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.
Mobile home park residents are great people, but they often have trouble adjusting to living within rules and regulations after often decades of loose management. In this third of our four-part series on “Park Psychology” we’re going to discuss the causes of some negative resident behaviors and how to correct these so that everyone in the community can live happily side-by-side and enjoy a high quality of life.
Listen To Episode 108It is not uncommon for mobile home park owners to have to deal with harassment from city hall. But why does this happen and how can this behavior be corrected? In this second of a four-part series on “Park Psychology” we’re going to review the very predictable behavior patterns of city officials, the cause of this behavior, and how to get city hall to back off and be a partner and not an adversary.
Listen To Episode 107In this first of a four-part series on “Park Psychology” we’re going to discuss the reasons behind bank behaviors and how to get banks to do what you want. You’ll see that banks follow a very predictable pattern in approving loans and that you cannot fight these motives but need to embrace them to obtain the desired results.
Listen To Episode 106Who listens to mobile home park residents? How can they have a political voice? In this final episode of our four-part series titled “Politically Correct Parks” we’re going to review how those 8% of Americans that live in mobile homes can have a political presence and what topics are important to them. You will find out how mobile home park owners share the serious responsibility of watching over our residents’ interests while few in government share that commitment.
Listen To Episode 105There’s been tremendous discussion in the media of the “Green New Deal” – but is nobody aware that mobile home parks owners already perfected that model years ago? In this third installment of our four-part series titled “Politically Correct Parks”, we’re going to examine how mobile home parks fit into this entire “green” narrative. There is certainly no business model in America that is more successfully “green” and that offers a sustainable housing solution with a minimum usage of natural resources and a smaller carbon footprint.
Listen To Episode 104Perhaps our elected bureaucrats could learn a thing or two from mobile home park owners. We’ve been delivering on many promises on a consistent basis, while the government struggles to tread water. In this second of our four-part series titled “Politically Correct Parks” we’re going to discuss the many important programs that park owners initiate and maintain that provide important benefits to our residents.
Listen To Episode 103Democratic debates and candidate grandstanding. A torrent of headlines on the 2020 election and primary predictions. It’s the advent of the political season in the U.S. – and that’s a big deal to any business as nobody wants to be on the wrong side of the political process. So where do mobile home parks fit into the national election and what is the impact of the proposed platforms? We’re starting off a four-part series titled “Politically Correct Parks” with an introduction as to where the mobile home park industry stands on a variety of political topics.
Listen To Episode 102While the nation debates the “Green New Deal” one housing option is already far ahead of the others when it comes to sustainability and low carbon footprint: the mobile home park. In this week’s Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast episode, we’re going to discuss the many ways that mobile home parks may just represent the best thing going in the U.S. on this front. Who would have thought that “trailer parks” would be on the cutting edge of modern political debate?
Listen To Episode 101A 100th Anniversary is called a “centennial” – and that’s exactly what this episode represents. Starting on August 7th, 2017, the Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast series has delivered 100 straight weeks of everything you need to know about mobile home park investing. We’ve covered every topic from the history of the sector to predictions of the future – and everything in between. No topic has been taboo and we’ve continually offered straight facts with no sugar coating. Our mission is to erase the untruths and stereotypes about an industry that provides the only non-subsidized form of affordable housing in the U.S., while providing practical tips and explanations on how to correctly invest in this unique asset class. Thanks for listening in for the past 100 weeks and we look forward to talking with you further in the future.
Listen To Episode 100Webster’s Dictionary has two meanings for the word “interest” 1) the quality of exciting curiosity and 2) money paid regularly at a particular rate. In this week’s Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast series, we’re going to combine the two together and discuss the curious puzzle of making sense of interest rates. You’ll see that there is a methodology based on risk and reward, and that today’s interest rates regarding mobile home parks and homes are really fair in all regards. Do we have your “interest”?
Listen To Episode 99We’ve all seen the show Fixer Upper. Chip and Joanna Gaines take old worn-out houses and bring them back to life – often using the same repetitive design elements. How would they approach an old mobile home park’s renovations? In this episode of Mobile Home Park Master, we’re going to discuss the new and best approaches to bringing old mobile home parks back to life – inexpensive ways to freshen up 50 year-old properties and make them seem new again. Maybe one day HGTV will have a show on mobile home parks but – until then – this segment will provide some design insights.
Listen To Episode 98Do billionaires live in mobile home parks? Yes. And so do many other notable folks in the U.S. In this week’s Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast series, we’re going to review the many different types of customers that are served by this unique housing option. Are some of them household names? You better believe it. It turns out that “trailer parks” are not only about affordable housing – there are many different facets to this industry.
Listen To Episode 97If the desired effect is to keep mobile home park lot rents low and parks not re-developed into new uses, how can this be accomplished politically? By mandating rent control? By adding more bureaucratic hurdles? Or is there a new approach that might actually work? In this edition of the Mobile Home Park Mastery Podcast series, we’re going to review what some political paths to progress might look like, and review those that have no positive impact whatsoever. If you are tired of hearing the “fake news” regarding affordable housing assistance by the government, then this will give you some fresh perspectives on what can and can’t be done to stem the national shortage of affordable housing as far as mobile home parks are concerned.
Listen To Episode 96By far the majority of mobile home park residents are wonderful people. But there are a few residents out there that have learned how to take advantage of the system and good-natured park owners. The good news is that there are ways to defend against those who attempt to push false narratives and unfairly manipulate the general community.
Listen To Episode 95The average car in the U.S. has an engine with 120 horsepower. Yet there are engines out there with ten times that much power. Mobile home parks are no different, as they often have ten times more cash-flow ability than more conventional forms of real estate. How much horsepower does a mobile home park have and how can you gauge it? In this week’s Mobile Home Park Mastery Podcast, we’re going to review where the horsepower in a mobile home park comes from, and how to calculate its maximum output using some key metrics.
Listen To Episode 94The mobile home park industry is constantly evolving and today’s park owner is more focused than ever before on building a sense of community and maximum resident satisfaction. So how do you do that? In this episode of Mobile Home Park Mastery we’re going to discuss the latest trends in mobile home parks and how they create the desired results in building superior resident happiness and value.
Listen To Episode 93The bulk of the 44,000 mobile home parks in the U.S. were built between the 1940s and 1970s. So how can you tell which decade your park is from? Why is that important? In this episode of the Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast series, we’re going to discuss the key features that separate parks from these eras and the impact on your investment, as well as what the clues are that allow you to make this determination.
Listen To Episode 92History is the “study of past events”. And when you connect the dots to the past you can see trends that influence the future. In this final installment in our four-part series titled “Literary Lessons Learned” we’re going to review some interesting parallels between the current economy in the U.S. and the past, and see what future trends can be predicted from past events. You’ve heard the old adage “history repeats itself” and that’s definitely true – the key is understanding what those cycles are and how to profit from them.
Listen To Episode 91There’s no better strategy than to follow in the path forged by someone else who was successful. Biographies are books that are “an account of someone’s life” and a fascinating glimpse into the key drivers to how they accomplished what they did. In this third installment of our four-part series on “Literary Lessons Learned” we’re going to focus on learning concepts for success from the life story of several top American business people.
Listen To Episode 90Patton, Montgomery, Eisenhower – some of the greatest strategists in world history have been military leaders. In this second installment of our four-part series on “Literary Lessons Learned” we’re going to discuss some of the great military theories and how they relate to mobile home park acquisitions and management. You’ll see that there is a huge overlap between armed conflict and business, and the theories that advance troops on the ground can also propel your mobile home park investments farther.
Listen To Episode 89Books have been the foremost way of transmitting knowledge since the beginning of time. In this first installment in a four part series on “Literary Lessons Learned” we’re going to review some profound thoughts from great business books and how they relate to the purchase and management of mobile home parks. This podcast condenses down thousands of pages of books into some important points on success.
Listen To Episode 88The 1970s brought us Van Halen and Smokey and the Bandit. But it also ushered in a new era in the mobile home industry. In this final segment of a three-part series on mobile home trivia, we’re going to look at how the industry changed dramatically in the 1970s and changed it’s focus to affordable housing and lower-priced production via HUD’s new involvement in the industry – all through some little-known trivia. This episode ties the two earlier ones together and brings you up to date on the history of the industry through some fun facts and figures.
Listen To Episode 87Elvis lived in a mobile home both in Hollywood and in Tennessee. The 1950s and 1960s were the “Golden Era” of the mobile home industry, yet too few people understand this fact. In this second of a three-part series on mobile home trivia, we’re going to delve into some little-known facts about the mobile home industry from this important period in its history. Hard to believe that even Elvis had his blue suede shoes in mobile homes during this period.
Listen To Episode 86The mobile home park industry is actually quite a fascinating story that is immersed in American culture. Starting in the “Roaring 20s”, proliferating in World War II, and being an active participant in the growth of the American Dream, there are few products that are more colorful – or more misunderstood – than the mobile home. In this first of a three-part series, we’re going to dive into some really fascinating trivia about the industry from the 1920s to 1940s to get a better understanding of its early origins.
Listen To Episode 85We’ve reviewed all the operational aspects of mobile home park operations – but what about the spiritual? How can mobile home park owners sleep soundly with the knowledge that they have done right by their customers and the community at large? In this final installment of our nine-part series on “Mobile Home Park Perfectionism” we’re going to review the key truths that all mobile home park owners must believe in order to be happy with what they do.
Listen To Episode 84