Posted by Steve-WA on March 27, 2006 at 18:54:16:
truer words were never spake.
Late or delinquent payers? - Posted by Tommy
Posted by Tommy on March 24, 2006 at 18:15:37:
I plan on buying both the Lonnie books, but I was wondering if they cover the topic of delinquent or late payers. How do you protect yourself and get them out of your mobile home if they stop paying?
Thanks
Re: Late or delinquent payers? - Posted by TeddyB_SC
Posted by TeddyB_SC on March 25, 2006 at 19:13:02:
Late fees can be gravy. I had a tenant late every month so I used an idea from Lonnie and moved his due date. He picked the 10th of the month and late on the 15th.
You guessed it, late almost every month. Last night I took my mom out for dinner for her birthday with my kids and their other halves. Dinner was $209 and my late paying tenant donated $100 of it.
If a tenant calls me and says they are going to be late and gives me a date when they’ll pay, I usually work with them. I do tell them thanks for the call and read your contract concerning the late fees(I never wave late fees). I never let someone go 2 weeks past due without filing for eviction. I tell them up front that I will file for eviction on X day if they haven’t paid. If they pay I stop the eviction and charge them the court costs.
Like everyone here says, it is a business and you should treat it that. I have had to tighten several tenants up a couple of times with eviction procedings. Once you do this they realize you mean business and call if they are going to be late.
Good Luck,
TeddyB_SC
Re: Late or delinquent payers? - Posted by Ryan (NC)
Posted by Ryan (NC) on March 24, 2006 at 20:28:11:
Tommy,
Lonnie’s book and Scott and Tony?s land lording CD are the best investment you can make if you are considering MH’s, everything you asked and more is covered in the both pretty toughly. Late payers can drive you completely nuts if you let them! The simple point is in a Lonnie deal or a rental is that the person owes you money and it’s a simple business transaction… nothing more nothing less.
You’ll get sob stories and slow pays, the best answer I’ve found from the folks here is to start the process and stop it IF and when they come up with your money. If you are doing LD?s it?s the best thing that can happen, you just take the home back and do it all again and get a another down payment.
Had a 19-year-old girl and her mother try to explain to me tonight why they didn’t have our money that was due today… The daughter had been outa work for a couple weeks because DSS had been called on the mother for spanking her baby while she was at work so she could no longer watch the child. The mother is going to start looking for a job blah blah blah… the end result is that the money was not in my hands when it was due, a 10 pay or quit notice will be in the mail tomorrow while they try to come up with the money to pay us. It may sound cold and I hope these folks are able to come up with the money but when it comes down to it our creditors are not going to take excuses, they just want their money!
The kicker to me is that every time I’ve been through this routine the cable TV is still running in the background. Even with these problems, being a landlord or Lonnie dealer beats the hell out of being an employee any day of the week.
Best wishes,
Ryan Needler
Re: Late or delinquent payers? - Posted by Todd (AZ)
Posted by Todd (AZ) on March 24, 2006 at 18:38:35:
Get the book. It’s all in there.
Re: Late or delinquent payers? - Posted by Tim
Posted by Tim on March 25, 2006 at 12:25:58:
I know exactly what you mean. I have actually had a tenant tell me they didn’t have rent because they had to pay the cable bill or else it would get cut off. Talk about not having their priorities straight.
Re: Late or delinquent payers? - Posted by Tommy
Posted by Tommy on March 25, 2006 at 24:43:11:
Thanks Guys! I just ordered the books about 15 minutes ago, so hopefully they will be in my mailbox when I fly home next Wednesday. I can’t wait to read them. One more question: How much money is enough to get seriously started? I have about $3000 available for now. From the messages I have read, it sounds like I can get atleast one or two deals with that kind of money. Mostly I am worried about competition in the market; there are a few businesses that advertise in my area. Thanks for any information that is provided.
Re: Late or delinquent payers? - Posted by RobertB(CO)
Posted by RobertB(CO) on March 27, 2006 at 12:30:57:
If you hear through scuttlebutt (rumors) that a client might have lost their job, call the power or water company to see if they are current. I also call PM and see if they have been charged a late fee. Where I am located Lot Rents are over $400 a month so a late fee of $40-50 can really sting if a person has lost their job or had a car break down. I like the thought of letting the client choose what day their payment is due. For people that live paycheck to paycheck a payment of $200 is easier to make if it is due 15 days later than their Lot Rent. It does irk me to see a bunch of 20 thousand dollar vehicles in a MHP when they can barely make their payments on the house, much less the car.
Re: Late or delinquent payers? - Posted by JeffB (MI)
Posted by JeffB (MI) on March 26, 2006 at 07:06:26:
You’ve mentioned in two posts now that you’re worried about competition. If you’re focusing on the competition, you’re probably not focusing 100% on finding motivated sellers.
I worried about competition when I got started too. Soon I found out that my own skills and approach to the business make what I do unique. Once you form some good relationships with PM’s and owners you will see that the competition should be of no concern to you.
Re: Late or delinquent payers? - Posted by Nate-WI
Posted by Nate-WI on March 25, 2006 at 21:23:05:
It depends on your market Tommy. Here in WI I can buy a 3 bd, 1 bath for 1500 bucks so 3K is plenty. Not all the time but that’s why they have to be motivated 
I hate to sound like a broken record but when you get the book it will have the answers you are looking for. I like your enthusiasm!! Do one deal and you will not look back. From that 30 dollar book (Deals on wheels) I have done 5 lonnie deals, and parlayed that into buying my first rental property and also a SFR that was foreclosed on for a fix and flip. I’m hooked on RE.
Nate-WI
Competition - Posted by Tommy
Posted by Tommy on March 26, 2006 at 13:36:09:
Thanks JeffB,
You are right, I am probably worried about competition a little too much, but I am still sitting in a Hotel in California (literally) and brainstorming this idea. I haven’t even taken the first step except to buy Lonnie’s books, which I don’t have yet. If this business is as foolproof as it soulds then I could only imagine that there will be plenty of people doing it. Competition is a variable that I have no control over except to be a better player than they are. With time, experience, and my good personality along with incentives for Park Managers I think I will do fine.
Re: Late or delinquent payers? - Posted by Tommy
Posted by Tommy on March 25, 2006 at 23:29:28:
Thanks Nate! I am really excited about the prospects. I have been reading the success stories and getting ideas on how to deal with park managers and such. A quick search on google showed over 40 parks in my immediate area. Although I am sure the competition is thick, I think I can break into the market with a little finesse. I can’t wait to get the books! I am currently looking into the licensing requirements for the state of NM. I know two individuals that I think would be interested in forming a partnership. I plan on learning everything I can about the business and then taking one or both of them to lunch to discuss a business venture. I think $3000 per partner is an affordable buy-in and will provide enough capital to get started comfortably. If nothing else we could get our feet wet with one Lonnie deal to see if it peaks their interests. Wish me luck and hopefully I will be posting success stories sometime in the near future.
Re: Competition - Posted by Heath Girod
Posted by Heath Girod on March 31, 2006 at 08:44:47:
The competition is yourself. I wonder who will win, you or yourself, which ever it may be I hope the best man wins.
Good Luck
Heath
there’s the glitch - Posted by Steve-WA
Posted by Steve-WA on March 26, 2006 at 14:36:15:
you are thinking that this business is foolproof
it is not - it requires a certain temperament, a certain sticktoitiveness, a certain willingness to disregard what most people say you can or cannot do/what will or will not work.
I know people who have lost their a$$ in this business, and wouldnt touch it again with a ten foot pole.
Competition would be among like-thinkers, who also would disregard competition.
Tommy, you need to go i nto this, if you ARE going to try to go into this - with y our eyes wide open. do NOT think that it is the be-all, cause it aint. It takes unending drive to keep doing it, or you have to use it as a conduit to further success (see “Old Man and Young Investor”).
Learn, and GOTC, but it may not push you through - in fact, the business probably wont; you have to push IT through.
thats all
Re: Late or delinquent payers? - Posted by jp(sc)
Posted by jp(sc) on March 26, 2006 at 08:31:30:
Don’t be too quick to form partnerships. They are notoriously bad. You are better off flying solo and perhaps allowing the other guys to lend you money for a nice return. I wouldn’t want other people to be able to make decisions about my business.
Re: there’s the glitch - Posted by Keith (OH)
Posted by Keith (OH) on March 27, 2006 at 09:01:25:
Steve,
I would be interested in hearing some stories about people you know who have lost their a$$ in the mobile home biz. I learn equally from other peoples failures as I do my own.
Did these people read the book ? Get greedy ? Ego’s ?
I’m curious,
Keith
I called the spelling cop and he said - Posted by Marty (MO)
Posted by Marty (MO) on March 26, 2006 at 21:05:24:
“sticktoitiveness” ain’t no word. otherwise, your post was about right…
Re: there’s the glitch - Posted by Tommy
Posted by Tommy on March 26, 2006 at 18:09:31:
Thanks Steve! I appreciate the insight. I have been reading all of the Lonnie articles about getting out of the comfort zone and taking the chance instead of letting opportunity pass me by, as well as success stories and frustrations from others. I find it inspirational that everyday people are successful, but I have to admit that I am not truely thinking of the hard work behind all of those successes. I appreciate your candor.
Partnerships? Good or Bad? - Posted by Tommy
Posted by Tommy on March 26, 2006 at 13:25:11:
Thanks JP,
I haven’t made my mind up yet. I still have plenty of time to make a decision on that subject. I can definitly see the pros and cons.
Pros: One potential partner is really good at negotiating deals; whereas, I am not (but will learn).
Cons: How to come to an understanding about proceeds.
As a partnership I would like to roll all proceeds back into the business for the first year. It would take discipline, but using the proceeds for business purposes only in order to get established would always ensure that we have money available to make deals. After the first year we could roll the down payments from sales into the business and use the cash flow from payments as our income. A year sounds like a long time to keep our hands off the money, but we both have really good jobs so we wouldn’t need the money to live on.
How do others use their proceeds?
This is a great forum by the way and I appreciate all the advice!!
Re: there’s the glitch - Posted by Steve-WA
Posted by Steve-WA on March 27, 2006 at 16:41:40:
well, there’s the Words Of Warning post about 30 lines below . . .
At the last MH Workshop in Atlanta a year and a half ago, I met Glenn-MI, who was having a helluva time getting a place sold - and he was about 3K(?) into lot rent. Was a depressed, job-scarce area, and he had a nice home, but no buyers. Guy was tearing his hair out, and finally deciuded that this business wasnt for him - was walking away and not turning back.
These seem to be the exceptions, not the rule - but there ARE bad experiences.