Welcome to the Mobile Home Park Mastery Podcast where you will learn how to identify, evaluate, negotiate, perform due diligence on, finance, turn-around and operate mobile home parks! Your host is Frank Rolfe, the 5th largest mobile home park owner in the United State with his partner Dave Reynolds.
There are four methods of measurement regarding mobile home park performance: 1) cap rate 2) coverage 3) cash-on-cash and 4) cash flow. But what is each one and how do you derive it? And what is acceptable? That’s the focus of this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast.
Listen To Episode 246Mobile home parks have no greater crime than surrounding subdivisions, but there’s no question that crime in America is way up and that holds true for all property types. So what can mobile home park owners do to reduce crime in their properties on a daily basis? In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to drill down on concepts to proactive reduce crime and how to build a template to help eradicate it.
Listen To Episode 245Between the war in Ukraine and America plunging into the worst economy in 40 years, it’s easy to get depressed about the future. However, it’s always important to remember that not all futures are created equal. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to talk about navigating cycles, the contrarian nature of some assets, and the necessity of maintaining a calm head when all around you is in crisis.
Listen To Episode 244What really makes customers stay in mobile home parks for decades on end? Is it truly a barrier to removing their homes or is it something more? In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to focus on what really makes residents stay in place, as well as what makes them leave, and what the options are when they want to go.
Listen To Episode 243Many people look at a handful of listings on Mobilehomeparkstore and Loopnet and declare “mobile home parks are overpriced!” But is that really true? In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to focus on this topic and examine it factually. Are all the good deals gone? We’re going to talk about that.
Listen To Episode 242One of the few books ever written about mobile home parks was the 1955 “How to Build and Operate a Mobile Home Park” by L.C. Michelon. What’s amazing about this book is how little has changed over the decades regarding what makes a mobile home park successful. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to discuss all the similarities reflected in the book and why they continue to hold true.
Listen To Episode 241If you own a mobile home park with even one vacant lot, you probably have a plan to fill that lot with a new or used home to obtain stable, monthly lot rent. And if you are going to sell or rent a home in a mobile home park, your success or failure begins with the simple action of picking up the phone. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to explore everything you need to know about getting that phone line answered and answered properly.
Listen To Episode 240In our nation’s moment of pandering to the far left, perhaps it’s time to pay homage to the simple fact that mobile home parks can be just as woke as the next business – only it’s a fact and not just a PR posturing. As the only sustainable form of housing that’s green due to size and environmentally friendly since it creates no pollution, we could out-woke even the wokest business without breaking a sweat.
Listen To Episode 239The advent of Spring brings new challenges to park owners in the form of lawn maintenance, higher water bills, and annual pothole repair. But it also brings forth an opportunity to improve your sense of community, property appearance, and dedication to pride of ownership in the form one single event: the Spring Clean-Up. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to review what these events are, why they work so well, and how it’s time to put one in your schedule.
Listen To Episode 238After over a decade-long absence, I am starting to see two of the greatest park buyer scams return to the marketplace: the “gypsy traveler” and the “rent guarantee”. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to expose how these two classic cons work and how you, as a buyers, can protect yourself from being taken advantage of.
Listen To Episode 237Choosing contractors for any task in your mobile home park requires a thorough comparison of certain traits that can typically lead to success or failure. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to break down the algorhythm between selecting the cheap contractor vs. the more expensive options and how to make smart decisions using these criteria.
Listen To Episode 236After nearly two years it would appear that the Covid crisis is officially over – at least in the minds of most people. Numbers are plummeting in both cases and political popularity. Businesses have abandoned mask mandates regardless of governmental directive and politicians are ending masking requirements before they have to go job hunting. It’s kind of like when the Berlin wall came down.
Listen To Episode 235The performance of your community manager will have a huge impact on your park’s profitability. So how can you maximize that performance? That’s the topic of this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast in which we’ll look at the key building blocks to motivation and how to elevate those to the next level. Since much of these steps have little or no cost, there’s no reason why every mobile home park owner is not focused on this concept.
Listen To Episode 234In the old days, the typical mobile home park manager was tasked with a wide range of roles – and with these came considerable risk to the property owner. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to review the ever-changing role of the community manager and how it’s a win/win/win for the residents, the employee and the owner.
Listen To Episode 233The Federal government does some things well – but one of the big exceptions is sponsoring initiatives to aid in the American need for affordable housing. Over and over they put up unnecessary hurdles to reduce the ability of the average consumer to buy a mobile home. But the latest push for energy efficiency in mobile homes may be the dumbest yet. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to discuss this latest HUD initiative and why it will only serve to destroy the access to affordable housing for millions of Americans.
Listen To Episode 232Mobile home park lot rents are ridiculously low nationwide. At an average lot rent of around $300 per month, many mobile home park owners will surely re-develop into a better use of the land in the years ahead. For those who elect to remain as a mobile home community, it’s essential that rents be placed at sustainable levels in keeping with market forces. But what do you do when your market mobile home park lot rents are unsustainably low -- do you stay low or become the market leader?
Listen To Episode 231USA Today released an article titled “Meet the New Mobile Home” which, although positive in nature, is certain to confuse most readers as to the true economics of the product. What’s missing from this article is the simple differentiation between mobile homes and land. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to discuss why it’s really all about the land, and that’s what makes mobile home park owners and mobile home manufacturers so completely different in their goals, profits, and future outlook.
Listen To Episode 230There’s a time to sell and a time to buy. And that time to buy is called “the window of opportunity”. So what’s keeping that window open in the mobile home park business, when the apartment and single-family home niches are exhausted? In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to discuss the window of opportunity in buying mobile home parks at attractive prices, and what continues to prop it open.
Listen To Episode 229The mobile home park industry has adopted weak guidelines of ratings – none of which is embraced in a cohesive manner – and mobile home parks basically fall into two camps: 1) upscale retirement communities and 2) everything else. Long gone is the star system in any reasonable application. But is a two-party system enough?
Listen To Episode 228The media will tell you that mobile home park residents are “trapped” in their homes. The truth is the exact opposite. The bonds that produce an average tenancy of 14 years are forged by the love of the product, not boundaries. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to explore the truth behind the myth that customers are “chained to the Waffle House booths”, and explore what makes them happy residents for decades.
Listen To Episode 227The recent spaceflight of William Shatner – broadcast live – demonstrated how mobile home park turnarounds work. Just like a rocket it comes in a series of stages with tangible transitions. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast episode we’re going to discuss what these stages are, how they work, and what the positive gains are to residents from these boosts in their quality of life.
Listen To Episode 226At the same time that mobile home prices from the manufacturers have risen to the highest levels in American history, RV ownership in the U.S. has also hit record levels and many of these owners are not using them for travel but for permanent residency. In this episode of Mobile Home Park Mastery, we’re going to discuss the potential to fill vacant mobile home park lots with RVs, and why that’s going to be one of the big factors in filling up the remaining vacant lots in communities from coast to coast.
Listen To Episode 225Each season has its own challenges when you own a mobile home park, and winter is no different. With the arrival of the holiday season comes new responsibilities and strategies to make your community in good operational condition. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to review the items all park owners need to accomplish before the snow begins to fall.
Listen To Episode 224The “hard infrastructure bill” has now been signed into law. This bill is very geographic-specific, and many people have not through who the winners and losers actually. Some may be surprised at the new hot markets created by this democratic initiative. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to take a look at who the big beneficiaries are of this bill and why this does a lot to bring new luster to the “rust belt” and “flyover” states.
Listen To Episode 223Wayne Gretzky once said "you miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - and that's as true for mobile home parks as it is for ice hockey. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we're going to discuss why it's essential to make offers regardless of the odds of success, as well as some tips to make those offers better received. Since success in buying mobile home parks is all about volume, it's essential that you take those shots.
Listen To Episode 222