I have a small park in Arizona which I started advertising for sale in all the “usual” places a few weeks ago. I’ve only had about four inquiries. My numbers look pretty good, so I’m surprised at the lack of interest. My family says it’s the time of year, but I’m not sure I buy that. Seems to me that someone in the park market would be looking all year long, and wouldn’t be distracted that much by Santa. Who’s right?
Dshinnick, I would agree with your family.Even if someone is actively looking for a MHP, the activities around Christmas and New Year usually take first place (as there are so many).Lots of people tend to travel more, buy more, have more parties around Christmas and New Year. Actually, my Husband and I have gotten better real estate deals during the holidays, because a lot of people are focused on other items.Hopefully, the one Buyer you need is still on the lookout.We wish you the very best!
Four inquiries would indicate you have been listed for some time. When did you first list.Although you indicate your numbers look pretty good is that from a sellers point of view or a buyer. Is it listed at a 10 cap or better.
Four inquiries seems like a small number assuming any halfway decent advertising, even with the holidays. As Greg mentioned, I’d guess the numbers perhaps may not be “pretty good” from an objective buyers POV, especially as a small park. Although even hoping for a 10 cap could be optimistic depending on what you consider to be small. Some operators would consider 40 spaces to be small, others may consider 10 spaces to be small. The closer you get to the latter group, the harder it will be to sell it at your desired cap rate.
Your park is too small for most operators to consider. However, you may be able to sell a small (30 space or less) park to another operator in your immediate area because they will be able to take advantage of management efficiencies not afforded to a new buyer. My suggestion would be to contact the owners of every park within 20 miles of your park to see if they would like the opportunity to acquire a few more spaces in their market.
I have to disagree that your MHP is too small for most operators.Everyone has to start somewhere.Existing MHP Owners are probably looking at larger Parks.However, there are Individuals out there just waiting for the chance to buy their first MHP. For a lot of these Individuals their available cash allows them to purchase only up to a certain amount.There are probably Individuals on this Forum looking for small MHPs. We wish you the very best!
Yes, some people do need to start small, and that’s fine. But a 14 space park simply is not big enough to support long-distance ownership unless you own other properties in the (relatively) immediate area. That alone will eliminate “most operators.”
Most park buyers are looking for around 25 lots and up, so when you go below that number your buyer pool is much reduced. With a smaller buyer pool, it takes much longer to find the right buyer. I’m in the Lions Club and once a year I have to run the hot dog stand at the annual fair. Regular hot dogs – which appeal to everyone for $1 each – sell like crazy and we sell maybe 1,000 of them in one day. We also have extremely expensive sausages on a bun for $5, and we sell maybe 50 of those. If we had a caviar covered turkey hot dog for $50, we might sell one in an entire day. The bottom line is that the more off the path of what the average person wants, the longer you have to wait for someone to come down that path, regardless of the season.