Interview with Charlotte Dunford of Johns Creek Capital

Welcome back to the Passive Mobile Home Park Investing Podcast, hosted by Andrew Keel.

Learn more from Andrew Keel’s Mobile Home Park Investing Guide here:  https://keelteam.com/mobile-home-park-investing/mobile-home-park-investing-guide/

On this episode of the Passive Mobile Home Park Investing Podcast, Andrew talks with Charlotte Dunford, the managing partner of Johns Creek Capital. Charlotte brings a unique perspective to mobile home park investing as she comes from humble beginnings being a first-generation American citizen and college graduate. After leaving China with just her belongings at age 16, she has come a long way to now owning over 20 mobile home parks. Today, she shares her journey as well as her processes for finding trailer park deals, property management, and her tips for passive investors. Charlotte has great insights for anyone interested in investing into mobile home parks.

Johns Creek Capital is an investment management company which focuses on mobile home park assets. They currently have over $4.2 million worth of total investor subscriptions and currently own 20 mobile home park investments. 

***Andrew Keel and Keel Team Real Estate Investments (Keel Team, LLC) do not endorse any interviewee. This interview is for informational purposes only and should not be depended upon for investment purposes. ***

Andrew Keel is the owner of Keel Team, LLC, a Top 100 Owner of Manufactured Housing Communities with over 2,000 lots under management. His team currently manages over 30 manufactured housing communities across more than ten states. 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. 

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Talking Points:

00:21 - Welcome to the Passive Mobile Home Park Investing Podcast 01:30 - How Charlotte Dunford got into manufactured housing communities 04:52 - Charlotte’s first park 05:20 - What fits the mold for Johns Creek Capital 08:10 - Park-owned versus tenant-owned homes 10:10 - Expense ratio for smaller parks 11:40 - The toughest hurdle in the MHP business 12:32 - Day-to-day property management 14:37 - How Charlotte finds her deals 15:46 - What limited partners need to look for when investing in the mobile home park asset class 17:51 - Charlotte’s perfect mobile home park 19:41 - Mistakes she has learned from 20:35 - The value proposition at Johns Creek Capital 24:15 - Getting a hold of Charlotte Dunford 24:51 - Conclusion

Links & Mentions from This Episode: 

Charlotte’s email: [email protected] Johns Creek Capital Keel Team's official website: https://www.keelteam.com/ Andrew Keel's official website: https://www.andrewkeel.com/ Andrew Keel LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewkeel Andrew Keel Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PassiveMHPin... Andrew Keel Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/passivemhpi... Twitter: @MHPinvestors  

Quotes: 

“For smaller parks, you can't think about it the same way as a big park, and you can't operate it the same way.” - Charlotte Dunford

“Mobile home park investing was still a very novel concept at the time. It was definitely an ignored topic. I decided to look into that.” - Charlotte Dunford

“The parks we are buying have to go through a pretty rigorous algorithm that we developed internally, that we have certain parameters that this park needs to fit into, for example public utilities if it is private, sewer needs to be at least septic, definitely not a treatment plant or anything like that.” - Charlotte Dunford

“It really depends on the deal. The deal only works if you have the income that comes from park-owned homes.” - Charlotte Dunford