does anyone have any recommendations of a good mh park broker. i have talked to a couple. There were a few others that i tried but never called me back. just wondering who some of you have used and what your experiences were like.
thanks
matt
Post Edited (04-14-11 21:32)
Matt-
Contact me anytime, happy to assist.
Creed Williams CCIM
CCP Inc
888-440-7629 fax
719-221-1401 direct
Matt,
If your buying, i would tell you that you can hunt down most any lead a single broker can. Your better off digging them out on your own. I bought 4 parks in the last 18 months, and have 3 under contract to close in the next 90 days… and have yet to use a broker on the buy side.
Now on the sell side, I would probably use someone sharp at M & M. Depending on your state, you would probably choose someone out of the MHP group in your area.
Post Edited (04-14-11 21:28)
Dale,
That is a great question. When I get info from Marcus… or any broker the numbers supplied are almost always cooked in some way. I would say, it is almost always the seller that provides bad numbers. Maybe the real work is inaccurate. Maybe income is a straight rent roll calculation and not the actual income, or the expenses might be dead on for the books, but the owner has been deferring putting money into the park for 5 years, or more. So every time I get a income and expenses report, I rebuild it off my own known income and expense worksheet and make sure everything is listed. If the expenses are very low as a ratio, after I have plugged in some expected figures. Here are some real traps…
Owners or sellers that CAP rental income on park owned homes…
Owners that also are the on site managers do not count their labor…
The labor is easy to figure out, or easier to at least… the park owned homes on the other hand can be tricky. Looking at just a simple example…
Pad rent is $150
The pad/home rents for $500
The home is a 1970 3/2 single wide with one bath
The park CAPS at a 11
expenses are 40% of income on the pads
expenses are 60% of income on the park owned homes
if we use that as our constants…
The pad alone is really worth $9,818
If you CAP the ‘rental’ without breaking out the components- $32,727
or $22,909 for just the home
the real cash flow on the rental after the proper expenses- is $1680/year
In this example I have separated the rental home and pad…
If your aggressive the home is really worth what a insurance company would pay you if it were burned tot he ground, maybe 5 to 7 thousand…
What if the owner/broker were applying that CAP to 50 rental homes, or more… of as a real nightmare, the whole park is rental homes.
This is a long way of saying, it is really up to you to know how to evaluate a park, know what the expected expenses are, know what numbers as actual or a ratio of gross income or per pad will cost you. Build a real income and expense report and then see if the park is priced right.
Lets break out the rolls… a Broker is really interested in the transaction happening and is almost always without any actual park ownership experience. The might be expert at finding parks for sale, or putting them out in front of the most people, but seldom will a Broker have practical park operation experience. Its not really their fault, just the way things work. They are expert at finding and listing, and you better be good at the stuff that is left over…
If you do not do really good due diligence, of income and expense analysis, or local market research so you really know what CAP should be applied to your purchase in the area the park is located in, find people to assist you that know that stuff. No matter who you use to find you a park, this is a buyer beware industry and the burden of evaluation is really yours. Do you really want to rely on the broker who is compensated only after the deal is closed. He might be representing you, but there is no compensation for representation, only for a closed transaction. So they have a dog in the hunt as well, and there is a clear conflict in the interest of their client and their own ‘paycheck’ interest.
So I have no idea who you are, if you own a park or are just interested… so this might apply, and might not. If your really interested there are several industry experts that offer classes to walk you through finding, evaluating and operating mobile home parks. You might look into such a education so your industry knowledge will allow you to be your own expert, and then all of a sudden, the income, expenses and other information can be worked into real numbers, and you can make real informed decisions and highly educated offers. Even after your education, you might at least know enough to know who to contact when your evaluating a deal, or doing due diligence so your not burned.
Long answer to say this… let brokers do what they do best, find deals… then (as Captain in charge) you say to the co-pilot… its my airplane, and you bring it in for the landing… the broker is a limited member of your team… pay them well to find you deals, know what dog they have in the hunt…
So you know where I stand in the industry… my fill time gig is buying, operating and sometimes selling parks. I am not a broker, and only work on my own personal portfolio or parks I have a ownership interest in. To be fair, I am very good friends, and business partners with a guy that owes a web site that is dedicated to listing mobile home parks, not as a brokerage site but more a MLS type site. I also speak nationally many times a year on this very subject of mobile home park ownership. I am a past Admin on the magic bullets real estate investing forum, and currently an admin on a public forum associated with the mobile home park store, and also admin on the private forum that is operated strictly for graduates of the MHPS boot camp. So that is my disclaimer…
Certainly many brokers are useless, manipulative, dishonest and unqualified to add value in a park transaction. Even the larger brokerage houses are not immune to this type of behavior; in fact they can be some of the worst offenders.
When seeking brokerage services or consultation, remember it is the relationship between you and the individual broker that is paramount. Technology has leveled the playing field in terms of marketing exposure, but service continues to be the heart of a successful broker/client relationship.
I recommend choosing a broker that can focus entirely on your goal. I also (agree with and) recommend choosing a broker that has experience in park ownership. And, I recommend a broker that is well versed in aspects and perspectives of commercial investment real estate i.e. financial analysis, market analysis, user and investor decision making.
And finally, investigate the references a broker provides you. Finding the right broker to suit your needs can be very beneficial.
I will add, that what Creed is saying should really be read into. Ownership of a park is not enough and certainly does not have a strong relationship to being one of the few rockstar brokers that represents MHP transactions. There are many brokers that are owners and they are a clueless as the average joe on the street. Though I have not met Creed, I have many contacts that do know him and I have heard nothing but god things about him… I can not say the same for many other MHP brokers though…
That said… Creed if you find a smokin deal… I am looking nationwide except Michigan… unless its Ann Arbor… Creed Williams wrote:
Jim,
Could you shed some light on the why parks in Michigan are undesirable?
I have noticed there are large amount of parks for sale in Michigan.
I know the auto industry is huge issue for that state’s economy, but isn’t that also true for other states? (Ohio, Indiana)
Thanks,
Pat
Patrick
My wife will not let me invest there because it is too cold (live in CA). Seriously, why would anyone want to invest in the worst appreciating state in the union with the threat of getting worse. I thought I would be able to steal a park in MI but I could not really find a smoking deal. Would you ever be able to raise rents? I would have to buy a 20% cash on cash deal at close of escrow with at least 90% full in an at least slightly growing larger metro city like Grand Rapids.