Both Dave and I got into the mobile home park business with smaller properties, and many of our early purchases were tiny communities. Even in recent times we have no issue with buying a great deal with a smaller lot count. However, there are many things about small parks that we have learned over the decades and wanted to share those with you to help you craft the right buying decision. As you’ll see, there are some important tips for buying smaller parks that will make your plan more successful and your experience in ownership more enjoyable.

We’ve all seen the Progressive Insurance commercial where they build an “insurance amusement park” called “Progressive Park” and nobody shows up to attend – because without risk it’s not fun. This commercial should be a regular reminder of the needed “test ad” that should be completed during due diligence for every mobile home park purchased.

Millions of Americans have storage units. But most of them never think about this type of real estate as investments. Nevertheless, there is a very successful niche in investing in the American desire for materialism and storing their possessions. In this episode we’re going to review the key factors that make self-storage investing an attractive sector for your investment dollars.

Like any form of real estate, self-storage has its own unique boundaries on performance. So what are those? And where did those calculations come from? In this episode we’re going to review the basic metrics for storage investing and define those basic terms. If you want to know what your return on investment can be from buying a storage facility, then here it is.

Financing is the lever that allows you to greatly multiply your financial returns. So what are the options in obtaining debt for a self-storage facility? In this episode we’re going to discuss the basic types of financing available today for storage properties as well as the positives and negatives for each variety as well as how to negotiate a better deal with your lender.

You may have the seen the articles declaring that the riches person in Kentucky is Tamara Gustavson. Who is she? The daughter of B. Wayne Hughes, the founder of Public Storage, the largest owner of self-storage facilities in the world. Her 11% stake is now worth around $5.7 billion and growing. That also makes here the 144th richest person in the U.S.

There’s an old saying that “when the tide goes out you see who was swimming naked”. In this week’s Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to analyze what real estate sectors were swimming naked in light of the Covid-19 pandemic – and future such events – and which sectors had their swimsuits safely on the whole time. The world may never be the same after the national quarantine and it’s important to evaluate real estate investing going forward based on the new reality.

The media and many politicians are absolutely convinced that low rents are what the nation’s mobile home park residents need to have a happy and productive life. They share this belief because they have absolutely no idea how economics work or the damage their deranged attempts at manipulating markets has on their constituents. Indeed, low rents are the worst thing possible for residents in our nation’s mobile home parks. Why is that?

One of the unique attributes of owning an RV park is the opportunity to self-manage. Many owners fine this to be their #1 attraction to the idea of buying an RV park: the ability to live in a beautiful setting far away from the city, with the chance to work both indoors and outdoors, with a myriad of entertaining roles and the freedom to spend time as they wish. So how would buying and living in an RV park work? Here is a basic overview.

If I was on a game show and I had to choose just six words that I could use to build a successful self-storage facility portfolio, here’s what I would select: “What Do I Have To Do …” So why are these six words so powerful in buying and operating storage properties? How can they give you the edge in being successful? There are many reasons.

One of the most common questions I get from investors is “should I buy or build this or that LED billboard?” They are often shocked when I say “not if you’re trying to make money”. Isn’t LED the future of the billboard industry? Although many would like you to think that, it’s far from the truth in terms of creating wealth with billboard investing.

While millions of Americans own an RV, very few people own the RV parks. And this scarcity has created a profitable opportunity for those who understand the business model and have the desire to make high levels of return. There’s also a component of enjoyment, as many RV parks owners choose to live on-site and leave their less happy work life in the past. If you’ve ever wondered about RV park investing, then here’s your chance to learn how it works.

All forms of real estate are measured by rates-of-return, and RV parks are no different. In this episode we review all of the standard RV park performance metrics and explain how to calculate each one. Since it’s a competitive world when it comes to how you choose to invest your money, this episode will give you greater clarity on this unique investment option. You also need to have a firm handle on these terms when you start hitting banks and looking for financing.

To hit impressive rates of return, all real estate is contingent on the use of sensible leverage. So how do you get a loan to buy an RV park? In this episode we review the various types of financing available for RV park acquisitions and discuss how to successfully obtain them, as well. Since debt is an important part of every purchase, the sooner you know the options and how to select the correct one, the better.

What were the hot topics a decade ago? Has anything changed over the past ten years? We’re going to review the headlines and articles of mobile home park industry magazines from 2010 to see if there have been any substantial changes to the “trailer park” business model, and use this analysis to make projections for the decade ahead. They say that history repeats itself, but in the case of mobile home parks, is it more like Bill Murray’s “Groundhog Day? That’s the focus of this discussion.

Perhaps the best way to fill a vacant lot is with an existing homeowner. When someone moves their mobile home into your park that’s called an “organic move” – and it can be a win/win for everyone if properly handled. So what do you need to know about how to properly make organic moves happen?

The last time we had a major recession in the U.S. was the same year that the Toyota Corolla was the top-selling car and “Umbrella” was the top song: 2007. That was 13 years ago. Since that time, many investors became complacent and spoiled by an economy that was always going up. Then came the Covid-19 pandemic and everything changed.

Studies suggest that the average RV owner spends around 23 nights a year in an RV park. And many of these are in microbursts of 2 to 3 nights at a time. Studies have also found that the average RV owner goes on a weekend trip that is roughly 4 to 5 hours from their home –a radius of roughly 150 to 250 miles. So this makes the population within a 250 mile radius an important issue to consider.

No mobile home park in history has generated as much undeserved negative publicity as North Lamar in Austin, Texas. Nothing we did was good enough for the Austin media. We saved the park from the wrecking ball. We brought the park back to life with new streets, entrance and lot-by-lot TLC. We made its ongoing operation possible by raising rents and fixing resident abuse of water and sewer. Finally, we allowed the residents to buy the park from us and gave them a huge amount of time to put the deal together with the non-profit group ROC.

“How to Build and Operate a Mobile Home Park” was written by L.C. Michelon, the Director of Management Services for the School of Business at the University of Chicago, in 1955. In the book you will find this paragraph: “Much of your income will come from services other than from space rentals. In a mobile home park these include the laundry, the store, the gas station, mobile home services and sales, the bottled-gas franchise, the storing of mobile homes, the hauling of mobile homes short distances, telephone calls, and so on” [from Chapter 14 “Increasing Net Income” page 115]

For decades McDonald’s has ranked at the top of billboard users in the U.S. Day in and day out, they are the benchmark of a strong user of the outdoor advertising medium. But why are they so aggressive with this form of advertising? And what lessons can be learned from this?

The United States is currently in the middle of three catastrophes at one time: 1) Covid-19 2) economic disaster brought on by the quarantine and 3) urban unrest. But the end result is that these three events are actually pushing RV park occupancy ever higher. In fact, many Americans who did not even own RVs before the crisis began are now buying them up and hitting the highway to escape what they feel to be unsafe housing options in the cities. In fact, some RV dealerships are showing sales 30% to 50% higher than before any of this began. That makes RV parks one of the greatest contrarian investments in a troubled America. But why are RV parks doing so well?

What’s the highest hurdle you can jump over? Can you clear 4’ or more? In this second part of our Mobile Home Park Mastery Podcast two-part series on the “Top 7 Deal Killing Hurdles” we’re going to review the three highest hurdles that any park buyer must face and why they are so difficult. We’re also going to discuss the limited options to scale them and the enormity of the risks involved. If you want to clear these last three you better get out to the track and start working out, as they have destroyed many a park buyers who didn’t know what they were or how to address them.