Interview with Steven Blank of Blank Family Communities

Episode 75 April 12, 2022 00:32:15
Interview with Steven Blank of Blank Family Communities
Passive Mobile Home Park Investing
Interview with Steven Blank of Blank Family Communities

Apr 12 2022 | 00:32:15

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Show Notes

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 Steven Blank of Blank Family Communities. Steven shares his perspective on the future of the mobile home park industry, and the lessons he has learned through growing up in the mobile home park industry. Steven and Andrew have a great discussion on mobile home parks and how to be successful as a passive investor in the space.

Steven started in the mobile home park industry at the age of 15, working on a maintenance crew at Franklin Companies. In 2011, Steven stepped into the corporate side and learned the ins and outs of the mobile home park industry from his family’s mobile home park portfolio. He then proceeded to help grow two of the fastest growing MHP operators in the country and was involved in over 80 mobile home communities’ acquisitions and sales. He founded Blank Family Communities in 2019.

 

***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.

Book a 1 on 1 consultation with Andrew Keel to discuss:

  • A deal review
  • Due diligence questions
  • How to raise capital from investors
  • Mistakes to avoid, and more!

Click Here: https://intro.co/AndrewKeel

 

Talking Points:

00:21 - Welcome to the Passive Mobile Home Park Investing Podcast
01:21 - Steven’s story
03:43 - The toughest hurdle
05:24 - Managing the infill process
07:25 - Finding Grade-A quality, insured vendors
08:20 - Sourcing new homes
10:41 - Third-party property management for mobile home parks
12:30 - Community size
13:38 - Things that give third parties a bad rep
18:59 - The most important things passive investors need to look out for
22:04 - “[MHP] isn’t recession proof.”
24:22 - Some of the bigger mistakes Steven has seen
26:02 - The future of the MHP business
29:15 - Blank Family Communities
30:35 - One last tip
31:31 - Conclusion

 

Links & Mentions from This Episode:

Blank Family Communities: https://blankfamilycommunities.com/
Keel Team's official website: https://www.keelteam.com/
Andrew Keel's official website: https://www.andrewkeel.com/

 

Quotes:

“The issue that I came into contact with that I think a lot of people do, especially as they're growing their portfolio is, you see a deal that makes sense on its own, so therefore, you want to pursue it.” - Steven Blank 

“Ordering the right house for your market is key because if I over-order a house that the market's not going to support, it's not going to be a profitable venture for me.” - Steven Blank

“We're sourcing more used homes than we used to. Finding just a transport company is extremely difficult because they can still get work wherever they want.” - Steven Blank

“Understand that the business model that you're investing in and then understanding that some of the things that MH is being hailed as are really not true.” - Steven Blank

“When an economy suffers, our tenants suffer first.” - Steven Blank

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