When Your On-Site Manager Quits

Your on-site manager can make your RV park feel calm and profitable, or chaotic and exhausting. When mine quit with a simple text about “fully enjoying retirement,” it forced a hard look at what actually matters in on-site management: clear standards, tight communication boundaries, and a system that doesn’t depend on one person to hold the whole park together.

We walk through what a strong on-site manager should do day to day, especially when you manage virtually and only visit monthly. Think practical updates, spotting small issues before they turn into big repairs, helping new tenants feel oriented, and keeping the property looking cared for without stirring up drama. I also share a real-time red flag I got from a potential replacement and the exact boundary I set around late-night messages and business-hours communication.

The big takeaway for RV park investing and mobile home park operations is simple: don’t rush to hire just to “fill the role.” Instead, test a local handyman or handywoman with paid projects like steps, minor leaks, basic fixes, and property drive-throughs. You get proof of reliability, pricing, and professionalism before you ever offer free rent, a park host arrangement, or an on-site manager deal. We also talk about vendor pricing discipline, written agreements, and why separating property management from on-site help can save you from burnout.

If you’re building a stable park business with steady cash flow, listen through the end and steal this playbook. Subscribe, share this with another park owner, and leave a review so more investors can find it.

Transcript

The Manager Quits By Text

SPEAKER_00 0:00

So yesterday my on-site property manager quit. I got a text message. Hey, I don't think I want the job anymore. I'm gonna fully enjoy my retirement. Thank you for the opportunity. Let me know what you need. So, full disclosure, I um you know, I was like secretly looking for another manager anyway, because I um I just wasn't super pleased, right? So I think it was felt and it was probably mutual, you know. So, anyways, I I kind of want to give you an insight on that.

Why Parks Need Boots On Ground

SPEAKER_00 0:33

And whenever you have a park, it's really good to have boots and eyes out there, especially if you're managing virtually, and even if you're not, you're not gonna be, unless you live out there, you're not gonna be out there all the time, all right? So, you need some people you could trust. Well, this this particular park that I bought already had an on-site manager in place, all right. And you know, the septic company didn't want to work for us anymore because she would do all the work herself, and the old managers thought that was amazing, and I don't because when you're under our septic contract, that's a big no-no. You know, so we ended up having to get another septic provider. Whenever I bought the park, she gave me a whole list of stuff. I was like, what do you like? Why don't you don't you like? I want to support you, I want this to go well. She's like, Well, the mowers suck, so I'd like to do it myself. I'm like, Cool, I'll buy you a mower, save me some money, you do it. Well, it wasn't happening, right? Like, it was just like always complaining, always a halfway job, that kind of stuff. So then I had to hire a mower, which I got at a good price because they mowed them my other parks down the road, so it was okay, and I got a cheaper price because they can use my mower. But then she's like, Well, I want to make some extra money, and I'm like, Well, cool, I need this, this, and this done, you know, and it'll be extra. And it's just like halfway done, stuff like that, right? And so I've been kind of I was kind of on their ass a lot, because like I'm a I'm a manager, right? Like, I used to manage a thousand people in the oil and gas fields, my specialty. So, anyways, the tension was felt, and I'm glad you vowed out, and I I get to find another one. But I'm not gonna automatically go look for another one.

What On-Site Managers Should Do

SPEAKER_00 2:22

Here's what I'm gonna do. And just so you know, an on-site manager should tell you what whether it's an RV park, mobile home park, they should tell you the good and bad, what's going on, how the feel is of the park, you know, give me some updates here and there. Um, within business hours, not like blowing you up. That was another issue. You know, uh, you don't need them to create work, right? Like I have one in another park that's amazing. Like she gets free rent, she keeps the place mowed, like she lets us know what's going on within business hours, nothing no drama, right? Like she likes it there, like that's what you want, and that's what I've always had. And we found her. She they didn't have one before, and she was one of our tenants, and she was having trouble with rent. And we were like, hey, you know, uh, actually, my assistant was like, hey, if you want to manage this place, you know, VRIs, we'll just waive your rent each month. She's like, hell yeah. She's done a badass job. But anyway, back to this part. So

Trial A Handyman Before Hiring

SPEAKER_00 3:21

I told my assistant, I was like, look, you know, have the team go ahead and make a post, put some feelers out there, see if there's any handyman. That's what you want is somebody that can do, you know, plumbing, electrical, all that stuff, not licensed. They can there's stuff you don't need licenses for. Like changing fuses if they go out, or like fixing a leak. Like, you don't need licensed people for that kind of crap, right? So you'll get eaten alive. So I told the team to put some feelers out. Well, then my assistant, he knows what's going on, like in all the parks, because he's talking to the people all the time, getting rents, all this stuff. And uh he's like, hey, we got this handyman, he seems pretty cool, already lives there, he's retired, didn't have anything to do. Cool. So I reached out to the dude yesterday and I didn't offer him a job. I just said, hey, I need steps built on some new tiny homes. Uh go ahead and get get with Mark, right? I just want to introduce myself. I own the place. Get with Mark, you'll be communicating with him from now on, which is my assistant, and and get him pricing, and we'll try out on a few jobs, you know. And

Boundaries And Red Flag Messages

SPEAKER_00 4:27

last night was a red flag to me because the guy texted me, hey, can I talk to you? And I said, No, you can talk to Mark during business hours. Is that okay? Thank you. Sort of red flag, but it's okay because you do have to set boundaries, and then some people respect them, some people don't. That's what I'll have to say is like the other management was so worn out, and they didn't understand why. They gave me this place at a steal because they were so freaking worn out. It was because the manager that they had was a big part of it. And there's seasonality in Marby Park, so they were just worn out of trying to you know keep them full and all that stuff, which my plan's a little different though, there. So, you know, I'm I'm implementing like half tiny homes, half RVs. That's what I want because I like that staple base, and then I get the premium of the RVs too. But uh, anyways, when you're looking for a manager like we are, it's like I'm just gonna try out a handyman, right? I want to make sure we see how we communicate because imagine if I would have hired that guy yesterday and then he texted me late last night, and I get a red flag and already hired him. That's not how you do stuff. And my assistant was already trying to hire him. He was like, Oh, I told him this opportunity, and I was like, No, you can tell him there might be an opportunity, but I mean he's gonna have to do work for us for several months, like fixing leaks, driving the park, you know, showing people stuff, telling us, you know, what we need to know, and we'll just pay him for those jobs. And then we'll see what it adds up to. If it's not as much as his rent, we'll just keep paying him as a handyman, right? But if it starts looking like it's gonna be more, then and we like him, we like communicating with him, it's something that you know we need, then you know, we'll we'll hire him and we'll just give him free rent, tell him to take care of the place. That's ideal too. Now we have an office at this place, like a legit office. It's like a tiny home built into an office. And my other plan was like put a bedroom in that tiny home. If this dude didn't work out, put a bedroom in that tiny home. And if I did want a manager down the road, you know, they could live in that bedroom for free, right? And I still have the office up front. Um, that was another thing that was I'm tossing around in my mind.

Avoid Single Point Of Failure

SPEAKER_00 6:41

But I'd rather have I don't like everything relying on one person at all, ever. Ever. Like I feel like, you know, this person that we had before was like so hands-on, like, and they were talking to the they shouldn't be talking to tenants about money and all this stuff. But anyways, they were trying to keep control of everything. That's a big red flag, too, whenever you're looking for a like a on, I say property manager, but an on-site manager because that's different than a pro than a property management and on-site manager is different. All right, property management's gonna be like a company that collects the rent, you know, and and makes sure everything's going all right. They're overseeing, but you need an on-site manager too, depending on the size of your park. Like I've got a smaller park, it's like 25 spots. I don't need an on-site manager. I have a local handyman that's worked for me for years, he lived in the park for years. We just call him when we need stuff. Easy as that. But once you get these bigger parts, like this one's 88 units and it's RB, so there's transient, even though we focus on like a long-term clientele, because I don't like to have to keep track of all the stuff, and I just want steady money, um, you still probably need somebody there. Like, because here's another thing is say the the grass is getting overgrown because the people didn't mow and you didn't know it, right? You have somebody to tell you that. Say that, like, you know, I don't know, a fuse blue. They can just go to your, like, if you have we have a shop there, they can just go there, put a new fuse, it's done, right? Like, you got some people that came in and they want to stay there, but they don't really know their way around the place. You can have have that person show them around, show them the spots, the good and the bad, right? And and it just feels like a community. And and nothing gets like I go to this park once a month. That's it. And then my team manages like our office number goes to them, right? And then when people have complaints, concerns, need stuff, they call the team. We have a portal and app folio, they put in a work order if they need you know something done, which we don't have many rentals there, you know, like it's RVs, they own their RVs, so we don't have a ton of maintenance. We do have some tiny homes, and like we do have a couple lots that need some electrical work, right? Which our lady knew about that and told us, but there's just nick nick like knick-knack stuff that you'll need an on-site manager for, but don't be so quick to just hiring anybody.

Fair Pricing And Written Agreements

SPEAKER_00 9:19

That's my whole point of this. Don't be so quick to just hiring anybody, like use some handy men, handy women, whatever to do odd jobs there, whatever needs to be done. Make sure they charge you appropriately. Like, make sure they're good pricing. Tell them up front, hey, if you do a good job, you'll just keep getting work, but I'm not gonna pay like premium pricing. You know, we were using a plumber at one of our other parks, and he charged me something ungodly one weekend because it was the weekend. I was like, I'm not using you anymore. I'll pay you this time, but I'm not using you anymore. So I set all those precedents and then say that you really just vibe with somebody and they want to live there, they want to do right by you, they want to do good, then you outline an agreement on paper that works for both of you, right? And this is your job, this is what you do. If you don't want it after time, just give us, you know, 60 days notice. That's it, right? So I hope that you got something out of this. If you're

Mentorship Offer And Closing]

SPEAKER_00 10:20

on the look for a park, hunting for a park, I do have a one-on-one mentorship where I actually just got my client uh park under contract, we're in due diligence right now. Hopefully, uh this one goes through for him. So if you're wanting a park, wanting to know how to underwrite, uh talk to sellers, find the deals. I mean, we get off-market deals, get financing, structure the deals, uh, manage it, operate it, all that stuff. I had somebody reach out to me last night and they wanted to like trade something. I was like, I don't do that. Like it's a set price if you want to do it. If not, the program's not free. It's not a big deal. Not hurting for it, it's just I'm helping people here and there. So um, and if you already have parks, I'd love to hear about your experience with on-site managers. There's different names for them, you know. Some people have like park hosts, and um, you know, but and and whatever, they they have different names for them. But I'd love to hear your experience. And and if you agree or disagree, we're all different. And and anything you could add would be great. And this is the Property Profits Podcast. My name is Travis Wells. Appreciate the heck out of you jumping on. If you enjoyed this, please refer it to a friend, a family member. I'm not running any ads on this. This is all free info. And until next time, kick some ass.