Posted by Mr. C on August 12, 2003 at 11:29:14:
Actually, no.
All monies are deposited into a Tucson bank account. I have a debit card that I can draw against and checks I can write… as well as electronic bill-pay.
Vacancies only occur due to the passing of a tenant, and their survivors usually step in, passing the home to another family member who meets the age requirement.
There have only been 2 exceptions to this in the last 2 years, where the home was sold to a non-family member (thru real estate listing to the public).
Lot rent is currently $225/month, there are 70-spaces, no park-owned units or rentals. There is a 1800sf clubhouse with office area and a 30ft pool. The streets are paved and lighted with alot of tree cover (something of a rarely in Tucson). Utilites are master metered and billed back to the tenants (take the bills, total them and divide by 70).
Maintenance in the park is handled by a private contractor that I have under exclusive contract in return for a 15% discount in his standard rate. This contractor is also the park’s preferred referral repairman should the tenants need something done on their home. He passes the 15% discount on to the homeowner as apart of our arrangement… so it’s a good deal for all concerned.
Occupancy has been at 100% since September of 2001. Vacancies rarely last more than 30 days, and the family always makes the lot rent when due.
We had one lady pass on us, and her 3 sons flew in to handle her affairs. The one from Alaska, was especially concerned that his mother was current in her obligations to the park, and he pre-paid the next 3 months from his own pocket to ensure that the home and the family’s standing with the park remained untarnished.
We use a program called Rent Manager to keep track of things. The PM sends me the data file monthly via overnight mail, along with copies of all the bills and correspondance that pass thru the office.
It’s about as close to a NNN-type investment as a MHP can get.
The manager is the key to this working properly. She was already fimilar with the park (had previously been a manager there) prior to when I bought it. It only took a couple of days to convert her over to my way of doing things.
This method obviously raises the questions of confidence and trust. I personally spoke with each tenant to get their feedback on her past tenature as manager. I also provided each tenant with my voicemail number and asked them to call if they had any problems or concerns that I needed to be aware of.
This works as a check/double check to the PM’s performance. I can also call any tenant and get a current viewpoint of the situtation if need be… and the PM knows this.
Remote management is possible, if you cover all the bases and concerns… have the right people in the job and a good relationship with the tenants.
These are just a few of the reasons that I love 55+.
