I own a 60 unit park out of state and I am having a hard time finding a part time manager who can handle the task, hopefully someone here can help me out.
I have an onsite office and have always preferred someone to live in the park to run the property for obvious reasons. There is no set office hours, the only requirement is just do the basic duties of collecting rents, maintaining the property and renting out spaces. I have gone through countless managers for many reasons, some just dont do the basic duties or get sloppy after a few months. I would like to find someone who stay at this job for the long term.
Your initial thought is correct – they have to live on-site and office out of their home. NEVER hire an off-site manager, as it is a total disaster. Choose someone in your park who has a decent home and car. Pay about $10 per month per lot – in this case maybe $400 per month plus free lot rent (just a ballpark). You will find it is almost always a revolving door with managers, so never figure you’ll find a lifetime hire (but be glad if you do). If nobody will take the job, then run an ad on Craigslist and put them in a vacant home (assuming you have at least one in the park that you own). Any manager will need constant guidance from you. If they were self-starters, they wouldn’t live in a mobile home park, right? They do have a tendancy to get worse over time, and when they get bad enough you’ll have to replace them – so always be watching for the next candidate.
Thanks the response Frank, your experience and advice has always been extremely helpful and I do appreciate it.
I do have an additional related question, I have an option to purchase 3 additional parks (300 units) , two of the parks are near my current property and the other is about 30 mintues away. My original plans was to hire a competent supervisor of sorts and have a greeter (as you put it) on each property. The supervisor will handle all the accounting, billing and supervision of maintenance. I believe you said the greeter will simply collect the checks and give out applications. The supervisor can live offsite.
From your experience what is the best way to set this up and adequate reimbursement for the supervisor and greeter?
What other duties should we assign to the greeter?
Where is the best place to find this supervisor and would you hire a certified manager?