8 Key Things You Need To Know To Run An Effective Mobile Home Park
Operating a mobile home park can be extremely difficult if you’re not sure what you are doing. However, with the correct guidance and advice from a property management group such as Sierra Corporate Management, it can be done in a very efficient and seamless manner.
In this post, we’ll cover 8 key takeaways to help you run an effective and happy mobile home park, without the stress.
#1 – Secure Long Term leases
What you don’t want is to always be chasing new tenants to fill the lots in your mobile home park. Less tenants means less annual income, and it can take a lot of time and expense constantly advertising for new people to move in.
If you’re pretty sure prospective tenants will be good tenants, then try and get them to commit to at least a 12-month lease on the lot. This will help keep your mobile home park full for most of the year.
#2 – Don’t Just Go For Low Prices
It might seem like the quickest way to fill up the park, but you’ll be eating into your bottom line. And once you go low, it can make it harder to raise the price in the future.
You also want to attract well behaved and quality tenants, not just anyone and everyone chasing the best deal around.
#3 – Don’t Treat It As Passive Income
A well run mobile home park needs hands-on management. There are tasks to be done daily to keep it clean, in good shape and running smoothly and efficiently. The better the park is run and well looked after, the better quality of tenant you’ll attract, the more money you can charge, and the longer the tenants will remain at the park.
#4 – Always Run Background Checks
When someone new arrives at the park wanting to lease a lot, you know nothing about them. They could be anybody with any sort of history. Therefore, it’s always wise to take the time to run some background checks on new tenants, which include both searching for a criminal past as well as running checks on their credit history.
A little due diligence , in the beginning, save a multitude of headaches down the track.
#5 – Respond Promptly To Maintenance and Repair Requests
To keep the park full of happy and contented tenants, you want park staff to be punctual when dealing with maintenance issues. If someone’s mobile home is without hot water, they won’t remain happy for long after too many cold showers in the middle of winter.
That’s just one example. While maintenance and repairs need to be prioritised in order of urgency, acknowledging and acting on requests as soon is possible is paramount to developing a harmonious park environment.
#6 – Don’t Be Afraid To Evict Tenants
If a tenant is refusing to pay the rent on their lot month after month, is exhibiting unruly behavior, ignores constant warnings and simply isn’t the kind of tenant you (or other park dwellers) want residing in your mobile home park, then you have to get tough and evict that tenant.
It’s never an easy thing to do, but if it has to be done, don’t be afraid to set the wheels in motion.
#7 – Your Park Should Be a Peaceful Place To Live
A noisy park will be a park that sees a steady stream of valuable tenants leaving like the exodus from Egypt.
Nobody wants to live in a constantly noisy environment. In many parks, residents are living in close proximity to their neighbors, so privacy and peace and quiet are paramount to the successful ongoing operation of the park.
#8 – Don’t Try and Do Everything Yourself
Owning and/or managing a mobile home park is a big undertaking. There is lots to keep organised and much to do on a daily basis. Don’t try and do it all yourself just to save money. You’ll very quickly suffer burnout and the park will go downhill fast.
Get help in the form of casual or permanent employees, or even bring in a professional management team to run the park for you.