All Forum Posts by: William C.

@Paul Stout

Hi Paul,

Thanks and I appreciate the reply . I am aware of Dodd Frank / Safe Act regs., dealing with park managers, etc.. I am doing Cash Sales exclusively, and am really only trying to find out how to go about direct mailing to MH owners within parks, as my market is vastly different than that which @Curt Smith describes.

Hence, my reason for posting this in the Marketing forum vs. the Mobile Home forum.

Thanks,

Bill 

@Curt Smith 

Hi Curt, and thank you for the detailed reply.

PM sent.

Admittedly, I stopped reading this thread several posts back .... but personally, I would tell the tenant " to go pound sand! " I would simply tell them that the returns do not justify the cost of the project and that the house was not advertised, nor rented, to include a finished basement. 

Just for CYA reasons, (if you do not already have it in your Lease) you may want to consider including a clause that states "By signing this Lease Agreement Tenant's acknowledge and agree that they have examined the premises, and all contents therein which convey, and found them to be in clean, good, safe and satisfactory condition at this time (with exceptions noted on Move-in Inspection Sheet)". Or, similar Verbiage.

Hope this may be of some help.

Bill

Let me preface this by stating that I have absolutely zero experience with Direct Marketing.  But, I was wondering if anyone here may know how to go about targeting mailings to Mobile Home residents located within Mobile Home Parks (MHP).

The Parks I'm targeting are located within city limits and fall under the same Zip Codes as all the "Stick Built" homes in the surrounding areas. These are fairly large MHP, 200-400+ Units. Some of the parks also use regular street addresses, as opposed to just lot numbers, for the homes inside the communities.

Aside from riding thru the parks and writing down the addresses of all the homes in the park, or, possibly getting them from the park manager, is there a way I could target these MH directly through the PO. Or, possibly a list broker? I Haven't checked list brokers yet but probably should have first before I asked here. I was thinking this list may be too targeted for the brokers though.

Appreciate any info you may have to offer.

Thanks,

Bill

@Zach Kidd I understood the OP to read that her Dad passed away in April (11 months ago), but the tenants began their yearly Lease  Sept. 1, 2015, so she'll likely have to deal with them until Aug. 31, 2016 if she wants to just ride the lease out . 

@Sadye S. It is quite possible a Judge may rule in their favor for the cosmetic changes and allow them to stay, seeing as how you let them get away with it in the past.

Does your Lease specify no pets? If so, I'd try evicting them for the pets instead, as @Stephen Haynes suggested. People get VERY attached to their pets, and most times, when push comes to shove, they'll leave with their pet instead of getting rid of it. Of course that doesn't mean they won't still fight you along the way, but hopefully not.

Hope it works out in your favor and let us know if you have any more questions.

Bill

Have you served them Violation Notices for the Breach's they've committed (this time around)? What do the Tenant / Landlord Laws in SC imply regarding evictions due to Breach of Lease? 

I don't know anything about the Tenant / Landlord laws in SC, however, it is likely that you must give them X number of days to remedy the Breach, after proper notice has been served to them, before you can persue the eviction on grounds of a Breach if it has not been remedied. At least it is that way in VA.

This is precisely the reason went strictly to M-M Leases with my rentals. If I have an issue with a tenant and want to get rid of them, all I have to do is give proper notice that their M-M Lease will not be renewed.

That's no guarantee that they'll leave willingly and not have to still be evicted, but it gives me much more control over my property. The problem I with Yearly Leases is if I try to evict a tenant, say due to continually playing loud music for instance , I go to court and the judge is sympathetic towards the tenant and asks me if the problem is remedied. I tell him well, I haven't had anymore complaints about it since the last violation, Judge says let them stay. Five minutes after they get home from court the music is blasting again, so you have a whole year (or whatever term is remaining on the lease) of playing cat & mouse with a nuisance tenant.

I don't worry about locking rents in for a year on a yearly Lease, I'd much rather have the flexibility of sending a problem tenant down the road, Pronto, if necessary.

Bill 

I agree with going ahead and converting to CHA now if you are in the financial position to do so. As was previously mentioned, "quality tenants" expect to have CHA in their units (and I don't blame them) which will make your life easier in the long run.

I was in the same boat as you in 1997 with a duplex I own. I ran it for several years prior to that with window units & old gravity Oil Furnaces (what a PITA they were). When I was financially able to do so in 1997 I just bit the bullet and upgrade the Electrical systems, installed duct work and Heat Pumps in both units.

I was able to increase my rents significantly after that, thereby attracting better quality tenants all these years, so I've had no regrets. I had to replace the Heat Pump in one side of that duplex in 2014, and the one on the other side last month, so I've gotten my money's worth out of them. 

Also, as @JD Martin mentioned, it is a HUGE benefit if you decide to sell.

Bill 

@Muks M. Personally, I would not deviate from my screening requirements for this "special circumstance". No credit history, no rental history = no go for me ... period! 

They could very well end up being an excellent tenant in the long run, and just need a break, but I never let personal emotions interfere with making sound business decisions.

If they need to establish a "track record" in this country, I'd prefer they do it on another Landlords dime. 

As @Greg S. mentioned, unless you are extremely desperate to rent the property you may want to consider a more qualified applicant. 

Of course the decision is ultimately up to you and what ever you are most comfortable doing.

Best of luck.

Bill   

Just to update those folks that have replied to my post here, and anyone else that might encounter this issue, the problem was all related to the Zoom Level setting on my screen.

I usually view everything @ a 200 Zoom Level setting ( I know, but I've got old eyes), but I just discovered that when I drop down to 175 I can now view the entire content of posts. 

I appreciate all the tips and suggestions.

Thanks,

Bill