Imperial county
56 Spaces
14 Park owned homes
City water/sewer
Built 1991
Needs to sell within 90 days for 1031 exchange.
The NOI for 2007 was $140,868 with 10 park homes and space rent of $215. In 2008 space rents are now $240 with 14 park homes and the NOI for the first six months is $101,239.
Asking $2.2m.
(birddog)
Hello Bob,
If you are going to be bird dogging a park, I would suggest that the more detailed information you provide the more effective your efforts would be. I’m looking for a park and if I could find one that makes sense here in my home state of Cali. then I would jump on it.
Yet the information that you have provided doesn’t let me have a feel for this park. If I could suggest, here is the info that would be helpful:
Lot’s = 56 @ $240 (you’ve got this one)
Park Size (to define density)
MH Rental (how many (14) and how much is the rent)
Actual Expenses (the NOI for the six months isn’t making sense. 56 lots @ $240 x 6 mos. = $80,640. Yet you say the NOI is $101,239!)
I guess I would consider that you are trying to provide a service to a buyer by doing as much of the leg work for the potential buyer. If you do this I’m sure you’ll find more success with interested buyers.
Good luck,
The information provided is what is provided to me by the seller. I only provide an opportunity to get first crack at a park that is not yet on the market. It would be up to the potential purchaser to negotiate and determine if the park is worth purchasing. A fee would be paid to me only if you close on the deal.
Now in this case you have a motivated seller. They need to sell in 90 days. Now is the time to lock it up. They will have to list it soon.
I guess I didn’t explain my point. The information you have furnished is inadequate to come close to defining if this is an attractive deal or not.
Please don’t take what I am saying as negative criticism - it isn’t intended in that vane. I’m just telling you that as a motivated buyer, the information that you have provided makes this park completely undesirable as the numbers don’t make sense and critical information is missing. In fact, the information is so negative that I doubt you would get any inquiries at all.
I guess a big question is how motivated are you to get a bird dog fee? Just because a deal hasn’t been listed it doesn’t mean that it is a good deal. In addition, I’m kind of confused on the motivation of the seller. I thought that on a 1031 exchange the only motivation was to reinvest the money from the sale within 90 days, not sell it in 90 days.
I’ve seen you post here quite a bit, so I hope you don’t think that I’m attacking your post with negative feedback. I’m just trying to let you know how your post affected a potential customer of yours if you had presented the information with a little more data, that’s all.
Good luck,
I guess you my not have understood my point.
I am not here to sell anything. The information provided will always be inadequate to making a decision if this is an attractive deal or not. And as most sellers, the numbers rarely make sense. Are you new to this game?
I am simply passing on information that may get someone a great deal. I will provide basic information for an investor to determine if it fits within the basic parameter of their investment goal.
The truly great deals are made before a property is put on the market. That is a fact.
I am not here to get bird-dog fees. I am not look for potential customers. These are parks that do not meet my personal requirements. However, I do know that truly interested investors would like this information.
Contact information would be passed once an agreement is signed. A fee would only be paid if you close on the property. So what is the problem?
I am not trying to twist any arms. If you are not interested. No problem. It will sell to someone else. I am sure that some realtor will list it and make a commission from some uninformed investor, eventually.
The owner is claiming a 9 cap in CA. Those in CA know that is an amazing deal, if you invest in CA. Do your own due diligence.
I really thought that by passing along this information I would be doing a service to my fellow investors. That is all.
Hi Bob,
I know what you are trying to do seems innocent and all but bird-dogging a possible reverse 1031 exchange seller over the internet could turn into a fairly risky side business for you - be careful. Please indulge me in a couple of comments for whatever they are worth:
I am assuming that you are not a licensed RE broker and being paid a “bird dog” fee without a brokers license in most states is illegal. Of course, if you are a licensed broker you may want to consider putting this fact in your posts as required by law and to add credibility to your services.
Now, regarding the motivation of this seller - you are suggesting to others that this SELLER needs to “complete” a 1031 exchange and (as of recently) they only have 90 days or less. This suggests that the seller may have already purchased a replacement property that is “parked” with an Exchange Accommodation Titleholder (EAT). This method of buying first and then selling is commonly known as a Reverse 1031 exchange (but in actuality it is really just “parking” the new property so that when the deal that you are bird-dogging sells the taxpayer can do a simultaneous exchange through their QI). My point is this, the seller may be motivated by this timeline per Revenue Procedure 2000-37 but if this is the case the seller is also quite sophisticated and/or is paying advisors who should probably know a thing or two about this type of transaction.
Now, it could also be that the seller has not purchased a replacement property and simply has one under contract subject to selling this property and this contract may be expiring in 45 days. If this is the case then the seller is no more motivated by the exchange then any other seller UNLESS their earnest money is hard. In other words - there is no IRS pressure but there may be some financial pressure in losing their deposit.
Lastly, it could also be that none of this is the case and the seller is just using this as a marketing / negotiating tactic (a form of indirect pressure) to see if they can get a buyer to make a buying purchase decision quickly, with little to no time for proper due diligence, in a buyers market. If this is the case you have truly come across a sophisticated seller - caveat emptor to all. Thankfully, if the deal requires all cash and a buyer needs an institutional loan this will slow things down and require a certain amount of DD before the bank will fund the loan.
No matter what the real situation is - by getting into the middle of this by asking for a fee agreement prior to disclosing who the seller is (again assuming without a license) you are potentially assuming some very serious potential scrutiny if this “deal” goes south (which happens). Please be careful, especially since you are posting this “service” over the internet.
You may already know all of this and you may feel comfortable just the same so please understand that I do not mean to be harsh or picky - again my 2 cents is FWIW.
Karl
Thanks Karl for your informative post.
I had heard of bird dogging, but have never even considered before. I have seen many, many, many properties offered this way. However, realizing the fact that some states have laws against providing information for a fee puts a whole new light on it.
In doing my research looking for properties that I would be interested in, I have come across a few that may be interesting to others.
It’s really too bad. Currently I know of 6 VA, 2 TX 1 MO, 1 NM, 1 CA, 1 PA parks available that are not on the market. I know someone, somewhere would be interested. And even 3 self storage properties.
Oh well.
I guess I will have to put the “real deals” under contract and then assign them. I would make a lot more money that way though. Unless there is a law against that also. But who has time for all that?
Sorry guys. You have to find your own deals. No good deed goes unpunished.
And Karl, what is a P.A. Purchasing Assistant? Purchasing Agent? Property Analyst? I have been in business 25 years and have never seen this. But there are so many anachronisms these days.
As far as the 1031, I only know what they said. Sorry. And it makes no difference to me. They say the have to sell, that’s good enough for me. You?
Bob,
A potential customer/poster in an earlier message simply asked a bunch of good questions and one very important one in particular was not answered. His question in his own words was:
“In addition, I’m kind of confused on the motivation of the seller. I thought that on a 1031 exchange the only motivation was to reinvest the money from the sale within 90 days, not sell it in 90 days.” It’s a good question which I tried to answer for you, him, and the group. (As a side note - the important time requirements for 1031 exchanges are 45 days to identify and 180 days to close.)
You say that you have heard of bird-dogging. None of us doubts that you have heard of bird dogging - your initial post regarding your idea to bird dog to this group had the subject line “Bird Dogging?” whereby you detailed the idea of sharing information for a fee. Your inventory of possible parks could easily turn into a nice part time business - so my 2 cents FWIW was just to “be careful out there”.
I agree with you that assigning contracts for a fee (aka wholesaling) is time intensive and certainly not for everyone, but, so is any “service for a fee” based business. This is why mobile home parks are so interesting - it allows us to leverage our money and somebody else’s time - our tenants have to share with us part of their income to live on our dirt.
And Bob, please know that you have nothing to be sorry for - we all have to find our own deals with or without brokers, intermediaries, or bird dogs. Your “good deed” is still “unpunished” so relax 
Please continue to bird dog however you feel comfortable - certainly don’t stop because of me. I’m not the “deal police” and I’m certainly not looking to rain on your parade.
Regarding the P.A. acronym - it stands for Professional Association. P.A.'s have been around in most states since the 1960’s. It’s a way to incorporate as a professional - doctors, attorneys, accountants, brokers, most professions that require having a license and keeping up the associated continuing education.
Regarding your last question - “They say the(y) have to sell, that’s good enough for me. You?” Well Bob, to be blunt: No, what a Seller (or Intermediary) “says” is rarely “good enough for me”. For me it’s “trust but verify”.
Continued good luck with your businesses,
Karl