CREUniversity

Everything is negotiable. Every expense line item on your mobile home park P&L can be reduced if you only give it a try. Society (and most businesses) depend on people being to chicken to push the envelope. Don’t be one of those people. Try to negotiate everything, and – even if you only save $1 per lot – you’ll be shocked at the cumulative impact.

The Atlanta Fed is predicting negative GDP for Q1. It’s pretty much a given that Q2 will be negative GDP. That means, by July, it may be officially announced that the U.S. is in recession. At that point, the stock market will collapse. Mobile home parks are a great contrarian hedge in which demand gets stronger as the economy gets worse.

Here’s real estate from A to Z.? John Jacob Astor (America’s first real estate millionaire) said in the 1820s “buy real estate when other people want to sell”.? Sam Zell (America’s largest owner of office buildings, apartments and mobile home parks) once said in the 2020s “when others are looking left, look right”.? Successful investors are contrarian. It’s been true for over 200 years

The term “Trailer Park” was originally a compliment. Cities across America opened parking lots for affluent “trailer” owners and put the title “Trailer Park” proudly over the entrance. It?had the status of?a private airport in the 1930s to 1950s. Nobody back then would have ever dreamed it would one day be a derogatory term.

John Jacob Astor was America’s first real estate millionaire. In the mid-1800s, he amassed over $500 billion in wealth. One of his quotes, “Buy on the fringe and wait. Buy land near a growing city!” defined his real estate strategy. It helped that the city he was buying on the fringe of was Manhattan in New York.

Don’t put carpet in mobile homes. Go with “hardwood-looking” vinyl flooring. You will end up ripping out the carpet and pad between each tenant. If a customer prefers carpet, just have them buy an area rug at Walmart. It’s a whole lot easier to roll up and throw away, while the vinyl protects the flooring from moisture and bad smells.

Sometimes, the best way to deal with a problem tenant who finds fault in everything and complains endlessly is simply to say, “Clearly, you’re unhappy here, so maybe you should find someplace else to live”. That turns the tables on them, as they only had power over you because of your “the customer is always right” attitude. Sometimes, the customer is not right.

Mobile homes are like the late comedian Rodney Daingerfield, who always said, “I can’t get no respect.” People are raving over small pre-built homes from Amazon and Boxable when the mobile home industry has been producing the same thing for 50+ years. Has nobody ever driven by a mobile home sales lot on the highway before?

70% of American households do not have more than $1,000 in liquid assets. When putting together a plan to sell homes in your vacant lots, remember the old saying “to hit the bullseye you have to aim for the middle” and focus on lower amounts down that are attainable. You will quickly see the limitations for your customers and work around them.

The park owner should always get the facts before making decisions. The smartphone has made this extremely easy. If a manager says, “We have a big water leak,” then say, “Go show me with Facetime or a video.” Many times, the “emergency” is no big deal, and the manager just wants attention. Don’t forget Ronald Reagan’s “trust but verify” mantra.