts of stuff.” (Max, 6:14)
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The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails Interview with Broker Paul Schaaf About Trails West Mobile Home Park
10/12/2024
The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails Interview with Broker Paul Schaaf About Trails West Mobile Home Park
In this episode of The MHP Broker’s Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, chatted withThe MHP Broker’s Paul Schaaf about his recent closing on a mobile home park in Flowery Branch, Georgia. As with every Tips and Tricks podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: Max asked broker Paul Schaaf to discuss his Trails West Mobile Home Park in Georgia. The park included a little lakefront property on Lake Lanier, a definite feature attraction for prospective buyers. (Max, 00:22) Trails West MHP is in Flowery Branch, a very desirable community near Lake Lanier in northern Georgia. It’s got a good school system and home values have skyrocketed. (Paul 1:30) The sellers were mostly involved with the development of single-family homes. (Max, 1:44) The selling group actually consisted of four investors, which brought added challenges. Paul had to make sure that everyone was on board for every decision and marketing strategy. It was a large and highly ranked park, so selling it was a major endeavor. (Pal, 2:05) The property has city water and city sewer, always desirable factors for buyers. The owners had made major investments in infrastructure, including electrical. But there was still ample opportunity for buyers, including the infilling of about 30 lots and rents that were about $200 under market rates. So while a buyer was getting a park in excellent condition, there was still plenty of “meat on the bone” in terms of adding value. (Paul, 2:56) The buyers held a short-term loan and made a large down payment to attain seller financing. It was a very smooth transaction and both parties were happy with the outcome. No major hiccups at all. (Paul, 3:40) The buyers were a man and woman who Max had done business with on more than one occasion. In addition to having a good buyer pool, as this sale proves, The MHP Broker takes the competitive edge with great customer service and effective process orientation, the use of relevant data and the ability to put investors and motivated lenders together. (Max, 4:27) This deal, with 150 pads, was larger than what Paul usually sees, but he was thrilled to have the opportunity to handle Trails West along with the small and medium-size deals he’s more accustomed to. (Paul, 6:03) The brokers at The MHP Broker all have the talent and instincts to form good working relationships with buyers and sellers, which helps them get ahead of any problems that might come up, and move the transaction successfully forward. (Paul, 7:52) You got a large mobile home park or RV community you’re thinking of putting on the market? Medium? Small? Whatever the size of our manufactured home community, Paul Schaaf and the other brokers at The Mobile Home Broker have the experience and the knack for selling it at your optimal price. Call Paul or Max Baker at (678) 932-0200 or drop us a line at [email protected] Power Quotes in This Episode: (Regarding this deal) “I think the buyer benefited from all that work, and that was what was appetizing for them. The work was already done and there was still meat on the bone with infilling about 30-some odd lots. The rents were, you know, I want to say $200 below market.” (Paul, 2:56) ”It was just a very smooth transaction…both sides of the table were very satisfied.” (Paul, 3:40) "Y'all, we have the same buyer pool (as the competitors). It's really about customer service, and it's really about knowing the local markets, and it's really …about the data that we have, that we've all dug up personally here at the company, and just the amount of value that we add to the situation. We've seen a thing or two. I mean, we've got other competitors out there that forget to check whether or not the money's been deposited in escrow. We're here at our firm. We're very, very like clockwork, yeah, systematic, yeah.” (Max, 4:27) “...we’ve been there and done it. And at the end of the day, we’re gonna get the job done.” (Max, 5:21) "I think that it's always fun times on these larger deals, and count on us to continue to be in whatever market we're in. Even with these higher interest rates, we can put deals together that make sense for all parties.” (Paul, 6:39) “(It’s) our job is to be two, three steps ahead of any catastrophic drama that would affect that deal. That's why our closing ratio is north of 86 percent. Once we put a deal on our contract, we typically close it because we've done impeccable upfront due diligence on your community or communities, and we try and get debt lined up.” (Max, 6:55)
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The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails Interview with Broker Jeff Dodge Regarding His New Beginning Mobile Home Park Closing
10/05/2024
The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails Interview with Broker Jeff Dodge Regarding His New Beginning Mobile Home Park Closing
In this episode of The MHP Broker’s Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed The MHP Broker Jeff Dodge regarding his recent sale of New Beginnings MHP despite losing the first buyer to financing hassles. As with every Tips and Tricks podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: Max wanted to start with a heads-up to buddy Steve Massell, who came up with the “Closing Cocktails” concept of quick hit podcast interviews. Then he hailed company broker Jeff Dodge for his success with New Beginnings MHP, a nice community that got multiple offers and a quick, relatively painless close. (Max, 00:22) The owner was selling because they lived out of state and had experienced difficulties in managing the park from afar. New Beginnings had a lot of very appealing features, including city water and sewer direct-billed to tenants, and newer-model park-owned homes. The community was very clean and well maintained. Twenty-nine of the 32 lots had homes and were occupied. So there was some value-add opportunity filling those last three pads. Jeff felt that the location might be the biggest hurdle he’d face in that it was fairly isolated, and not within easy reach of retail establishments or the interstate system. That didn’t seem to faze prospective buyers, though. The property got multiple offers quickly. Their first choice of buyer couldn’t get financing, but Jeff already had a second buyer waiting in the wings. Jeff helped this buyer get financing from a credit union The MHP Brokers have worked with in the past. There were no additional hang-ups from that moment on, and the sale closed in a timely manner. (Jeff, 1:37) As an additional buyer incentive, the privately owned roads were paved. (Jeff, 2:58) The buyer was an experienced real estate investor, but mostly in other asset classes. He did have some familiarity with mobile home investments. Jeff enjoyed working with him and hopes to do business with him more in the future. (Jeff, 3:11) One of the lessons Jeff took home from this deal was the importance of having a backup buyer whenever possible. That’s important because financing today can be tricky, and your first deal might easily fall through. (Jeff, 3:53)l Jeff also appreciates how the company was able to list the park with a realistic price point before going on the market. That’s why they were able to get a full-price offer and close the deal so quickly and smoothly. (Jeff, 5:22) One key seller advantage is The Mobile Home Broker’s network of motivated lenders. Call Jeff Dodge or Max Baker at The MHP Broker, (678) 932-0200 and we’ll help you find–and find financing for–a qualified buyer. Or drop us a line at [email protected]. Power Quotes in This Episode: (Regarding his buyer on this deal) “It was great working with him, and I look forward to working with him in the future.” (Jeff, 3:11) “You know, it's kind of a tricky market with financing out there, but you always want to have your backups ready to go.” (Jeff, 3:53) “It was a win-win for both parties, because the buyer got a turnkey (deal), but a little upside as well, and then the seller could take that money and invest it in something a little bit closer to home.” (Jeff, 3:53) “We can find the right buyer for you. This is a great example, so just give us the opportunity.” (Jeff, 4:26) “Yeah, we're able to move stuff, y'all, even though the market right now is a little tricky with the financing, We are still able to get deals done. A lot of our competitors are out there stooping to buying listings, if you want to call it that, where they promise the pie in the sky type of price. In reality, they know that it's not going to sell for that. They're just literally trying to look busy. We don't do that, y'all. We will give you a No BS evaluation on your community.” (Max, 4:31) “This was priced where we sold it, you know, full asking price. So, it tells you our valuations. We're right on the money here. So definitely work with us. We're gonna give you a true market value that's fair, and we're gonna get you the most money that you possibly can, for sure. (Jeff, 5:22)"
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The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails Interview with Broker Jeff Dodge Regarding His New Beginning Mobile Home Park Closing
09/28/2024
The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails Interview with Broker Jeff Dodge Regarding His New Beginning Mobile Home Park Closing
In this episode of The MHP Broker’s Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed The MHP Broker Jeff Dodge regarding his recent sale of New Beginnings MHP despite losing the first buyer to financing hassles. As with every Tips and Tricks podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: Max wanted to start with a heads-up to buddy Steve Massell, who came up with the “Closing Cocktails” concept of quick hit podcast interviews. Then he hailed company broker Jeff Dodge for his success with New Beginnings MHP, a nice community that got multiple offers and a quick, relatively painless close. (Max, 00:22) The owner was selling because they lived out of state and had experienced difficulties in managing the park from afar. New Beginnings had a lot of very appealing features, including city water and sewer direct-billed to tenants, and newer-model park-owned homes. The community was very clean and well maintained. Twenty-nine of the 32 lots had homes and were occupied. So there was some value-add opportunity filling those last three pads. Jeff felt that the location might be the biggest hurdle he’d face in that it was fairly isolated, and not within easy reach of retail establishments or the interstate system. That didn’t seem to faze prospective buyers, though. The property got multiple offers quickly. Their first choice of buyer couldn’t get financing, but Jeff already had a second buyer waiting in the wings. Jeff helped this buyer get financing from a credit union The MHP Brokers have worked with in the past. There were no additional hang-ups from that moment on, and the sale closed in a timely manner. (Jeff, 1:37) As an additional buyer incentive, the privately owned roads were paved. (Jeff, 2:58) The buyer was an experienced real estate investor, but mostly in other asset classes. He did have some familiarity with mobile home investments. Jeff enjoyed working with him and hopes to do business with him more in the future. (Jeff, 3:11) One of the lessons Jeff took home from this deal was the importance of having a backup buyer whenever possible. That’s important because financing today can be tricky, and your first deal might easily fall through. (Jeff, 3:53)l Jeff also appreciates how the company was able to list the park with a realistic price point before going on the market. That’s why they were able to get a full-price offer and close the deal so quickly and smoothly. (Jeff, 5:22) One key seller advantage is The Mobile Home Broker’s network of motivated lenders. Call Jeff Dodge or Max Baker at The MHP Broker, (678) 932-0200 and we’ll help you find–and find financing for–a qualified buyer. Or drop us a line at [email protected]. Power Quotes in This Episode: (Regarding his buyer on this deal) “It was great working with him, and I look forward to working with him in the future.” (Jeff, 3:11) “You know, it's kind of a tricky market with financing out there, but you always want to have your backups ready to go.” (Jeff, 3:53) “It was a win-win for both parties, because the buyer got a turnkey (deal), but a little upside as well, and then the seller could take that money and invest it in something a little bit closer to home.” (Jeff, 3:53) “We can find the right buyer for you. This is a great example, so just give us the opportunity.” (Jeff, 4:26) “Yeah, we're able to move stuff, y'all, even though the market right now is a little tricky with the financing, We are still able to get deals done. A lot of our competitors are out there stooping to buying listings, if you want to call it that, where they promise the pie in the sky type of price. In reality, they know that it's not going to sell for that. They're just literally trying to look busy. We don't do that, y'all. We will give you a No BS evaluation on your community.” (Max, 4:31) “This was priced where we sold it, you know, full asking price. So, it tells you our valuations. We're right on the money here. So definitely work with us. We're gonna give you a true market value that's fair, and we're gonna get you the most money that you possibly can, for sure. (Jeff, 5:22)
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The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Podcast Summarizing The Mobile Home Park Broker’s Buyers Guide
09/20/2024
The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Podcast Summarizing The Mobile Home Park Broker’s Buyers Guide
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The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Interview with Broker Eric Wanck Regarding a Recent Mobile Home Park Sale in Southern Alabama
09/14/2024
The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Interview with Broker Eric Wanck Regarding a Recent Mobile Home Park Sale in Southern Alabama
In this episode of The MHP Broker’s Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed The MHP Broker Eric Wanck regarding his sale of a small park in a tertiary market in southern Alabama with a challenging appraisal. As with every Tips and Tricks podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: The MHPBroker Eric Wanck recently sold a small park, for the second time, in a tertiary market in southern Alabama–but not without its challenges (Max, 0:22) The park made for a challenging sale because it was small, with less than 30 pads, and had an abundance of park-owned homes (POH) and rent-to-own (RTO) homes, On the other hand, it had city water and a good septic system. There was plenty of buyer interest, and Eric found a buyer with some industry experience, but not a whole lot. The buyer needed help getting financing, and Eric and The MP Broker were able to find a good debt source. (Eric, 1:22) However, the appraisal process became a hitch. The bank appraisers came back low. Eric didn’t give up on the deal, but got his clients to hit the middle ground on price so the deal could go through to the satisfaction of all parties. This took a little more time than he would have liked, but they were able to close in five or six months. (Eric, 2:55) The appraisers didn’t appreciate the presence of the several POHs. They didn’t take into consideration the significant rent deposits due to all of those POHs and RTOs. Eric worked with the lenders to get that stable income considered, but it was the kind of challenge that park sellers always run into when selling properties with a lot of POHs. Lenders tend to see that as more of a liability than the consistent income-producing asset it might be. (Eric, 4:22) At the end of the day, Eric and the MHP Broker team knew how to handle the obstacles, and they kept in constant communication with the appraisers and put together a deal that was beneficial to their client as well as the buyer. (Eric, 5:56) Even the toughest obstacles can be overcome if you have talented and experienced mobile home park brokers on your side. At The MHP Broker, we guarantee a park sale at the highest possible price. Call Eric Wanck or Max Baker at The Mobile Home Park Broker, (678) 932-0200. You can also drop us a line at [email protected]. Power Quotes in This Episode: “...because we had buyers coming to us left and right, saying ‘How am I going to get this done?’ and we provided that solution.” (Eric, 1:28) “We're not biased. As long as you can come and you can show that you can get the deal done, we will work with you.” (Eric, 1:28) “...we always figure out a way to get it done, and that's what we pride ourselves in, that we're not just going to toss up our hands and say, ‘Let's cancel the contract.’“ (Eric, 2:55) “We do our best in terms of marketing and providing information to the appraisers.” (Eric, 4:22) “At the end of the day, every deal has a little bit of its bumps, and this one did with the appraisal, but the good news is that we knew how to navigate it, and we got it to the closing table.” (Eric, 5:56) “We do sell the easier ones, which most brokers are fighting over. The ones that they don't fight over are the ones that we are very good at, and those are the value-add deals. We don't mind getting our hands dirty, albeit, we do like the easier ones out there, but, you know, obviously not every mobile home park out there is a beauty up front. They're just diamonds in the rough, and we are very good, especially Eric, at explaining how the next buyer coming into the deal will be able to make some money.” (Max, 6:12)
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The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Interview with Broker Eric Wanck Regarding Five Points MHP
09/06/2024
The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Interview with Broker Eric Wanck Regarding Five Points MHP
In this episode of The MHP Broker’s Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed The MHP Broker Eric Wanck regarding his sale of Five Points Mobile Home Park, and the challenges that wereinvolved. As with every Tips and Tricks podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: Super broker Eric Wanck recently sold Five Points Mobile Home Park, though not without a little drama. (Max, 0:22) From the outside looking in, it was a great park. Five Points is in a favorable metro, it has a good, solid resident base, all tenant-owned homes, with direct-billed city water and sewer. Everything investors are looking for. (Eric, 1:28) On top of all other buyer advantages, the park was priced at an almost 11% CAP. (Eric, 1:56) The reason for the high CAP is that the tenant-owned homes were all pretty old and run down, from the late 1970s and early 80s. (Eric, 2:10) Max remembers being highly unimpressed with the homes as he rode through the park, inspecting it and taking pictures. He knew then it would be a hard sale. (Max, 2:28) The seller had approached Eric probably about a year before the sale, and asked him to evaluate the property. Eric appraised it and recommended that the owner spend a little money on improvements. The seller did so, and Eric was ultimately able to get about $800,000 more for the property than he had originally thought it would sell for. (Eric, 2:44) They got a lot of interest in the park, and the high bidder was a man who owned real estate, but had never owned a mobile home park. He already had a lender in place, but the lender got nervous. It made so many unrealistic demands that it looked like they didn’t really want to fund the deal. (Eric, 5:36) One and a half weeks before the proposed close date, the lender pulled out of the deal. Fortunately, the buyer was already in backup communication with another lender who came into the deal. They were able to complete the sale in 30 days with the new lender, and that included a new appraisal. (Eric, 6:36) The prospective buyer was a little gun shy with the appraisal, based on what he’d already been through with a lender, and the general aesthetics of the park with the old homes, so he did something Eric had never seen before. Even though he wasn’t the owner yet, he paid about $10,000 out of his own pocket to improve the look of the park. The strategy worked. The appraisal went through without a hitch, and the park was sold. Proof that even a drama-filled transaction can be successfully overcome with experienced mobile home park brokers. (Eric, 7:33) We can’t guarantee a total lack of drama, but we do guarantee a park sale at the highest possible price. That’s the bottom line. Call Eric Wanck or Max Baker at The Mobile Home Park Broker, (678) 932-0200. You can also drop us a line at [email protected]. Power Quotes in This Episode: “It’s not a deal without drama, bro.” (Max, 3:38) “Every Tuesday, we talk about all the deals that we're working on. We talk about all the drama that everybody's coming across. We are a giant think tank for you, the seller and the buyer. So that's why you pay us.” (Max, 4:21) “It just goes to show that you always run into something with these transactions…great cash flowing park definitely had its rough edges, but I think at the end of the day he's going to be very happy here, in the long run, with the asset that he purchased.” (Eric, 7:33)
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The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Interview with Broker Paul Schaaf and His Pine Meadows Closing
08/30/2024
The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Interview with Broker Paul Schaaf and His Pine Meadows Closing
In this episode of The MHP Broker’s Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed broker Paul Schaaf regarding his successful close of Pine Meadows RV Park. As with every Tips and Tricks podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: Pine Meadows was a very fun deal for Paul. The owners had bought a decrepit mobile home park, ripped out everything and transformed it into an RV park running on natural gas and high grade infrastructure. (Paul, 1:30) When they sold, their buyers financed the deal through a national lender that the buyer had successfully dealt with before. Paul and The MHP Broker helped by providing data that showed impressive rent growth over the last three to six months at the park. (Paul, 2:31) The only real challenge to the sale was the sellers listening to a friend who brought in a prospective buyer. But Paul’s buyer offered more money and better terms, and was better vetted by Paul. As a result of listening to Paul and accepting his buyer, the seller put some $100,000 more in their pockets than they would have if they’d considered their friend’s buyer. (Paul, 4:10) That other offer came through an old buddy of the seller. His buyer wanted 120 days for due diligence and was only offering a scant $1,000 in earnest money. Paul, along with his team partner Ryan Ramseur, convinced the owners about what a bad deal that would be, and they delivered that much better offer at a much better sale price. (Max, 5:00) A savvy, experienced broker makes all the difference and will put more money in your pocket. If you’re thinking of selling your mobile home park or RV community, call Paul Schaaf or contact Max Baker at The Mobile Home Park Broker, (678) 932-0200. You can also drop us a line at [email protected]. Power Quotes in This Episode: Regarding the park sellers. “They ended up clearing six figures more, due to our recommendations and experience in the field.’ (Paul, 4:10) …we saved them a boatload when it closed. So that was a really good part of the deal where the owner was just thrilled with our expertise and we put a big check in their pocket at the end of the day.” (Paul, 4:10) “(We’re) here to put more money in owners’ pockets.” (Paul, 6:26)
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The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Podcast Summarizing The Mobile Home Park Broker’s Sellers Guide
08/23/2024
The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Podcast Summarizing The Mobile Home Park Broker’s Sellers Guide
In this episode of The MHP Broker’s Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, founder and CEO of The Mobile Home Park Broker, will discuss the company’s Sellers Guide, a book he authored with valuable advice for selling mobile home communities. As with every Tips and Tricks podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: Max overviewed and read directly from the book he wrote to help mobile home community sellers recognize and avoid disastrous obstacles, bad decisions and sleazy buyers and brokers. (Max, 0:22) You’ll learn how to pick the right broker and dodge the wrong ones. Here’s how Chapter One starts. (2:03) Chapter One of the Sellers Guide starts by highlighting the importance of knowing the value of your park before it goes on the market. It can be equally disastrous if you price it too high and drive buyers away, or leave money on the table by pricing too low. Make your park as attractive as possible before it goes on the market by improving the infrastructure, cleaning up books and records, and making other changes that improve curb appeal and heighten buyer interest. The better the the condition of your financial records, and the more data you have, and can show interested buyers and their lenders, the more money you’ll make. Also, keep up the reputation of your community. Get rid of the riffraff. No one wants a park where the police are called in nightly, (2:35) It might be tempting to do a lot of cash business as you run your park, keeping your tax responsibilities low, but that will bite you in the ass when you go to sell your park and it looks, by the records you do release, like the park made very little money. So keep clean, honest books, pay your taxes, and make more when you sell your park. Buyers and lenders want to see receipts and deposit slips as proof of what you say you make. (5:00) The less risk for the buyer the better when it comes to sewer and utilities. Septic systems can go bad and have to be expensively replaced. City water and sewer and roads are always a prime attraction in a sale because these responsibilities can be ignored by the new park owner. (10:13) Max frequently gets emails from rookie investors looking for 10 percent CAP deals, and he laughs them off. 10 CAP deals go off the market very quickly, and not to newbie buyers. Get realistic. Also, the least desirable parks are those with lagoons or privately owned sewage treatment plants. (11:30) When it comes to park-owned homes on your property, institutional lenders don’t like to see many. Community lenders, on the other hand, are more generous. Institutional lenders generally like to see no more than 15-25 percent of homes to be park-owned, though it can sometimes go as high as 30 percent. Park-owned homes can also be a stumbling block for buyers. Many don’t want the responsibility of having to keep up with maintenance and repairs, and would rather have a park full of tenant-owned homes. (12:27) The most valuable communities are those where the city owns and maintains all of the roads, and the water and electric utilities are direct billed. Dirt roads command the least respect by buyers, but it’s helpful if at least those dirt roads are owned and maintained by the city. (13:32) Your buyers are also going to be very interested in knowing about your park management. Do you have someone on site? Will they want to stay on for the new owners? Some buyers prefer to install their own professional management team, but it’s a subject of critical importance during negotiations. This is where the topic of park-owned is back in the conversation. If you have a lot of park-owned homes, buyers think they’ll have to have someone on-site for a lot of repairs and maintenance. If it’s mostly tenant-owned homes, they might feel more confident that it’s more of a turnkey operation nd they can operate the park from afar. At any rate, be ready to discuss the management situation. (14:17) Chapter Two of the Seller’s Guide is about some common mistakes park sellers make. First of these is to miscalculate expense ratios. Unless your park is big on such hands-off features as direct billing of utilities, and city-owned roads, your expense ratio is probably in the neighborhood of 30 to 40 percent. (17:47) Another leading mistake this chapter points out is the failure to prepare the park for sale at the highest possible price. You want to put it in its best light possible, even if it’s just a matter of cutting the grass, getting rid of debris, and patching potholes if you own the roads. This cleanup might not be as important if your park sits in the middle of a retail center and your prospective buyers are all developers who plan to tear the park down and redevelop the space. Otherwise, basic cleanup can put thousands of additional dollars in your pocket that you’ll miss otherwise. (19:10) Big seller mistake #3, according to Max’s book, is not being honest and straightforward with your management team about your plans to sell the park. Your on-site manager is at the heartbeat of the community. Everyone knows them, and you don’t want this person spreading rumors or bad vibes. Buyers can smell turmoil in a community, and they want no part of it. They also don’t want an on-site manager who might be pissed off and leave right after the deal closes. (22:16) Another mistake can be doing business with Wall Street “wheeler-dealers” without having a broker like Max and his people on your side. Max made this point with an anecdote about an Alabama park seller who asked him to review a deal by Wall Street types. The buyer was demanding 120 days due diligence that wouldn’t even start until the seller turned in a load of requested paperwork that could take 30 days to acquire. The lesson here, according to Max, was to not try to deal with the highly educated Wall Street types without having someone on your side who understands your culture, speaks your language, and knows how to run a deal that’s fair to the sellers. (25:29) Once the Alabama seller dumped the Wall Street guys who wanted to close in something like 180 days, Max was able to get them a buyer who closed in 45 days. (29:31) The next big mistake sellers make is neglecting to formulate an exit strategy. They’re going to get a lump sum of cash, and it’s in their best interest to be able to keep as much of it as possible. That means knowing how to invest that lump sum and reduce your tax load as much as legally possible. Max works with, and can put you in touch with, tax experts who can help you negotiate your state and federal tax load. (30:27) Another big mistake park owners make is with insurance. They might carry too much homeowners insurance on old homes worth no more than $5,000. On the other hand, they won’t have liability insurance, which can leave them liable for getting sued for a dog that bites someone, or someone wanders into the community and gets hurt. Rethink your insurance coverage. (32:42) Chapter Three of the Sellers Guide is about how to cash in on your financials. Keep good books, is the bottom line. Have at least two years of tax returns you can show a buyer or lender, and at least eight to 12 months of rent deposits. To illustrate this point, Max told of a seller in mid-Georgia who “didn’t like to pay taxes.” He also didn’t deposit rent checks. He had a nice, tidy park, but zero financials. The only interested buyer said he wanted a six-month close. During those six months, he wanted the seller to deposit rents in a bank so he could prove the revenue generated. During this very long closing, COVID took place, the buyer’s partner left, and the deal fell through. The lesson: have your financials clean and lined up, ready for inspection. AND PAY YOUR TAXES! (41:21) Another mistake with financials that sellers make is in not keeping the titles for the mobile homes they own. Typically, a community bank is going to want to see the title for every park-owned home in the deal. For some reason Max doesn’t fully understand, big institutional lenders tend to care less about those titles. Max can usually still get the deal done if you don’t have titles, but it could be more of a hassle than you need. (44:33) Owner financing can be a very good thing for sellers. For one thing, they can get a better price. It’s worth the extra money for the buyer, who gets to avoid the multiple hassles of getting loan approval from a bank or other commercial lender. (47:03) Max can show sellers how to put together a good owner financing deal, at slightly higher than market interest rate with 20-50 percent down. (48:21) Chapter Four is on tips to prep your park to maximize your sale price. First impressions are critical, so make sure your community is as aesthetically pleasing as possible. Such niceties as landscaping and freshly paved roads do matter. (50:46) Replace and install skirting around your homes and pressure wash the gunk off them. Get rid of rust spots on metal roofs. (52:22) Max points to a park in Birmingham, Alabama. It was an ideal community in a lot of ways: city-owned roads, city water and sewer, etc. But the grass was overgrown, the park sign was old and hidden in vegetation, there was moss on the homes. Max recommended a series of improvements, but the next time he came by almost none of them had been done. The owner said he was old and just wanted out. So Max sold the place as is. It was a park worth $1 million, but he got only about $800,000. For, at most, less than $25,000 in general cleanup and improvement costs, the retiring owner lost about $200,000 in sale price. Not very smart. (54:29) The title of the next book section is, “Appraisers and Buyers are Eagle-Eyed.” In addition to looking at the financials and curb appeal, bank appraisers look at sale comps–what similar properties are selling for in the market. That’s why Max’s company stays current on sale and rent prices and can provide lenders with the information they need to evaluate sale price. This is a valuable selling tool. (56:04) In Chapter Five, Max has indicated five kinds of buyers (including one to be avoided at all costs.) This includes The Turnkey Buyers…they want deals where they won’t be needed day to day because on-site management is in place, as is direct billing, high occupancy, etc. But they’ll pay for that hands-off ease, so they’re good buyers. Retirees…are looking for a good place to live, as well as a business. Your park will be appealing to them if it’s in the Sun Belt and a quiet community. Value-Add Buyers….want properties that they can get for a bargain because the parks need work. These are often in secondary or tertiary locations. They’re good buyers to find if you basically want out without doing a lot of work to maximize profit, but others go around all the time making inadequate offers on properties, which makes Max think of them as time vampires because they just suck the time right out of you. First-Time Buyers…these buyers might have gone to seminars and are trying to work “no money down” deals. They often have little or no money, so they can be tough to work with. (1:00:39) Scam Artists are, by far, the worst type of “buyers.” Max has a database of these individuals and he actually labels them as “Scam Artists.” These people never put up earnest money, they make big promises and have no intention of delivering. Max and his brokers immediately recognize these people, which is yet another reason you need The MHP Broker, to help you avoid wasting time with Scam Artists. The Max team can also immediately identify other buyers by type, and know how to relate to each. (1:01:10) Chapter Six of Max’s book deals with the risks of trying to sell your park by yourself. You need a professional, extending professional guidance and mediator services when you sell. We can direct your community to the right kind of buyer and be able to tell you whether or not a buyer is legit. We’re professional negotiators who can help you get the optimal price for your community. (1:03:21) One section of Max’s book, “Mythbusters” blows up the myth that you, the park owner, can easily sell your own property and make more money than if you hire a broker. In truth, you might be left vulnerable to wheeler-dealers or scam artists who can leave you hundreds of thousands of dollars shy of what you should be able to sell our park for. (1:08:06) Chapter Seven deals with how to get the RIGHT broker for your deal. Hiring a specialist is always your best option. In other words, a real estate agent who only deals with mobile home parks as opposed to one who might sell commercial real estate or traditional homes. This market is unique, and it needs someone with a unique skill set and area of experience and expertise. Max has, over his 15 years of experience, identified several versions of the WRONG broker: the Wheeler-Dealer Brokers…they’re fast talkers who come across as untrustworthy sales guys. Then there’s the brokers who promise you an unrealistically high sale price, one that’s nowhere near what the market will bear, just to get the listing. The Brokers Who Buy Listings…want to get your listing at any cost. They don't care if it doesn't sell, because they're using your listing to get more listings. They just want to look busy in their marketplace. (1:11:04) Max has also identified so-called National Brokers…those who say they operate all over the country–and they might–but they don't have a clear idea of where your market rate is at. If you’re in rural Georgia, you have no interest in what mobile home parks are going for in Boulder, Colorado. Maybe the worst broker is…The Ghost Broker…that’s the one who basically disappears as soon as your property goes under contract. It’s as though this broker’s job was to get the listing..not to actually sell the property. That’s hard work. (1:13:30) And finally, there’s The MHP Broker…These guys have researched the entire state and found out where rents are at, and have identified the most active buyers. They set realistic sale expectations and stay engaged once your property goes under contract. The MHP Broker stays two steps ahead of all situations on your deal, so we can put out any potential fires before they even happen. This broker will advise you to possibly make improvements to increase your price and lower the park's perceived risk profile. Finally, your The MHP Broker team has connections with most, if not all, of the local lenders who will finance the deal in transaction for you. This brokerage team only deals with mobile home and RV parks, and is a one-stop shop for anything related to this industry’s marketing and sales because we do it every damn day. (1:14:20) The book’s next section is called “Thinking Regional.” It’s here where we present the way we do business, with the regional data that matters to you when reaching for an optimal price. We crunch numbers to see what the local economy is like, employment, culture, and the mood on the ground. All that and a lot of other numbers that help us set optimal sale price strategy. 1:15:25) “Thank you for listening to this summary of my book,” says Max Baker, signing off of Sellers Guide. (1:17:46) Are you thinking of selling your mobile home community? @Wo\uld you like to get optimal price–guaranteed. Reach out to Max Baker at The Mobile Home Park Broker, (678) 932-0200. You can also drop us a line at . While you’re at it, ask for your free copy of our Sellers Guide. Power Quotes in This Episode: Failing to research a plan and exit strategy can spoil your future or leave you vulnerable to excess taxation.” (30:27) “The more information you have, the higher the price you’re going to get.” (35:56) “...appraisers look at your property much like buyers. They'll examine the local lot rent and their sales comps. They're going to look for curb appeal and for what the park's first impressions would be due to its current appearance. (56:04) “We do come across bad eggs (among competitive brokers) every once in a while, we label them as Scam Artists in our actual database. We all know that every industry has them. These people do things like re-trade deals for no reason right before closing, never deposit Earnest Money, make big promises with no intention of delivering. (1:01:10) “We have the ability to ask the right questions, interpret prospective buyers’ answers, and gear the marketing of your community to a certain type of buyer.” (1:03:21)
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The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Interview with Seller Greg Berry
08/21/2024
The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Interview with Seller Greg Berry
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The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Interview with Eric Wanck about his two-park sale in Talladega County, AL
08/16/2024
The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Interview with Eric Wanck about his two-park sale in Talladega County, AL
In this episode of The MHP Broker’s Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed MHP broker Eric Wanck regarding the challenges he faced in his two-park sale in Talladega County, Alabama. As with every Tips and Tricks podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights Eric recently sold a two-park portfolio in the Talladega, AL area. They were good parks, with city water and nearly full occupancy. But there were also challenges, such as the fact that both parks had fewer than 30 pads, and it was a mix of park-owned and tenant-owned homes. Also, there weren’t a multitude of qualified buyers in the local economy. As a result of the various challenges, the parks sat on the market for four months. Then a buyer’s agent approached Eric with a client who was a local investor who could buy one of the parks with no financing. As a result, that park closed quickly, in about 30 days. (Eric, 1:22) This sale proves that even smaller markets can sell. It was a good job on Eric’s part, especially when you factor in that Talladega is a very small town, with few potential investors. (Max, 3:13) It was a win-win for everybody. (Eric, 4:29) Do you have a smaller-market mobile home park with all sorts of challenges thrown in? Contact Eric Wanck or Max Baker at The Mobile Home Park Broker, (678) 932-0200. You can also drop us a line at [email protected]. Power Quotes in This Episode: “Talladega is a prime example of us being able to succeed when others could not.” (Max, 3:13) “We keep grinding, so to speak, for the seller, and trying to find a buyer. At the end of the day, they were very happy and it was a win-win all around.” (Eric, 4:29)
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The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Juggernaut Interview with Broker Jeff Dodge and his Mercer MHP sale
08/08/2024
The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Juggernaut Interview with Broker Jeff Dodge and his Mercer MHP sale
In this episode of The MHP Broker’s Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed broker Jeff Dodge regarding his sale of Mercer Mobile Home Park. As with every Tips and Tricks podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: Jeff Dodge sold Mercer MHP, a community also known as Hawaiian Village Mobile Home Park. It’s the third time Max’s company has sold that park over the years. (Max, 0:22) The park had certain attractions, including good lot rents, city water and sewer, and paved roads throughout. But there was a downside, culminating in a low 35 percent occupancy rate. Many of the park-owned homes needed extensive rehabbing or removal. The broker’ challenge would be in finding a buyer who understood the problems and could add value and stabilize the community. (Jeff, 1:27) Jeff received multiple offers for the park and settled on an investor with which The MHP Broker has successfully done business with on multiple occasions in the past. He paid cash. Jeff knew the investor had the capital and the familiarity with the area to make it work. (Jeff, 2:19) Max remembered the park being a rough sale even when he first sold it, twelve years previously. (Max, 2:45) The deal was hanging in the balance for awhile, but one thing that incentivized the buyer was when the seller added an adjoining ten acres that was originally not part of the deal. The lesson is to get creative and stay flexible to keep a good deal alive. (Jeff, 4:19) Even the “hairiest” deals can be kept alive if you have a talented and experienced broker on your side. Contact Jeff Dodge or Max Baker at The Mobile Home Park Broker, (678) 932-0200. You can also drop us a line at [email protected]. Power Quotes in This Episode: “We sell these types of deals all the time. They're rough parks. If you can handle the riffraff and the management, you can make a lot of money doing these deals, they just require a lot of TLC, a lot of hand holding, and really running it with an iron fist. So, that's the only way people could really turn this park around.” (Max, 2:53) “So if you all have some hairy deals, there is a buyer out there for you, and I can promise you that. And we typically are really good at finding all-cash buyers, if you want to structure the financing, we're good at getting that structured.” (Max, 2:53) “It was great to work with reasonable sellers and an experienced buyer and at the end of the day we were able to get to the finish line and feel like it was a win-win for both parties.” (Jeff, 4:19)
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The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails interview with Paul Schaaf regarding his Adventure RV Park deal
08/03/2024
The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails interview with Paul Schaaf regarding his Adventure RV Park deal
In this episode of The MHP Broker’s Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed MHP broker Paul Schaaf about his Adventure RV Park close in West Virginia. As with every Tips and Tricks podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: Adventure RV Park in West Virginia had a nice mix of mobile homes, RVs and cabins, but one of its leading challenges was its 30 percent year-round occupancy. It was a mom and pop operation whereby the original owners had sold it to a party that failed, and then those original owners had gotten it back. They invested some capital in upgrades, but there was still plenty of “meat on the bones” for the right buyer. (Paul, 1:03) The park had some things going for it, including the fact that there was a new gas line project bringing in workers to the area, and a ski resort in close proximity. (Max, 1:48) The Mountain Valley pipeline project kept bringing in workers in need of housing. Even before closing, the park went from about 30 percent occupancy to nearly 100 percent RV occupancy. (Paul, 2:01) The park’s business was improving so quickly that the buyer actually snipped the closing timeline by about 30 days. (Paul, 2:32) The buyer refinanced some of their existing parks so they could present an all-cash deal. (Paul, 3:05) The lesson buyers might learn by this deal is to not be threatened by low occupancy. There are often things you can do to improve occupancy figures and increase the value of your new park. (Max, 3:22) The park sale was a win-win situation, with the buyers getting plenty of potential and the sellers being able to retire with an all-cash closing. (Paul, 4:07) Whatever challenges your RV or mobile home park might have, let Paul Schaaf and The Mobile Home Park Broker team will find you a qualified buyer and maximum value. Call Paul of Max at (678) 932-0200 or drop us a line at . Power Quotes in This Episode: “I think we actually improved the closing timeline by about 30 days so (the buyers) could capitalize on that fresh income.” (Paul, 2:34) “We'll figure out a way to find the right buyer for you and get you as much money as we can and, you know, just give us an opportunity to consider…what your goals are and I'm pretty sure we can obtain them. So, just give us a shout when you get a moment.” (Paul, 4:07)
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The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails interview with Eric Wanck about his Cracker Lake RV Resort deal
07/26/2024
The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails interview with Eric Wanck about his Cracker Lake RV Resort deal
In this episode of The MHP Broker’s Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed MHP broker Eric Wanck about his very unique mobile-home-park-turned-RV-Park deal in Florida. As with every Tips and Tricks podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: Eric had a couple unique challenges in closing on Cracker Lake in Florida. In the first place, the park was totally vacant. And in the second place, it HAD been a mobile home park, but it was being converted to an RV community. The conversion followed a hurricane that completely wiped out the mobile home park which, at the time, had a few smaller mobile homes and some tiny homes. The city refused to let the owner continue operating the community as a mobile home park unless they raised the homes a foot off the ground in the floodplain. However, the city recommended the conversion to non-permanent housing in the form of an RV park. Rhus was born Cracker Lake RV Resort. (Eric, 1:36) This follows a trend where the brokers are starting to see a lot of vacant mobile home parks get attention from buyers. (Max. 3:23) The sale was to a local buyer who had 1031 funds and only needed a small seller note of less than ten percent for 12 months. Due diligence was done quickly and smoothly, and the buyer and seller worked well together. The park sold at near list price. (Eric, 4:23) Eric agreed with Max’s comment about seeing a good market for vacant or near-vacant mobile home parks. (Eric, 4:44) If your mobile home park is vacant or near-vacant. No problem. Eric Wanck can find you a motivated buyer. Contact Eric or Max Baker at The Mobile Home Park Broker, (678) 932-0200. You can also drop us a line at [email protected]. Power Quotes in This Episode: “We were selling essentially vacant land with infrastructure in place.” (Eric, 1:36) “It was a really nice project for someone to come in, do a little bit of work and capital expenditures, and essentially open the gate” (Eric, 1:36) “I chuckled because there's always a little bit of a hiccup with due diligence. But for the most part, it was smooth and very happy all around. Great folks to work with on the sell side and the buy side.” (Eric, 3:42)
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The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Juggernaut Interview with Podcaster and Multiple Community Owner Andrew Keel
07/19/2024
The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Juggernaut Interview with Podcaster and Multiple Community Owner Andrew Keel
In this episode of The MHP Broker’s Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed fellow podcaster, mobile home community portfolio owner and industry syndicator Andrew Keel. As with every Tips and Tricks podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: - Veteran mobile home park owner Andew Keel also runs the Passive Mobile Home Park Investing Podcast as well as running park investing syndications all over the country. (Max, 0:22) - The current count is ownership of 42 mobile home park communities. Andrew graduated from Augustana University in South Dakota. (Andrew, 1:30) - Andrew started out in sales after college. He ran a small team that sold websites, business cards and other sales merchandise to real estate agents. From that influence, he started buying, fixing up and flipping homes as a side business. (Andrew, 2:27) - One day Andrew got a lead on the availability of two vinyl-sided mobile homes for sale in Ocala, FL for just $2,200 for the pair. Figuring it would cost more than that just to manufacture the homes, he quickly resold them to an eager market of homebuyers. He earned $2,500 down payment for each, and monthly payments of $250 for five years. From that point he started watching Youtube videos on how to buy and sell mobile homes. He also met a park owner who educated him on how he could raise investors’ money through syndication in order to buy mobile home parks in quantity at at a quicker pace. (Andrew, 3:07) - It was quite an accomplishment, going from buying two mobile homes to owning 42 communities in just a few years. (Max,5:16) - Andrew also takes advantage of a bank investing program known as Cash LEAPS. As a syndicator who might have a few millions dollars accumulated in a checking account, Andrew lets his bank invest it overnight, when he doesn’t need the cash, and have it back in his checking account by first thing the next morning. In this way, he earns significant interest during the time of day when he doesn’t need the money anyway. (Andrew, 6:56) - There is a fee of about $100 a month for this service, but it’s well worth it. (Andrew, 7:59) - Andrew cautions mobile home park prospective investors about ways it can cost more to operate a park in the north. He owns a park in Minnesota and another in North Dakota where each home runs on propane heat, and he has to take that into cost consideration during the winter. There’s also snow removal costs which southern park owners don’t even think about. (Andrew, 9:10) - Eviction laws vary, state by state. In general, red states have fewer regulations, and evictions are faster and easier, and blue states make it more difficult. Andrew mentioned a park in New York State where the judge would give the evicted tenant 90 days to move out, and then grant the party an additional 90 days afterwards, for no additional reason. He tries to buy parks in red states where eviction laws are minimal. (Andrew, 11:35) - Andrew and Max discussed recent class action lawsuits on large mobile home community chains for price gouging. Andrew isn’t sure that the communities will lose all of these suits, but it will be expensive. (Andew, Max, 14:09) - Local zoning laws can also make it difficult to move homes into communities. Some say they won’t accept any home older than ten years, regardless of its condition. This creates an added challenge to park owners who want to expand their footprints. (Max, 15:03) - Park buyers need to immediately make appointments with zoning officials and find out exactly what they can and cannot do. The local authorities aren’t necessarily in the wrong. They just want to save their larger communities from having a rundown park in its boundaries. (Andrew, 16:00) - Andrew’s long-range goal is to continue to expand his mobile home park portfolio and to be able to offer good, affordable housing to those most in need of it. (Andrew, 17:47) - Once they have a park, they work hard to add value by bringing in new homes and rehabbing existing homes, metering the water, etc. (Andrew, 18:23) - In his time as an entrepreneur, one of the things Andrew learned is that the number one reason people leave an organization is because they don’t feel valued. Another valuable lesson is to avoid “time suck” activities that don’t add value to the job and just create a drag on productivity. (Andrew, 19:20) - Andrew has also learned to use people’s names because it has a profound affect on drawing them in. It’s their favorite sound. (Andrew, 20:26) - And finally, he’s learned to move a little slower, not constantly make deals and to be choosier in the deals he makes. He’s now a more careful community buyer. (Andrew, 21:48) - You can reach Andrew through his website at keelteam.com. Fill out the online form and make a Zoom appointment to talk shop personally with Andrew. (Andrew, 23:01) Would you like to expand your mobile home park portfolio like Andrew. Reach out to him at Keelteam.com. Or contact Max Baker at The Mobile Home Park Broker, (678) 932-0200. You can also drop us a line at [email protected]. Power Quotes in This Episode: After buying two used mobile homes for $2,200 total. “It had to cost way more than $1,000 to build one of these things. So I bought them, got the titles, came home and got on YouTube and typed in ‘how to make money with mobile homes.’” (Andrew, 3:07) Upon learning how to put together syndicate deals and be the managing partner. “That was the a-ha moment.” (Andrew, 3:07) “It's…awesome, being able to provide that affordable housing for people that desperately need it. But also create a good return…for your time and effort and money invested.” (Andrew, 5:30) “The asset class has been good to us and we have subsequently been able to provide affordable housing units that otherwise would have sat vacant, you know, with the previous owner.” (Andrew, 17:47)
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The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails Podcast Interview with Paul Schaaf of The Mobile Home Park Broker
07/12/2024
The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails Podcast Interview with Paul Schaaf of The Mobile Home Park Broker
In this episode of The MHP Broker’s Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed company broker Paul Schaaf on his recent success handling the Glenwood Mobile Home Park transaction in Tennessee. successful deals. This and every episode of Closing Ccktails is presented by The MHP Broker’s’ proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: - Paul took on Glenwood MHP, a great TN park that proved challenging to market because of the small size of its lots. But Paul found the right buyer, and the right solutions to the park’s problems, and was able to close--just as he can close on your park despite whatever challenges it might have. (Max, 1:09) - The park’s in a good location of eastern TN, which is turning into a strong retirement area. The region also has some of the best golf courses in the state. Glenwood had about 60 lots, but was only at about 37 percent occupancy. There was a lot of opportunity there since other mobile home parks in the area were at about 90 percent occupancy with home rents at the $900 - $1,200 range and lots averaging about $400 - $450 a month. There were a lot of offers for Glenwood, but those small lots ultimately drove serious interest away. (Paul, 1:43) - One of the big stepsPaul had his client take was to move some of the power lines to open up the space. They also found a couple manufacturers who ere making smaller, two-bedroom homes that would better fit the space and could be arranged strategically with the larger homes to improve lot sizes and the look of the park. The fact that the property was on city water and all pads already had infrastructure in place were good selling points. And there was a big demand in the area for affordable housing, so the newly laid out park was now much more desirable. (Paul, 3:27) - The buyers were a family very experienced with commercial real estate ownership, but they were breaking in to the mobile home park business for the first time. They were very careful with their due diligence. Paul thinks they’ve already raised rents and are infilling those empty lots. (Paul, 4:41) - Paul learned from this deal the importance of knowing what you’re going to be up against that might challenge the sale and to come up with effective solutons. You’ve got to be able to see the park for what it is, and how it can be improved if it has to be to meet market expectations. (Paul, 5:35) - If you’re a buyer in a decent market, even a park with problems can be improved and value added if you know how to do it and are willing to invest the time and money. (Paul, 6:24) Even parks with warts can attract motivated buyers. We can show you how to add value to a park in a great location, even if significant work must be done. Call Paul or Max at The Mobile Home Park Broker, (678) 932-0200. Power Quotes in This Episode: “We are very good overcoming (challenges) because we’ve seen everything thrown at us in the mobile home park and RV world.” (Max, 1:09) “It was just a matter of putting together the best plan because the demand for affordable housing was there.” (Paul, 3:27) “I think (the new owners) are already infilling and have raised rents. And they’re already off to the races and have done well.” (Paul, 4:41) “If you have the right plan together, and you know how to infill quicker, and you’re in a decent market, you know, when things change in the next three to five years you’re gonna be sitting in a really good position.” (Paul, 6:24))
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The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails Podcast Interview with Broker Eric Wanck on the Lake and Acres MHP Deal
06/29/2024
The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails Podcast Interview with Broker Eric Wanck on the Lake and Acres MHP Deal
In this episode of The MHP Broker’s Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed The MHP Broker’s Eric Wanck on his recent Lake and Acres Mobile Home Park sale. Just like with every Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails podcast episode, this one’s brought to you by The MHP Broker’s’ proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call up Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: - Max Baker asked Eric Wanck to review his successful transaction in selling Lake and Acres Mobile Home Park. (Max, 0:22) - The park owner approached Eric to ask him to sell Lake and Acres, an approximately 50-pad park in a good location, with city water and sewer, but with about fifty percent vacancy. Eric saw it as a nice value-add potential and was eager to take it on. At this same time, Eric was selling another park for a seller who turned out to be interested in buying Lake and Acres. As it turned out, the Lake and Acres buyer sold his park the day before he closed on buying Lake and Acres, so it was a very busy 24 hours for Eric. (Eric, 0:55) - Lake and Acres had a mix of park-owned and tenant-owned homes, and was in need of a little tender loving care. Eric realizes that parks in less than ideal condition and in need of rescue can be just what certain investors are looking for. This was such a park. (Eric, 2:27) - The park that Eric was in the process of selling for the eventual buyer of Lake and Acres was going for a couple of million dollars more than Lake and Acres, so the eventual buyer had the money to invest. He didn’t have to take out a loan and so there were no issues with appraisals taking time or going south. (Eric, 3:17) - One of the lessons Eric learned on the deal was the importance of patience. While he was able to put buyer and seller together quickly, the closing took longer than expected because they had to wait on the buyer’s close on the park he was selling. (Eric, 3:59) If you’re an investor interested in buying and selling mobile home parks, Eric Wanck and The Mobile Home Park Broker can help you on both ends of your deals. Contact The MHP Broker at (678) 932-0200 or drop them an email at [email protected]. Power Quotes in This Episode: “We closed on (the buyer’s) park and literally the next day turned around and closed on Lake and Acres. So, it was a beautiful transaction all around.” (Eric, 0:55) “At the end of the day, it’s all about getting to the finish line. Both parties understood and there was a firm commitment from the buyer here to close, and that’s what we got here.” (Eric, 3:59) “I love how every deal is a little bit different, and this one was definitely different in it own right, but hey, back-to-back closing almost on this one. I’d love to do them again!” (Eric, 5:11)
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The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Juggernaut Interview Series Podcast, with Kirby Horton
06/21/2024
The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Juggernaut Interview Series Podcast, with Kirby Horton
In this episode of The MHP Broker’s Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed Kirby Horton. As president and CEO of The Firm, Inc., Kirby is involved in acquiring, developing, and operating manufactured home communities. As with every Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: - Kirby Horton serves as the park acquisition lead and project manager at his company, The Firm, in Franklin Tennessee. Kirby has worked deals with Max’s company. (Max, 0:22) - In reviewing his career path. Krby explained how he almost accidentally got into his current line of work. He earned a degree in Economics, then spent the next 20 to 25 years in financial services. Over time, he started to see that field becoming a commodity and the possibility for making a good living shrinking. He began to feel bored and less able to use his creativity. (Kirby, 1:35) - As a voracious reader, Kirby eventually stumbled on a book by Lonnie Scruggs, the legendary mobile home investor and author. (Kirby, 2:49) - Following the Lonnie Scruggs pattern, Kirby made a part-time job of buying cheap mobile homes and selling them on a rent-to-own (RTO) basis. His first sale, of a mobile home he paid $800 for, was to a park manager who has, since 1009, been Kirby’s employee for the longest tenure. (Kirby, 3:2) - Over time, Kirby bought and sold on RTO contracts a total of maybe 50 or 60 mobile homes. He’d spend the first week of every month knocking on doors and getting rent from his RTO contract holders. - When the SAFE Act regulation of Dodd Frank came out in 2008, Kirby realized that would pretty much kill his mode of business. zThe purpose of the SAFE Act was to regulate those who sell housing, and the rules and requirements were so complicated and involved that he figured he’d have to redirect the way he moved forward. (Kirby, 4:49) - That’s when Kirby began buying mobile home parks. He lost his shirt on that first deal, but learned plenty. For starters, he learned that owning communities isn’t “mailbox money” a matter of just waiting for the checks to arrive by letter carrier. It’s harder than that, and there’s much more to do to successfully run a park. (Kirby, 5:21) - In describing a park deal he worked with Max’s company, Kirby mentioned that a community that was shaky when he first bought it is now stabilized, with 100 percent occupancy and 90 percent collections and only responsible residents. (Kirby, 7:17) - When he bought it, the community was all park-owned homes (POH). One of the first things Kirby did was determine who he wanted living there and who he wanted out in order to clean up the community and improve the culture. He also turned all of the POHs into opportunities for the preferred residents to buy them. (Kirby, 7:37) - Kirby basically had only three park rules, and those who couldn’t follow them were evicted. The rules were, be a good neighbor…keep your yard clean…and pay your rent on time. (Kirby, 7:56) - Kirby enjoyed working with his good tenants, and either getting money upfront or working out payment plans so they could own their homes and he was only dealing with lot rent. Some of the homes were in such poor condition that he literally gave them to his tenants. His dream is that eventually the community (and others he owns) will become so stabilized that people will be proud to live there and fond of their childhood memories in a manufactured home community. (Kirby, 8:39) - Max observed that his start in the industry was much like Kirby’s, including being heavily influenced by Lonnie Scruggs books. (Max, 10:10) - Asked whether he’s ever tried syndication as a way of raising acquisition capital, Kirby said that it makes him nervous if he has to report to major investors. His preference is to go one deal at a time, with him and his family usually the sole investors on reasonably small deals. In the case of larger deals, he might bring together one or two friends who can invest, but he stays away from large pools of investors. (Kirby, 11:45) - Asked if he buys new or used homes for his parks, Kirby said that he’d love to be able to find affordable higher-quality used homes, but they’re almost impossible to find. Even if he could, they would each cost about $20,000 to $30,000 to buy and move in. (Kirby, 13:31) - Kirby mentioned some of the new home manufacturers he uses, and highlighted Hamilton Homes out of Hamilton, Alabama for how they came through when the supply chain was held up after Covid. He also had words of praise for Champion Homes, and Clayton for the high quality of their homes. Kirby said that the quality of new mobile homes today is generally as good as he’s ever seen. (Kirby, 14:21) - He says that talk of mobile homes depreciating like cars is false, and that a good quality mobile home, properly installed and cared for, will maintain its value for a long time. (Kirby, 15:12) - Stabilized lot rents should be set at $400 a month, bare minimum. (Kirby, 17:20) Kirby resents experts who talk about “value add” as solely a matter of raising rents and metering the water. Where’s the value in that for tenants? While that kind of revenue raising sometimes must be done, he thinks park owners need to also create value for tenants by improving the communities, not just making them costlier to live in.. (Kirby, 18:01) - Asked by Max if he’d consider selling to a developer who wanted to turn the property into more expensive apartment units, Kirby said he’d probably sell if it was profitable As a business person, it’s his responsibility to keep his company healthy. (Kirby, 21:35) - Kirby said that, upon further consideration, that he might first go to the local government after receiving such an offer. He’d explain that he’s now offering affordable housing to families that would probably be displaced, and what can the local authorities do in terms of zoning and other issues to help him be able to responsibly reject the offer and expand instead. (Kirby, 22:50) - In 2022, Kirby’s company bought and installed 500 new homes in parks around the country. The rate has slowed somewhat since then, but they’re still very active. (Kirby, 31:34) The lower number of homes purchased and installed is inversely related to rising interest rates. (Kirby, 31:47) Do you need expert support and guidance in buying or selling manufactured home communities? Call up Maxwell Baker at The Mobile Home Park Broker, (678) 932-0200. You can also drop him a line at [email protected]. Power Quotes in This Episode: (On Kiry Horton’s desire to improve the communities he owns.) “We want to create memories for those young kids that we want them to have a safe, fun place to grow up.” (Kirby, 10:02) (On his reluctance to bring in outside investors.) “It's one thing to follow your gut when it's your money. Yeah, it's somebody else's money, you better be following something more than just your gut.” (Kirby, 11:45) “I’ll lose my own money, but I sure would hate to lose someone else’s.” (Kirby, 13:05) “The quality of new homes is just so great today, there’s just no comparing a (manufactured) hom today to even ten years ago. The quality is that much better.” (Kirby, 14:21) “If that new home, if it's a quality home, and it's placed properly and installed properly, in the right location, will maintain its value over many, many years.” (Kirby, 15:12) “Once you clean the place up…as you're doing that, (residents) know what the rent increase is coming. It's just…a whole lot easier to swallow and to deliver if you've (first) improved their community.” (Kirby, 1801) (On raising rents without improving communities.) “I see a lot of investors do that. Typically, it’s the ones that are on razor-sharp margins when they buy that kind of stuff.” (Max, 19:35) “If the media is going to interview me, I want it to be because of the progress that we've made because of improving the neighborhood, improving the community, not because I'm a carpetbagger, or somebody who's trying to gouge the poor.” (Kirby, 20:39)
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The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails Podcast Interview with Jeff Dodge of The Mobile Home Park Broker
06/15/2024
The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails Podcast Interview with Jeff Dodge of The Mobile Home Park Broker
In this episode of The MHP Broker’s Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed newbie broker Jeff Dodge on his first sale for the firm. Just like with every Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails podcast episode, this one’s brought to you by The MHP Broker’s’ proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call up Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: - New broker Jeff Dodge was asked to review his first sale for The MHP Broker,which was a West Virginia deal. (Max, 1:01) - Mountain View is located in the mountains of WVA, in Marlington, which is about 30 minutes from Snowshoe Mountain Resort. Mountain View is a hybrid community, consisting mostly of mobile homes, but also including some stick-built cabins and an RV pad. The homes were all occupied at the time of the listing, but there were also four vacant lots for a value-add opportunity for the next buyer. It was a well-run mom and pop operation. Although the seller’s daughter is a real estate broker, they sought out The MHP Broker for their specialized market knowledge. (Jeff, 1:19) - The buyers were able to get a bank loan from a source they already knew in the area, and the property appraised over value, so there were no issues with financing. (Jeff, 2:58) - Another key sales advantage was city water and 1:1 sewage. (Max, 3:13) - Jeff thought the community’s secluded rural location would make it a hard sell, but he was pleasantly surprised to learn that it didn’t. He ultimately closed with the first prospective buyer who went under contract. (Jeff, 3:35) - The deal closed in about 30 days. The buyer was someone the company had worked with before, so he came to the deal well vetted. That helped the process immensely. (Jeff, 3:53) - Jeff also realized that another factor in the success of and trouble-free nature of the transaction was the constant communication with the seller/client. This was a great way of heading off issues before they became problems, and keeping trust and confidence high between the two parties. (Jeff, 4:16) Mountain View in West Virginia is one of the latest examples of the positive impact The Mobile Home Park Broker can have in delivering quick community sales at top dollar. Contact The MHP Broker’s Jeff Dodge or Max Baker at (678) 932-0200. Power Quotes in This Episode: “When it comes to brokers, better to be a mile deep than a mile wide. And here at the firm, we are definitely a mile deep (in experience in this real estate market niche), and a lot of park owners choose to work with us because of that. We're just extremely niched, we're able to bring in buyers a lot quicker than a lot of different people out there that are trying to sell communities because, like I said, we specialize in this. We've got the connections with the lenders, with the mortgage brokers, debt placement guys…We are very good at structuring deal stories, structuring debt and making sure you're getting the highest price when you exclusively list with us.” (Max, 2:15) “I had a lot back and forth with the seller. But the more communication, I believe, that you have with your client, the more they'll have that trust in you to get to the closing table.” (Jeff, 4:16)
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The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails Podcast Interview with Paul Schaaf of The Mobile Home Park Broker
06/08/2024
The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails Podcast Interview with Paul Schaaf of The Mobile Home Park Broker
In this episode of The MHP Broker’s Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed leading broker Paul Schaaf on one of his latest deals. Just like with every Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails podcast episode, this one’s brought to you by The MHP Broker’s’ proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call up Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: - Paul Schaaf was The Mobile Home Park Broker’s top producer at the mid-year mark. He’ll talk about a recent challenging but successful transaction in Arkansas. (Max, 1:06) - The sale had a few stumbling blocks that made it take longer to close than usual. For one thing, the owners had to do a lot of work before they could even list the park. It had been in bad shape when they acquired it, and they had to bring in new homes, improve the tenant base and get cash flow to the point where it would appeal to buyers. (Paul, 1:16) - The appraisal went fine, but local banks were reluctant to get involved due to high interest rates and the presence of a lot of park-owned homes in the deal. Fortunately, the owners kept good books and showed how revenue had increased steadily. Paul found a motivated buyer who’d just sold a farming business and wanted to own a mobile home park, especially one that could add RV lots. The buyers had a good business plan and Paul was able to connect them with an ideal mortgage broker. (Paul, 2:23) - The buyer got rejected a few times from lenders, and had to prove how they’d successfully run previous businesses, and collaterize some of their assets. So it wasn’t easy, but buyer and seller both ended up satisfied. (Paul, 4:03) Regardless of the unique challenges and obstacles you might face, we think there’s a buyer for every park. Just make sure you sell through brokers who know the business and have connections that can help make the deal go through faster and at a better price--with fewer hitches. Contact Paul Schaaf or Max Baker at The Mobile Home Park Broker, (678) 932-0200. Power Quotes in This Episode: “We've got the connections with the lenders, with the mortgage brokers, debt placement guys…We are very good at structuring deal stories, structuring debt and making sure you're getting the highest price when you exclusively list with us.” (Max, 4:36) “Times are changing, but we’re the broker that knows how to evolve and adapt.” (Max, 5:43)
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The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails Podcast Interview with Eric Wanck of The Mobile Home Park Broker
06/01/2024
The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails Podcast Interview with Eric Wanck of The Mobile Home Park Broker
In this episode of The MHP Broker’s Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed broker superstar Eric Wanck regarding a couple of his recent and very successful deals. Here Are the Show Highlights: - Eric recently closed on Cozy Homes Mobile Home Park and Dogwood Estates MHP. (Max, 0:22) - Cozy Homes was an off-market deal on a park that Eric sold to the current sellers in 2020. They reached out to him again this year when they wished to sell. (Eric, 1:11) - It was a nice park, with 75 pads, city water and sewer, and paved roads. It easily met appraisal and sold in about 90 days, from initial contact to the sale date. However, the owners had managed the park from afar, installing local day-to-day management. This proved to be problematic. (Eric, 1:53) - The local manager did a poor job of maintaining the park, some residents left, the park lost value, and the owner had to refinance, with a balloon payment due in twelve months. That’s why they decided to sell. The lesson is that passive owners still have to check in regularly and know what’s going on with their property before it loses value. (Eric, 2:35) - As a result of the local management’s shortcomings, monthly park revenue had dropped from about $23,000 when Eric first sold it three years ago, to about $14,000 or $15,000 by the time it sold again. (Eric, 3:45) - The sellers had bought the park three years ago for $2.2 million and had to sell it for a lot less than that due to its deteriorating condition. (Eric, 4:06) - Despite the drop in value of the park, Eric did an excellent job on the sale and the sellers still got a premium price. (Max, 4:23) - Eric’s second recent success was with Dogwood Estates near Martinsville, Virginia. It was a smaller park than Cozy Homes, and also had city water and sewer, and paved roads. But its location wasn’t ideal…right next to a McDonald’s restaurant. (Eric, 6:24) - The lesson to be learned here is that sellers sometimes need to practice patience if the property has some challenges. It might take time, but there’s a buyer for every deal. This park had good books and records, and it easily passed the buyer’s due diligence. (Eric, 7:09) - The new owners ended up with a park with a ten-CAP on day one, and lots that were under market rate by about $50. Infilling opportunities also existed. (Eric, 8:01) - There’s a lot of opportunity out there, a big market for mobile home parks even with the high interest rates. So stay patient if you’re a seller, and The MHP Broker can help you find a buyer regardless of what challenges or obstacles your park might face. So caall us. (Eric, 9:58) - Some of the large banks and other lenders aren’t even interested in deals under $2.5 million or even $5 million. That’s why Max’s company has established connections with credit unions that are enthusiastic about lending for smaller deals and at more favorable interest rates than the major lenders are willing to give--if they’ll accept a deal at all. (Max, 11:07) Regardless of the challenges and obstacles your park might face, we believe there’s a buyer for every park. Just contact Max Baker or Eric Wanck at The Mobile Home Park Broker, (678) 932-0200. Power Quotes in This Episode: “Don’t ever think that parks are a hands-off, passive business, because they’re not.”(Eric, 2:35) “(The closing price) wasn't close to where we sold it in the beginning. But…we still got a pretty solid price for this deal.” (Eric, 4:23) “So if y’all have some parks out there that are mismanaged, give us a call.” (Max, 5:33) “That's (678) 932-0200 or email us at . Ask for Eric if you're going to call. He is the man with the plan and his pipeline is massive, still. So you guys give him a call and let's keep moving forward!” (Max, 12:45)
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The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Podcast Interview with Ferd Niemann
05/17/2024
The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Podcast Interview with Ferd Niemann
In this episode of The MHP Broker’s Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed lawyer Fern Niemann about his legal focus on representing mobile home park owners. Just like with every Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktails podcast episode, this one’s brought to you by The MHP Broker’s’ proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call up Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: - Lawyer Ferd Niemann runs the website TheMHPLawyer.com, and specializes in representing the legal interests of mobile home park community owners across the country. Up to about 80 percent of the firm’s business is within this industry. (Max, 0:22) - Ferd began his professional career as a commercial real estate tax analyst for Jackson County in Kansas. He flipped and bought and kept homes for rental on the side. He couldn’t scale up quickly, so decided to get into apartment investing, but found it to be a competitive market out of his financial range. Instead, he started buying and selling mobile homes, which were much less expensive. He did this while attending law school at the University of Kansas. His intention was to get into tax law and real estate investment law. (Ferd, 2:07) - Around 2018, Ferd got out of law practice and focused exclusively on building his mobile home business. He’s bought and sold parks, and currently owns 19 communities, mostly in the Midwest. Ferd has also gotten back into his law practice, with a mobile home specialty, and hosts a podcast covering the topic. (Ferd, 3:51) - Ferd’s firm does a lot of business fighting zoning laws established by localities that seek to shut down mobile home parks with home age restrictions, park size restrictions, infill timelines, utility restrictions and other penalties. The majority of his clients have parks that are “legally non-conforming.” That means that they were legal when established, and they’ve been grandfathered in to protect against current regulations, but might fall short of current legal requirements when they change hands. Many cities use the zoning charge of abandonment to shut down mobile home park activity. The idea is that if a lot sits empty for a designated period of time, which might be as little as a month or two, it’s considered abandoned, and the park owners loses the right to rent it. (Ferd, 6:09) - Age restrictions seem especially illogical to Ferd. He’s got a 2022 mobile home that’s falling apart and a classic 1957 model that’s in beautiful condition. The point is, a home’s age isn’t necessarily a valid indicator of the condition it’s in, and age restrictions are arbitrary and unfair. (Ferd, 7:52) - There are several violations that can get a mobile home park shut down, including fire code violations, public health safety, welfare, and morals. But abandonment provisions are the most commonly enforced by hostile cities. (Ferd, 8:38) - Ferd’s firm uses zoning letters to nail down what the park can and can’t do in a locale. He attempts to get the cities to sign off on the zoning letter to protect the client in future zoning battles. The city will sign off on the letter maybe 25 or 30 percent of the time. (Ferd, 10:37) - About a third of the time, the city will agree to sign the zoning letter once revisions are added and changes made. Ferd’s firm haggles for the best case possible with revisions. (Ferd, 11:10) - This works more effectively in smaller cities. The bigger cities have much larger law departments and are less likely to simply sign off on a zoning letter. (Ferd, 11:38) - The challenges vary by state and region, too. As examples, Tennessee and Iowa are cooperative with zoning letters, while North Carolina tends not to be. (Ferd, 12:22) - Ferd rarely sees “carve outs,” in which the regulations are changed for one park, but he can sometimes get communities to change the zoning code altogether. In other cases, he’s gotten communities to grant grandfather rights for parks that were in existence before the zoning code was updated. (Ferd, 14:29) - Sometimes cities that can’t get parks shut down because the park was in existence before zoning codes were put in place will instead try to shut down individual lots that haven’t been infilled within a designated time. Ferd compares that kind of vacancy with a motel with a room that hasn’t been rented for some time. That doesn’t mean the entire motel or that room was abandoned. (Ferd, 17:27) Zoning issues related to floodplains, fire code violation, egress and ingress are also tough to fight. (Ferd, 17:27) While zoning issues constitute about half of Ferd’s law firm’s work load, with an average of about five to 10 cases in front of them at any one time, it’s not all they do related to the mobile home park industry. They also handle contracts, leases, closings, syndication issues and others. When it comes to floodplains, cities might tell a park owner that 30 or their 100 lots are in a floodplain and that while those 30 lots are grandfathered into current law, they can’t be replaced in that location if they’re even burned out, flooded or otherwise lost. That’s a tough ruling to fight. (Ferd, 21:05) It’s hard to move a flood map. Sometimes Ferd can get variances on a 100-year floodplain, and occasionally even a 100-year map, but FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers tend to push back hard. (Ferd, 22:27) It’s hard to get floodplains changed because no one wants to take the chance of changing the map and then people drown in a major flood. (Ferd, 23:03) Right of first refusal provisions can be additional challenges to park owners looking to sell. In states that have such provisions, the park’s current residents can get together and try to match the sale price to take ownership. Realistically, they’re unlikely to be able to come up with the sale price, but it can slow a sale and create additional stumbling blocks. For one thing, tenants who know that a sale is proceeding might stop paying rent, knowing that the sellers won’t evict them and therefore lower the occupancy level during negotiations. Ferd is handling such a case in Colorado now. (Ferd, 25:17) Those who wish to contact Ferd for legal advice can drop him an email at [email protected]. (Ferd, 36;18) Do you have legal issues related to the sale or purchase of a mobile home park? Reach out to Ferd Niemann at TheMHPLawyer.com. Or call up Max at (678) 932-0200. You can also drop him a line at [email protected]. Power Quotes in This Episode: “I can work on zoning every week, but it’s not every day.” (Ferd, 18:21) “...nobody wants to be the person that raises their right hand and in front of the federal government says, ‘I think that this area that someone else said was not safe for habitation is now safe enough that I'm gonna modify the (flood) map’ and put people for the rest of time at risk of drowning to death when I put my career on the line for that move and so it's really hard to get a map changed.” (Ferd, 23:03)
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The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Mary Gaiski, President of the PA Manufactured Housing Association
04/19/2024
The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Mary Gaiski, President of the PA Manufactured Housing Association
In this episode of The MHP Broker’s Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed PA Manufactured Housing Association President Mary Gaiski about key issues for park owners and investors in her state. This and every Tips and Tricks podcast episode is brought to you by The MHP Broker’s’ proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Ask Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: - Mary has been a member of the PA Manufactured Home Association since 1986. The association will celebrate its 75th anniversary next year. (Mary, 1:20) - Mary has been in the industry since 1978, As a state, Pennsylvania is quite active in manufactured home manufacturing, with 11 factories exporting homes to several nearby states, especially in the north. (Mary, 1:35) - PA also has 30 to 40 retailers selling homes to residents, and over 2,200 mobile home communities, including the very smallest. (Mary, 2:20) - That includes a number of parks below what Max thinks of as investment grade for buyers’ purposes. The MHP Broker data report finds about 1,000 parks in the state that are mid-size to larger. (Max, 3:42) - Waves of investors have already bought many of the larger parks in the state, and now they’re starting to buy the mom and pop-size parks too. A single investor might typically buy several parks within a geographic region to achieve dominance. (Mary, 4:34) - Many of these smaller parks have fallen below market rents over the years, so the new owners immediately raise rents, which gets them in conflict with the state over issues such as rent control and right of first refusal, whereby tenants have the right to buy their communities before sales to outside investors. (Mary, 5:30) - Max has seen similar legislation enacted in Virginia, in that tenants have 90 days or so after a proposed sale to determine if they want to buy their communities. (Max,6:06) - In Pennsylvania, legislators want to give residents as long as 365 days to decide first refusal, which would be crippling for park buyers and sellers. (Mary, 7:16) - Most regulations in the state are at the state or the local levels. (Mary, 12:41) - The state is basically divided into three geographic areas in terms of regulatory environment. The southeast park is the most progressive, and therefore most aggressively regulate. Central PA has some local communities that are aggressive in terms of regulations, and some others that aren’t. The western part o the state is the least regulated, and park owners there are hoping things stay that way. (Mary, 14:44) - Like elsewhere in the U.S., PA suffers from the aging of the mobile home moving industry. As movers retire, fewer take their place. Home installers, service and repair people are also in short supply in PA. (Mary, 16:14) - Less than ten percent of mobile homes are moved from one park to another in the state. (Mary, 17:17) - Mary Gaiski of the PA Manufactured Home Association can be reached at (717) 774-3440 or [email protected]. (Mary, 19:35) Want to know more about the ordinances and regulations that affect mobile home park ownership in your state or locale? Just reach out to Max Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, (678) 932-0200. Power Quotes in This Episode: “About 70 percent of the homes built in the Commonwealth are shipped out (of the state)(Mary, 2:20) “The mom and pops weren't very big on keeping rents at market rate or worrying about all of that. So, these communities are being sold with rents well below market rate and because of that, it has left us right for having to address issues such as rent control, or right of first refusal and we've been seeing a lot of that in our legislative halls this year.” (Mary, 5:30) “There's no other business out there in the Commonwealth, or probably even in then nation, that you're going to give their customers a whole year to determine if they can sell their community, you know, sell the business. Because, you know, that's the sad part. They don't look at these as businesses. And sadly, they are. I mean, they have an income and expense statement(Mary, 8:23)
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The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Podcast Interview with Marc Henn of Harvest Advisors
03/15/2024
The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Podcast Interview with Marc Henn of Harvest Advisors
In this episode of The MHP Broker’s Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed Marc Henn about tax decisions that can positively influence mobile home park and RV community owners. This and every Tips and Tricks podcast episode is brought to you by The MHP Broker’s’ proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Ask Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: Max met Marc Henn of Harvest Advisors of Cincinnati in a Strategic Coach program last June. They discussed tax strategies that would be ideal for investors who sell their parks and want to save as much of their money as possible from taxation, or use their land for additional revenue growth. Marc introduced the topic of the five super asset classes and Max thought Marc would make an excellent podcast guest. (Max, 0:22) Marc has been in the investment field for over 30 years. In that time, he helped his clients get into the super asset class or classes that were most appropriate for each. For those with wealth to invest in the range of about a half million to $2 million, many choose investments in the paper asset class, consisting mostly of stocks and bonds. (Marc, 1:50) Marc found a particularly under served client group to be those in the asset range of about $4 million to $15 million. In addition to paper assets, the five asset super classes include real estate, personally owned businesses, oil and gas, and investments in other commodities. (Marc, 3:12) Max invited Marc to be a podcast guest because of his experience with oil and gas investment tactics and strategies and tax benefits that might be of value to his audience. (Max, 4:36) One effective way of investing in oil and gas is to get involved in a direct drilling program, which can provide a significant tax write-off in year one. Keep in mind, like a lot of investments it’s not risk-free. (Marc, 712) Take as an example a client making a million dollars a year. His last $100,000 will be federally taxed at a 37 percent rate, so they’ll lose $37,000 in taxation on that income. But invest that money in an oil and gas drilling program and they’ll pay about $3,700 in taxes on that $100,000, for about a 90 percent tax write-off. That’s just a starting point. (Marc, 8:04) You’re also given a depletion allowance on income earned, because the IRS knows that the well revenue will deplete over time. So instead of being taxed on 100 percent of income earned, you might only be taxed on 85 percent. However, some wells have a much longer life. Mark has a well in his family that’s produced for 110 years, though that’s not typical. (Marc, 9:07) As an advisor, Marc and his company don’t promise any sort of investment return on oil and gas, but finds that it’s not unrealistic to get a complete return on investment in a well-chosen drilling program in a year and a half to two years. (Marc, 10:36) One big determining factor is the price of a barrel of oil, which can fluctuate greatly. If it gets down to $30 or lower, the investment could be at risk as a revenue producer, but the tax benefit is still there. (Marc, 11:46) You need to watch out for companies that might have just recently gone into the drilling business in reaction to rising oil prices, but lack experience, insurance and adequate capital for such essentials as drilling platforms and rigs. Instead, invest in experienced producers with good track records and connections to the large drilling companies such as Anadarko and Occidental. Marc and his people can help vet their clients’ partners in oil and gas investments. (Marc, 13:40) For many clients, Harvest Advisors offers diverse investments in multiple super asset classes. So your money might flow from paper asset class investments to oil and gas to real estate and other commodities. (Marc, 15:40) Mobile home park owners are used to owning what’s called surface rights on their land, but they also own subsurface rights which they can sell to oil and gas exploration companies. That means that your property’s mineral rights can also quality you for a 1031 exchange just like your property above ground. (Marc, 20:57) Your mineral rights can also be sold just like any other investment if you need quick cash. (Marc, 23:42) Mineral rights investments are earning higher returns now. That’s in part because oil and gas investments are being shed by endowment funds due to political and social concerns. However, Wall Street still highly values these companies, so they can be better investments now than ever. (Marc, 25:53) If the price of oil goes down, drilling on your land might stop until the price goes up enough to make drilling profitable again. Your mineral rights are safe in that you wouldn’t have to sell pumped oil at cheap prices at a loss. (Marc, 27:23) Think of your mineral rights as a long-term investment. Drilling could stop for many years if the price of oil isn’t right, but you still get 1031 exchange tax benefits. And as soon as oil prices rise again, drilling resumes. (Marc, 28:08) Your oil and gas investment can also flow with your opportunity zone tax benefit, which lots of mobile home communities have. This can further maximize your return. (Marc, 29:22) These oil and gas investments can be ideal for park owners who might otherwise be hesitant to sell their land on account of the tax burden. Now they can keep their land and count on a regular check from their investment. (Max, 33:39) Marc Henn can be contacted at (513) 779-3030 or by email at [email protected]. His company website is HarvestAdvisors.com. (Marc, 37:13) Want to know more about wise investments for mobile home park and RV community owners that can create tax benefits and generous revenue returns? Contact Max Baker and The Mobile Home Park Broker team at (678) 932-0200. We’ll be happy to put you in touch with Marc Henn of Harvest Advisors. Power Quotes in This Episode: “I love the idea of strategies that when we look at investors and the biggest expense, they face…taxes…we can address that issue and keep more money in your pockets and less for the federal government. I think it's it's every American's duty to do that.(Marc, 1:18) “...our job really is to kind of design for a client a strategy to really save on taxes, have a great diversified mix, and if possible, if it's something the client wants as well, to go outside of just those paper assets (stocks and bonds).” (Marc, 3:12) “Those (oil and gas investment) tax write offs carry over into a Roth IRA strategy or a 1031 strategy or opportunity zone strategy as well…” (Marc,9:07) “...when you factor in the tax benefits of a drilling program, we're looking for a return of your capital probably in about a year, (or) between a year and a half to two years.” (Marc, 10:36) “...you want to have a company that has enough insurance behind them as well, just to protect everything. And typically a company that's also partnering with larger drilling companies like an Anadarko or Occidental, things like that.” (Marc, 13:40) (Regarding the sale of mineral rights.) “So it operates and acts just like owning property above ground, and of course, that's one of the many reasons that can qualify for that 1031 exchange.” (Marc, 20:57)
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The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Podcast Interview with Mark Brisebois, Founder of EZ Evict USA
02/16/2024
The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Podcast Interview with Mark Brisebois, Founder of EZ Evict USA
In this episode of The MHP Broker’s Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed Mark Brisebois, the founder and managing partner of EZ Evict USA. This and every Tips and Tricks podcast episode is brought to you by The MHP Broker’s’ proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Ask Max for details. Here Are the Show Highlights: Mark Brisebois recently started EZ Evict USA, a company serving mobile home park owners as well as the owners of single- and multi-family homes with non-paying tenants. (Max, 1:05) Mark has worked in the real estate industry for almost 40 years. His responsibilities have taken him into such related fields as title and mortgage servicing, loan origination, training and wholesaling. From there, he started working with mobile home park owners, improving their valuation before sale. From this he learned about the high cost of evicting tenants, which can be as much as $8,000 in some cases, and the negative impact a high eviction and non-payment rate had on parks. He was not particularly impressed with the actions of local professionals he saw in the eviction line of work. (Mark, 1:44) Mark was seeing evictions taking 60 to 90 days, and wondered why it couldn’t be done sooner. He realized that the tenant who wasn’t paying rent was a non-performing asset, so the eviction needed to happen as soon as legally possible. (Mark, 4:04) He also noticed that there was not a national eviction service. All existing services were local, and of varying quality. Another shortcoming was that the client was rarely able to see the process in real time to know how it was going. In frustration, he decided to start his own service, which he launched in March of this year. (Mark, 4:55) His company, EZ Evict USA, works with attorneys across the country and is currently active in 25 states. (Mark, 6:14) Max said that Mark’s earlier comment about some evictions costing $8,000 were situations where the resident was renting and not paying for the pad, but had their own mobile homes. It was when the entire home had to be moved out of the park in a legal manner that generated that high eviction cost. (Max, 6:32) The EZ Evict UA process starts by providing the client with an app through which all of the client’s documents and information on the eviction can be submitted, and the company can provide an agreement that outlines all that EZ Evict will do. It also provides the client with information on how they should proceed (or not proceed) to stay within the law in their state and to not jeopardize the case. (Mark, 7:19) The agreement allows the company to be the legal intermediary between the client and the lawyer used for the eviction. That means the client doesn’t have to deal with the lawyer, but can monitor every step taken via the app including the activities of the process server and all court dates. (Mark, 8:04) Max pointed out that there are several forms of eviction related to mobile home parks, including lot rent evictions, park-owned home evictions, lease option evictions and foreclosures. (Max, 9:24) Mark said that most of the types boil down to non-payment, and can all be handled more or less the same way. (Except lease option non-renewal, which is not a non-payment issue). He emphasized the importance of park owners reading their leases and following the process carefully to stay in compliance with their state laws. (Mark, 10:03) Before working in a state, Mark learns whether it’s what he calls a “tenant-friendly” or a “landlord-friendly” state. He’s not actively pursuing business in tenant-friendly states where it can sometimes take as long as six months to evict a non-paying resident and require at least two court dates. (Mark, 11:31) Mark pointed out the bottom-line benefit to park owners of being able to process an eviction in 30 days rather than 60 or 90 days, or longer. The faster they can get in a new paying tenant, the better for cash flow and the valuation of the park when selling. (Mark, 12:55) The best way to reach Mark and hire his company is through his website, at EZEvictUSA.com. (Mark, 14:56) If you’re a mobile home park owners losing revenue from non-paying tenants or concerned about your non-payment rent when considering selling, check in with Mark Brisebois and EZ Evict USA by visiting EZEvictUSA.com. Or reach out to Max Baker at or give him a call at (678) 932-0200. He’ll put you in touch with Mark. Power Quotes in This Episode: “Sometimes tenants don’t always pay.” (Mark, 1:44) “I was having a hard time wrapping my head around as to why, you know, why should this take 60 to 90 days to get someone out? And you know, obviously, during that time, you're not getting any money off of that non-performing asset.” (Mark, 4:04) “...we launched in March, and I'm happy to say that, you know, July looks to be our first break-even-slash-mildly-profitable month. So we're movingin the right direction.” (Mark, 4:55) “What I want to be able to do for the community out there is to provide a service that would actually save you money, because if you're normally doing 60-90 days, and I can do it in 30 days, you know, that month or two of non-rent is paying for your eviction.” (Mark, 12:55) “...the eviction process, in my mind, is a critical piece to the overall management of that park.” (Mark, 12:55)
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