There have been a number of recent articles predicting lending problems for “commercial real estate”. But there is no such thing as generic “commercial real estate”. There are simply several different niches that aggregate into that term. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast, we will explore the similarities and differences between mobile home parks and the other commercial real estate sectors and how the future banking challenges will probably unfold.

America is in a labor tsunami in which it’s harder to find and retain workers than ever before. In this environment, many mobile home park owners face the reality of managers asking for more money. But should you give in to their demands? In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast, we will review how manager compensation works and share thoughts on navigating this new reality.

Mobile home prices have nearly doubled since the advent of Covid, and that has put a stress test on selling “trailers”. However, many mobile home parks continue to sell new homes despite the higher prices. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast, we’re going to make some observations on what is needed to sell a $70,000 mobile home in today’s market.

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank – the second largest in U.S. history – may be ushering in a new era of banking collapse. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast, we’re going to scientifically review the risk of mobile home park loans and explore some of the lessons I learned from the 1987 Texas Savings and Loan Crash.

A few years ago Time magazine declared that “mobile home parks are the gated communities of the less affluent” and raved about their strong sense of community. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to drill down on the origins of that sense of community and what park owners can do to foster a stronger bond between residents.

As the mobile home park industry evolves, owners are constantly pondering not only what the new role of community manager is becoming but also the necessity of them living on-site. Larger parks have allowed for on-site or off-site manager possibilities for years, but smaller parks have been relegated to strictly on-site options. However, those lines may be blurring. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast, we will examine the issue of off-site vs. on-site managers.

Mobile home lenders set very low expectations on customer credit scores yet enjoy very low default rates. This seems to be contrary to all the physics of extending credit but it’s supported by fact. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to dig deeper into the topic of why a low FICO works just fine when it comes to customers buying mobile homes.

Even though all cities hate mobile home parks, they tolerate them because of property laws governing legal non-conforming use – also known as “grandfathering”. But not all mobile home parks share that protection. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast, we’re going to review the attributes that make a mobile home park at risk and without “grandfathering” rights.

Owning a mobile home park is a noble calling, but you must protect yourself from the residents you are trying to help. While 99% of park customers are wonderful people, there is that 1% that want to take advantage of your role as the owner to try to borrow money, harass you, get out of rules violations, get your manager fired – basically try to drive you nuts. The solution is to build a firewall between your customers and you. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast, we’ll go through the simple steps to do just that.

Mobile home parks have always been viewed as the lowest-cost form of housing while dollar stores serve that same niche in the retail sector. Yet there are many more similarities between “trailer parks” and “Dollar Tree” than meets the eye. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast, we’ll review the similarities and why both businesses are underappreciated – a fact that’s about to change.

With interest rates up significantly, some sellers may propose a construction called a “wrap” in which you leave the existing mortgage intact as part of the deal. But does that work? In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to review the good and bad aspects of this deal construction and discuss methods to mitigate the risk.

When a mobile home park sits lower than the city’s main sewer line, the only way to get the property’s sewage pushed upstream is with a “lift station”. Yet many mobile home park buyers don’t know what these are, how they work, and what the dangers are. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to drill down on this unique feature of many communities to understand the fine points to buying and operating a “lift station”.

Webster’s defines “fair” as “impartial and just, without favoritism or discrimination”. And obviously, based on this definition, life in 2023 will not be “fair”. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to review the unfair opportunities that are out there, how to take advantage of them, and why there’s nothing morally wrong in doing so.

We all know the government enacted the HUD SEAL program back around 1976. But are you aware there's some other requirements that HUD placed on mobile homes that are important that you be aware of? This is Frank Rolfe with the Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast. We're going to talk about snow loads, wind loads, and thermal zones.

It’s pretty clear that we’re heading for a U.S. recession in 2023. So what will that do to the mobile home park industry, and what are the statistics from the 2000 and 2007 recessions to support these observations? That’s the goal of this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast: to dissect what the 2023 recession may look like and what the impact might be.

When you have two mobile home parks in the same basic market, you always wonder if you would be better off hiring one manager to supervise both or having two separate managers to do the job. The concept of “sharing” management is not restricted to just mobile home parks, as many other industries have tested and employed it. However, mobile home park manager “sharing” has its own unique issues to consider. That’s the topic of this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast.

Mobile home park managers have an extremely difficult role. They are supposed to wear two hats: 1) the nice person and 2) the tough person. This is extremely confusing to residents and often fails to accomplish what you desire as the owner. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to explore why this is not a healthy situation for your property and offer tips on giving the manager a more clear role in the community.

America is at a breaking point on crime. It’s rampant, the system is overwhelmed, and in many states the judicial system itself has become dysfunctional. In times like these it’s up to the community owner to help to make their property the safest it can be. Not through adding expensive security personnel, but instead by enacting common sense strategies and enhancements to the mobile home park that help to deter and report crime when it occurs. That’s the focus of this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast.

Interest rates have skyrocketed around 4 points in 2022 – the largest jump in 40 years. While interest rates typically run in cycles, what if they never return to earlier levels and these new rates are not a fad but the new norm? In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast, we’re going o discuss the ramifications of these higher rates and project the impact if they never go down again.

Mortgage rates are now at 7.25% which is about double from where things stood in January. What impact does this shocking news story have on the mobile home park industry? In this Mobile Home Park Mastery Podcast we’re going to discuss the many byproducts of higher home mortgage rates – most of which are positive by nature and reflective of U.S. megatrends.

For over a decade –from the moment that financial institutions popped up to finance new and used mobile homes– older park-owned units were often relegated to the scrap heap. But the soaring price of new and slightly used homes has rekindled the notion of bringing many of these formerly doomed homes back to life. In this episode we’re going to discuss the building blocks to determining if an old home could or should be salvaged and tricks we’ve learned about doing it the correct way.

A new study shows that mobile home values are up 34.6% since 2016 – nearly matching the 35.4% increase of single-family homes. You would think that would be good news for the 8% of Americans that live in mobile homes. But NPR is determined to show that even when park residents are big winners it’s all part of an evil plot by corporate owners. So we’re going to dissect their latest ridiculous article.

Stress can contribute to many health problems, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and diabetes. Some of it is the normal condition that comes with taking risk and achieving success, but a huge portion is simply created by your own actions when better options are available. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to focus on what causes stress in the mobile home park business, how to manage it, and how to reduce it.

Jerome Powell at the Fed has ushered in an era of interest rate instability that has not been experienced in over 40 years. This has created an environment in which traditional banking is not always the attractive solution to getting deals done. But what are the alternatives to sidestep traditional lending? That’s the focus of this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast.

Being a successful park buyer requires discipline. You can’t let your desire to make a deal get in the way of the underlying premise of making money. So how can you guard against acquisitions that are the opposite of portfolio-builders? That’s the topic of this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast.