Got an Unsolicited Offer for Your Mobile Home Park? Read This First
Most unsolicited park offers come from wholesalers and bargain hunters hoping you do not know your number. Before you answer, check who is behind the offer, whether they have closed park deals, and how their price compares to your park's income value.
If you own a mobile home park in Florida, your mailbox already knows what I am about to say. The letters, the postcards, the voicemails from a first name with no company: we buy parks, fair cash offer, quick close. Park owners get more unsolicited offers than almost any property owner in real estate. Here is why, who is actually calling, and what to do about it.
Why your park is a target
Parks earn steady income, there are only so many of them, and it is nearly impossible to build new ones because no city wants to zone for them. That scarcity attracted serious institutional money over the last decade, and behind the serious money came a swarm of middlemen. They know many park owners are older, have owned for decades, have no debt, and have no idea what the park is currently worth. An owner who does not know his number is the most profitable person a middleman can find.
Who is actually behind the letter
Some unsolicited offers are real buyers. Many are not. A large share of that mail comes from wholesalers: people who tie your park up under contract, then shop the contract to actual buyers for a markup before closing, using long inspection periods as a way out if they cannot find one. You carry the risk for months. They carry a stamp.
The letter says "we buy parks." Often the honest translation is "we sell contracts on parks, and we are hoping you do not know the difference."
How to test any offer in five minutes
- Ask what they think the park is worth and how they got there. A real buyer talks lot rent, occupancy, and expenses. A middleman talks about how fast they can close.
- Ask for proof of funds. Not a letter from a "funding partner." Their money, in their name, or their fund's.
- Read the inspection period. Thirty days is a buyer doing homework. Ninety days with a low deposit and free cancellation is someone renting an option on your park.
- Ask what parks they have closed. Closed, with addresses. Anyone can say they buy parks. Recorded deeds do not lie.
The only real defense is knowing your number
Every trick in that mailbox works on one kind of owner: the one who does not know what the park is worth. An unsolicited offer is not an insult, and some are even fair. But you cannot know which kind you are holding until you have your own number, built from your actual lot rent, your occupancy, your expenses, and what Florida parks are really trading for. That is exactly what my valuation model below does, and it does not require talking to anyone, including me.
If the offer turns out to be real
Then congratulations, you have a starting bid, and a starting bid is all it is. One buyer negotiating against nobody pays what he offered. The same buyer negotiating against a market pays what the park is worth. Even if you like the people who sent the letter, the strongest thing you can do is make them earn it against competition. That is true whether or not the person running that competition is me.
One more thing before you counter. If your residents have formed a homeowners' association, Chapter 723 can put notice duties on you even for an offer you never asked for, so read what Chapter 723 requires when you sell a park and loop in your attorney before you reply.
Questions owners ask
How can I tell if an offer on my park is from a wholesaler?
Ask four things. Ask how they valued the park, ask for proof of funds in their own name or their fund's, read the inspection period, and ask which parks they have closed, with addresses. A real buyer talks lot rent, occupancy and expenses. A middleman talks about how fast they can close and wants a long, cheap way out of the contract.
Is a 90-day inspection period a red flag?
Often, especially with a low deposit and free cancellation. Thirty days reads as a buyer doing homework. Ninety days with little money at risk reads as someone renting an option on your park while they shop the contract to a real buyer. Long inspection periods are how wholesalers keep a way out, and you carry the risk for those months.
Should I just ignore unsolicited offers on my park?
Not automatically. An unsolicited offer is not an insult, and some are even fair. The problem is that you cannot tell which kind you are holding until you know your own number, built from your actual lot rent, occupancy, expenses and what Florida parks are really trading for. Once you have that, you can answer any letter with confidence.
If an unsolicited offer is real, should I take it?
Treat it as a starting bid, not the final price. One buyer negotiating against nobody pays what he offered. The same buyer negotiating against a market pays what the park is worth. Even if you like the people who sent the letter, the strongest move is to make them earn the park against competition from other buyers.
Why do mobile home park owners get so many offers in the mail?
Because parks earn steady income, there are only so many of them, and new ones are nearly impossible to build. That scarcity drew institutional money, and middlemen followed it. They look for owners who have held for decades, often with no debt and no current idea of what the park is worth, because that owner is the most profitable person they can find.
If an offer just landed, a Florida mobile home park broker can tell you in a day whether it is real. Call me and I will give you a straight read.
