Episode 97: Investing in Mobile Home Parks, with Jefferson Lilly

Jefferson is a mobile home park investment expert and educator. He is the founder of Park Avenue Partners (ParkAvenuePartners.com) and co-founder of Park Street Partners. Collectively he owns 25 MHPs coast-to-coast totaling over $56m in value.

Jefferson started the industry’s first podcast dedicated to investing in MHPs (MobileHomeParkInvestors.com). Prior to managing investors’ money in 2013, he spent seven years investing his own capital in mobile home parks.

Jefferson has been featured in The New York Times, Bloomberg Magazine, and on the Real Money television show. He holds a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business.

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

• How Jefferson got involved in the mobile home business and purchasing mobile home parks, after a successful tech career
• Why Jefferson sees mobile home parks as a great source of passive income, and how to get started with little startup money
• Why you should look at owning the real estate and not the “wheel-estate”, and why the business is flexible and has multiple potential strategies
• How Jefferson structures his investments and operates his mobile home parks, and why he only owns 10% of the homes on his land
• What options you have available if a tenant defaults on lot rent, and why default and eviction rates are lower than in the apartment world
• What avenues you can use to find a mobile home park deal, and why finding a deal is sometimes difficult
• Why mobile home parks are a niche that requires dedication, time, money, networking, and hard work
• What daily activities Jefferson follows every single day to be his best and to maximize his business success
• What books Jefferson recommends regarding the mobile home park investing niche, and what other investment books he suggests
• What important advice Jefferson would give his younger self, and why outside capital has been key to his growth

How to connect with Jefferson Lilly:

• Website: https://parkavenuepartners.com/
• Podcast: www.mobilehomeparkinvestors.com

Additional resources:

• How to Find, Buy, Manage, and Sell a Manufactured Home Community by George Allen: https://amzn.to/2VgoztR
• The Snowball: Warren Buffet and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder: https://amzn.to/2IdsS5s