The Team- part 1

When we arrived at Madison Woods, we found the residents were apathetic, a necessary coping mechanism to live in their disfranchised community. Empowering residents to take pride and take control of what happens in their community was crucial to its turnaround. One of the ways we did this was to establish a Resident Selection Committee.

All applicants are interviewed by the Resident Selection Committee, which has final authority to approve or reject potential new residents. The committee members are upstanding residents in the community. This helps keep residents committed and involved in the happenings of Madison Woods. In addition to the volunteers on the Resident Selection Committee, we have an onsite community manager and sales manager.

Prior to our arrival, Madison Woods had not had onsite management in many years. We distributed help wanted flyers to our residents and were pleasantly surprised by the latent talent that was present. We selected a community manager who was a long term resident. She, along with her husband and two children, had witnessed the decline of Madison Woods, and is determined to preserve the safe, quiet community it has become. She is responsible for the ongoing, day-to-day management. She enforces community guidelines and required homeowner improvements on a consistent, firm but fair basis. Her quiet demeanor is apt at dealing with conflicts and crisis, irate residents and errant contractors. She brings organizational skill to the task of tracking rent collection, overseeing home rehab, and park maintenance. She has the professionalism needed to represent the company in court, interact with local government officials, and attend local public functions on our behalf. She is a vigilant watchdog and representative of Madison Woods.

We also selected a sales manager from our help wanted query. The sales manager purchased the first DW that we brought into Madison Woods. Although she works a full time job in addition to being a single parent, she brings much energy and enthusiasm to her tasks. She is responsible for marketing the homes to the public. This includes nurturing relationships that generate leads- gatekeepers like pastors, RentACenter employees, or personnel departments of local employers. Handling sales requires answering phone inquires, showing homes and the logistics of the sale process. From taking the application to the background check to coordinating the resident selection committee, and completing all the necessary paperwork (i.e. sales contract, promissory note, lease agreement).

In many MHPs, the community manager is also responsible for sales. These two competencies require different skills and personality characteristics. While it is possible to find an individual capable of handling both well, it is more difficult. Furthermore, in a turnaround park with significant vacancies, sales are an important and time consuming task. For these reasons, we decided to split it up into two distinct jobs. An additional and unforeseen benefit was the synergism that developed between the two. Having a colleague to bounce ideas off of, lean on for support, and fill in as needed. They work well together. In addition to the residential staff, there are members of the team who don’t live in Madison Woods.

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