7 Tips for Dealing With Local Mobile Home Park Managers as an Investor

If you are an active mobile home investor, then dealing with local and not-so-local mobile home park managers will absolutely be a part of your regular business. While this article will not discuss a script or technique to introduce yourself, I’ll be aiming to provide an understanding of what to accomplish before, during, and after dealing with mobile home park managers.

7 Tips for Dealing With Local Mobile Home Park Mangers as an Investor

1. Be helpful.

Remember that you have no business being inside of the mobile home community if you cannot provide the park and park manager with valuable assistance. Possible values we bring to local mobile home parks include:

Moving new or used homes into the community.
Always paying lot rent on time.
Purchasing unwanted mobile homes to fix and resell to park-approved buyers.
Helping sellers who are behind on payments with the community.
Removing any unwanted mobile homes from the park.
Wholesaling mobile homes directly to the community to fill vacant pads.

2. Be clear in your message.

Let the community manager know why you’re there and how you can help.

If this is your first meeting with the community manager, aim to diffuse any negative stereotypes or apprehensions the park manager may have of you or your goals. This can be done by touching on some of the key points below that scare most managers:

The fear of you removing a revenue producing mobile home from the park.
The fear of you renting the mobile home when not allowed.
The fear of you not fixing the mobile home.
The fear of you not paying lot rent.
The fear of you wasting the park manager’s time because he/she trusted you.

3. Be confident.

Confidence means you know your worth. While we investors do wish to always comply with local mobile home parks and make the community managers happy, we will only aim to invest in properties that produce ample value. We will not be bullied or belittled by any community manager.

Pro Tip: If you are nervous about speaking with a park manager for any reason, aim to practice and rehearse what you are going to say when speaking to this specific mobile home park manager. Remember that you can always take a night to think about any proposals or purchase offers you may be considering.

4. Know your worth.

Try to invest in only lucrative mobile home opportunities. Working with mobile home parks should absolutely be a symbiotic and win-win relationship. With every mobile home you add to a community or clean up to resell to a quality resident, you are adding value and revenue to the community owner’s pockets.

Pro Tip: Park managers are people, too. Many mobile home park managers across the country are average people who simply want things to go smoothly and without problems. However, some park managers are greedy, manipulative, racist, etc. to their residents and/or you as well. Know who you are speaking to.

5. Be honest.

A mobile home park manager may be your good friend and ally—or a significant thorn in your side. Always be open and honest with community managers. Your openness and honesty may push them to be more open and honest in the future with you as well.

Pro Tip: Ask park manager questions if you are unsure of something park-related or if you don’t know how to proceed forward on matters concerning the park or a buyer. It is typically better to ask questions for clarity to find the correct answer as opposed to inadvertently offending the manager or accidentally ruining a relationship.

6. Remember to network.

Do not leave any interaction with a mobile home park manager without expressing your want/desire for more mobile homes within their community. Let each community manager know what types of mobile homes you are looking for and to pass around your contact information to any sellers in need of help.

7. Upkeep

If you’ve only met a mobile home community manager once, then it is likely he or she does not remember you. Do your best to keep in touch with these community managers regularly.

In conclusion, mobile home park managers will absolutely be a part of your successful mobile home investing business within mobile home communities. Do not fear this interaction or connection. The park managers that you inevitably work with will likely allow you to purchase multiple homes within their specific mobile home park(s). You will often find that the park managers you work best with are the park managers that share similar traits and personality types as yourself, and you may become friends. The managers that you do not like or do not like you will likely fall by the wayside for other investors to work with.

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Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.