Look, we all know that mobile home park owners and residents are like peanut butter and jelly: they need each other to create something great. But let’s be real—sometimes that sandwich gets a little sloppy. Maybe the peanut butter (that’s us, the park owners) gets a bit too sticky, or the jelly (our lovely residents) dribbles out and makes a mess. Yet, when you get the balance just right, it’s the stuff of legends. A well-run park creates strong bonds, and those bonds keep people happy. Happy people pay rent. And everyone likes happy people paying rent.
But it’s not always so simple. Sometimes the jelly is on the verge of a total meltdown, and as park owners, we’ve got to step in with some tough love (and maybe a mop). Let’s talk about how we, as mobile home park owners, can strengthen our bonds with residents—and even save those teetering on the edge of “Problem Resident” territory. Spoiler alert: we’re not just talking about keeping our tenants happy. This is about team management, too—how to retain and redeem residents and employees before the whole thing goes off the rails.
Retention: It’s About Value, Not Just Price
First, let’s tackle retention. Everyone thinks the most important thing to residents is rent. “Keep it low,” they say. “Everyone will stay,” they say. Yeah, no. That’s not the whole picture. The truth is, people aren’t obsessed with just price—they’re obsessed with value. I mean, if we were really all about price, we’d be filling up at Louisiana’s Best Cheap Motel for $19 a night. But we’re not doing that, right? We’re booking the Holiday Inn Express because, deep down, we don’t want to catch bed bugs while we sleep. It’s about getting what you pay for. Same goes for mobile home parks.
So how do we give our residents more bang for their buck? It’s not about shaving dollars off rent. It’s about delivering real value—making them feel like they’re getting more than just a patch of dirt with a double-wide on it. Let’s break it down:
- Amenities: No, I’m not suggesting you install a five-star spa, but how about a picnic area, some outdoor grills, maybe a soccer net? People love feeling like they’re part of a community—give them a reason to go outside and enjoy it. It’s not hard to add a few thoughtful touches that make residents think, “Hey, I’m getting a pretty sweet deal here.”
- Fix Stuff: No one, and I mean no one, likes driving over potholes the size of small ponds every time they come home. If your roads look like the surface of the moon, you’re not winning any points with the residents. Fix the roads. Fix the leaky water lines. Fix anything that needs fixing. These are things people expect when they hand over their hard-earned rent money each month.
- Build a Community: TIME Magazine once called mobile home parks “Gated communities for the less affluent.” That’s nice, right? But how do you foster that feeling of community? Easy. Start with a monthly newsletter or organize an annual spring clean-up where everyone gets together, cleans the place up, and maybe even gets a hotdog for their trouble. Little touches go a long way in creating that sense of belonging.
- Professional Management: Let’s be real. A park managed by someone who shows up late, plays favorites, or closes the office whenever they feel like it is a disaster waiting to happen. Residents love a manager who is fair, consistent, and actually knows how to manage. It’s not rocket science—it’s about being professional.
But the Residents Have a Job Too
Now, as much as we, the park owners, bend over backward to keep residents happy, it’s not a one-way street. The residents have two basic jobs: pay the rent and follow the rules. It’s simple. Pay. The. Rent. Follow. The. Rules. Yet, somehow, this is where things sometimes fall apart.
When a resident doesn’t pay the rent, we operate under a “No Pay, No Stay” policy. Pretty self-explanatory, right? We can’t let people live in the park for free—it’s not a charity, and it’s not fair to the ones who do pay their rent on time. But, here’s the thing: when someone doesn’t pay, it’s not always because they’re trying to pull a fast one. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of life happening.
Redemption: Finding the Why and Fixing It
When a resident misses rent, we don’t just slap an eviction notice on their door and call it a day. No, we dig deeper. There are usually two main reasons why people don’t pay rent:
- They Were Never Asked To Pay (Yes, Really): Believe it or not, in a lot of the older “Mom and Pop” parks we acquire, residents haven’t been asked to pay rent in years. YEARS. Seriously, some of them haven’t handed over a single dollar in five years, yet they’re still living in the park, waving at the mailman every day. So when we come in and say, “Hey, by the way, rent’s due,” they’re a little… confused. Retraining residents to understand they have to pay rent is like teaching an old dog new tricks. But it’s necessary.
- Life Happens: Sometimes, people just can’t pay because life threw them a curveball. Car broke down? Medical bills? Lost their job? We’ve all been there at some point, right? For many of our residents, one financial emergency can derail everything. It doesn’t make them bad people. It just means they need a little flexibility. So, if they can’t pay rent this month, we try to work with them. Payment plans, extensions—whatever it takes to keep them in the park and keep the rent flowing.
Rules Are Rules, But Let’s Be Reasonable
And then there’s the issue of rules. Yes, we have rules for a reason—to keep the park clean, safe, and a pleasant place to live. But do we really want to lose a resident because their house needs a new paint job? No. That’s where we get creative. We negotiate. We ask if they’ll paint it themselves. If they won’t, maybe we supply the paint or even hire someone to do it. Bottom line: we don’t want to lose a resident over something as trivial as peeling paint.
Now, sometimes, no matter how hard we try, there are residents who just can’t follow the rules. Maybe they’re using the front yard as a storage unit for their collection of broken lawnmowers. If we’ve tried everything—and I mean everything—to resolve the issue, sometimes we have no choice but to let them go. But that’s a last resort, and we exhaust all other options first.
In the End, It’s All About the Bond
The relationship between park owners and residents is like a marriage. It can be strong, it can be fulfilling, but it takes work on both sides. We’ve got to give them value, show up when things go wrong, and build a sense of community. In return, they’ve got to pay the rent and follow the rules. When both sides hold up their end of the bargain, it works. When they don’t? Well, that’s when the real work begins.
At Rhino Communities, we’re committed to keeping that bond strong. We’re not just here to collect checks. We’re here to create communities, solve problems, and make sure everyone gets what they need—us included. So, when things start to fall apart, we don’t give up. We dig in, figure out what went wrong, and work to fix it. Because in the end, that’s what makes a good mobile home park great.
