Letter to Tenants from New Owner

Having recently closed on my first mobile home park about 3 months ago, I am getting ready to send a letter to all of the residents of the park to let them know that the park has changed hands. The tenants: some are straight renters, some own their homes on contracts, and some own their home outright; a total of 70 filled spaces. It would be great to get feedback from some experienced park owners on how to handle this introduction; i.e., what to include, exclude, the spirit and tone of the letter, etc. For example,

  1. Should the letter be from the manager or from me the new owner? My concern is if I sign the letter (I am an out-of-state owner), it may undermine the manager’s authority somewhat.

  2. Since I am planning on raising space rent, should that information go out with the intro letter? Or a follow up, second letter about a week later?

  3. Also, I plan to implement some modifications in the way the residents pay their rent. Currently a lot of people are paying their payments with cash directly to the manager, and everyone pays the manager who makes the deposits and records the income against tenant account in the accounting software; I have read on this forum to get away from cash and get the manager out of the loop. Should the new payment program be included in the intro letter?

  4. Should the letter be a canned letter to everyone, or individually addressed letters to each tenant?

Please post your ideas and suggestions. They will be most appreciated !!

Thanks,

John

Hey John,

I’ve got some of the same questions you had in 2012. How did you end up writing your letter? Would love to see an example of what you came up with.

Thanks,
Colby Armstrong

Here is the tenant letter I put out just last month.

Byway Investment LLC
DBA: Willow Inn Mobile Home Community
April 20, 2016
RE: Willow Inn Mobile Home Community
Dear Residents,
This is a letter of introduction regarding the purchase of the Mobile Home Park. Byway
Investment LLC. has taken over operations of the park.
The current park manager Penny Bristow will continue to oversee and maintain the community
as well as collect rents, read and report metered electric and water usage for billing purposes,
and enforce park rules and regulations. Please be respectful of the park manager as she also
lives in the community and wishes to work closely with us and you to clean up the park, repair
the vacant homes, sell them and fill the remaining vacant lots. We will accept only checks and
money orders from this day forward.
This mobile home park has long suffered from lack of interest from the owners and restrictions
placed on the management. Let this be your notice that things are going to change. We plan
on keeping the park in good repair and improving on areas we feel necessary as well as needed.
We encourage anyone with yards or homes in the state of disrepair to begin working on them
as soon as possible.
Some of the improvements anticipated in the near future include trimming or removal of trees
in the park, new park signs, upgrading and covering the mailbox area, and the clearing of any
clutter on non-rented or vacant lots. We will be closing the laundry facility and upgrading it
over time to a community center that can be used for meetings and parties. Please be patient
as park upgrades may require the temporary cut of power or water for short periods of time.
We will be requiring you to sign new leases stop by to pickup your new lease packet to review
and sign. Please read carefully the park rules and the lease so that you understand the
documents before signing. We will be requiring each unit to acquire insurance that names the
park as an additionally insured party. Proof of which will need to be provided to the park
manager.
In addition, we have a strict policy as far as payment of rent and upkeep of lots. If your rent is
not paid on time, there will be a late charge enforced and you will be subject to eviction. If
eviction is required, we will be reporting this to credit agencies and could cause difficulty in
finding accommodations elsewhere. If you do not keep your lot clean and maintained, we will
do so for you at a fee outlined in the park rules.
As an incentive, we are offering $150.00 in rent credit to any resident in the park that refers a
friend or relative to us who in turn purchases on of the vacant homes once we have them in
good order. We will begin the process of bringing the abandoned homes into legal compliance
in short order. This will include an auction to sell them, removal of unsuitable homes and
rehabilitation of usable homes. there will be more information on this in the near future.
Please understand that abandoned, vacant, and new homes waiting tenants are not to be
entered or trespassed upon. Should this be done we will pursue all legal action available and
begin immediate eviction of offending individuals.
If You would like to make comments or suggestions, please feel free to write them down and
give them to the manager. We look forward to working with you and providing a nice, safe
community to call home.
Sincerely
Byway Investment LLC, Manager

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