Interview with Nick Chapman of South-East Family Housing

Passive Mobile Home Park Investing

Welcome back to the Passive Mobile Home Park Investing Podcast, hosted by Andrew Keel. On this episode of the Passive Mobile Home Park Investing Podcast, Andrew interviews Nick Chapman, Principal and CEO of South-East Family Housing.

Nick Chapman, a former US Marine and State Trooper, ventured into mobile home park brokerage at Marcus and Millichap and then quickly became a commercial real estate investor himself. He started investing in 2021 by acquiring a 26-unit apartment complex, converting all units into "mid-term rentals" for traveling nurses and corporate clients. Nick actively manages the complex and discusses his hurdles as the sole “sweat equity” partner and General Partner, while pursuing mobile home parks for future acquisitions.

In today's conversation, Andrew Keel and Nick Chapman cover various topics including why studio apartments are less desirable, contrarian thinking, the significance of Self-managing commercial Real Estate Assets, the importance of your Website and SEO, Nick's preferred resources for Real Estate Self Education and passive Mobile Home Park Investing tips.

Nick is eager to share his knowledge on mobile home parks with interested limited partners (LP’s) and anyone interested in the mobile home park asset class. While he may lack the experience of some other guests, Nick compensates with the valuable lessons, mistakes and golden investment information he has learned over the past few years as a GP, all of which he shares with us today.

***Andrew Keel and Keel Team Real Estate Investments (Keel Team, LLC) do not endorse any interviewee. This interview is for informational purposes only and should not be depended upon for investment purposes. ***

Andrew Keel is the owner of Keel Team, LLC, a Top 100 Owner of Manufactured Housing Communities with over 3,000 lots under management. His team currently manages over 40 manufactured housing communities across more than 10 states. His expertise is in turning around under-managed manufactured housing communities by utilizing proven systems to maximize the occupancy while reducing operating costs. He specializes in bringing in homes to fill vacant lots, implementing utility bill back programs, and improving overall management and operating efficiencies, all of which significantly boost the asset value and net operating income of the communities. Check out KeelTeam.com to learn more.

Andrew has been featured on some of the Top Podcasts in the manufactured housing space, click here to listen to his most recent interviews: https://www.keelteam.com/podcast-links. In order to successfully implement his management strategy, Andrew’s team usually moves on location during the first several months of ownership. Find out more about Andrew’s story at AndrewKeel.com.

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Would you like to see value-add mobile home park projects in progress? If so, follow us on Instagram: @passivemhpinvesting for photos and awesome videos from our recent mobile home park acquisitions.

Talking Points:

00:21 - Welcome to the Passive Mobile Home Park Investing Podcast

01:00 - Nick Chapman’s background and journey into the Mobile Home Park investing world

17:23 - Resources, references, and books

20:31 - Nick Chapman’s first Commercial Real Estate deal

26:00 - The 80-20 rule

26:41 - Self-managing Real Estate assets

31:41 - Studio apartments and Nick’s case study

38:13 - GP’s that communicate quickly and efficiently

41:15 - SEO tips and optimizing keywords

46:00 - Nick’s perfect mobile home park

48:45 - Reaching out to Nick Chapman

49:38 - Underwrite a Mobile Home Park deal like the bank does

Links & Mentions from This Episode:

Nick Chapman’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/businesswithnick/

Nick Chapman website: https://ibuyhouseswilmington.com/

Keel Team’s official website: https://www.keelteam.com/

Andrew Keel’s official website: https://www.andrewkeel.com/

Andrew Keel LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewkeel

Andrew Keel Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PassiveMHPinvestingPodcast

Andrew Keel Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/passivemhpinvesting/

Twitter: @MHPinvestors

Quotes:

“Warren Buffett talks a lot about intrinsic value. What’s the highest and best use for that property.” - Nick Chapman

“For those of you getting started or LPs, you always wanna make sure that the deal is big enough to support management.” - Nick Chapman

“The whole name of the game is (sticky tenants) longevity in real estate, and that's why (mobile home) parks are so great, is to keep the tenant as long as possible.” - Nick Chapman

“Studios are not good for longevity.” - Nick Chapman