All Forum Posts by: Logan M.

 Great approach, thanks for sharing. I would love to learn more about your park!

It is that time of year and this Winter has been extra cold in America. I wanted to share a few quick tips that have saved me from frozen pipes and a lot of headaches.

My first tip is the most important, have your homes completely skirted all the way around. I have never had a fully skirted home freeze while habited by a tenant. 

Second tip, keep your homes occupied. This is for a couple reasons one some water will be running regularly and two there will be heat.

Third, keep the heat on. Even for vacant units, I keep at 50 degrees at the lowest. The home must not get too cold.

The fourth is to use heat tape, this is pretty amazing stuff but it on;y works down to a certain temp so I would suggest not just relying on heat tape.

Fifth, hose bibs are one of the biggest issues because they expose your water line to the outside temps. Even in single-family homes, I have had hose bibs break. Ideally, you have a shut-off for it but if you don't make sure you buy one of those insulated boxes that can cover it up during the Winter months. Those are cheap and easy to use. I would suggest using the ones that are made out of foam and have an elastic tie piece vs an insulated back with velcro.

Six, leaving water dripping. This is a tried and true method. When water has movement it is less likely to freeze.

And seven, insulating the pipes. Especially, the pipes coming into the home. Many times the main pipe will freeze because it is overly exposed to outside temps and wind.

If you incorporate these tips into your Winter prep or Winter scramble trying to avoid frozen pipes and damage I am confident you will sleep better and avoid a lot of stress.

Bonus:

If your pipes do freeze a few tips are propane heaters. I have found that they work a lot faster than electric heaters and I don't feel comfortable using electric heaters outside with all the moisture. Make sure that the pipes are not broken because after they thaw you will have a lot of water coming out if that is the case.

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I want to share a quick story about a community with park-owned homes. Many investors in this space avoid POHs but they can be incredibly profitable.

In March of 2020, I purchased a community in a good area with 9 spaces and a single-family home. The purchase price was $600,000.

After about two years I started selling financing the park-owned homes to the tenants. The range of payments for the seller-financed homes is $2,000-$2,330 per month. These are old homes, built in the 70's.

This example is a true story and I've been doing it in other communities we own just not for so much per month. What I have realized though is that I create a massive increase in cash flow over about 10 years and get the park to a position where I am just responsible for the ground and utilities.

 Good move

 They are always surprised when you start charging full rent. I also love when they just start trying to bill you for prior authorized work under the last owner, I have some great stories.

There is a universal rule that you get a handyman from the last owner whenever you purchase a mobile home park. I have had a wide variety of outcomes but I want to give a few warnings from my experience.

1. Don't reduce rent, charge full rent, and pay them outside of the rent.

2. Set clear expectations, when the work will be completed, how often they do it, and what is the compensation.

3. They're not an employee and have no guarantee of work.

4. Avoid using someone who is not licensed or insured.

I have had a few handyman work great and many more that did not work out.

 The one I am referring to in my post is a state mandates managers course that you have to take through the state of Nevada.

 I agree and will be making some changes

During due diligence for mobile home parks, it is impossible to make a 100% known decision. 

One of the purchases I made this last year not only had all sources of business licensing but required us to go to an education course and get a certification to manage a mobile home park.

If you are willing to put in the work it may not be a huge deal but as you scale make an extra effort to know the differences between local and state laws. Being affordable housing means there are a lot of feelings about how manufactured home communities should operate.

The picture attached is the community that requires those licenses.

I agree with @Rachel H. a lot of short term opportunities turn into long term problems.