Jim,
We do continuously evaluate our manager and think about succession planning. The park is a business and with all businesses, you need to have succession plans for your employees. Like you, our manager came with the park. She is a great manager and very key to our current success. The one issue with her is that she is getting old and we aren’t sure how long she can continue.
We continuously review our tenants (how well they pay, any reported issues, etc). Periodically we have spoken with some of our best residents (some have been there 15yrs) to find out how they like the park and talk about general improvements. While doing that, we also ask them about the other tenants and which ones they feel are good honest folks who take pride in their homes. We have consistently received feedback on 3 tenants. Voila! These are the folks that we have targeted as potential successors.
In addition, we are also in the process of creating a more formal Operating Procedures manual for our current and future managers. Everything needs to be spelled out for them, step by step.
Howard