How to Vet a Mobile Home Park Deal Sponsor as a Passive Investor

Welcome back to the Passive Mobile Home Park Investing Podcast, hosted by Andrew Keel. On this episode of the Passive Mobile Home Park Investing Podcast, Andrew Keel discusses how to properly vet a mobile home park deal sponsor. Using his experience, and also gathering tips from active passive investors, Andrew goes over ten valuable tips you should use when vetting a mobile home park operator. Andrew's tips range from background checks to contingency plans and everything in between. Making a passive investment into a mobile home park is a big decision and vetting your operator can save you a lot of trouble and ultimately provide you a better return on the investment.

Andrew Keel is the owner of Keel Team, LLC, a Top 100 Owner of Manufactured Housing Communities with over 1,500 lots under management. His team currently manages over 20 manufactured housing communities across ten states - AR, GA, IA, IL, IN, MN, NE, OH, PA and TN. His expertise is in turning around under-managed manufactured housing communities by utilizing proven systems to maximize the occupancy while reducing operating costs. He specializes in bringing in homes to fill vacant lots, implementing utility bill back programs, and improving overall management and operating efficiencies, all of which significantly boost the asset value and net operating income of the communities.

Andrew has been featured on some of the Top Podcasts in the manufactured housing space, click here to listen to his most recent interviews: https://www.keelteam.com/podcast-links. In order to successfully implement his management strategy Andrew's team usually moves on location during the first several months of ownership. Find out more about Andrew's story at AndrewKeel.com.

Would you like to see mobile home park projects in progress? If so, follow us on Instagram: @passivemhpinvesting for photos and awesome videos from our recent mobile home park acquisitions.

Talking Points:

00:21 - Welcome to the Passive Mobile Home Park Investing Podcast
01:11 - Number 1: Review and verify operator track records
01:40 - Number 2: Speak with investor references
01:50 - Number 3: Meet with the operator in person
05:13 - Number 4: Drive through the park
06:07 - Number 5: Review reports and financials
07:00 - Number 6: Background check
07:20 - Number 7: Review the operator on social media
07:33 - Number 8: Ask your known operator
08:01 - Number 9: Review proformas
12:14 - Number 10: How is the operator sourcing deals?
13:13 - Conclusion

Links & Mentions from This Episode:

Quotes:

"Another question you should ask is what is their back-up plan in case the operator is out of commission for some reason?" - Andrew Keel

"Prepare to either drive through one of the mobile home parks that the operator owns and operates now, or you can hire someone to do this and do a drive-through video." - Andrew Keel

"Infill is the hardest way to add value to mobile home parks.There's no hiding it; it's well known. If they are over-aggressive in their proforma they may not be able to meet the projections that they are putting in the proforma.." - Andrew Keel

"Meet with the operator in person or on Zoom as a second option, if possible. Ask yourself after the meeting, 'What does your gut tell you right away about this operator?'" - Andrew Keel