3 Mistakes Investors Should Avoid With Mobile Home Park Managers

Applications are always present in every purchase of any individual mobile home inside a park. Every park has its own criteria and process that a prospective resident needs to fulfill before they can buy or rent a home inside its walls.

If you were the park manager or owner, it is advisable to get to know the person who will reside in your park. Therefore, it is important for buyers to show that they are responsible home buyers and avoid being mistaken for someone with a shady history.

In this article, we’ll list down 3 mistakes investors should avoid with mobile home park managers.

1. Lying

Park managers will have zero knowledge about who you are. It is important to be honest with your background and other information when asked, especially during the application process! If you lie about your credit, employment history, or eviction status, then you’re making an unworthy risk that could damage your relationship with the park manager.

You should worry more about being labeled as a liar than having an unimpressive background. If you are open with the park manager about your past, both of you could create solutions to your problems like negotiating a different deposit deal or finding a co-signer with a better credit for the lease. However, criminal records or violent offenses will understandably make it harder for managers to accept. Still, you must be honest about your history in order to establish a good rapport and solve early problems.

Avoid explaining your poor credit in more than 10 seconds unless asked to elaborate by the park managers. Most probably, they have heard a lot of stories about an applicant’s credit score. It’s better to be straightforward and move on to the process.

Once the managers know that you are an investor, some of them may only take your business card and stop there. Others might want to know more about you and your future endeavors.

2. Unapproved Purchase

It is common for new mobile home investors or buyers to purchase mobile homes from sellers without the approval of the park owner/manager. This could cause a lot of problems such as:

The original owner still owes rent;

The original owner are actually being evicted;

There is a requirement for new homeowners to install new parts of the house within 90 days;

There is a required 60 days notice before removing a mobile home from the park; and,

Prohibiting minors from owning and living a mobile home.

Most parks will hold the new owner accountable for these problems. There are sellers that lie about their situations to make quick money and get out of their debts. This is why you should check with the park owner/manager about the home you plan to invest on to avoid experiencing these problems.

3. Wasting a good first impression

Meeting the park manager is helpful whenever you plan to purchase mobile homes, but you can do more than that. Once you showed the park manager that you are a responsible person, you could earn a good first impression. From that, you can build an excellent relationship with the manager.

Different park managers = different personalities. Some may be laid back, while others are strict. This means you will have to adjust depending on who you are talking to to gain a good reputation. But whoever the park manager is, these are the questions that you need answered before you leave their office:

Do you have their permission to invest within the park?

Do they know and understand your plan to help their mobile home community?

Do they know the type of properties you’re looking for?

Is there a list of homes for sale by the park and by owner-occupants?

What are the park rules?

What are the criteria in screening applicants?

Are there any information about the park that you need to know?

Without a good first impression, park managers may hide some of this information from you or refuse to help you totally.

By following the rules and knowing your boundaries, your relationship with the park manager grows. This also applies to other people in the park such as the community manager. A good relationship will gain you more than acquaintances or networks. These could develop into friends who can help you with whatever problems that may arise.