Free (or Cheap) Resources for MHP Operators
Most MHP owners rely on a variety of tools to run park operations. They leverage software & gadgets to keep their operation lean and overhead low to weather economic storms.
Thankfully, many of these tools and resources are free or extremely cheap.
Here are a few favorites:
Virtual Assistants
Need accounts receivable or payable helps? Bookeeping for a couple properties? Maybe an assistant to help with park operations or scrub owner address databases? You could hire someone in house, but this is work you can typically outsource for far less.
There’s a wide range of outsourcing options including Upwork, Fiverr etc.
Fiverr is great for quick, one-time project work.
But, if you are looking to hire full-time staff, we’d suggest Upwork or an overseas staffing firm such as Shepard (VA headhunter).
These extended team members can handle just about any remote based asset management work, but given the time difference, the safest best is to have them focus on well-defined, repetitive tasks that don’t require day-to-day oversight.
While we believe hiring Americans is always preferable, sometimes you have to bridge the gap until your portfolio is large enough to support US full-time wages.
Property Management Software
Having a good software is essential for your operations, there’s a whole bunch of options available but starting out the full suite (RentManager + ManageAmerica) can be a little pricey.
There are some great options for free/cheap that you could start with like Stessa, Cozy, Appfolio or Rentler.
Anything beats managing properties with excel and email though, so pick one and go. That being said, when you think it might be time to upgrade systems, do it. You don’t want to migrate systems when you have a large portfolio.
Ask us how we know this :(
If you’re just getting started (and you don’t need a lot of bells and whistles), you might want to opt for software that includes both accounting and property management in one package.
Graphic Design
Canva.com is unreal. It’s stupid simple. Grandma could crank out your park logos or professional looking flyer designs.
You REALLY don’t need to hire a $1,000 a job graphic designer if you have 2 free minutes to learn Canva.
Email
We recommend providing managers with their own management email. You don’t want them emailing prospective tenants or city officials from “SallyLovesKittens0481@aol.com” or whatever…(we’ve seen some doozies).
If you have a website for your property you can add emails with the park domain.
GoDaddy allows you to add emails for just a few bucks a month.
You as management should have the email On/Off switch in the event of termination.
For email delivery:
We suggest you use an email delivery provider like Mailchimp or Convertkit. They will allow you to collect emails from forms on your main or property websites and enable you to segment email lists - for example, you’d obviously want to separate emails for:
brokers
investors
and prospective home buyers
Website Software
It’s never been easier to set up websites for your company or properties. The easiest to use are probably:
Wix
Cardd
Squarespace
Find one that plays nice with whichever email deliver software you choose.
Facebook Marketplace
If you’re currently selling homes the best tool available is Facebook Marketplace. It tends to be far more effective than Craigslist or the various paid listing services.
For newer/higher price point homes we sometimes used the “Boost” option for some paid advertising, but in many cases it wasn’t necessary.
Make sure your manager’s Jonny-on-the-spot with replies to inquiries & keep postings updated regularly.
*PRO TIP* you can pay a professional photographer around $100 for new home photos… worth every penny.
Phone Service
Nothing says mom & pop more than calling a park number number only to find it goes straight to the owners landline.
There’s nothing wrong with the old school phone line to the office phone but we found Grasshopper’s phone service to be a lifesaver.
Grasshopper allows you to setup a professional phone tree for your park operations including multiple extensions (press 1 for the manager, 2 for maintenance) with voicemails transcribed to your email (a huge timesaver).
Their basic service starts at $26 a month which is pretty affordable considering the amount of great features.
You can add your manager’s cell phone as the property manager’s extension so they can answer the phone whether they’re in the office or not.
Google Earth
An invaluable tool during the purchase/due diligence process. Google Earth allows you to get a bird’s eye view of your property. Even better, there’s a time lapse function to allow you to go back in time to see how the property’s improved/disintegrated over time.
It’s always good to go back to 2001 and 2008 to see how home occupancy performed during economic downturns. In other words, how many homes were pulled out of the park at those times (typically by MH lenders on defaulted mortgages).
It’s free & a must use when scouting out properties.
Security
Gone are the days of expensive, hardwired CCTV cameras to monitor your park office & dumpster.
With dozens of options for discreet & wireless camera options, you can monitor your park remotely through your phone for a small fraction of the cost.
There are popular options like Ring & Nest but plenty of other products that all effectively do the same thing, shop around & find one that fits your budget.
Conclusion
As you scale your operation some of these tools start paying huge dividends, but if you’re just starting, don’t go overboard.
If we were to pick a couple essentials to spent money on, we’d prioritize a good property management software & park phone service.
Happy Trails,
MHP WEEKLY