Mobile Home Park Mastery

By Frank Rolfe

Business Investing

What's Mobile Home Park Mastery about?

Welcome to the Mobile Home Park Mastery Podcast where you will learn how to identify, evaluate, negotiate, perform due diligence on, finance, turn-around and operate mobile home parks! Your host is Frank Rolfe, the 5th largest mobile home park owner in the United State with his partner Dave Reynolds. Together, they also own and operate Mobile Home University, the leading educational website for both new and experienced mobile home park investors!

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The Critical Item That Frea...

09.25.2023

I recently appeared on the Freakonomics podcast on the topic of mobile home parks. But there was one critical item that was edited out of that discussion when it finally hit the air. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast ...

Mobile Home Park Mastery episodes:

09.25.2023 The Critical Item That Freakonomics Left Out I recently appeared on the Freakonomics podcast on the topic of mobile home parks. But there was one critical item that was edited out of that discussion when it finally hit the air. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast ...
09.11.2023 Buffett, Cigar Butts And Trailer Park Investing Warren Buffett is America’s greatest stock investor, but his philosophy changed over time from “cigar butt” to value investing – and that transition is when his profits soared. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to overlay Buffett’s ...
09.04.2023 Why Park Owners Don’t Care About Home Manufacturing Data Mobile home manufacturing has cycled between about 60,000 and 400,000 units a year and one group that could care less are mobile home park owners. Why is there such a disconnect between how many mobile homes are built each year ...
08.28.2023 Permission Vs. Forgiveness When doing due diligence on a mobile home park there are some things that you can’t leave to chance and others that you can tactically let slide. So when do you need permission and when do you ask forgiveness? That’s ...
08.21.2023 The Mechanics Of A Successful Rent Raise Raising lot rents to market levels is a continual challenge as most mobile home parks currently sit at a fraction of where rents should be. Park owners spend hours ruminating over the how much to raise rents, not because they ...
08.15.2023 Take The Cash Mobile home parks are mostly a cashless business today, with virtually all residents paying by checks, money-orders or automated clearinghouse (ACH). However, before you put away your change drawer, there are still some instances in which accepting cash is vital. ...
08.07.2023 Paving The Way To Ruin There are few vendors as tough to handle as paving contractors. They have some basic methods to take advantage of park owners that you won’t learn until after it’s too late. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast, we will ...
07.31.2023 All About Home Age Restrictions Some cities have started restricting the age of homes that you can bring in to fill vacant lots. But can they legally do that? And what do you do if they decide to give it a try? In this Mobile ...
07.24.2023 The Forces And Impact Behind Accelerating Park Redevelopment Mobile home parks are, at their most basic, parking lots. And a growing number of these parking lots are being torn down to make way for new development. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to explore what’s ...
07.17.2023 The Growing Trend of Organic Home Moves Contrary to what woke media outlets may claim, mobile homes are very much mobile, and they are changing locales at a much faster rate these days. When a mobile home moves from one park to another it’s called an “organic” ...
07.10.2023 Fact Or Fiction? There are a huge number of myths about mobile home parks, as well as some items that appear fantasy but actually work in reality. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to explore some of these theories and ...
07.03.2023 Our 300th Anniversary Special That’s right, we have released Mobile Home Park Mastery’s 300th episode. That’s over 50 hours of recorded information on all aspects of the mobile home park industry and available right here. But how have things changed in this sector over ...
06.26.2023 A Mantra To Keep You Out Of Trouble There’s a recession coming to America soon – that’s the opinion of virtually every economist. So how can you prepare for the coming financial apocalypse? There’s a simple mantra that will keep you out of trouble in every recession/depression, and ...
06.13.2023 The Great Subsidy Debate The political issues that mobile home park owners face today boil down to a simple question: are mobile home park owners required to do the work of state and federal government? Apartment owners have received subsidies for residents who cannot ...
06.13.2023 The Changing State of Employment Between AI and an over-educated employment base, there is a significant shift in the future of careers that is definitely in favor of mobile home park owners. What are those trends and how will it impact our customers’ ability to ...
05.30.2023 The Pros And Cons of Heavy Lift Turn-Arounds One of the most profitable segments of the mobile home park business is the “heavy lift” turn-around. But it’s definitely not the right choice for every investor and comes with a slate of potential pitfalls. In this Mobile Home Park ...
05.22.2023 Understanding Zoning Compliance Since most cities hate mobile home parks, it’s imperative that you understand your rights under zoning. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to review the components of a certificate of zoning compliance as well as other issues ...
05.16.2023 Amenity Nightmares Across America, mobile home park owners are in a race to provide more amenities for residents to increase the perception of “value” for their rent. But not all amenities are created equal. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re ...
05.08.2023 A Primer On Housing Laws The simple “trailer” becomes a ball of complexity when you examine the laws governing remodeling and selling these units. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to review the basic rules on getting new and used mobile homes ...
05.02.2023 Good Fear Vs. Bad Fear Webster’s defines “fear” as “an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous and likely to cause pain, or a threat.” However, how you react to fear can be either hugely beneficial or a roadblock that ...
04.17.2023 Following The Studebaker Motto The Studebaker brothers built one of America’s largest and most successful carriage and automobile businesses using a simple motto: “always give more than you promise”. So how do we do that with mobile home parks? That’s the focus of this ...
04.10.2023 How To Hold An Open House The demand for affordable housing is huge, but finding the applicant with the necessary down-payment, earnings level and credit score to actually buy your vacant mobile home is more difficult. One great way to spur traffic to any mobile home ...
04.03.2023 Similarities And Differences There have been a number of recent articles predicting lending problems for “commercial real estate”. But there is no such thing as generic “commercial real estate”. There are simply several different niches that aggregate into that term. In this Mobile ...
03.28.2023 Considerations When A Manager Wants A Raise America is in a labor tsunami in which it’s harder to find and retain workers than ever before. In this environment, many mobile home park owners face the reality of managers asking for more money. But should you give in ...
03.20.2023 The Science Behind Selling $70,000 Singlewides Mobile home prices have nearly doubled since the advent of Covid, and that has put a stress test on selling “trailers”. However, many mobile home parks continue to sell new homes despite the higher prices. In this Mobile Home Park ...
03.13.2023 The Playbook On Bank Failure The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank – the second largest in U.S. history – may be ushering in a new era of banking collapse. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast, we’re going to scientifically review the risk of mobile ...
03.06.2023 Unlocking The Roots of A Sense of Community A few years ago Time magazine declared that “mobile home parks are the gated communities of the less affluent” and raved about their strong sense of community. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to drill down on ...
02.27.2023 Off-Site Vs. On-Site Managers As the mobile home park industry evolves, owners are constantly pondering not only what the new role of community manager is becoming but also the necessity of them living on-site. Larger parks have allowed for on-site or off-site manager possibilities ...
02.21.2023 Why Credit Scores Don’t Mean Much In Affordable Housing Mobile home lenders set very low expectations on customer credit scores yet enjoy very low default rates. This seems to be contrary to all the physics of extending credit but it’s supported by fact. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery ...
02.14.2023 The Limits On Grandfathering Protection Even though all cities hate mobile home parks, they tolerate them because of property laws governing legal non-conforming use – also known as “grandfathering”. But not all mobile home parks share that protection. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast, ...
02.06.2023 Building A Firewall Owning a mobile home park is a noble calling, but you must protect yourself from the residents you are trying to help. While 99% of park customers are wonderful people, there is that 1% that want to take advantage of ...
01.31.2023 The Many Similarities Between Mobile Home Parks And Dollar Stores Mobile home parks have always been viewed as the lowest-cost form of housing while dollar stores serve that same niche in the retail sector. Yet there are many more similarities between “trailer parks” and “Dollar Tree” than meets the eye. ...
01.23.2023 Navigating Wrap Notes With interest rates up significantly, some sellers may propose a construction called a “wrap” in which you leave the existing mortgage intact as part of the deal. But does that work? In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going ...
01.16.2023 There’s Nothing Uplifting About Lift Stations When a mobile home park sits lower than the city’s main sewer line, the only way to get the property’s sewage pushed upstream is with a “lift station”. Yet many mobile home park buyers don’t know what these are, how ...
01.03.2023 Life Isn’t Fair Webster’s defines “fair” as “impartial and just, without favoritism or discrimination”. And obviously, based on this definition, life in 2023 will not be “fair”. In this Mobile Home Park Mastery podcast we’re going to review the unfair opportunities that are ...
12.29.2022 Snow, Wind And Thermal Zones We all know the government enacted the HUD SEAL program back around 1976. But are you aware there's some other requirements that HUD placed on mobile homes that are important that you be aware of? This is Frank Rolfe with ...
12.19.2022 Addressing The Elephant In The Room It’s pretty clear that we’re heading for a U.S. recession in 2023. So what will that do to the mobile home park industry, and what are the statistics from the 2000 and 2007 recessions to support these observations? That’s the ...
12.12.2022 Sharing Is Not Always Caring When you have two mobile home parks in the same basic market, you always wonder if you would be better off hiring one manager to supervise both or having two separate managers to do the job. The concept of “sharing” ...
12.05.2022 The Impossible Job of Being Both Good Guy and Bad Mobile home park managers have an extremely difficult role. They are supposed to wear two hats: 1) the nice person and 2) the tough person. This is extremely confusing to residents and often fails to accomplish what you desire as ...
11.28.2022 Protecting Your Community in a Lawless America America is at a breaking point on crime. It’s rampant, the system is overwhelmed, and in many states the judicial system itself has become dysfunctional. In times like these it’s up to the community owner to help to make their ...
11.21.2022 What If Interest Rates Never Come Down? Interest rates have skyrocketed around 4 points in 2022 – the largest jump in 40 years. While interest rates typically run in cycles, what if they never return to earlier levels and these new rates are not a fad but ...
11.14.2022 The Impact of Higher 30-Year Single-Family Mortgage Rates Mortgage rates are now at 7.25% which is about double from where things stood in January. What impact does this shocking news story have on the mobile home park industry? In this Mobile Home Park Mastery Podcast we’re going to ...
11.07.2022 New Life For Old Trailers For over a decade – from the moment that financial institutions popped up to finance new and used mobile homes – older park - owned units were often relegated to the scrap heap. But the soaring price of new and ...
10.31.2022 Whining Even When You’re Winning A new study shows that mobile home values are up 34.6% since 2016 – nearly matching the 35.4% increase of single-family homes. You would think that would be good news for the 8% of Americans that live in mobile homes. ...
10.24.2022 How To Reduce Stress From Community Ownership Stress can contribute to many health problems, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and diabetes. Some of it is the normal condition that comes with taking risk and achieving success, but a huge portion is simply created by ...
10.18.2022 Options To Sidestep Conventional Banking Jerome Powell at the Fed has ushered in an era of interest rate instability that has not been experienced in over 40 years. This has created an environment in which traditional banking is not always the attractive solution to getting ...
10.10.2022 Sometimes The Best Deals Are The Ones You Don’t Do Being a successful park buyer requires discipline. You can’t let your desire to make a deal get in the way of the underlying premise of making money. So how can you guard against acquisitions that are the opposite of portfolio-builders? ...
10.03.2022 Before You Can Have Return On Capital You Must Have Return Of Capital In the search for income, many investors overlook the simple fact that there is no income until your capital is safely returned. When you seek the measure of an investment’s performance the only one that matters is the total return ...
09.26.2022 What’s Wrong With Being The Market Leader In Rents? While most mobile home park owners take comfort in letting someone else do the honors, there’s nothing wrong with being the market leader in lot rents. However, there is a process to taking that role and it comes with responsibilities ...
09.19.2022 The Biggest Differences Between Apartments And Mobile Home Parks With apartments having reached a cyclical high and mobile home parks still running with plenty of value-building opportunity, many apartment owners are looking at buying mobile home parks. If you fit that profile, then the key initial question is “what ...

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