Posted by darrellc on November 16, 2009 at 21:50:11:
I own a park in Wa and have done several evictions. John Woodring and Assoc. out of Olympia is the MHCW attorney. Join the association and you can call him to answer questions. I 've used John 3 times. Figure about a thousand per eviction. Wa is a state where it’s not easy for a park owner to do their own evictions…I believe most park owners here go with an attorney. ( Oregon is great…you can do an eviction there without an attorney.)
When I bought my park in 2007 I had 15 POH. I’ve sold every one but one and will sell that one once it’s cleaned up. Screen the buyers well. Make the total monthly( space rent and payment ) competitive with apts in your area. The shorter the length of the contract the more likely they’ll stick and complete it. Good luck
P.S. After an eviction or two…I’ll bet your rent collections get better.
Hello my fellow investors. Although I have owned my MH Park for over 5 yrs, I am still a “new investor” as I still have much to learn from you all!
I have two mobiles which are vacant. One is a rough single wide with constant turn-over. (This IS an area with very few rentals available at all. I simply put up an ad at the local store and it goes quick). Do I sell or keep renting?
Nice 3bd 2ba doublewide which I went through an attorney to take possession of after the tenant passed and the estate left it. Could bring a substantial amount of rent. However due to past tenants, I am concerned about causing damage, not paying, causing issues with others, and upkeep - hard for me to get there to do repairs. Property is on septic - need to be cautious of too many people living there and neighbor tenants are elderly. Again, rent or sell? In both cases, how best to sell? RE agent?
Long term tenant. Long term no pay. He is simply a deadbeat. Not familiar with state laws or proper paperwork needed to present pay or vacate.
All other tenants great people, own their homes. I raised space rent once - 4 yrs ago. I am priced far below market. How much should I raise?
Sorry for so many questions… told you I’m still new! Any feedback / ideas would be greatly appreciated!
Re: 4 concerns - vacancy, non pay, rent incr - Posted by Eric - WA
Posted by Eric - WA on November 16, 2009 at 18:31:25:
I think your fourth point kinda answers your question as to whether to rent or sell. You have experienced problems with renters but not owners. So, you should sell rather than rent.
I have done many lonnie deals over past few years in both King County and Pierce County. My experience has been that the best tenants are those that come up with $2K or $3K down and 300 - 400 /mo. They keep their homes up nice and the payments to me are usually on time and they are reliable.
However, I usually go through many, many phone calls and showings and several denied applicants before finding the right person. This process usually takes 1 - 3 months from my experience.
Depending upon where in WA your park is located, I might be interested in buying one of your homes and carrying the contract on it. Feel free to contact me by e-mail if you are interested.
Re: 4 concerns - vacancy, non pay, rent incr - Posted by Dr. B. (OH)
Posted by Dr. B. (OH) on November 15, 2009 at 18:40:35:
Welcome Rich,
There is indeed a wealth of info on this site. Look up a lot of stuff in the archives and -of course- get Lonnie’s books. Less than a hundred dollar investment in these two cookbooks can make you hundreds of thousands of dollars. Ask us how we know this.
If there are very few rentals available and you can rent quickly BUT have high turnover, there is a problem with either your home or your screening techniques.
As Tony C. (the moderator) has said endlessly: Renting or Selling is strictly a personal decision. Given what you have said, it sounds like you’d rather not rent. So, again, get Lonnie’s books.
It seems you are losing $1800 a year or more (depending on lot rent) by saving $400 on lawyer’s fees to dump the deadbeat. I believe in most states you need a lawyer to do an eviction for you if the property is not held in your personal name. Even if it is, just pay a lawyer to do the dirty work and get it over with.
Raising rents is NORMAL, not the exception. If your homes are not sub metered for water usage, it may be better to do that than raise rents at this point.
Re: 4 concerns - vacancy, non pay, rent incr - Posted by joe–ga
Posted by joe–ga on November 15, 2009 at 06:18:39:
I would suggest you get lonnies books and read over them.I am not one to jump for every real estate book or tape that comes along.I DO have these 2 books and I read back over them all along.AN endorsement coming from me on anyones books and tapes, that means you can actually use the info in them to solve your problem here.They are not priced very high, but has a goldmine of information in them…
Whats the mobiles worth for the general public to buy, FINANCED? How much do you owe on them? where are they? If you could get $2000 down and a monthly payment for them,could you come out ok like that? There is a financial calculator at the heading on this site, click on it, price your mobiles,add about 10% interest and see what your monthly payments would be…Do you own the land? I would rent the land if you do/LOT RENT…plus a mobile home payment to your customer…put a sign in the windows,
“for sale”–OWNER FINANCING"
your phone number and your asking price…Lonnies package also has some forms to use for this type situations…and this forum has information from investors who have been in the business from 3 days to 50 years on it… there is alot of good information here…GOOD LUCK…if you play your cards right, you might pay for these homes taking down payments in.I have a friend who has paid for 2 doublewides in 2 years with down payments.Peoples situations change and the average tenant will stay with you 18 months and want out of the contract, so you might see these homes 4 or 5 more times before you actually find someone who will pay it out…but that how one makes money…its like an ATM machine, although its kinda big and you dont have to insert your card to get it working…hahha…
ps…if guns kill people, then I guess I can blame my misspelled words on my keyboard?
Re: 4 concerns - vacancy, non pay, rent incr - Posted by joe–ga
Posted by joe–ga on November 16, 2009 at 19:17:42:
I helped a friend do an eviction today…walked in the house,2 cats, a dog not fed in a week,(last time neighbors saw tenant) started throwing out stuff to curb, pulled covers off bed to roll up more stuff in and found a 2nd dog, dead from starvation…threw everything out, changed locks and called police to do report on starving dog… threw the one dog 5 wendys hanburgers to befriend him so we could get in the house… the burgers vanished and the dog was pulling clothes out in the yard for us… see what $5 will do?..anyway… evict them, clean the place up and get you another renter to go!!!1.its just another step in the rental business… and the smell? well, your nose eventually gets used to it…sometimes dog crap smells like money…if you can buy the place cheap enough…I LOVE those realtors who take you out and say…UH you can go in, ,but I am staying in the yard… when that happens…it lets me know whatever I offer, its probably a done deal…
Re: 4 concerns - vacancy, non pay, rent incr - Posted by Rich in WA
Posted by Rich in WA on November 15, 2009 at 13:07:51:
Thank you for the feedback. To answer the questions, Trailer 1 is worth around $3k. Second one is worth approx $12k. I own them both outright. I do own the land. I would like to sell them on a contract as you indicated. I have for sale signs in the window (low traffic area) and not much response. Low income area and most inquires have been people with 5 kids. Just too many people for a 3bd trailer, quiet park, on septic. I do not have the terms or “owner financing” on the window. I will definately try that! Is involving a local Real Estate Agent a good/bad idea?
I indeed need to get Lonnie’s books. Thanks again.