MH Park Management: Choosing Good Tenants

If you are considering purchasing a mobile home park or if you already own one, your success or failure depends on your knowledge of property management. If you learn to properly manage your property, you can guarantee your success.

What is the most important thing that you can learn about property management? That is easy! If you don’t know how to choose good tenants, you may as well skip all the other lessons.

Most landlords do not bother with tenant screening. I know this is true because people pay me to process their applications and expect me to rent to them. It is not unusual for a person to have a criminal record or horrible credit and still apply. I believe most landlords tell applicants that they will be checked out, but then do not actually do the background checks. This teaches undesirable tenants that they can be accepted regardless of their history. Do not be part of a process like this!

If you do not background prospects, you have to rely on “the feeling” you get from talking to them. This is the worst way to choose tenants. People with rap sheets as long as your arm will look you straight in the eye and tell you what wonderful people they are. They are pros and you are an amateur. Believe me, this is a game you will lose.

The first step in setting up your background procedure is locating an online credit agency. You will want the capability to check on criminal history as well as credit worthiness. When designing the rental application you will use, keep in mind the type of history you want to determine. Your prospect needs to sign the application giving you permission to check all the answers.

Your prospective tenants may not know how to manage money and you need to be sure that they can afford to have your rent on the first of every month. You may need to go over their monthly expenses with them and emphasize that rent is to be paid first. It is surprising, but some people put cell phones and cable TV ahead of rent.

We never rent to someone who is between jobs or has only held a current job for a few weeks. The only exceptions we will consider are teacher, policemen, firemen, and other professionals who can produce a signed contract.

The mobile home park business is one of the best businesses you can choose. Over the years we have looked at other types of businesses and have never found one which offers so many benefits and so few disadvantages. We are in our third generation now and still enjoying it.

My family has been in the rental and mobile home park business for over 40 years. We love this business and can help you succeed in the mobile home park business, too. Visit us at Mobile Home Park Classroom and see our free video with a dynamite tip for mobile home park owners. Then sign up to be notified when we release our Property Management Module.