Interview with Frank Rolfe of Mobile Home University

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 Frank Rolfe. Frank has been an investor in mobile home parks for nearly two decades. He has owned and operated hundreds of mobile home communities and is currently ranked as the 5th largest mobile home park owner in the United States with over 250 communities spread out over 25 states. Frank is also a top educator in the mobile home park space through his involvement with Mobile Home University, also known as MHU.

Today, Andrew and Frank talk about everything from current events (COVID-19) and how it has affected the mobile home park business, to lessons that Frank has learned in his experiences in the trailer park business. Frank shares some of the knowledge he has gleaned from his background in business and economics, as well as his insights on what the future holds for the mobile home park industry. Questions include: What happens if interest rates go up? How will a $15 per hour minimum wage affect mobile home park investors? How does inflation affect mobile home park owners? What happens to mobile home parks if the US dollar loses it's place as the world's reserve currency? What has been the toughest point in time for the mobile home park business?

***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 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.

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Talking Points:

00:21 - Welcome to the Passive Mobile Home Park Investing Podcast
01:35 - Frank's background and how he got into manufactured housing
03:30 - Glenhaven in Dalla, Texas
05:38 - Important things passive investors need to know about investing in mobile home parks
06:50 - Value Add versus Stabilized Play
10:33 - Secondary markets and tertiary markets during downturns
13:45 - COVID and portfolio
16:55 - Current state in the market cycle
20:30 - Difference in the market from the 90's
23:00 - Most difficult time in the business within the last 20 years
26:40 - More about 2006
28:55 - Mobile homes during inflation
34:05 - Current events, the US dollar and the world's reserve currency
39:10 - How a $15 minimum wage will affect mobile home parks
43:00 - Getting a hold of Frank Rolfe
44:05 - Conclusion

Links & Mentions from This Episode:

Quotes:

"The cable bill was $2,000 something in a month and so I just turned it off. That's how I solved the $2,000 and then I got a humongous break on the revenue because I had half of the lots to fill. They shut another mobile home park down in Dallas downtown. I went to the owner of the park and we cut a deal because he had to get the trailers moved out as part of his agreement with Dallas to resell it to build a home depot." - Frank Rolfe

"The key drivers of mobile home parks are pretty simple. They're a very simple business model. Into some of the parts, I put in the acronym of IDEAL." - Frank Rolfe

"We're all at the mercy of interest rates and right now, people are buying a lot of low cap rates because interest rates are insanely low. I think they will remain insanely low." - Frank Rolfe

"We saw really no impact from COVID at all. Our business model is deemed essential. Our businesses were not shut down. We had to adapt to office requirements. We have to be more socially distant. In some states, we have to close the office. We could be open but we cannot allow anyone in which is awkward, but it really wasn't a big of a deal.." - Frank Rolfe