20 things I learned from MHI's 2019 MHC of the year!

Passive Mobile Home Park Investing

Welcome back to the Passive Mobile Home Park Investing Podcast, hosted by Andrew Keel. On this episode of the Passive Mobile Home Park Investing Podcast, Andrew talks about the 20 items he learned after going to the Manufactured Housing Institute’s 2019 Land Lease Community of the Year; Memphis Blues which is located in Memphis, TN. UMH Properties is doing some wonderful things to help the mobile home park asset class shake free of the “trailer park” stigma. From what Andrew saw, UMH and everyone at Memphis Blues makes it apparent that the people are the most important part of their community. Today he shares twenty things he learned from Memphis Blues and UMH Properties.

Memphis Blues, formerly called Memphis Mobile City, is a gorgeous all-rental manufactured home community located in Memphis, Tennessee. It is currently owned by UMH Properties, which is a mobile home park REIT. The community went through a complete overhaul, completely shutting down for six years after flooding in 2011.

Andrew Keel is the owner of Keel Team, LLC, a Top 100 Owner of Manufactured Housing Communities with over 2,000 lots under management. His team currently manages over 30 manufactured housing communities across more than ten states. His expertise is in turning around under-managed manufactured housing communities by utilizing proven systems to maximize the occupancy while reducing operating costs. He specializes in bringing in homes to fill vacant lots, implementing utility bill back programs, and improving overall management and operating efficiencies, all of which significantly boost the asset value and net operating income of the communities.

Andrew has been featured on some of the Top Podcasts in the manufactured housing space, click here to listen to his most recent interviews: https://www.keelteam.com/podcast-links. In order to successfully implement his management strategy Andrew's team usually moves on location during the first several months of ownership. Find out more about Andrew's story at AndrewKeel.com. Are you getting value out of this show? If so, please head over to iTunes and leave the show a quick five-star review. I have a goal of hitting over 100 total 5-star reviews by the end of 2021, and it would mean the absolute world to me if you could help contribute to that. Thanks ahead of time for making my day with your five-star review of the show.

Would you like to see mobile home park projects in progress? If so, follow us on Instagram: @passivemhpinvesting for photos and awesome videos from our recent mobile home park acquisitions.

Talking Points:

00:21 - Welcome to the Passive Mobile Home Park Investing Podcast

01:03 - About Memphis Blues

03:32 - Number One: Security

03:42 - Number Two: Community signage

04:00 - Number Three: Leasing office/ community room

04:25 - Number Four: Rental rates

04:47 - Number Five: Community engagement

05:11 - Number Six: Marketing flyers

05:36 - Number Seven: Landscaping

05:50 - Number Eight: CBU mailboxes

06:29 - Number Nine: Lockable storage sheds

06:49 - Number Ten: Beach cruiser bikes

07:12 - Number Eleven: Mobile home park amenities

07:49 - Number Twelve: Courtesy officers

08:08 - Number Thirteen: Pets

08:33 - Number Fourteen: Wording in the marketing

08:55 - Number Fifteen: Available mobile homes

09:10 - Number Sixteen: Photography on Zillow

10:07 - Number Eighteen: Facebook page

10:34 - Number Nineteen: Online presence

11:14 - Number Twenty: People

12:00 - Three important factors from this inspection

13:19 - Conclusion

Links & Mentions from This Episode:

Memphis Blues | UMH Properties: https://www.umh.com/community/memphis-blues/

Keel Team's official website: https://www.keelteam.com/

Andrew Keel's official website: https://www.andrewkeel.com/

Andrew Keel LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewkeel

Andrew Keel Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PassiveMHPin...

Andrew Keel Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/passivemhpi...

Twitter: @MHPinvestors

Quotes:

“You could tell that community engagement was very important for UMH and the management of Memphis Blues.” - Andrew Keel

“As the build-to-rent model gains steam, this could be the new face of entry-level housing.” - Andrew Keel

“The people were the most important part.” - Andrew Keel

“Creating a sense of community and gathering was important to UMH and their design of this community.” - Andrew Keel