Mobile Home Park Investors With Jefferson Lilly & Brad Johnson

Welcome to Episode 80 of the Mobile Home Park Investors podcast, hosted by Jefferson Lilly and Brad Johnson, with the Park Street Partners. This is a part 2 of a 2-part interview, so if you missed the first episode, be sure to listen to that one first! Jefferson showcases the talk he did at the SECO conference and continues his discussion about how he structures his accounting for his business and more!   Key Takeaways: [1:25] Jefferson discusses why he likes to use Rent Manager. [5:35] Jefferson has been using Dropbox as well to keep track of any documents for each property. [9:05] Jefferson and his team are also developing an operations manual to help document how they do things internally. [10:15] Another product the team uses is Grasshopper, which is a virtual phone software. [10:45] The great part of using these products is that most of it is free and a smaller company can use these tools to their advantage. [11:40] What is Jefferson’s vision for the organization? [14:00] Jefferson really wants his team

Welcome to Episode 79 of the Mobile Home Park Investors podcast, hosted by Jefferson Lilly and Brad Johnson, with the Park Street Partners. On today’s show, Jefferson plays the talk he did at the SECO conference about how you can take your mobile home investing to the next level and scale up! This is a part 1 of a two-part interview, so keep your eyes peeled for the second recording coming out soon!   Key Takeaways: [7:25] Jefferson will discuss today how he’s grown from being a sole proprietorship to running an organization that runs parks, buys parks, and produces financial reports for his investors. [11:00] When Jefferson first started Park Street Partners, he was working 3 jobs. [14:20] Jefferson discusses the staff he’s brought on and the kinds of responsibilities they each have. [20:15] Jefferson discusses the growth his company has had over the last 3 years. [20:45] If Jefferson had to do it all over again, the first person he should have brought on should have been the asset manager. [22:15] If you ha

Welcome to Episode 78 of the Mobile Home Park Investors podcast, hosted by Jefferson Lilly and Brad Johnson, with the Park Street Partners. Rick Cheek has been working for Home Depot for the last 20 years. Rick oversees the renovation division of Home Depot. On today’s show, Rick discusses some of the ways mobile home park owners can benefit from Home Depot’s service and also discusses some of the things you can expect from working with them.   Key Takeaways: [1:05] Did you know Home Depot has an entire division that helps rehab mobile homes? [2:35] What did Rick do before he joined Home Depot? [5:10] The renovation division was originally created to serve single-family homes, but over the years the division has expanded into the mobile home park industry. [7:30] In the last three years, Home Depot has rehabbed roughly around 3,000 mobile homes. [9:40] What kinds of markets is Home Depot serving and where can owners find this service? [12:50] How turnkey is the service? What kinds of things will Home Depot do

Welcome to Episode 77 of the Mobile Home Park Investors podcast, hosted by Jefferson Lilly and Brad Johnson, with the Park Street Partners. Jefferson recently attended the Southeastern Community Owners Trade Show, which is a smaller version of the NCC Show. There were only about 300 people who attended this year, which makes it a great place to meet fellow homeowners and industry professionals. Jefferson does a recap of some of the key takeaways he’s learned while he attended the conference.   Key Takeaways: [:50] Just a quick update on the SECO conference. [1:25] SECO was held on the 11th and 12th of October in Atlanta. [1:45] Jefferson recommends owners should attend next year’s SECO conference. [2:50] Jefferson recently learned that you are 50% less likely to close a sale if you take more than 5 minutes to return a call to a tenant. [5:50] Next Step Homes is trying to help more people qualify to buy a mobile home. [8:20] Tenants equate cleanliness to a higher rate of safety in your park. So keep that place

This episode is Part three of a three-part series. On this week’s show, Ryan continues his discussion on how the two publically traded companies, ELS and SUI, are doing in the market, where they’re headed long- and short-term, and what kind of events in the world need to happen for the industry to disappear.   Key Takeaways: [1:25] Who wants to be in just ‘average’ real estate? [2:05] How do the two management teams, ELS and SUI, treat each other? [5:50] These teams have very little control over how strong the NOI growth is and what happens with cap rate. [8:25] Where does Ryan see ELS and SUI going both long term and short term? [10:40] Jefferson loves Equity Lifestyle and has been very happy with the return over the last few years. [11:55] Most people don’t realize it but manufactured homes comprise about 7% of the total housing stock in the U.S. [16:45] Unfortunately it’s hard to see bubbles until they’ve viciously popped. They’re difficult to predict. However, there are some current indicators that sugges

Welcome to Episode 75 of the Mobile Home Park Investors podcast, hosted by Jefferson Lilly and Brad Johnson, with the Park Street Partners. Ryan Burke is a Wall Street Analyst for Green Street Advisors. This episode is Part two of a three-part series. On the show, Ryan discusses why there isn’t new park development in the mobile home park industry, what kind of returns you can expect from a mobile home park, and how they’re faring with publicly traded companies like ELS and SUI.   Key Takeaways: [1:25] What kinds of things or factors inhibit the construction of new parks? [4:00] Why are there not a lot of third-party managers in this industry? [6:15] On average, what type of return could you achieve if you were to buy a manufactured home and hold it forever? [7:50] What are the average premiums to property value right now? [10:15] How does Ryan conduct his research on this industry? [13:10] What kind of differences are there between the publicly traded companies like ELS and SUI? [18:20] Rental homes are like

Welcome to Episode 74 of the Mobile Home Park Investors podcast, hosted by Jefferson Lilly and Brad Johnson, with the Park Street Partners. Ryan Burke is a Wall Street Analyst for Green Street Advisors. This episode is Part 1 of a three-part series. On the show, he discusses where the future of manufactured housing is headed. There is a strong manufactured housing demand from baby boomers and millennials, and since nothing new is getting built, we are seeing the strongest revenue growth upcycle that the sector has ever seen.   Key Takeaways: [3:40] What did Ryan do before he joined Green Street Advisors? [6:05] What is Green Street Advisors and what does Ryan do for them? [9:05] To remain conflict-of-interest-free, Green Street Advisors do not engage in investment banking activities nor do they own any properties. [11:35] What kind of clients does Green Street Advisors have? [12:55] When looking at the bigger picture, where does Ryan see the manufactured housing business going? [14:00] Baby boomers and their

Welcome to Episode 73 of the Mobile Home Park Investors podcast, hosted by Jefferson Lilly and Brad Johnson, with the Park Street Partners. Kurt Kelley is the CEO of Mobile Insurance, a family insurance business based out of Texas since 1991. On the show, Kurt discusses what kinds of insurance you need to best protect yourself against hurricanes and other natural disasters. No one loves paying premiums for their insurance, but subpar insurance can hurt you a lot more in an unexpected situation.   Key Takeaways: [1:15] How can park owners properly prepare for a hurricane? That’s the subject for this week’s show! [1:55] How bad is the flooding in Houston right now? [4:25] What can park owners physically do to prepare their park for an oncoming hurricane? [7:25] What’s the best way to prep tenants for the hurricane? [8:25] What kind of park insurance should homeowners have? [11:10] What kind of debris is covered in ‘debris clean up’ coverage? [14:45] With the two recent hurricanes, how busy is Kurt at the office

Welcome to Episode 72 of the Mobile Home Park Investors podcast, hosted by Jefferson Lilly and Brad Johnson, with the Park Street Partners. Dawn Highhouse is the Vice President of Customer Care at MHVillage. On the show, Dawn discusses how mobile homeowners can benefit from using a website like MHVillage and how you can also find properties on the website to buy. There are lots of features on the MHVillage website that saves homeowners a lot of time as well!   Key Takeaways: [2:55] What is Dawn’s background and how did she get started at MHVillage? [5:50] How does Dawn help park owners? [8:30] How does the park owner get notified on MHVillage that they have an interested tenant? [11:50] MHVillage can also help park owners with appraisals. [15:15] How does MHVillage compare to the Kelley Blue Book? [16:35] How many homes get appraised/sell on the MHVillage website? [18:45] How does the website help people buy mobile home parks? [20:45] How much does the website cost to a park owner? [23:45] Rent Manager works

Welcome to Episode 71 of the Mobile Home Park Investors podcast, hosted by Jefferson Lilly and Brad Johnson, with the Park Street Partners. Drew Babin is an equities analyst for Robert W. Baird & Co. Today’s show primarily focuses on Equity Lifestyle Properties and Sun Communities and how these two companies are performing in the marketing from a Wall Street perspective. Jefferson, Brad, and Drew discuss same-store sales, how Wall Street views certain revenue streams differently, and more!   Key Takeaways: [3:35] How did Drew first get started in this industry? [5:10] How does a company like Baird decide which stocks to follow and why? [6:25] For Equity Lifestyle and Sun Communities stocks, what are the ratings on these stocks? [9:25] Sun has not been as aggressive with acquiring properties over the last two years because they bought Green Courte Partners and CareFree Communities. [12:40] How does Wall Street view the rental business vs. owning land as revenues streams? Do they see it the same way as the

Welcome to Episode 70 of the Mobile Home Park Investors podcast, hosted by Jefferson Lilly and Brad Johnson, with the Park Street Partners. Steve Case has had a long history in the mobile home park industry. He cites guys like Dyches Boddiford and Ernie Tew who have helped mentor him throughout the years, and made him a smarter and wiser investor. On today’s show, Steve talks about MobileHomeUniversity.com (now being run by Frank Rolfe and Dave Reynolds), the SECO Conference hosted by Southeast Community Owners Symposium, and the best way newbies can enter into the market.   Key Takeaways: [2:05] Who is Steve and how did he get into mobile home parks? [2:45] Steve met a man named Ernie Tew who explained to him what mobile home parks were all about. [3:50] Who is Ernie Tew? [7:25] Steve and his business partner Corey Donaldson started hosting conferences in 2004 to help people get familiar with the industry. [8:45] What was the purpose of Mobile Home University and why did Steve and Corey create it? [10:15] Fr

Welcome to Episode 69 of the Mobile Home Park Investors podcast, hosted by Jefferson Lilly and Brad Johnson, with the Park Street Partners. Pat has bought and sold 250 communities over the last 37 years. Everytime he thinks he knows it all, he learns something new. That’s how diverse this industry can be! On the show, Pat discusses what RenterText can do for mobile home park owners and how it makes their lives just a little bit easier.   Key Takeaways: [1:50] Who is Pat and how did he get in the mobile home park industry? [5:35] Some may not know that a F4 tornado in January (of this year) tore through a town in Albany, Georgia, and completely wiped out one of Pat’s communities, along with causing massive destruction to other communities. Pat discusses some of the lessons he learned from this. [10:45] What is Pat’s business, RenterText, about? [15:10] How does Pat get ads posted on Craigslists in an automatic way? [19:20] How does a mobile home park owner typically use Pat’s service? Via email? Website? What’

Welcome to Episode 68 of the Mobile Home Park Investors podcast, hosted by Jefferson Lilly and Brad Johnson, with the Park Street Partners. Today, our two hosts bring on Ryan Howerton from 21st Mortgage to discuss how more park owners can help their residents become owners themselves. Ryan explains that there is a ‘free’ way how you can do this!   Key Takeaways: [2:30] Who is Ryan and how did he get his start at 21st Mortgage? [5:00] 21st Mortgage has a CASH program, how does this help both the park owners and tenants? [8:35] Every year Ryan and his partner Lance looked at how they could improve this CASH program. [13:35] The benefits of working with 21st Mortgage’s CASH program is that you also get access to a wide variety of expertise all across the nation. Ryan and his team have learned from their mistakes, and it makes no sense why you should start from zero. [14:30] Ryan’s main focus for the customer is affordability. He aims to get the best setup as possible at the best price possible. [19:00] Why does

Welcome to Episode 67 of the Mobile Home Park Investors podcast, hosted by Jefferson Lilly and Brad Johnson, with the Park Street Partners. This week’s episode is a continuation of Craig’s interview on 1031 exchanges. Craig discusses ways you can defer, and hopefully avoid, taxes (the legal way!) on buying and selling real estate. Be sure to listen to last week’s episode, if you haven’t already!   Key Takeaways: [1:20] How do you insure a home under a 1031 exchange? [3:30] 1031 exchanges are regulated on both a federal and state level. [3:50] How can mobile home park owners best do their due diligence when looking into a company that handles 1031 exchanges? [7:30] Will President Trump get rid of 1031s? [9:50] What should folks do if they’re worried they won’t make the 1031 timeline? [16:30] Can you do a 1031 on real estate into a real estate fund? How does that work? [20:35] Have your CPA onboard when you’re considering doing a 1031 exchange. If not, you could get into some trouble with the IRS. [21:35] Craig

Welcome to Episode 66 of the Mobile Home Park Investors podcast, hosted by Jefferson Lilly and Brad Johnson, with the Park Street Partners. Today, we’re going to learn how to pay no taxes! Craig Procter of Starker 1031 Exchange Services explains to Jefferson and Brad how you can structure things (legally) on your real estate and save some money. Keep in mind that this interview is part one of a two-part episode. Tune in next week to hear more from your hosts and Craig!   Key Takeaways: [2:45] Who is Craig and how did he get started in real estate? [8:10] Technically, when you’re doing a 1031 exchange on your property, what you’re doing is deferring your taxes, but you’re not avoiding them. However, you can defer your taxes indefinitely. [10:20] This applies to all types of properties, not just mobile home parks. [15:15] What is the purpose of doing a 1031 exchange? [17:45] Can people exchange/buy property that’s less in value than their original property value? [21:45] What happens when you’re trading your mo

Welcome to Episode 65 of the Mobile Home Park Investors podcast, hosted by Jefferson Lilly and Brad Johnson, with the Park Street Partners. As Brad is off this week, Jefferson interviews Gerry DiMarco from Security Mortgage Group. Gerry’s company is a full-service mortgage brokerage firm that specializes specifically in financing mobile home communities. On this week’s show, Gerry goes into depth on what kind of debt you can take out on your mobile home park, and how he helps ease the process between banker and lender.   Key Takeaways: [1:15] Who is Gerry and how did he get involved with mobile home parks? [5:05] How did Gerry and his father grow the family business? [6:35] What’s going on in the mobile home park industry when it comes to financing a mobile home? [10:55] What kind of star rating do you need to qualify for a 3 Max loan from either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac? [14:40] How does Gerry search for good financing deals? [19:00] Gerry and his brother are able to condense a complex transaction’s terms,

Welcome to Episode 64 of the Mobile Home Park Investors podcast, hosted by Jefferson Lilly and Brad Johnson, with the Park Street Partners. As Brad is off this week, Jefferson interviews Matt Cohen from Gama Sonic Solar Lighting, based out of Atlanta. On today’s show, Matt discusses the benefits of using solar lights vs. traditional lights in your mobile home park. Aside from the obvious reduction in your electricity bill, solar lights also require less maintenance.   Key Takeaways: [1:55] Who is Matt and what does he do for Gama Sonic Solar Lighting? [4:25] How many solar lights does the average mobile home owner need to successfully light their park? [6:15] These lights are also automatic! You do not need to rely on the manager to turn them all and off. [8:50] The batteries need to be replaced roughly every 36 months. Where can you buy the batteries? [11:20] Jefferson already has these solar lights in two of his mobile home parks. [15:25] The highest pole you want to use for these lights is a 10ft pole. [17

Welcome to Episode 63 of the Mobile Home Park Investors podcast, hosted by Jefferson Lilly and Brad Johnson, with the Park Street Partners. As Brad is off this week, Jefferson interviews Justin Powell of Streamline Automation Systems. Justin discusses the benefits of using technology and helpful products that make your property maintenance duties go by so much faster.   Key Takeaways: [2:40] How did Justin first get started with Streamline Automation Systems? [5:55] What kinds of products does Streamline Automation Systems have, and how does he help park owners? [9:55] The product only runs on iOS right now, but they’re making an Android and Windows version. Coming soon! [11:35] The cool thing about this product is that your property manager can use it to inspect your property’s structure and make the necessary work orders to get it repaired/cleaned. [18:40] The great part about is that you don’t have to recreate the wheel. This product is specifically designed for mobile home park owners and their needs. [20

Welcome to Episode 62 of the Mobile Home Park Investors podcast, hosted by Jefferson Lilly and Brad Johnson, with the Park Street Partners. This is the second episode to Erik Hanson’s interview. Be sure to the listen to the first part to get a full view of what kinds of things go into an appraisal report. On this episode, Erik discusses how you can increase your property value and get more bang for your buck.   Key Takeaways: [1:15] Erik continues his discussion on what goes into an appraisal report. [4:25] On the report, there are some things you just have to include in there that the government requires. They don’t mean much to the buyer personally, though. Erik and other appraises call this the ‘Fluff.’ [7:30] There are two terminologies you should be aware of that appraisers use when discussing a park status, but what happens if your park doesn’t fall into these two? [10:00] What kinds of things can a park owner do to increase their property value? [11:40] What kind of amenities can you add to increase re

Welcome to Episode 61 of the Mobile Home Park Investors podcast, hosted by Jefferson Lilly and Brad Johnson, with the Park Street Partners. Brad is off this week, which leaves just Jefferson as today’s host. How do mobile home park owners increase the value of their property? That’s exactly the topic that Eric Hanson, MAI will be discussing on today’s show. Erik is the Executive Vice President of Midwest Appraisal Group, and works specifically in appraising the mobile home park industry. Listen in as Erik has some advice for all you park owners out there on how to retain, and increase, your park value.   Key Takeaways: [2:40] How did Erik Hanson first get involved in mobile home park appraisals? [8:20] Erik has MAI in his official title, what do those letters mean and how does someone get that type of certification? [10:45] When evaluating properties, do the banks ever try to influence Erik into giving them a higher value estimate (so that they can charge more interest)? [13:15] What are some of the steps to