Mobile Homeowners Association Questions

Within the past year, I have opened a mobile home park on some land I inherited from my grandmother which lies adjacent to my house. Admittedly, I have never been part of such a venture before, and I acted on what I thought was an easy way to make money with little to no effort. Boy was I mistaken! I currently have 15 tenants and charge the standard $150/month per lot.

To make a long story short, when I first opened the mobile home park I gave little thought to needing rules for the tenants to live by. I believe that all people are generally good, but I am starting to have my doubts. lol!

Over the past year, I have had to testify in court three separate times related to domestic disputes. Cops have repeatedly been called out (no less than 25 times) for noise complaints. A gentleman with a souped up pontiac firebird has destroyed my front yard by doing doughnuts simply because I "reminded" him his $150 lot fee was several weeks late. There has been random gunfire (thankfully, no one has been hurt, other than the previously mentioned domestic disputes). I also have had to hire several high school boys to come over one afternoon a week to pick up beer cans. I could go on and on.

Which brings me to my question. As the first round of leases are set to run out in the next month and will be up for renewal, I have been kicking around the idea of starting a Mobile Homeowner's Association. I have not been able to find much information on the subject. Has anyone here have any experience in this? Is there any standard language that you know of that I can use as a starting point? I know nothing about contracts/leases and am desperate to find a way to control my tenants while at the same time enjoy the expendable income of brought forth by this venture.

Thanks in advance!

Thanks you Melissa. That sounds like a good idea/great place to start. My cousin owns a mobile home park as well. I'll give him a call now!

Very well said, Melissa. To add to that, my brother's mobile home is a double wide. It's easily 1600 square feet. Once you're inside, you can't even tell the difference between his trailer and a manufactured home. It's amazing how far they have come in mobile home technology.

You've really given me a good starting point to start from. Luckily, we're not in the city, but there are some county regulations I have to keep in mind. I am currently living in a 2006 Fleetwood that I bought in 2010 for $5000 below blue book. It was a heck of a deal. It was a mobile home occupied by victims of Hurricane Katrina while they rebuilt their manufactured home.

Also, one more quick question. I don't know of a Staples anywhere nearby where I live. I have heard there was an Office Depot about an hour away. Do you think hey would have an area of make your own rental agreements?

Thanks again!

Most office supply stores should have it. Cost less than $20 with or without a CD.

Mobile homes are financed differently than homes. Keep that in mind. Meaning because of them being on wheels they may not make good collatoral in jail bonds etc... If the home can move, banks view them differently in some terms.

If you are a non-profit then you are to spend as much as you collect. $25 increase amongst how many units? If your expense on these items are $100 and you have 4 residents that makes sense. However, if you have 25 members and you charge extra $25 each, that's a significant "profit". Meaning it is taxable.

So budget for expenses not for profit. Doesn't mean you can't have a for profit corporation. It's just non-profit is a better option for most HOA's unless you plan on offering additional amenities like a golf/eating facilities.

These are from California. You might want to take a look.

http://www.davis-stirling.com/Portals/1/docs/2013-mobilehome-law.pdf