Interview with Demetre Booker and Gretchen Zucker of Elevate Commercial

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 talks with Demetre Booker and Gretchen Zucker of Elevate Commercial. The big topic today is “social impact” and “social responsibility” when it comes to mobile home park investing and management. Investing, managing, and operating mobile home parks isn’t just about the property, it’s also about the people. One would argue, it’s mostly about the people. Demetre, Gretchen, and Andrew talk about how to handle non-paying residents, how to look at a deal in a “socially responsible” way, and what “social impact” means for passive mobile home park investors. Demetre and Gretchen also tackle Andrew’s questions on the toughest hurdles they have faced in manufactured housing community ownership, their advice for limited partner investors, and their process of sourcing deals.

Elevate Commercial Investment Group is a real estate firm that focuses on acquiring value-add multifamily assets. They are a full-service, socially responsible, and vertically integrated and has either acquired, partnered, or consulted on over 1,300 work-force housing multi-family units, over 1,400 mobile home park lots, and over 113,000 sq ft of retail and medical office buildings since 2015. Demetre Booker Jr. is the Principal Partner of Elevate Commercial, a full service, socially responsible, and vertically integrated commercial real estate firm. Gretchen Zucker has a career working with social entrepreneurs. She works with around 4,000 entrepreneurs, in over 90 countries to blend profits with social impact.

***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. Are you getting value out of this show? If so, please head over to iTunes and leave the show a quick five-star review. I have a goal of hitting over 100 total 5-star reviews by the end of 2021, and it would mean the absolute world to me if you could help contribute to that. Thanks ahead of time for making my day with your five-star review of the show.

Talking Points:

Links & Mentions from This Episode: 

Quotes: 

“When people are thinking about investing in property, they think of just the land or the infrastructure, and they forget about the people. It’s really all about the people.” - Gretchen Zucker

“You learn this when you study people on the edge of poverty. One broken-down car can set you on a path of further impoverishing you. It’s a downward cycle.” - Gretchen Zucker

“It’s crazy how expensive it is to be poor.” - Gretchen Zucker

“The toughest hurdle has been cultivating talent from the onsite management position.” - Demetre Booker

“Understand your operator and their capacity to fill lots.” - Demetre Booker