The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Juggernaut Interview with Podcaster and Multiple Community Owner Andrew Keel

The Mobile Home Park Broker's Tips & Tricks To Investing

In this episode of The MHP Broker’s Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed fellow podcaster, mobile home community portfolio owner and industry syndicator Andrew Keel.

As with every Tips and Tricks podcast episode, this one is brought to you by The MHP Broker's proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Call Max for details.

Here Are the Show Highlights:

- Veteran mobile home park owner Andew Keel also runs the Passive Mobile Home Park Investing Podcast as well as running park investing syndications all over the country. (Max, 0:22)

- The current count is ownership of 42 mobile home park communities. Andrew graduated from Augustana University in South Dakota. (Andrew, 1:30)

- Andrew started out in sales after college. He ran a small team that sold websites, business cards and other sales merchandise to real estate agents. From that influence, he started buying, fixing up and flipping homes as a side business. (Andrew, 2:27)

- One day Andrew got a lead on the availability of two vinyl-sided mobile homes for sale in Ocala, FL for just $2,200 for the pair. Figuring it would cost more than that just to manufacture the homes, he quickly resold them to an eager market of homebuyers. He earned $2,500 down payment for each, and monthly payments of $250 for five years. From that point he started watching Youtube videos on how to buy and sell mobile homes. He also met a park owner who educated him on how he could raise investors’ money through syndication in order to buy mobile home parks in quantity at at a quicker pace. (Andrew, 3:07)

- It was quite an accomplishment, going from buying two mobile homes to owning 42 communities in just a few years. (Max,5:16)

- Andrew also takes advantage of a bank investing program known as Cash LEAPS. As a syndicator who might have a few millions dollars accumulated in a checking account, Andrew lets his bank invest it overnight, when he doesn’t need the cash, and have it back in his checking account by first thing the next morning. In this way, he earns significant interest during the time of day when he doesn’t need the money anyway. (Andrew, 6:56)

- There is a fee of about $100 a month for this service, but it’s well worth it. (Andrew, 7:59)

- Andrew cautions mobile home park prospective investors about ways it can cost more to operate a park in the north. He owns a park in Minnesota and another in North Dakota where each home runs on propane heat, and he has to take that into cost consideration during the winter. There’s also snow removal costs which southern park owners don’t even think about. (Andrew, 9:10)

- Eviction laws vary, state by state. In general, red states have fewer regulations, and evictions are faster and easier, and blue states make it more difficult. Andrew mentioned a park in New York State where the judge would give the evicted tenant 90 days to move out, and then grant the party an additional 90 days afterwards, for no additional reason. He tries to buy parks in red states where eviction laws are minimal. (Andrew, 11:35)

- Andrew and Max discussed recent class action lawsuits on large mobile home community chains for price gouging. Andrew isn’t sure that the communities will lose all of these suits, but it will be expensive. (Andew, Max, 14:09)

- Local zoning laws can also make it difficult to move homes into communities. Some say they won’t accept any home older than ten years, regardless of its condition. This creates an added challenge to park owners who want to expand their footprints. (Max, 15:03)

- Park buyers need to immediately make appointments with zoning officials and find out exactly what they can and cannot do. The local authorities aren’t necessarily in the wrong. They just want to save their larger communities from having a rundown park in its boundaries. (Andrew, 16:00)

- Andrew’s long-range goal is to continue to expand his mobile home park portfolio and to be able to offer good, affordable housing to those most in need of it. (Andrew, 17:47)

- Once they have a park, they work hard to add value by bringing in new homes and rehabbing existing homes, metering the water, etc. (Andrew, 18:23)

- In his time as an entrepreneur, one of the things Andrew learned is that the number one reason people leave an organization is because they don’t feel valued. Another valuable lesson is to avoid “time suck” activities that don’t add value to the job and just create a drag on productivity. (Andrew, 19:20)

- Andrew has also learned to use people’s names because it has a profound affect on drawing them in. It’s their favorite sound. (Andrew, 20:26)

- And finally, he’s learned to move a little slower, not constantly make deals and to be choosier in the deals he makes. He’s now a more careful community buyer. (Andrew, 21:48)

- You can reach Andrew through his website at keelteam.com. Fill out the online form and make a Zoom appointment to talk shop personally with Andrew. (Andrew, 23:01)

Would you like to expand your mobile home park portfolio like Andrew. Reach out to him at Keelteam.com. Or contact Max Baker at The Mobile Home Park Broker, [phone]. You can also drop us a line at [e-mail].

Power Quotes in This Episode:

After buying two used mobile homes for $2,200 total. “It had to cost way more than $1,000 to build one of these things. So I bought them, got the titles, came home and got on YouTube and typed in ‘how to make money with mobile homes.’” (Andrew, 3:07)

Upon learning how to put together syndicate deals and be the managing partner. “That was the a-ha moment.” (Andrew, 3:07)

“It's…awesome, being able to provide that affordable housing for people that desperately need it. But also create a good return…for your time and effort and money invested.” (Andrew, 5:30)

“The asset class has been good to us and we have subsequently been able to provide affordable housing units that otherwise would have sat vacant, you know, with the previous owner.” (Andrew, 17:47)