Shelby County, IN

In 2008, St Paul Group acquired a 43-space manufactured housing community in Shelby County, Indiana. The park was poorly managed by the previous owner and was in danger of being foreclosed on when members of the St. Paul Group identified it. After research and negotiation with the seller, St. Paul acquired the property at a discounted rate using a combination of debt and equity investments. Research indicated a Honda Automobile factory would soon open just a few minutes from the community. Additionally, there was a nearby casino under construction. These two factors indicated opportunities for job creation and economic growth in the area.

The community offered public water, sewer, and utility tie-ins, which offered lower maintenance and better reliability. The roads and the streetlights were also maintained by the city, reducing our operation cost. The park had a manager who had been there over 19 years, and with training on our systems we were able to fix deferred maintenance items quickly and inexpensively.
Immediately upon purchase, we increased the occupancy of the park by rehabbing abandoned homes and filling empty lots. We provided ownership to the renters with an affordable financing plan, and increased rents to come in line with market lease rates. Additionally, we employed the following management techniques:

  • Rules and Regulations – We created a set of new rules for the community that clarified owner and tenant responsibilities.
  • No-cash policy – We started only accepting checks or cashier’s checks for rent. We also provided pre-printed deposit slips that were scanned by the bank and accessible through online bank account. This simplified accounting procedures and reduced risk of managers handling cash.
  • Tenant Relations – Terminated leases with problem tenants, and handled future issues through a more efficient case management system.
  • Internet – Installed high speed internet in the manager’s home. Most of the communication is now done via email and online document sharing.

The result was an immediate net operating income increase of almost 17%, and a yearly average increase thereafter of 7%.

 

… Throughout the process, the St. Paul Group LLC was able to diligently come up with solutions to the issues and ultimately orchestrate a closing that yielded the best possible outcome for the seller. Once all parties came to a final agreement, the St. Paul Group was able to close within 1 week, on an “All-Cash” basis, which was seldom seen in 2010.

Steven B. Livaditis, Vice President of Investments, National Multi Housing Group Director, Marcus & Millichap

Sellers

Our goal is to provide an attractive exit to the current owner or bank of an under-performing community. We will work with constraints of the current situations to come up with fast and purchase. If you are thinking about selling your community, click here to find out more.

Residents

When a mobile home park is neglected or distressed, it hurts residents the most. Often such properties do not get the proper management, resulting in deterioration of the property and the morale. Our operation and turn-around strategy will restore the community’s physical condition as well as its pride.

Investors

Through our acquisition and turn-around, we are able to provide a solid return to our investors. We adhere to our principles and solid business model to provide profitable, yet meaningful opportunities to our investors.

Want to Sell Your Park?

Want to Sell Your Park?

Are you thinking of selling your mobile home park? Contact us for a confidential discussion. We provide fair price and strive to structure deals that every party involved is satisfied. [More]