| Before you decide to sell your manufactured home | | | | home lot is worth 60 times the monthly rent, then an |
| community/mobile home park there are several ways | | | | occupied lot is worth $12,000. Would it make financial |
| to increase the value of your investment and in doing | | | | sense to spend $2,000 to cover the home moving |
| so increase the value of the park and make it more | | | | costs of a potential resident? I believe it does. Other |
| saleable. Here is a list of 10 potential ways to increase | | | | incentives I have used include, free or reduced rent |
| the value of your mobile home park. | | | | for the first year or two, free installation of new |
| 1. Raise Rents: A $10 per month rent increase at a | | | | skirting, free steps and decks, and the list goes on. |
| valuation using a 10% capitalization rate, can increase | | | | Be creative and stay ahead of your competitors. It is |
| the per lot value of $1,200. | | | | much more effective to come up with 50 ways to |
| 2. Submeter Water, Sewer and Trash: By installing | | | | market to one customer rather than 1 way to |
| water meters at each mobile home and billing the | | | | market to 50 customers. |
| residents back for water and sewer and trash you | | | | 7. Buy manufactured homes for Resale or Rental. |
| are in effect increasing your bottom line. I often think | | | | Buying used homes and placing them in your |
| this is one of the most equitable ways to pass on | | | | manufactured home community for resale or rental is |
| expenses to the residents as they only pay for what | | | | another way to drastically increase the value of your |
| they use. In my experience when meters have been | | | | community. As mentioned before, each time you fill a |
| installed the master water and sewer bill is reduced | | | | vacant space, the value of your park increases. As a |
| by 30-40% as your residents become conscious | | | | community owner you have an advantage over most |
| about the amount of water going through the | | | | mobile home retailers in that you do not need to |
| faucets. Leaky faucets are fixed, toilets no longer run | | | | make a profit on the sale of new and used homes. If |
| continually, cars are not washed every day, etc. | | | | you profit by $12,000 per space in equity each time |
| 3. Enforce Rules and Leases: By enforcing reasonable | | | | you add a new home, you can sell the homes at |
| rules and regulations your mobile home community will | | | | breakeven and be way ahead. |
| be regarded as a safe and comfortable environment. | | | | 8. Increase the Curb Appeal: Encourage residents to |
| Get rid of problem tenants. If you are worried about | | | | clean up their yards and property. Hold clean up days |
| losing the rent from one or two problem residents, | | | | on a monthly basis. Have new and attractive signs |
| consider that you may lose even more good | | | | installed at the entrances. Repair roads and maintain |
| residents and potential residents by keeping those | | | | adequate street lighting. Have monthly rent discount |
| that are causing problems and not obeying the rules. | | | | incentives to the residents for things such as: |
| 4. Reduce your Property Tax Expense: Contact a | | | | Property of the month, most improved property, etc. |
| company that specializes in going to bat for you with | | | | Additionally, offering financing for your residents for |
| your county tax assessor to get your valuation and | | | | such things as new skirting, paint, wood siding, and |
| taxes reduced. Many states and counties base the | | | | other outside improvements can get their |
| assessed value on the purchase price. However, | | | | manufactured homes looking better as well. |
| most mobile home parks should have a business | | | | 9. Add additional income sources: If you have some |
| value component that should not be taxed as | | | | vacant land, consider adding some mini storage units, |
| property tax. These companies often work for a % | | | | or fence it off and offer storage for RV's, Boats, |
| of the reduced taxes and you only pay them if they | | | | and extra automobiles. If you have highway |
| are successful. | | | | frontage, look into placing billboards or selling |
| 5. Reduce other ongoing expenses: Get multiple | | | | easements to billboard companies. Look into getting |
| mobile home park insurance quotes, evaluate | | | | Cable TV or Wi-Fi for the entire park and in doing so, |
| telephone costs and extras, negotiate with plumbers | | | | your residents will get a break on these costs and |
| and electricians to get a lower hourly rate, etc. | | | | you should be able to profit as well. |
| 6. Fill vacant mobile home lots: How much is a vacant | | | | 10. Dedicate streets and utilities to the city. Although |
| lot worth? In many cases, a vacant lot is actually | | | | is not too common for established communities, if |
| costing you money to keep the grass mowed, the | | | | you can talk your city into making this happen, you |
| lot clean, and so on. If your lot rent is $200 per | | | | just reduced your exposure to street repairs, utility |
| month and based on a simple formula that a mobile | | | | repairs and metering. |