How a ‘Lonnie Deals’ Homebuyer Turned Community Owner Gained Long-Term Outlook, Business Expansion
15 years ago, what many manufactured housing professionals know as “Lonnie Deals” kept Kirby Horton and his colleagues busy. They would buy distressed homes, fix them up and sell them.
“We kept going and kept growing,” The Firm founder and owner Kirby Horton said. “Owning the community was a big step from renovating old homes, but it was sustainable.”
Horton said even then it was about buying properties that needed help, putting time, money, love, and labor into them before finding an institutional buyer that would be a good fit for the community.
“We would re-do the infrastructure, replace homes, and sell,” Horton said.
That was when interest rates were low and the numbers for repeating a succession of transactions made sense. In the new higher-rate climate, the sales volume has slowed and The Firm has committed to holding on to the parks it has.
“There is a big disconnect between the owners of the park and what these investors want to buy,” Horton said. “It’s hard to see something today for what it was worth even three years ago… It’s a matter of catering up.”
‘Good Parks’
The industry needs quality infill, Horton said. “You have to judge multiple factors when bringing in homes, including size and position of the home, setbacks, prep work, setting the home, and finishing it so that it’s move-in ready,” he said. “You have to be careful not to do something that’s going to sacrifice affordability.”
The Firm bought and made available 109 homes in September of 2022. It had been at 600 homes per year, Kirby said, and in the new environment found it was down to placing about 90 per year.
“We were all staffed up, we have all of the equipment and know-how, but we no longer need this experience and these services as much as others do,” Horton said he realized. “We can take a lot of burden off the park manager.”
So now The Firm, in addition to owning and operating several parks, also is taking on clients that need expertise in how to revitalize properties and turn them into “good parks”.
“Honestly, we thought we were going to start slow…” Horton said. “But the phone has been ringing.”
Flexible Management Services
Horton said The Firm can work 50/50 with community staff accomplishing community milestones like repairing water or sewer disruptions, has local teams in Arkansas, Georgia, and Indiana. The traveling culture has caught on pulling out and fixing or replacing broken windows, managing trees and landscaping, providing guidance for the sales team, or setting up resident programs.
“It’s almost like third-party management,” he said. “We can do all of the things that park management is too busy to do, or we can take over and do everything.”
The Firm has a staff of 50 professionals that operate in Texas and to the east. They have experience with properties in Houston and Dallas, northeast to the Carolinas, and down to Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi.
Horton said The Firm has local teams in Arkansas, Georgia, and Indiana.
The traveling culture has caught on among its employees. The Firm owns a pair of RV parks where employees can stay between jobs.
“A lot of employees have taken to RVing,” Horton said. “Most of the employees have fifth wheels so they jump in and go to stay on site until the job is done and then they’re off to the next location.”
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