Interview with Mobile Home Park Appraiser Erik Hanson from Colliers Valuation & Advisory Services

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 interviews Mobile Home Park appraiser and mobile home park owner/ investor, Erik Hanson.

Erik Hanson owns and operates manufactured housing communities in his home state of Wisconsin. His first mobile home park community acquisition was in 2021 and he has been steadily expanding his portfolio since. Alongside mobile home park community ownership, Erik Hanson is a seasoned real estate appraiser, holding the esteemed MAI designation from the Appraisal Institute.

Erik Hanson's journey into commercial real estate appraisals began in 2001, encompassing various property types. However, in 2012, he shifted his focus to specialize in mobile home park properties and RV Park/ Campground valuations. He joined Colliers Valuation & Advisory Services in 2023 and is a member of their Manufactured Housing Community (MHC) valuation team.

In this episode, Andrew Keel and Erik Hanson dive into strategies for Mobile Home Park operators and investors to enhance the value of their trailer parks and streamline the appraisal process. Drawing from his dual roles as an appraiser and mobile home park owner, Erik offers invaluable insights. Their discussion spans topics ranging from mobile home park industry downsides to educational opportunities within the mobile home park asset class, along with how to best identify mobile home park market lot rents.

Tune in for a wealth of knowledge and insights into the mobile home park investing industry!

***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 3,000 lots under management. His team currently manages over 40 manufactured housing communities across more than 10 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. Check out KeelTeam.com to learn more.

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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• A deal review
• Due diligence questions
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• Mistakes to avoid, and more!

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Would you like to see value-add 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

01:54 - Why Erik Hanson got into trailer park appraisals and real estate investing

07:45 - Getting educated on mobile home parks

11:00 - What to do when you’re looking for Mobile home park mentors

12:33 - Erik Hanson’s appraisal career history and back story

15:11 - Mobile Home Park market Lot rents

21:49 - Mobile Home Park Cap rate premiums from a valuation standpoint (direct billed utilities?)

26:00 - What we don’t know about the Mobile Home Park appraisal process

33:30 - Mobile Home Park Investing: Park-owned homes vs. tenant owned homes

34:30 - Increasing the value of your Mobile Home Park

37:00 - The most challenging parts of the Mobile Home Park appraisal process

38:20 - What happens when Mobile Home Park owners aren’t transparent with appraisers

40:50 - Erik Hanson’s mobile home park investment portfolio

44:16 - Mobile Home Park Investing Lightning Round Q&A:

• Your first mobile Home Park Investing Deal
• Cluster in geographic areas
• Being too lenient on Mobile Home Park Tenants
• Mobile Home park Operator qualities
• Be prepared to explain everything
• Mobile Home Park Appraisal quirks
• Erik’s perfect Mobile Home Park looks like this
• Raising mobile home park lot rents

52:18 - Getting a hold of Erik Hanson

53:00 - Getting comfortable with the Mobile Home Park asset class

53:51 - Conclusion

Links & Mentions from This Episode:

Erik Hanson’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erik-hanson-a5674b4/

Colliers Valuation and Advisory: https://www.colliers.com/en/services/valuation-advisory

MHU Investing Forum: https://forum.mobilehomeuniversity.com/

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/PassiveMHPinvestingPodcast

Andrew Keel Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/passivemhpinvesting/

Twitter: @MHPinvestors

Quotes:

“Overall talking to different owners and operators has been by far the most beneficial (to learning about mobile home parks).” - Erik Hanson

“The (Mobile Home) parks look so much better with a brand new road or newer roads that were just seal-coded, just totally changing the perspective of the (Mobile Home) park.” - Erik Hanson

“I don't think anybody really wants to be the market (rents) leader, but what's that gap between the market leader and what's historically been charged, and that's definitely a fine line.” - Erik Hanson

“The farther we get out in the future, the harder it is to project where the(Mobile Home Park) market is going to be at.” - Erik Hanson