Trailer Park Management
If you are considering purchasing a mobile home park or if you already own one, your success or failure depends on your knowledge of property management. If you learn to properly manage your property, you can guarantee your success.
Property management is a broad area but there is one topic that is more important than all the others. In my opinion, choosing good tenants is the core issue and also the most difficult if you don’t know what you are doing.
If you screen prospective tenants, you will be following a procedure that most landlords do not consider worth the time and expense. This is a false belief. I can properly screen an applicant in just a few minutes for a minimum cost. Think of this: if all landlords in your city would background applicants, your crime rate would go way down. The criminals would have nowhere to live! Do your civic duty – background everyone.
If you do not background prospects, you have to rely on “the feeling” you get from talking to them. This is the worst way to choose tenants. People with rap sheets as long as your arm will look you straight in the eye and tell you what wonderful people they are. They are pros and you are an amateur. Believe me, this is a game you will lose.
The first step in setting up your background procedure is locating an online credit agency. You will want the capability to check on criminal history as well as credit worthiness. When designing the rental application you will use, keep in mind the type of history you want to determine. Your prospect needs to sign the application giving you permission to check all the answers.
Your prospective tenants may not know how to manage money and you need to be sure that they can afford to have your rent on the first of every month. You may need to go over their monthly expenses with them and emphasize that rent is to be paid first. It is surprising, but some people put cell phones and cable TV ahead of rent.
One of our unbreakable rules is steady employment or income. We do not take chances on people who have only worked a few weeks at their current job. The exception would be a teacher with a year-long contract or someone in law enforcement or other such career. I rented to a fellow who had a year’s contract as museum director. Safe, right? Nope. He got homesick, broke his contract and my lease. So, there will always be those cases. Just do the best you can and most will turn out OK.
The mobile home park business is one of the best businesses you can choose. Over the years we have looked at other types of businesses and have never found one which offers so many benefits and so few disadvantages. We are in our third generation now and still enjoying it.
Don’t be overwhelmed! We have everything you need to succeed in our Property Management Module, including forms and procedures. Don’t wait another minute! Click Mobile Home Park Classroom and get started right now! You will love our free video with a mobile home park owner giving his favorite tip for success.
