Lets see if we can figure this out. I read in one post, that the parks do not allow 'non owner occupied' units. Well, as a park owner and a lonnie dealer, I do not allow non owner occupied units either. But... being a lonnie dealer you are really just the lender, and your selling the unit and transferring the title. So your not renting, your selling. When I go into a park I would say I buy repos, or homes for sale, fix them up and then I sell them to a new owner. I will sell the homes for cash, or if the new owner does not have enough cash, I will carry the balance. I transfer the title but attach a security agreement to the home. You can use a car as a analogy. Just ask if they make payments on the car they drive. They still own the car, but owe the lender. Your doing the same thing with the mobile home... your a dealer and a finance company.
I am also having trouble finding a park in the Cleveland vicinity that is willing to work with investors. I have not done a deal yet and am working on educating myself and my husband, so I was surprised to hear that the first park I called did not allow "non-owner occupied" units (so far, about a dozen called and emailed, and none allow this category of ownership). I am not giving up, however, and plan to keep looking around. Lots of nice parks in the area, mostly on the small side, and once you get about 20 miles outside the city there are quite a few. Just have to find that first one!
Funny you mentioned about 12 parks and no luck...I'd say Im about there here in Oregon as well. I look at probably 50, but hit 12 really hard. I had 2 willing to work with me, but I think they were a little confused on what is was I was doing, thus leading them to sell the homes I wanted to the 'usually kind of buyer.
Lets see if we can figure this out. I read in one post, that the parks do not allow 'non owner occupied' units. Well, as a park owner and a lonnie dealer, I do not allow non owner occupied units either. But... being a lonnie dealer you are really just the lender, and your selling the unit and transferring the title. So your not renting, your selling. When I go into a park I would say I buy repos, or homes for sale, fix them up and then I sell them to a new owner. I will sell the homes for cash, or if the new owner does not have enough cash, I will carry the balance. I transfer the title but attach a security agreement to the home. You can use a car as a analogy. Just ask if they make payments on the car they drive. They still own the car, but owe the lender. Your doing the same thing with the mobile home... your a dealer and a finance company.
Lets see if we can figure this out. I read in one post, that the parks do not allow 'non owner occupied' units.
Jim -
I'm planning to start doing Lonnie deals, as I have a bunch of cash I'd like to start generating a decent return on... (I currently rehab/flip houses for a living, so I'm comfortable with RE in general, but not mobile homes).
My question is...I've driven through a few parks in the past few days, and I've noticed a number of homes that appear to be for sale by investors doing Lonnie deals. Do the park managers generally work with a single investor? Or would it still be worthwhile to talk to the park managers and see if they'd be willing to work with me in addition to any other investor(s) working in that park?
Should I offer the park manager a "bonus" to bring me buyers and/or sellers ahead of other investors they might be working with?
I am personally talking about selling. Its like too many transactions for them to manage or handle or something...like they just want a plain ol' simple buyer live in type and nothing more advanced than just that...
Lets see if we can figure this out. I read in one post, that the parks do not allow 'non owner occupied' units.
Jim -
I'm planning to start doing Lonnie deals, as I have a bunch of cash I'd like to start generating a decent return on... (I currently rehab/flip houses for a living, so I'm comfortable with RE in general, but not mobile homes).
My question is...I've driven through a few parks in the past few days, and I've noticed a number of homes that appear to be for sale by investors doing Lonnie deals. Do the park managers generally work with a single investor? Or would it still be worthwhile to talk to the park managers and see if they'd be willing to work with me in addition to any other investor(s) working in that park?
Should I offer the park manager a "bonus" to bring me buyers and/or sellers ahead of other investors they might be working with?
I always will sit and have a long talk with the manager before investing in the park. The manager can really make life easy on you, or make it so you will fail in that park. In most states a manager can not restrict who buys the home so long as the home owner is approved by the community. As a dealer, you will have a pass on this 'approval' process and really need to only be sure you are paying space rent, following the rules etc. That said, if your looking for something special, like the manager to show your homes, or space rent consideration etc... you better make sure you and the park manager (or regional manager or owner) are all on the same page.
As a dealer with a very good track record in Denver, I can pick the parks I want to work in. The fact of the matter is, most parks I do not want to work in.
In almost every case I set up a 'bonus' of sorts if the manager helps me sell a home. In the parks I really like, I never show a home. Even if the home is a repo, I do not need to visit the park. To this point: I jsut had a repo in a park where I hold about 50 notes... the manager got into the home after the people had left, I had my contractor go in and do some touch up work, the manager showed the home and sold it. I sent the documents via email to the manager, he closed the deal. Total time between entering the home after it was empty and closing on the new buyer- 3 weeks. Two of those weeks I was in vacationing with my family in California. I never visited the home or park. For that... I make sure in some way, shape or form the manager gets $500.
For what its worth, this home was a doublewide, sold for $20,000 on payments of $450 per month @ 12% interest...
I am personally talking about selling. Its like too many transactions for them to manage or handle or something...like they just want a plain ol' simple buyer live in type and nothing more advanced than just that...
Chip
Chip,
The key for me with managers has always been to show them I add value tot he park. Because lending is tough to find, and I am a lender I can help them keep the park full. In a local 450 pad park a few years back I sold/financed about 30 homes in a 12 month period. That accounted for about 50% of all the turnover in that park. Finding the key to working together goes a long way for park managers- especialy in this era of challenging occupancy.
Could you give a brief detail of the dialogue a newbie should have with a park manager. What you say to make them feel comfortable with you, how you add value to their park, when they should call you, etc...
I wanted to stop buy and talk to a couple today, but kept driving because I was not completely sure of how I should start the conversation.
While driving through the park I noticed many homes that were for sale by a dealer/realtor, so I'm not quite sure what to say to the park manager when I explain to them that I am looking to buy Mobile Homes and they have homes with for sale signs in the park.
Hi Chip and all others,
I am a newbie to this site but I have been a park owner for 15yrs. I currently allow people to do lonnie deals in my park as long as they under stand no nonowner occupants allowed. I also do lonnie deals in the park myself on somme of my older units. I also require a deposit on the lot of $600-$1200. The park owner has to feel that the deal will benifit him to keep home in the park.
Could you give a brief detail of the dialogue a newbie should have with a park manager. What you say to make them feel comfortable with you, how you add value to their park, when they should call you, etc...
I wanted to stop buy and talk to a couple today, but kept driving because I was not completely sure of how I should start the conversation.
While driving through the park I noticed many homes that were for sale by a dealer/realtor, so I'm not quite sure what to say to the park manager when I explain to them that I am looking to buy Mobile Homes and they have homes with for sale signs in the park.
Your insight would be greatly appreciated.
Well, I would walk in and ask if this is a good time to talk for a few minutes. After I knew i was not pressing them...
I would tell them I own a small finance company that lends money on mobile homes. I am always looking for parks I might want to include to my list of communities I look in. I would ask them how they screen the residents... if other lenders are actively lending in their communities... etc. I would say I really look for a community where we benefit each other, as if I choose to lend in the community, we have a shared interest in the community. In most cases, I will approve the resident if the park does. I ask they check income and are sure the ratios work with my payments worked in. I let them know I collect home payments on the 15 so we are not competing for the same paycheck. I point out, in this lending environment, I can quickly facilitate homes transferring ownership. I then go into how I buy a home, then market it with my financing in place. That is my basics... remember I have history in the business so I do pull out that card as well...
Hi Chip and all others,
I am a newbie to this site but I have been a park owner for 15yrs. I currently allow people to do lonnie deals in my park as long as they under stand no nonowner occupants allowed. I also do lonnie deals in the park myself on somme of my older units. I also require a deposit on the lot of $600-$1200. The park owner has to feel that the deal will benifit him to keep home in the park.
I am right on with this post. The title must transfer. As a park owner... it gets complicated when evicting a non paying tenant. Part of the strength of a owners evictions are we can attach a lien on the home for the past due rent... its tricky when your attaching to a rental home...
So I am of this same flavor- no rental homes... I do not rent homes and I do not allow them in my park... all is fair.
you know, i heard a good story before from an investor at a club. he buys mobile home parks and i had no idea how much of a cash cow they were.
he said he was trying to buy some units in the park to do what you were saying, he also owns a couple parks so he understands how the process works of buying one.
the manager was a hard core jerk and wouldnt let him buy one to do what he was doing. so he asked for his manager and he claimed " i am the manager". so he tried to talk it over a couple times and just couldnt swing this guy but it was a good park.
so he pulled up the tax records and the actual owners name was there not a company name. he wrote the guy a letter and recieved a call back. He told the owner, i will buy your park off you, and the owner wanted to sell and sure enough he owner financed it from the guy, he showed back up to the park and the manager tried to give him crap not knowing he was now the owner. he told the guy he owns the park now, and fired him. THEN he got his own manager who was ex military. says they are the best managers. i thought it was funny.
i plan on doing the same thing one day to my friend who thinks investing is a bunch of crap. he will rent his whole life and i will buy the house one day, show up, knock on his door and say hey, make sure you pay your rent on time!