All Forum Posts by: Brenden Mitchum

Hey @Heinrih Linares, welcome to the BP community!

There is a wealth of info out there on MHP. Start with podcasts and listen to the first dozen or so episodes of the following: Mobile Home Park Mastery, Mobile Home Parks in Real Life, & Mobile Home Park Investors.

That should give you a decent knowledge foundation to at least begin understanding the asset class and get you asking the right questions. 

Next, you will want to surround yourself with like-minded investors, folks who are already doing what you want to do. There's a fantastic community on Facebook called the MHP Tribe that meets every Monday evening on Zoom to network and educate. Start attending every one of those meetings and even take their course when they offer it again. 

There are other courses you could take but they're pricey and right now you should be able to find plenty of info through the sources I provided to get started. 

And please, feel free to reach out anytime if you have questions or just want to chat MHP!

Hey @Michael Garland

Always love to discuss creative income boosting strategies. However, there are several questions to think through to help determine if this is a good call. 

How much would it cost to finish the basement? What do rental comps tell you that space would rent for once finished? Is there enough parking for both top and bottom? Are you going to run into occupancy issues with municipality? Is there an HOA and would they allow this? Is there a safe, well-lit path to get to the entrance from parking? How would you bill utilities if there is only one meter?

Might be simpler to just finish the basement and rent the entire house out for more? Just depends how much it'll cost to finish and how much extra rent you could get..

Hope these questions help a bit! Please, feel free to reach out anytime if you need help thinking through any of these.

@Derick Bonsu happy to chat more on the co-living strategy anytime!

Hey @Derick Bonsu

Atlanta is a fantastic market for co-living investments. However, I personally wouldn't do so in sub-markets with price ranges above $350k. The only exception would be if I'm close to student housing. The reason for this is two-fold: 1. Providing an affordable living solution is best done in lower-income areas where you have a higher concentration of that tenant pool. 2. Nobody who just bought there home for $500k in a B+/A- neighborhood is going to be happy when they find out there is co-living housing next door to them. 

For these reasons, we like to stay in the $200-300k range in the metro's C to B neighborhoods. We also don't touch Cobb County because they have very strict SFR occupancy laws.

Hope this helps a bit! Please, feel free to reach out anytime if you have other questions or want to chat more about co-living!

Hey @Brian Penter, welcome to the BP community!

You're absolutely right, rehabs right now are tricky. Unless you have a trustworthy GC/rehab crew, you'll easily find yourself over-budget and blowing past deadlines. 

However, finding turnkey cash flow right now in Atlanta is pretty tough. I'm always hesitant to use the "i" word (impossible) but welcome anyone on here to chime in about a turnkey cash flowing rental they've purchase in the MSA in the past year. 

So, maybe a big rehab is a bad idea and maybe turnkey won't work out either. Perhaps something in between? A job that, worse case scenario, you could sub out the work yourself and still get it done within a reasonable timeframe. You'll still have a hard time finding something at a price that allows for decent returns, especially if you're looking on-market. If you're real serious, you may want to market direct to seller. Not many good deals are going down right now to small investors who aren't working their tails off and/or getting creative. 

Hope this helps a bit. Please, feel free to reach out anytime if you have other questions or just want to chat about the ATL market!

Hey @Natalie Fryda, welcome to the BP community!

Are you looking for a VA to help you scale or are you looking for one because you don't know how to do something?

If you already know how to run comps and don't mind potentially having to train someone a bit, you could easily find what you're looking for on Fiverr or Upwork. 

If you don't know how to run comps, you'll have to find someone that does. Might be better off reaching out to real estate agents for this, especially if you're trying to do volume. 

Hope this helps a bit. Please, feel free to reach out anytime if you have other questions or just want to chat!

@Chris Keil Ah, I see. Coming up with downpayment funds that suddenly disappeared is not going to be easy. Yes, you will most likely have to bring on a new capital partner. I don't know of any lenders who would be cool with taking a second on an MHP. Best bet is to shop the deal to your network of experienced MHP investors to add a capital partner/mentor. 

But, don't think of it as "giving up equity." Think of it as hiring a mentor with an immediate return on your investment. I see this as a Win-Win if you find the right person. You'll avoid some costly beginners mistakes and they'll get access to a good deal. Compare this to the alternative of losing the deal...

Last thought is to ask the seller to fund some of the downpayment. They might be willing if you've built a strong relationship. 

Investment Info:

Mobile Home Park Portfolio

Purchase price: $3,705,000
Cash invested: $25,000

Co-GP & LP in a portfolio of 3 Manufactured Home Communities with another 500+ pads currently under contract

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Helping maintain our nation's dwindling supply of non-subsidized affordable housing while also improving my financial outlook is a no-brainer for me

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I was not a part of initial acquisition and have my wonderful partners to thank for that.

How did you finance this deal?

Local bank who gave us incredible terms for a portfolio with relatively high vacancy and capex budget.

How did you add value to the deal?

Minimally during due diligence but now that we've begun operation and turnaround, I'm in charge of several projects. As a group we will be adding major value through infill, park improvements, billing back water/sewer & small rent increases.

What was the outcome?

Still yet to be fully determined!

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Operating and turning around a single MHP is a ton of work. Doing this with multiple takes a great team of competent, committed individuals. Every project is a challenge - no matter how small it originally appears.

Hey @Matthew Bellefontaine, welcome to the BP community!

Wholesaling is a great way to build some capital but it is not easy and will take a lot of time and some cash invested to do it right. Definitely recommend educating yourself further on the strategy by taking a course or watching some youtube videos. Lots of great info and helpful tidbits that can make a big difference in the world of wholesaling. 

When it comes to finding buyers, that's probably the easiest part. Finding serious buyers who are ready to rock is another story but you'll quickly find out who's for real and who's not. I'd say your best bet to start building the list is via social media. This post, for example, would have been a perfect opportunity if you'd also included your market in it. You don't want to specifically ask for buyers because that will get you flagged by BP but something as simple as "I'm starting to wholesale in MARKET..." then ask for tips on finding buyers. Just something so that folks in your market who have their keywords set up will get notified of your post. 

Another great way to find buyers is via facebook groups. Join every real estate group in your market and post that you're looking to build out your buyers list. Be careful not to post too many times in too short a timeframe or your account will get thrown in facebook jail. You can also skim these groups and reach out to folks directly that are active and appear to be investors. Make sure you comment or like their post to increase the likelihood they see your message.

Spend an afternoon doing this and you should have enough buyers to feel more confident about marketing to potential sellers. 

Hope this helps a bit! Please, feel free to reach out anytime if you have other questions or just want to chat!

Hey @Chris Keil

Sounds like you're just looking for short-term financing while you fix up the park and refi? This might not be necessary if the park is already cash flowing. I would call up every bank in the area and pitch the deal to them. Explain it's already cash flowing and you plan to add value by doing BLANK. Then, you'll refi in x years (with the same bank) when the park is more stabilized and performing even better. If the numbers look good this will be a no-brainer for any local bank that does MHP lending. You just have to find one, but I recommend getting at least two onboard just in case one drops at the last minute. 

Definitely do this before you bring in an equity partner, unless you could also use help or a mentor. 

And please, feel free to reach out anytime if you have other questions or just want to chat!