Jul 15, 2023
In this episode of The MHP Broker’s Tips and Tricks Closing Cocktail podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed rockstar company broker Paul Schaaf, who discussed details of his recent sale of Sunrise Village, a mobile home park in Texas.
This and every Tips and Tricks podcast episode 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. Ask Max for details.
Here Are the Show Highlights:
- Max spoke with broker Paul Schaaf about his primary challenge and ultimate victory in selling this Texas mobile home park. (Max, 0:58)
- The park owners were, themselves, licensed real estate agents who nonetheless approached Paul about selling their park. (Paul, 1:21)
- They could have sold their property on their own, but they recognized that Paul and The MHP Broker had more specialized knowledge and experience in this niche of the industry and could get the job done quicker and easier and at a better financial return. They were right. After multiple offers, Paul found a prospective buyer after having the park on the market for just a week or so. From there, they closed in around 45 days, with a buyer who had financing. (Paul, 1:43)
- Paul credited having a great buyer who knew the industry and was highly motivated to get the job done. But even at that, there was one potentially high-risk hitch during due diligence. (Paul, 2:29)
- There was a phase one environmental discovery that the property had long ago been used as a service station or tire shop and that at that time it had held a long-gone gas tank. The prospective buyer wanted assurance that there would be no costly need for soil remediation once they became the owner, (Paul, 2:57)
- It cost a little money upfront, but the soil was tested and quickly found to be clean and problem-free. (Paul, 3:28)
- The buyer obviously felt it was worth proceeding with the transaction. The park’s in a prime location, adjacent to a Walmart Supercenter and a hotel, and with good road frontage in a growing area. The park was becoming hybrid, with some RVs moving into unoccupied lots. The occupancy was just around 75 percent, giving the buyer plenty of opportunity to increase revenue by infilling. The utilities were provided by the city, with direct billing to residents--making this part of ownership turnkey. The park also had an onsite manager who was willing to stay on. And the seller was motivated to close and to move on with other investments that interested them more. So everyone was happy and highly motivated to close. (Paul, 4:28)
- As far as the financing went, the buyer brought significant cash and they were able to get approval in a week or so from a lender they’d worked with on previous commercial deals. The only thing that slowed the sale at all was that phase one discovery, which proved to be just a minor hitch. (Paul, 5:37)
- The lesson, from Paul’s perspective, is that sellers must be as organized as possible, and then find well-qualified and motivated buyers. That involves having a broker who knows the business and can help get them over whatever unexpected “speed bumps” might be found along the way. (Paul, 6:16)
Want to buy or sell your own mobile home park or RV community? Trust The Mobile Home Park Broker and its superhero brokers to get you the best outcome with the fewest hassles. Just drop Max Baker a line at info@themhpbroker.com or give him a call at (678) 932-0200.
Power Quotes in This Episode:
(On the client trusting Paul and The MHP Broker to represent him rather than handling the sale himself despite being a licensed real estate agent) “…It saved him stress. And we also got him more money than he probably could have done on his own.” (Paul, 1:43)
(On the soil testing) “…Everything checked out, it was quick, the dirt was solid.” (Paul, 3:28)
(Such hitches are) “…not common, but they do happen from time to time and as a brokerage firm we’ve been through enough that we know how to navigate them…successfully…” (Max, 3:42)