Posted by ray@lcorn on November 11, 2002 at 13:33:22:
Briton,
That’s one of those questions that has more than one answer. It just depends on the owner and the goals for the park.
Some don’t care where the unti comes from as long as the rent gets paid. They will often buy old units, or more likely trade past due rent for the unit, and then rent them out. They are focused on the short term cash flow, even though rentals almost invariably create the worst conditions in the park.
Others are more savvy to long term value creation and know that curb appeal is the first step in building and maintaining an asset that appreciates over time. Those owners will screen new units coming in by going to look at them before approving the tenant, and they will take the time to set up a nice home out of their own pocket if the situation warrants it. They usually welcome anyone who wants to put a quality home in their community unless they have an in-park sales operation of their own.
You can usually tell in one drive-by which school of thought a park owner belongs to, but don’t jump to conclusions if the park isn’t perfect. Most are a work in progress, so you have to talk with the owner or manager and pay attention to the cues that will tell you what they are looking for.
Posted by Briton on November 10, 2002 at 13:25:52:
What do you Park Owners like to do more, buy mobile homes a put them in there yourself, so that you know its new, ect. Or do you like to get people to move them in if they want to bring there home to the park. If you put them in yourself, that is an expense, but if you let them, its free. Just wonderin what ya’lls point of view is, thanx
Posted by Joe C. (AR) on November 12, 2002 at 24:48:13:
I have owned my park for over 8 years. In that time I’ve tried all the different routes. My park is an older park (mid fifties) layed out for smaller homes originally. I have only had 2 “NEW” homes come into my park for all the time I’ve owned it. Most of the older homes that have moved in on there own were not of the quality (appearance-wise) that I wanted and did not come in at the rate that I would have liked. I thought the answer was to bring in 14-16 wides as rentals and did that for about 5 years. I would fix them up to look good, inside and out before I rented them. The tenants would tear them up and move out within 2-3 years. Eighteen months ago I started converting them all to “Lonnie deals”. Once I got all the rentals converted, I brought in 8 more and have sold them all before they were finished. The homes and my park are being better cared for by these “owners” and my turnover has been nil. The cash flow is better, and my maintenance headaches are fewer. At present, I am turning away homeowners who want to move their existing homes into my park, saving all existing spaces for future “Lonnie’s”.
Having said all that, cash flow is the important consideration. If you have a number of empty spaces and can attract newer/better looking homes and “good tenants”, you may just want to rent spaces or do a combination of “Lonnie’s” and space rentals. I personally would have to be hard pressed to rent homes again. As both Ray Alcorn and Ernest Tew say in their courses (both of which I recommend), renting homes introduces a transient factor into your park which is not present otherwise. It’s that transient factor which will run down your park faster than anything.
If your goal is to fill the park as fast as possible and sell it at a price justified by cash flow, rentals may work in the short term with an uneducated park buyer. Many smaller parks in my area are sold this way.
Joe C. (AR)