Our industry continues to grow, and as it does there is a similar growing need for more professionals to take part in managing manufactured home communities.

With every new community that is built, expanded or re-modeled, owners and current managers face an increasing shortage of qualified talent.

If you are new to the industry, this article will help you with some basic tips on managing manufactured home communities.

Often times managers will come from other industries like real estate, residential rent management, or even commercial property management. While the work force in our industry benefits from these new perspectives, it also can mean a bit of a learning curve when it comes to manufactured housing terms, specs and regulations.

To be honest simply learning the language can be a feat all of its own!

Here we have a great article that breaks down some of the Manufactured Housing Terms that might be foreign to a professional who is new to this industry.

While we don’t manage communities, we do work with quite a few companies that do. These folks have been in the business for a long time. Over the years we have picked up some great info on the benefits and the challenges that might come from managing a community.

Managing A Community – More than just the homes

Unlike traditional residential management, manufactured home communities often do not own the homes within the community. Most often, the resident owns and maintains the home they live in. The community provides amenities like lawn care, pool services, an activity center and other lifestyle offerings.

However, similar to managing a traditional rental property, there is going to be the detail of maintenance. So, depending on whether your community owns or rents homes and land will dictate the extent of your responsibility.

DIY?

Hired help can be your saving grace

Too often we hear of stories of managers who are entirely worn out by the end of the first year managing manufactured home communities. It’s almost always due to the manager stretching themselves too thin.

We all know the saying “good help is hard to find”. However, it’s possible. If you are new to the industry there is going to be a great deal of knowledge you need right away. Hiring selling agents, maintenance crew and even an assistant can make a world of difference when managing manufactured home communities.

Marketing a Community – Know Your Audience.

Marketing available homes or spaces within your community can be one of the more challenging aspects of the job.

The first step is going to be to establish the home owners/renters you are hoping to have within your community. Then comes gearing your advertising to that crowd.

We have a super helpful article on “The Benefits of Knowing Your Audience” that goes further into the details of different types of manufactured home buyers and renters.

Once you have established your audience, the next step is getting the community out there! MHVillage offers a FREE advertisement option for communities. The “Basic Community” advertisement includes two community photos, all of the community details, and you get free sales leads via email too!

Here is a video on how you can use our website to advertise your community:

Hopefully, these simple tips will help you better navigate the industry. We want to ensure that you are fully prepared to be successful in managing your manufactured home communities!

If you have any questions about MHVillage, contact us here!