The Mobile Home Park Lawyer Podcast

On this episode of The Mobile Home Park Lawyer Podcast, we have our special guest Phillip Merrill, owner of Merrill Water who handles all the water needs, not limited to Mobile Home Parks. Phillip grew up in the water well drilling business working directly with his father. After college, he joined the family business and then branched out into operating and managing community water systems. He is known for his 22 years of experience in the drinking water and wastewater sector. Phillip shares multiple wastewater systems applicable to mobile home parks, especially their Package Plants. We take a deep dive into the discussion of lagoons, septic, wells, each of their pros and cons as well as costs associated with each. If you are a mobile home park owner who has encountered challenges with your water system, this episode is for you!   Highlights of the episode:  00:00:00 - Episode Introduction 00:00:30 - Introduction of guest 00:01:27 - Background of the Guest 00:03:57 - Waste Water System 00:04:40 - What is a Package Plants 00:10:00 - Cost of a Package Plants 00:11:23 - Lifespan: Steel Vs. Cement 00:11:23 - Cost of having package plants 00:15:20 - Risk from the government 00:17:04 - Anti-backsliding 00:18:48 - Pros and cons of Lagoon 00:23:12 - All About Septic 00:25:35 - Relevant of Soil in Septic 00:26:47 - Getting rid of leech fields 00:28:18 - Killers of lagoons: Sludge 00:31:22 - Seepage Test 00:32:58 - Sludge Survey 00:35:11 - All about Well 00:37:21 - Cost of having a Well 00:40:03 - All-in cost if the well fails 00:41:39 - Tips from Phillip Merrill     Notable Quotes "The other hidden cost that I want to mention is on your refinance or your eventual sale you're going to get hit on the cap rate"   "It's not one of those ponds you know, you don't fish in it, you don't swim in it. Just stay away from the pond"   "The bubbler is it literally looks like a water fountain and it creates water up which is active so it creates more waves and ripples which is eventually essentially creates oxygen and allows more bugs and more rapidity to the process which then thereby requires a smaller surface area"   Connecting with the Guest Website: https://merrillwater.com/ https://merrillwater.com/mobilehomeparkresources/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phillip-merrill-747255b7 Email: info@merillwater.com Call for INFO: 503-734-7400   Connecting with MHP Law: Website: https://themobilehomelawyer.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Mobile-Home-Park-Lawyer-103814958118069 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/themhplawyer-ferdniemann6923147/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themhplawyer/   #MHPWaterSystem #PackagedPlants #MobileHomeParkInvesting

Welcome back to The Mobile Home Park Lawyer Podcast. In this week’s episode, Ferd enlightens us about the relevance of the Mobile Home Park Star Rating System. Star ratings help identify and categorize Parks based on certain criteria. This system also works as a guide for MHP improvements.   Discover the one to five-star criteria and its overall relevance to mobile home park investing by tuning into this episode. As Ferd has, you’ll also want to get familiar.   Highlights of the episode:   00:00 - Episode Intro 01:26 - History of the Star Rating System 03:24 - One Star Rating Criteria 04:48 - Two-Star Rating Criteria 05:23 - Three-Star Rating Criteria 06:01 - Four Star Rating Criteria 08:00 - Five Star Rating Criteria 11:35 - Closing thoughts   Connecting with MHP Law: Website: https://themobilehomelawyer.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Mobile-Home-Park-Lawyer-103814958118069 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/themhplawyer-ferdniemann6923147/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themhplawyer/   #StarRatings #WoodallRatingSystem #MobileHomeParks #Investment

Ferd shares several factors on how he determines a bad investment from a good one. Ferd points out 25 factors that won't necessarily individually break the deal, but will at least give you some reference points to think through prior to making your mobile home park investment. Tune in to find out what 25 factors you must know, before making your next mobile home park investment.   Highlights of the episode: 00:00 - Episode Introduction 00:38 - Start of the topic: Spotting a bad Investment 04:00 - Paying for the Upside 06:49 - Partner with No skin in the Game 07:09 - Zoning, Set-back, and Bad Seller Issues 09:15 - Bad Water Systems 10:23 - Potential Property Desk Job 11:03 - Trees can be a problem 11:55 - Drainage Issues 14:18 - Old Houses 14:48 - Vendor Availability 16:20 - Extro   Notable Quotes 11:06 Trees are nice for shade, they look nice, make a better neighborhood but trees can be a problem, they drop leaves which make a mess..."   Connecting with the Guest   Connecting with MHP Law: Website: https://themobilehomelawyer.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Mobile-Home-Park-Lawyer-103814958118069 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/themhplawyer-ferdniemann6923147/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themhplawyer/   #BadInvestment #SetBacks #mobilehomeparkinvesting

This week we are joined by Ryan Smith, a mobile home park owner —  founder of Elevation Capital Group. Elevation is a respected leader in the alternative real estate investment arena and exclusively focuses on two very niched property types: manufactured housing communities and storage facilities. Through its affiliates, Elevation has acquired over $600 million worth of properties while holding interest in more than 175 assets across 30 states.   Ryan regularly shares lessons learned from the field on various podcasts and media outlets and in today’s episode, he joins us to discuss how to evaluate risk, collect rewards, and find opportunities in today’s market.   Highlights of the episode: 00:00 - Episode Intro 01:08 - Introduction of the guest 03:55 - Owning quality real estate 05:57 - Managing risks and avoiding being in the deep end 11:13 - Picking the battles 16:16 - Managing the risk 19:16 - Reaching the theoretical maximum of refinancing 22:06 - The current cap rate trends and predictions of the future 27:49 - Understanding the value of a dollar 32:58 - Closing thoughts    Connecting with the Guest Website: https://elevationcapitalgroup.com/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryansmithelevation/   Connecting with MHP Law: Website: https://themobilehomelawyer.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Mobile-Home-Park-Lawyer-103814958118069 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/themhplawyer-ferdniemann6923147/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themhplawyer/   #Infills #FindingDeals #MHPLawyer #TheMHPLawyerPodcast #MHP #MobileHomeInvestment #MobileHomes

Welcome back to The Mobile Home Park Lawyer Podcast. This week we are joined by MHP Owner, Julio Jaramillo. Julio is an entrepreneur, business owner, RV/MHP owner/operator, and investor. Julio focuses on acquisitions and operations of mobile home parks in the midwest.  Julio Jaramillo is the founder and managing member of Evergreen Communities. In this episode, you will learn how to plan a deal, staging out on an infill, and how to pitch deals to your desired target.   Highlights of the episode:   [00:00:00] Episode Intro [00:00:59] Introduction of the guest [00:12:56] What the plans were to find a deal [00:21:43] Staging out on an infill  [00:27:57] Pitching a deal to rich people [00:32:46] The passion and the know-how [00:40:49] Your natural environment [00:42:54] Closing thoughts    Connecting with the Guest Website: https://www.evergreencommunities.com Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julio-jaramillo-3a65337/   Connecting with MHP Law: Website: https://themobilehomelawyer.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Mobile-Home-Park-Lawyer-103814958118069 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/themhplawyer-ferdniemann6923147/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themhplawyer/   #Infills #FindingDeals #MHPLawyer #TheMHPLawyerPodcast #MHP #MobileHomeInvestment #MobileHomes

This week on The Mobile Home Park Lawyer Podcast Ferd shows us the Do's and Don'ts when doing a site visit. Learn every detail that needs to be checked, look for, and consider before doing the investment. Join Ferd Niemann as he shares his strategy for a good Mobile Home Park Investment.   Highlights of the episode: 00:00 - Episode Introduction 00:40 - Start of the topic: Things to Look for in a Site Visit 01:34 - Purchase Price 02:36 - Condition of homes and vehicles 03:06 - Zoning 03:18 - Evaluation of Road Condition and type of Utilities 03:43 - Other Revenue Opportunity 03:49 - General assessment of the premises 04:05 - Layout of the Park 04:32 - Feel of the neighborhood 04:42 - Pride of Ownership 05:08 - Internet Providers 05:24 - Survey Amenities 06:10 - General Topography 07:00 - Taking Photos and Videos   Notable Quotes "Generally look and see if there's the pride of homeownership... try to assess the parkland home and tenant on home counts and locations and whether they're single-wide or double-wide". "When I go out on the property... always have a site map, always have a pen and paper ready and just take notes and then report back to team report back whoever's doing the budget, whoever's you know doing insurance. Everybody's doing CAPEX doing the ordering and go from there"   Connecting with the Guest   Connecting with MHP Law: Website: https://themobilehomelawyer.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Mobile-Home-Park-Lawyer-103814958118069 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/themhplawyer-ferdniemann6923147/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themhplawyer/   #SiteVisit #MobileHomeParkInvesting #MobileHomeVisits #MHP #MobileHomeParkLawyer #MHPInvesting #MobileHomePark

Welcome back to the Mobile Home Park Lawyer Podcast. In this episode, Ferd Niemann talks about the post-closing tasks after every property acquisition. Post-closing tasks are a critical part of the acquisition process to ensure that no aspects or details of the property acquisition are overlooked. Consequently, saving time and money.   Highlights of the episode: 00:00 - Episode Introduction 00:32 - Overview of the Post Closing Tasks 01:35 - Checklist of Post Closing Tasks 07:02 - Episode Closing   Notable Quotes “Those things (post-closing tasks) are all pretty valuable to do right after closing -it’s hard to do it all first day but certainly in the weeks after closing, those 25-or-so items are pretty crucial” - Ferd Niemann   Connecting with MHP Law: Website: https://themobilehomelawyer.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Mobile-Home-Park-Lawyer-103814958118069 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/themhplawyer-ferdniemann6923147/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themhplawyer/   #PropertyAcquisition #DueDiligence #RealEstate #MHP #MobileHomeParkInvesting

On the new episode of the Mobile Home Park, we have our special guest Charlotte Dunford who shifted from a corporate job to a full-time real estate entrepreneur. She started from a single-family home to a duplex and eventually acquired small Mobile Home Parks in 2019. Right now she has 22 parks from different locations and has 4.2 million dollar assets. In this episode, she shares her experiences from operations to dealing with utility systems to raising capital and investors. If you want to be like Charlotte who nails in the small MHPs industry make sure to stick until the end of our episode!   Highlights of the episode: 00:00 Episode Introduction 01:07 Background of the Guest 03:57 Operating a small Mobile Home Park 05:53 Due Diligence and Sourcing Deals 09:57 Cost of Small MHPs Deals 12:18 Utility System 12:50 Raising Capital and Investors 14:30 Seller Financing and Buying Cash 16:32 Opportunity of Acquisitions 17:54 10% CAP Acquisition 19:00 Tips and Tricks   Notable Quotes "As far as tricks, in every single niche, there are different ways to operate. For us, we're growing rapidly and we have news deals down the pipeline" - Charlotte Dunford "Historically smaller loans have been harder to get financed" - Ferd Niemann   Connecting with the Guest Website: https://www.johnstreetcapital.com/   Connecting with MHP Law: Website: https://www.johnscreekcapital.com/who-we-are  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Mobile-Home-Park-Lawyer-103814958118069 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/themhplawyer-ferdniemann6923147/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themhplawyer/   #SmallMHPs #FundCompromise #mobilehomeparkinvesting

Welcome back to the Mobile Home Park Lawyer Podcast. This week Ferd Niemann with special guests from the MHP field Larry Abramowitz, Brett Bowman, and Abraham Anderson as they discuss the Growing Pains from the easiest to hardest deals in Mobile Home Parks. In this episode, you will learn what’s easy about operations, what’s hard about operations, and what the state of the labor market is.  Highlights of the episode: 00:00 Episode Introduction 01:27 Introduction of the guests 05:41 What do you think would have been easy but wasn’t? 18:56 The Hard Part with Operations 25:00 The State of the Labor Market 28:28 The Difficulty in Finding New Deals 44:45 Successful Systems that are Implemented 52:07 Closing Thoughts on Growing Pains Notable Quotes “Being busy is not the same as being productive” - Ferd Niemann “I'm looking at my board right now, I've got lists of those that i've missed out on that i've felt just fine about but the ones where you're close those can hurt so you want to do your best to really zero in on your underwriting again and make sure you're doing the right thing.” - Brett Bowman Connecting with the Guest Larry Abramowitz Website: https://www.broadviewcap.com/about Instagram: Larry Abramowitz LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larry-abramowitz-a9331918/ Brett Bowman Website: https://www.suncrestcap.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/suncrestcapital/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bowmanbrett/ Abraham Anderson Website: https://capitalcashflow.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/capitalcashflow/?hl=en LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abraham-anderson-772a1466/ Connecting with MHP Law: Website: https://themobilehomelawyer.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Mobile-Home-Park-Lawyer-103814958118069 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/themhplawyer-ferdniemann6923147/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themhplawyer/ #GrowingPains #SystemsImplementation #FindingNewDeals

Welcome back to the MHP Podcast where we meet our guests Rhett Trees who is the Founder and CEO of Seneca Capital Partners, Sam Hales from Saratoga Group, Jeff Cook who is the Founder and CEO of Cook Properties, and Daniel Weisfield with Three Pillars In this episode, you will learn the pros and cons of high-risk investing, how to differentiate and scale investors, and how the accounting department fees can adjust to company expansion. Highlights of the episode: 00:00 Episode Introduction 01:10 Introduction of the Guests Rhett Trees, Sam Hales, Jeff Cook, and Daniel Weisfield 05:23 First, most recent, and biggest Capital Raises 10:24 Pros and cons of High-Risk Investing 17:16 Opinions on a scale of Investors 21:30 Differentiating Investors 29:58 The Reporting Process 34:52 Comparing the Fee Structures 39:55 Balancing the interest of LP/GP 45:04 Timeline for Penalties and Rewards 49:40 How the Accounting Department Fees Adjust to Expansion 54:43 Where We Are in the Market 57:00 Controlling the controllable 01:08:10 The Scale of Deals and Closing Comments   Notable Quotes   “I’d rather have a smaller piece of something, than 100% of nothing. And unless you’ve got really deep pockets or really low ambitions, you’re not going to be able to do without partners or without some sort of financial backer.” - Ferd Niemann   “We can do a better job for everybody, if we run it the way we know how to run it.” - Sam Hales   “That’s why I do believe this is a scale business. The scale helps in so many ways, not only economically at the GP side, we don’t put any GP expenses into the pond. It’s more about our ability to buy mobile homes when we see them.” - Rhett Trees   Connecting with the Guest   Rhett Trees   Website: https://senecacp.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/happiesttrees/?hl=en LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhetttrees   Sam Hales   Website: https://saratogagroup.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SaratogaGroupLLC/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/thesaratogacorp Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saratoga_group/?hl=en LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samhales/   Jeff Cook   Website: https://www.cookpropertiesny.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cookpropertiesny/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ny_properties?lang=en Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cookpropertiesny/?hl=en LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cookpropertiesny/   Daniel Weisfield   Website: https://www.threepillarcommunities.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/daniel.weisfield LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-weisfield-33940613/   Connecting with MHP Law: Website: https://themobilehomelawyer.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Mobile-Home-Park-Lawyer-103814958118069 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/themhplawyer-ferdniemann6923147/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themhplawyer/   #CapitalRaises #ScaleOfInvestors #FeeStructuring