Working class drug epidemic effecting MHP returns?

I know, sounds like the title for a paper submitted to some obscure academic journal, right? :slight_smile:

I’m not really expecting an “answer” here, just some discussion and thoughts, especially from those who have been in the industry for some time and have seen trends.

The gist is my Ohio park, which performed financially during the first year of ownership almost identically to the previous owner, has now spent the last 18 or so months in turnover hell. Arguably our criteria are stronger than in the past, since the previous owner started requiring a police report just before he sold, we’ve been doing it the entire time I’ve owned the park. The number of eviction-driven turnovers in the last 18 months is probably 60% my lot count. (but some units have turned over a few times, prob. more than 50% of my original residents are still here)

I know my manager well and trust them, and I don’t believe they are doing anything different than previously. Here’s an edited version of an email from my mgr

“And the drugs in MY-CITY is getting out of hand…when XXX owned it you hardly ever heard of drug overdoses from heroine…now we have about 58 overdoses per day in MY_CITY…Cincinnati had 174 heroine overdoses in 6 days and they say it’s connected to here…something about fentinyl mixed with it…and I know for a fact it has reached our park…we are finding used needles in and around the park…we have kids playing all day long…we have found needles in front of LOT# so I think we are going to be rid of it there…LOT# was on heroine and I’m not sure about LOT#, but they paid rent 1 time and that’s it…also the surrounding homes in the neighborhood are infested with drug dealers…the cops are trying to catch them but having a hard time…we are doing our best to turn the park around but I think it’s going to take more evictions in the park…”

We’ve had so many people go south recently. Anyone else seeing the same or think it’s a reflection of the general social problem? there is of course no problem finding articles in major publications about how hard working class America is being affected by drugs these days…

In other words, much like you can’t fix the surrounding economy in which a park is situated, I sure am under no illusion that I’m going to fix the opioid/meth/heroin problem facing blue collar America…

Regards as always,

HPD

This is tough. Some initial thoughts for discussion - from someone not practicing law…

If this is an especially high demand area would it be worth requiring a drug test as part of the application process (and allow random screening as part of the lease) to weed out (pun intended!) those using Schedule 1 and 2 narcotics? Possible to gate the community to keep the riffraff out, and give each tenant their own code - then track the codes being used for excessive entries / exits and monitor them accordingly? Programs to encourage tenants to report drug use and get proper authorities involved?

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I couldn’t tell from your post are these Tenant Owned Homes or Park Owned Homes? Whats the breakout of turnover evictions of each type of ownership?

I own a park in a c**p part of OH and simply do not have your problems. Lots of skinny and nervous people in the town so I know there are lots of drug problems in the area. I attribute this to management. My advice is to be so mean and nasty to the bad residents that they move out. Word will get out that you don’t put with any nonsense and the problem will go away in time.