All Forum Posts by: Matt B.

We have had the same problem. In fact we have had people steal the whole top off of a washing machine, so they could take it home and then work on getting the coin box open. Basically if they want in they will get in.

We actually prefer having a service install their machines and them dealing with the headaches of maintaining them. They honestly are not the cash cow everyone thinks they are.

We don't really have a list of what is a "minor repair", but they generally consist of anything that does not involve a run to the hardware store for parts. If it is going to take more than 15 minutes of their time we will pay extra for it.

If it involves items such as electrical, major plumbing or HVAC we have licensed contractors do that.

Like everyone said you need to supervise it. That doesn't mean you have to be looking over their shoulder at everything, but we do live in a digital age, use it to your advantage. Have them Skype you a before and after video of the repairs and the cost. At the very least, they can text you some pictures of it.

Give them a short amount of string and see how they do, if at any time you start to feel they are taking advantage of you, get someone different.

I personally would not give up a straight 6% to a handyman. Pay for performance only. If they perform they may possibly be worth more than 6%.

What size property is this? Does this person live on the property? What exactly is doing everything? Do they handle phone calls from tenants or do you do that?

For someone that lives on site, we usually give them a small stipend (depending on the size of the property) for dealing with tenants and minor repairs, such as unclogging a toilet. We give them extra for painting, make readies and larger repairs.

Give them a set $ amount that they can fix on their own and above that price they need to confirm it with you. Have them document all repairs with before and after pictures.

I would just do a letter of intent(LOI) spelling out the terms under which you are willing to purchase the park. Once you agree to terms, I would have an attorney write up the purchase contract so that it favors you and you don't miss anything.

To know if it is a good deal you would need to supply some more info. I am assuming this is not a park.

Could it be made into one?

Who pays the utilities?

Is there a well, septic system or other sewage treatment system that the owner is responsible for?

Who maintains the road and does lawn care? 3 acres isn't cheap to mow.

If you are responsible for none of the above, it is a fair deal. The more you are responsible for, the worse the deal becomes.

As for the lifespan of the homes, that really depends on the owner(notice I did not say tenant) and how well they take care of them. We have homes from the sixties in some of our parks that are in nicer shape than some of the newer ones.

You probably need to start comparing apples to apples. A $3,000 home will be nothing like a $40,000 home. You need to know what your investor is looking for and be able to leave some equity in it for him. Does your seller have an idea what he is asking for them? How old are they and what size?

Our experience, skip the property management software and just use Quickbooks. Quickbooks by itself is fine for several hundred tenants. We have in the past tried using different property management softwares in conjunction with Quickbooks and found it wasn't worth the time or expense of entering into 2 different programs.

While Quickbooks itself is not a good PM software, we have come to the conclusion that it in itself is fine for most Landlords.

Also, every accountant has Quickbooks. Asking them to look into a separate software program if you need help is not only frustrating, but pricey.

Now if you have over 500 tenants with multiple owners, a separate program would be a neccesity.

We use Bedlam. Works great.

http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/bedlam-insecticide-p-269.html

They also have great products for roach control. We usually use a combination of Demon and Gentrol. We have tried diatomaceous earth and have had mixed results.

We have found doing it in house gives better control of the outcome. If our maintenance guy is going to be there letting the exterminator in, he may as well just treat it. He can then follow up with other treatments as necessary.

Ditto on what everyone else said, but I will also add, what do you have in cash for reserves? If the park has any park owned homes or master metered utilities, roads, a well or private sewer system, you need some cash set aside for those. Also, $400k is pretty steep for a dozen units, unless you have extremely high lot rents.

Mobile home parks are the one real estate asset class that seems to readily have sellers willing to finance the deal. Chances are they bought it with some form of seller financing. I would even be willing to speculate that a majority of parks that are sold for less than $1mil have seller financing, though I have no hard data on it. They are not something banks are clamoring to lend on.

You know I really didn't expect so many passionate responses, on both sides, when I posted the question. While there is no right answer to the question, I think I should have posed it differently.

On hindsight I should have asked, why do so many think real estate education and information needs to always be free?

When I posted it, I was frustrated at the amount of posts I read, where someone stated that you can get all the information you need to invest in real estate right here and for free. I don't believe everyone needs to pay to take a seminar to succeed in this business. Also, I think this is a great site. But, to state that all you need to know is available right here for free, is just as naive as thinking you can learn everything you need to know at a seminar.

Thanks for the responses.