I went out today to look at a Lonnie Deal in a MHP that I have passed by several times but never entered into. The seller is very motivated and pretty much willing to take whatever to sell the home because he has purchased another home and does not want to have to move this home. So of course my thoughts are to work with the MHP Manager/Owner to keep the home and just pay him lot rent. As I drove around the park I noticed that the park is huge with more than 100 spaces and very few filled. I asked the seller selling the home what the Park manager was like etc. and he informed me that he bought the park with three other guys (as retirement)but eventually bought them out and at one point along the way he was beaten up pretty badly by a resident of the park and almost died. During that time someone was doing the bookwork and had let things get very out of control. Yikes. When the MHP owner finally was released from the hospital he came back and really cleaned the place up. So this afternoon I contacted the MHP Owner and explained what I would like to do and how I could help him fill his park with the proper residents he was looking for etc. He was not hearing it at first, he said he had dealt with someone else in the past and it had gotten out of control and the reason the spaces were empty now was because he wanted to only let the right people into the park. I reassured him that was exactly what I wanted to help him do is keep the right people into the park he listened for a minute but still said no. He was never really mean I just feel that he is frightened which is very understandable. I am very persistant person ( likeable if I do say so myself Ha Ha) and do believe that if he actually sat down with me I could help him see things differently. I was thinking of stopping in tomorrow and trying to sit down with him and see if he would give me a chance to at least buy the first home and go from there. Does anyone have any advice or a similar situation that turned out positive?
At the very least you learned a valuable lesson.
Never call the park owner or manager on the phone to ask permission to begin doing deals in their park.
Lonnie even tells a story on his tapes about his own daughter making this very same mistake. The owner told her, “no we don’t allow that here.”
Lonnie later went in person to talk with the park manager and they were happy to let him do deals in the park.
You may try again but for those reading this, don’t make this mistake.
Never call a park owner or manager and never call a bank to see if they will loan you money on a mobile home, mobile home with land or mobile home park. They always say no.
This is a people business. You need to meet people in person to gain their trust. Once you have established this trust through action you will be able to make phone calls and save time but not before then.
Tony
Great I must have missed that story while reading the books! I will let you know how things go after I make a face to face visit hopefully when I arrive in Austin I will have better news! Thanks so much.
Christy
And the obvious question, Is the place for sale?
No it is not for sale or at least not that I know of. It would be strictly, at least for now, a park I could just do Lonnie deals in.
that would be my EXACT next question.
Greg