I’m going to weigh in because we are fresh off a big turn-around. I somewhat agree with Carl, but it really has a lot to do with your goals as an investor. Our turn around was a 32 space park in Atlanta. When we bought it, it had the following characteristics:
- 32 lots and 29 vacant homes (all 2005 or newer)
- 10+ Squatter families
- No revenue
- A very unhappy city
A year later it has these characteristics:
- 29 rented homes with well qualified tenants
- No squatters
- A happy city
This turn around took one of our principals visiting the park on a weekly basis for the first three months. We fired/rehired many managers along the way, and we got intimately involved during various stages of the process. Do we think it was worth our time? Well, yes… our appraisal came in at roughly $970,000 after one year of sort-of hard work. Considering we are all in at $300,000, it was very much worth our time.
Turn-arounds are hard work, but they pay big dividends. Follow your plan, anticipate physically being at your park through parts of the process, and do your job as an opportunistic investor. If you do, you will be rewarded much more than those who are too afraid to pursue the opportunity. Oh yeah, and market your property like your life depends on it. Marketing is 90% of the equation and it should be your obsession moving forward. It’s the one thing that can accelerate your investment.