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 Investing Educator Frank Rolfe of Mobile Home University (MHU). This is an interview from March 2024, which is Frank Rolfe’s second time on the show.

Frank Rolfe has been a mobile home park investor for nearly two decades and has operated hundreds of mobile home parks alongside his partner Dave Reynolds. Currently ranked as the 5th largest mobile home park owner in the U.S., their portfolio boasts over 250 mobile home parks across 25 states and over 10,000 lots! It all started with Glenhaven mobile home park, a single trailer park in Dallas, Texas. Success there propelled Frank to acquire more mobile home parks, focusing on prime locations with management challenges.

Believing in mobile home parks as hubs of affordable housing, Frank began sharing his insights through writing. Together with Dave Reynolds, their books evolved into leading courses and boot camps on mobile home park investing. Drawing from their own experiences, they've trained countless Mobile Home Park investors, finding fulfillment in seeing others succeed in the mobile home park asset class where they once struggled to get educated as newbie beginners in the space.

Frank Rolfe was a previous guest on the show in February 2021 (Ep. 40) and in this new episode in March 2024, Andrew and Frank explore various Mobile Home Park Investing topics, from rent control to debt management, financing strategies and mobile home park industry trends. Frank shares his perspective on the evolving mobile home park investing landscape and offers advice on navigating the current challenges in mobile home park investing. He also discusses his outlook on America's increasing debt, providing valuable insights for listeners on the economy as a whole.

Tune in for practical tips, valuable lessons, and engaging stories from one of the leading experts in the mobile home park investing industry: Frank Rolfe.

***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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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

01:40 - Frank Rolfe’s latest business ventures and current mobile home park portfolio

05:00 - Increased demand for mobile home parks and the addition of virtual and AI advances in the mobile home park industry

07:26 - Mobile Home Parks and Rent control

10:45 - The right of first refusal for tenants in mobile home park deals

13:00 - Artificial intelligence tech and new tricks for marketing and managing mobile home parks

16:00 - Overpaying for a mobile home park, not properly conducting due diligence, not following tried-and-true systems

18:00 - The problem with buying a mobile home park at a low cap rate

22:30 - Traditional mobile home park lenders vs Hard money lenders, and bridge debt

25:50 - Conduit loans/ CMBS (Commercial mortgage-backed security) debt versus Agency debt via Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

33:00 - Mobile Home Park occupancy fails

39:50 - Updating your schedule of real estate owned for mobile home park operators

42:30 - Looking at the track record of your mobile home park deal sponsor

44:00 - Park-owned mobile homes and rental homes

52:00 - Dystopian future because of debt

56:00 - Live Deal Review: Ohio mobile home park

01:03:00 - The positive impact of MHU (mobile home university)

01:09:20 - Getting a hold of Frank Rolfe

01:09:47 - Conclusion

Links & Mentions from This Episode:

MHU: https://www.mobilehomeuniversity.com/index.php

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:

“Rent control is a crippling feature because most mobile home parks today are, let's be honest, 50% of where they're supposed to be on rent.” - Frank Rolfe

“You’ve got to take control of your phones. You can't let the managers run wild these days and not know exactly what's going on.” - Frank Rolfe

“Diligence is key.” - Frank Rolfe

“You need to start working about a year ahead at least on your renewals. If the bank says no, you have time to get another bank.” - Frank Rolfe on mobile home park financing term defaults