MMM Edition: Why Seller Financing Is The King of Leverage with Karl Kulpak

What does it take to go from a 12-year career as a Pennsylvania State Trooper to owning dozens of lots and building a lifestyle business in affordable housing? We bring on Karl to unpack the real playbook: a mindset pivot sparked by Rich Dad Poor Dad, smart use of a W-2 for lending credibility, and a relentless focus on creative finance that fits the deal rather than forcing the numbers.

We trace his journey through early single-family and a creatively financed fourplex to the first mobile home park that most buyers ignored. On paper it looked rough: rural setting, owner-paid utilities, and management fatigue. Karl saw value others missed, paired a bank loan with a zero-interest seller note, survived a last-minute lender pullback, and still closed by persuading the existing noteholder bank to re-lend. Then came the operational sprint: clearing blighted homes, infilling with new units, implementing buildbacks for water and sewer, and executing a park-wide rent raise with direct, respectful communication.

Karl explains why he prefers tenant-owned homes and rent-to-own models to build pride of ownership and reduce maintenance drag. He shares the community moves that change the vibe—free dumpsters at takeover, lighting, signage, paved roads, and cookouts—because raising rents lands better when residents see real improvements. We also get into the gritty parts of C-class operations: evictions, abandoned units, copper theft, and the systems that keep everything moving.

The second park showcases sophisticated deal-making. During diligence, Karl discovered a prior seller note the current owner still carried. He negotiated to assume it and locked in $1.4 million at 5 percent interest—terms nowhere in the broker’s memo. That single insight turned a good deal into a great one. Along the way we talk LOIs that buy credibility, buying on actuals not pro formas, and why saying no is sometimes the most profitable move.

Karl’s target is crystal clear: 260 lots by the end of 2025, modeled at roughly $100 net per home to generate durable lifestyle income. The engine behind that goal? Masterminds that compress learning cycles, connect operators to solutions, and push action immediately after events. If you’re curious about mobile home parks, creative financing, and building a cash flow plan that matches your life, this conversation gives you the tools and the mindset to move.

If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review so more builders can find it.

VCap Real Estate Podcast

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:12

Welcome to the VCAP Real Estate Podcast, where we talk about building physical empires. Learn from industry experts about all aspects of the business of real estate. You'll learn how to buy, renovate, manage, and sell deals by people who actually do it every day. People who build their fortune doing it. I'm your host, Cole Farrell. Let's talk. Tonight we're gonna have an in an awesome interview with Carl. Carl, I'm gonna let you tell your whole bio, but you're a Pennsylvania, excuse me, formal state trooper, and then you started going to mobile home, and I have a million questions, but anyways, give us the backstory. How'd you get here? What's the details?

SPEAKER_00 0:59

Well, I was I am a former Pennsylvania State Trooper. I did 12 and a half years there, and I got into owning mobile home parks. I've been in real estate since 2016, started with single families, and now I have 94 lots. So it's come a long way. It helped me retire and be financially free, but now continuing to grow.

SPEAKER_01 1:20

Why real estate? So you did the trooper thing. Where what was the catalyst? Kind of why'd you pick this?

SPEAKER_00 1:26

I read Rich Dad Cordad. My dad recommended I read it, and I read it, and it kind of changed my entire mindset. I know that's a very popular book for a lot of people, but if you haven't read it, you should definitely read it because it changes how you think about money, how you think about life. It all is a big catalyst for future events and how you change your life with that book.

SPEAKER_01 1:46

I love that. So you went Trooper and then you're in real estate. Are you full-time real estate now? Yes. How did that transition go? And the reason I ask is a lot of people are like, I hate my W-2, I'm gonna buy a two-unit, and I'm quitting. And would you advise that?

SPEAKER_00 1:59

No, absolutely not. I would leverage your W-2 for as long as physically possible because it's consistent cash flow. You learn other skills there that you can use in real estate, and did I say cash flow? You definitely need more cash flow because two units is not gonna cut it. Um that is not gonna provide for your lifestyle.

SPEAKER_01 2:17

How'd the transition go? So you did your W-2, and then did you start buying, and then was there like a point when you said, okay, I'm done, I'm gonna transition? Did you know that ahead of time?

Leveraging A W‑2 And Early Deals

SPEAKER_00 2:28

Or so when I originally started, it was 2016. I bought a single family house. I was like, I'm gonna get into real estate, I'm gonna do this while I also work my W-2. So working the W-2 and I would spend my off time finding deals, looking up deals, going to meetups. Every day I would drive to work, I'd listen to podcasts. Every day on the way home, I'd listen to podcasts. If I wasn't listening to podcasts, I was reading more books. So always learning more things and learning from other people that are already doing it. That was the huge part of getting started. And then from there, I decided, well, one unit is definitely not going to cut it, so I need another unit. Lived in that unit, um, ended up selling that one. I bought a fourplex with Creative Finance, and I did a couple flips along the way in there, three flips, as an LP. Right, just writing a check is a lot easier. And then I met my coaches who own 25 parks. Uh I think it's a little over 1,500 lots now. Wow. But I attended their event and I really learned like scaling and unit count is important when you're doing rent raise, like 1,500 units on a$10 rent raise, that's$15,000 a month on a click of a button. I was like, man, what am I doing with my life? I need to do this. So I sold off any other real estate I had. I went, I bought my first mobile home park in April of 2024.

SPEAKER_01 3:46

That's awesome. Alright, wait, so dial all the way back. So you started with a house hack. Was that the four unit?

SPEAKER_00 3:52

No. So my very first was a single family in Westchester Borough. I was going to move there, but I ended up renting it. And that went well for a while, but I'm making$500 a month. I'm mowing the lawn every week. I'm doing all the work myself. And so I realized this is not really sustainable while working at W-2. So I had to keep going. So I bought a row home, two-bedroom, two-bath, ended up moving into that. It was the first one renovated out of like a row home of 10 homes. So I got in at the right time. They ended up renovating most of the other ones. So when I sold, I did pretty well on that. And I want to say I bought the fourplex somewhere in there, either before, right or around when I sold that two unit or two-bedroom. And that was a creative finance deal. So I put$50,000 down and the owner carried the mortgage for a three-year balloon. So at the end of three years, I owed him that full balance.

Creative Finance Principles That Work

SPEAKER_01 4:48

Is everyone familiar with what he just said with the balloon, etc.? Okay. I was just going to ask, did you save up with your W-2, buy the next one? Did you do any refi? Did you do creative? So I'm a huge fan of creative finance. Obviously, you are too. Where would you recommend it? Where would you not? Do you approach creative finance first and then go traditional? Like how do you approach that, whether it's a two-unit or something else?

SPEAKER_00 5:12

I like seller financing. I would prefer that over dealing with banks because it's easier. It's very creative. You could decide whatever you want on the terms. The rate, everything is negotiable. So I love that part. But it doesn't mean you should overpay for a deal just because you can get creative finance on it. Like people make that mistake are like, well, I could pay extra because they're going to finance it. Maybe not. When you go to sell it or refinance it, you may run into a problem if you overpaid in the first place. So I think it could be used, could be good, but it has to be used with caution.

SPEAKER_01 5:47

I love that. I love seller finance personally just because I feel like it's such a nice bridge where, like you said, everything's negotiable. And I like where it's going to the seller and going, like, okay, well, what do you want? And maybe it's a certain amount of monthly cash flow. Okay, well, I can give you that cash flow in this way, but I'm going to make these other terms advantageous to me. And I've done that on many deals, and it's just so nice.

SPEAKER_00 6:05

Yes. And it's very good for if you have a distress deal that's not great cash flow in the beginning, but you know the cash flow is going to be great at a certain point after your rent raise and rehabs, you can structure like interest-only payments for the first six months. That way your cash flow is consistent and you're not over-leveraged for the first six months, and then boom, your rent raise goes in, and you go to regular principal and interest payments, and everything's fine. Your cash flow is still great.

SPEAKER_01 6:29

I love the balloons too, because I feel like, at least in the ones I've done with the seller, I kind of got on good terms with him. And so we do a three-year balloon, same thing. And then after three years, he'd be like, okay, and we just have a conversation. He's like, you know, I kind of like the money. Like, you want to keep the terms? And I'm obviously advantageous. So yeah, and it could just keep going and going. So I love that about it. Um, so you did those. Then you got into some LP flips. How did that go? What did you like? What didn't you like?

SPEAKER_00 6:52

I liked writing checks and getting money back. That was great. Uh so my dad was the contractor, and my cousin was the other partner in it. So I had trusted people doing the work. They found the home, they renovated the home, they did everything with the home. I just wrote a check.

SPEAKER_01 7:06

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 7:07

Sounds way better.

SPEAKER_01 7:08

That's great. Where'd you go from there?

SPEAKER_00 7:10

From there, I ended up I sold that other stuff and bought the first mobile home park.

SPEAKER_01 7:14

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 7:15

Which was also a creative finance deal.

SPEAKER_01 7:17

And was that before or after the mastermind?

SPEAKER_00 7:20

That was very shortly after. So as soon as I went to the mastermind, I learned what they were doing, how they bought, how they financed, how they operated, how they exited or refinanced. They hold all their stuff for long term. And once I figured out how to do that, I took exactly what they were doing and went out and found something that fit that model. Because I knew that if I didn't do something immediately after leaving the event, I wasn't going to end up doing it. So the longer you wait to take action, it just gets cold and you end up not doing anything.

SPEAKER_01 7:49

Did you go I guess I should leave it open-ended? Why mobile home parks versus apartments, student housing, self-storage because of the mastermind and the event?

SPEAKER_00 7:57

Or definitely, that was a big catalyst for it. But I had listened to the podcast prior. Um I had read a bunch about it before that. So I definitely was aware of the asset class and knew a lot about it before that. But having gone to the event, it was real. Like these are real people. Kevin worked for PPL. Tia worked as a contractor for a defense contractor. So it was seeing people that had normal jobs go out and just crush it and have 1500 lots. It's crazy.

SPEAKER_01 8:26

That's awesome. I was so excited when we set this up because a lot of people do the mobile home parks, and I don't know anyone that does them, so it's cool to ask you a million questions on them. So I'm going to give that in a little bit, but you bought the first one, you said it was seller, or not CellarFi. Okay, so what did that deal look like? How'd you structure it?

Enter Mobile Home Parks And Mentorship

SPEAKER_00 8:42

Okay, so I found this deal on Crexie, where most people think deals to go to die.

SPEAKER_01 8:46

Love it.

SPEAKER_00 8:47

But it's finding where you can add value where other people miss it. So this deal had sat on the market for quite some time. Rural market, small town Ohio, underrented, not great management, owner paid for water, sewer, and trash. And so it looked not great on paper. So I think that's why a lot of people just looked at it. They're like, oh, wastewater treatment plant? Well, I don't want to do it. So it was listed for$5.25 by the time I got it. It was a 39-unit park, 28 units occupied, five or six vacant homes, and a couple vacant lots. So I was like, wow, this could be really great if I put in the work. So I made the offer, I did a bank loan, and a partial seller carry on a promissory note, not on the title. So that way the bank, it looks like there's tons of equity. I'm just borrowing the equity from the seller for a period of time and then paying him back.

SPEAKER_01 9:46

Explain that again.

SPEAKER_00 9:47

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 9:48

And just in case anyone's like, wait, what did he just say?

SPEAKER_00 9:51

It is a lot. I I learned this from being in another group. Um so a bank loan, 70% loan to value, and then you're paying, I think the bank loan was for like$395,000. The seller was going to carry$110,000 on a promissory note, so it's like I owe him money at a later date.

SPEAKER_01 10:10

Non-recorded, bank doesn't see it, so they don't get upset.

SPEAKER_00 10:13

They knew about it, but they were fine with it. Okay. So I you gotta disclose what's happening because if they find out later, not so good. So you do have to be up front, but they were okay with it being just a loan between businesses.

SPEAKER_01 10:24

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 10:25

So that was 0% interest on 110,000 for one year.

SPEAKER_01 10:29

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 10:30

Yes. So they wanted out. They had originally bought it to develop it, and they couldn't. It didn't happen, so they just wanted to exit.

SPEAKER_01 10:38

That's awesome. Yes. So that first one, how did that go? So you bought it, and were you like, this is awesome, or were you like, wow, this is difficult?

First Park: Finding Value Others Missed

SPEAKER_00 10:45

It was a lot upfront. So I had never owned a mobile home park before, so this is new. Um so I flew to Ohio for due diligence, went there, I was like, wow, this is actually a really nice community. It's the homes are older, they're single-wides, but the streets are paved, there's sidewalks, and it's a nice little loop community, and the town that's around it is a little college town. So there's great little restaurants, there's awesome little coffee shops. So it was a phenomenal area. I really fell in love with it. And the park is super close to the town. So for me, after I saw it, I was like, I'm in. And then I close oh, before I closed, the original bank that I was using pulled financing two weeks before closing. It's like, oh, you don't have any experience? We're not doing this. And they retracted their two weeks. Two weeks. Thank God they extended, and they're like, we will give you an extension to find a loan. So I called everybody, every bank that I could find, every loan broker, rural market, low rents, DSR, DSCR was terrible at purchase, like a 1-0 maybe. So most banks were like, no thank you. But I called the bank that held the note currently. I was like, would you be interested in re-lending on this? They're like, yeah, we already lent on it, so we'll do it again. Just send us your personal financial statement, all your W-2s, and all your tax returns, and we'll see if we can do it. So thankfully, I had a W-2, which helps you qualify for loans. So don't give up your W-2 too soon, because it makes loans way easier. Um and then leveraging that, and the bank agreed. So that's how I got my first park.

SPEAKER_01 12:22

There's so many things I loved about that. One, dialing back, you dove into real estate and you kind of figured it out. Two, then you went to somebody that was farther ahead than you and said, I see what you're doing, that looks awesome. How do I do that? And then three, you then did it. Where most people stop. You actually were like, okay, let's go figure this out. And you did all the things. And then when all adversity hits, when loan pulls out and you're like, man, this is all up in flames, what happens next? You still figure out a way and you do whatever it takes and you close it. So that's awesome. So first part gets wrapped up. Where do you go from there?

SPEAKER_00 12:54

That was a very brief wrap-up of a long project. So I flew out there, we ripped down six homes with a machine, like crushed them up, put them in a dumpster, cleared all the lots, ended up infilling four homes. Refinancing right now.

SPEAKER_01 13:07

What does infilling mean?

SPEAKER_00 13:08

Infilling. So you are bringing homes from other places and putting them in your park.

SPEAKER_01 13:13

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 13:13

Way more complicated than that sounds. But you're pouring pads, you're prepping the lot, you're redoing electric, you're bringing a home, you're setting it. So you need a licensed mover, a licensed setter, permits, and all sorts of other good stuff. So once you set it, you skirt it, you put a deck on it, hook up the utilities, and now you can sell it or rent it. I chose to do a rent-to-own. So I sold each one of those for$25,000 on a rent to own.

Financing Falls Through And Recovery

SPEAKER_01 13:40

I'm gonna ask more questions about that shortly, but keep going with your story. So you did that, and then was that stabilized at that point?

SPEAKER_00 13:47

More or less. Rent raise went in, build back, water and sewer.

SPEAKER_01 13:51

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 13:51

And so now the park is very profitable compared to what it was.

SPEAKER_01 13:54

How long was that whole process, that first one, from closed to stabilized?

SPEAKER_00 13:58

I would say after about 60 days. Maybe 90. Because you have the rent raise that goes. Yeah, it's pretty quick because the rent raise can go in 30 days later. So I think we waited maybe two months to do the first rent raise, because it was a$140 rent raise. Okay. On a$260 lot rent.

SPEAKER_01 14:16

Park wide.

SPEAKER_00 14:17

Park wide.

SPEAKER_01 14:17

Same time. You didn't like buffer, you just were like everyone's rent.

SPEAKER_00 14:20

Hand delivered. Knocked on doors and handed leases, change of ownership, rent raise. I had a dude chuck his packet across the lawn like a Frisbee because he saw the rent raise. I was like, well, we're going to be doing a lot of stuff in the park. You know, I understand you're upset. He hasn't left. He's still there. Pays every month.

SPEAKER_01 14:37

There you go.

SPEAKER_00 14:38

So that's the good thing about mobile home parks is most of the people own their own homes, so they're more likely to stay than leave because it's very expensive to move a home. So they would rather pay an extra$140 a month versus pay$5,000 to move their home to another park.

SPEAKER_01 14:54

I was going to ask this later, but now you explain that really well. So tell me a difference and maybe why it's important between park-owned versus tenant-owned and kind of the different, I don't know, nuances to it.

SPEAKER_00 15:04

So park-owned is like having an apartment building. You're doing all the maintenance, they're calling you for everything, and you're dealing with them day to day.

SPEAKER_01 15:12

They walk in with their stuff, they sign a lease, they move into your home. Yes. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 15:15

They also could trash your home, burn your home, destroy the home. So I choose to do tenant-owned homes or rent-to-owned because I want them to have pride of ownership and have a reason to stay. I want to build a community, not just rentals. I want them to be there and be part of the community.

SPEAKER_01 15:32

Love that. Okay. So keep walking me through. So first one went pretty good overall, learned a lot, that happened quickly. Where do you go from there?

Stabilizing: Infills, Rent Raises, Buildbacks

SPEAKER_00 15:40

So from there, I was making offer after offer after offer after offer, all getting declined because I underwrite based on what I think the park is worth now, not what the broker says it could be worth on Proforma, infilled, market rent, like all this stuff. That's all work that you have to do. I'm not paying for work that I have to do. So I'm buying it on what it's doing today, and all this extra stuff is all my sweat equity that's about to be built. So I make low offers. I don't care. I'll call the broker, send them the offer on an LOI. It could be half of what they're asking. I don't care. Because that's what I can pay, and that's what I believe this park is worth at the time that I'm making the offer. Sure, there's value to find in there, but that's value for me, not for me to pay.

SPEAKER_01 16:24

That's awesome. It's funny because we were just talking to someone earlier and uh we're talking about offers, and so we're saying just offer, offer, offer on everything no matter what, and just see what happens.

SPEAKER_00 16:33

Yeah, the more offers you make, the more deals you can get. If you don't make any offers, you're not going to get any deals.

SPEAKER_01 16:37

And what's an LOI? For anyone that's not used to the commercial world or brokers or anything like that, they're like an LO what?

SPEAKER_00 16:43

Letter of intent. So this says that I would like to purchase your property for this amount on these terms, and I would like to close by this time. This is my contingencies. I'm signing this, it's non-binding. That means you're not obligated to do this, even if you sign. But it says, I would like to buy your property and I'm agreeing to do it at this parameters. And then you send that to the broker and they present it to the seller. Seller can agree, sign it, or say, no, I'm not doing that, or just ignore your call altogether. Either way.

SPEAKER_01 17:14

I find with LOIs, this kind of depends on who you're working with. So I've had if it goes through a broker, they honor the LOI like you see agreement. Like it is set in stone, it's it's virtually binding in their eyes. It's like kind of formality. And I found if it's with just a seller, they really treat it like nothing happens. I mean they're like, Yeah. You're like, we signed an LOI, like what happened? They're like, yeah, yeah, whatever, that doesn't mean anything. And then they take someone else's. So frustrating.

SPEAKER_00 17:37

Um it does show seriousness.

SPEAKER_01 17:39

It does.

SPEAKER_00 17:39

If you're calling brokers and you're like, oh, I'll make this offer, don't even make the offer on the phone. Just ask them all the questions you need to ask. Your T12, so you're trailing 12 months of expenses, your rent roll, and any performer that they created, I always like to see. But underwriting the park, and then if you are serious, submitting the LOI shows I'm serious about buying this. This is what I want, and I'm I would like to buy this park or apartment building or whatever you're buying. But it shows that you know what you're doing and you're serious about doing it. Otherwise, brokers don't take you seriously. They're like, How many parks do you own? And when you don't own any, you're like, uh, I don't have any parks there right now. And they're like, poop. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:16

I love that. It's so good. And I think a nice LOI will have kind of like a bio. Here's what I've done, here's why I'm credible, here's what I want to do at the park, here's all the info. And it's such a nice intro to you that, like you said, it's it's just professional. It's awesome. So okay, so you went through this period, you submitted tons and tons of offers. Did you get one at the end of it?

SPEAKER_00 18:33

That first one, there was a lot of offers before that. The next one I got, well, the next one I tried to buy, uh, the bank ended up saying that the DSR was too low. Tried to do partial seller financing, but it was just such a low income at the time of buying, even with the tax returns that she had, that the bank couldn't qualify the loan. So it ended up falling through, unfortunately. That was I've had drove out there, walked the park, paid for the environmental level one, paid for all the trailer information. Like I had to order some titles and stuff. Yeah. Um, so definitely put my work in, but the bank just couldn't do it, and I couldn't come up with the money enough to separate the difference of where they came in with the loan versus where the seller financing was. It was just too large of a gap at the time for me to front.

SPEAKER_01 19:20

But I think it's important and it shows like you gotta know when to walk away. Like you knew it this much, it just doesn't make sense anymore. So you gotta walk, and it sucks, but it is what it is. Yes. So you recently bought something.

SPEAKER_00 19:32

I bought a 55-unit park in mid-January. Awesome. Yes. That is in Van Wert, Ohio, which is the northwest corner of Ohio.

SPEAKER_01 19:43

How close is that to your other one?

SPEAKER_00 19:44

Two and a half hours. That's not bad.

SPEAKER_01 19:46

Okay. Um what's the story on that? How is that structured?

SPEAKER_00 19:49

That was an on-market deal.

SPEAKER_01 19:50

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 19:52

Yes. Uh it was listed for like 2.235, I think. I offered two even with seller financing. Um I think I originally offered it as bank financing and a partial seller carry in a second position. Um but during due diligence I found that the uh seller before the seller had a note already. So the seller I was buying from was in a mortgage with the original seller. I was like, well, can I assume that seller carry note? And that seller said, Yeah, I'll keep holding it. Wow. It was$1.4 million at 5% interest. Only.

SPEAKER_01 20:36

That's amazing.

POH vs TOH And Community Building

SPEAKER_00 20:38

Fantastic.

SPEAKER_01 20:39

And I'm assuming that was listed nowhere.

SPEAKER_00 20:41

Nowhere. Absolutely disappeared out of the offering memorandum.

SPEAKER_01 20:44

I love that. And it's funny because you talk to any investor that does serious deals, serious business, and a lot of times it boils down to you found something because you were going deep into something that makes the deal work. It's never usually doesn't just work. It's like you made it work. So I think that's awesome. Um, you closed it. How's that going?

SPEAKER_00 21:01

It's great. I actually did two evictions this morning. So they were uh two people that were non-payers, we got them out, so they were being evicted. And I also took over two vacant homes. So there's two homes that people just like disappeared in the middle of the night, haven't been seen, the homes have been vacant, and we just file for possession of the home. So they were tenant-owned, go through the court process, they become park-owned through the court.

SPEAKER_01 21:24

Huh. That's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_00 21:25

Yes. So then I get two homes to now re-rent. They need some rehab, but still.

SPEAKER_01 21:32

Huh. And would you so you you'll rent to own them back then? Yes. And do you get a deposit when you do that? Yes. Interesting.

SPEAKER_00 21:37

Usually like a thousand bucks down. Because it's affordable housing. Like these are not expensive homes. Yeah. The lot rent is lower than any apartments that you'll ever find. So it's the last chance of true affordable housing for Americans. Interesting. I love that.

SPEAKER_01 21:51

Okay. Um that's not subsidized. Right, right, right. I had a question I wanted to ask you, and now it's gone. But silly one. Mobile home, trailer park. Difference? Anything? Just terminology. Is there any concept?

SPEAKER_00 22:06

So manufactured housing community.

SPEAKER_01 22:08

Okay. Love it. Love it.

SPEAKER_00 22:10

That is the great term. I like to put that on the sign because I do want people to want to live there.

SPEAKER_01 22:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:14

I want to take trailer parks and turn them into manufactured housing communities.

SPEAKER_01 22:18

Right.

SPEAKER_00 22:18

So I come in with dumpsters, they're free. We put out 30-yard dumpsters. When I take over, the residents could just throw out whatever they want. Just fill the dumpsters, I'll bring more of them. So that is a huge value for them because they usually have tons of stuff in their yard or in their house that they just haven't gotten rid of. So this is a great way to show like I am coming in, I care about the community, just get rid of any junk that you have on us. No questions asked. Just don't throw hazardous materials in there.

SPEAKER_01 22:44

I like those cool systems that you have, where just like that. It's just a little thing you slipped in there that nobody would probably pick up, and it's like we bring dumpsters that changes the community vibe that makes uh the whole field different, I'm sure, out of the gate. And that's a huge piece to this. That's so interesting.

SPEAKER_00 22:57

They've never had an owner that really cares about the park. So most of these parks are owned for a long time. The landlords are tired, they don't want to deal with it anymore, they're just getting rid of it at this point. Like tons of deferred maintenance. And now you have a new owner, they're doing a very large rent raise, and they don't like that. But if you show, like, hey, I'm putting signs in, I'm putting lighting in, I'm paving the roads, bringing these dumpsters in, we're doing community parties. So I'll like have the park manager go to Walmart, buy a bunch of food, and host like burgers, hot dogs, soda, beer, whatever you want, just hang out, have fun with the community. Like you guys live next to each other, let's get to know each other, let's be friends.

SPEAKER_01 23:32

I love that. I think that's awesome. And it's funny because I always used to think that if you did a massive rent raise or you bought the community, there's all this negativity around it. And it's just kind of and there could be. But if you do a property like that, like we have a community that we're doing, we're doubling the rent, and it's steep. But we were going in, we paint the buildings, we're doing the pavement, we're doing mailboxes, we're making it look beautiful. And the lady was so excited, just one lady, but a couple people, were like, I'm so happy you're taking over. I'm so thrilled that this is turning around. Like this changes everything. So it's crazy that you can change that. I don't want to double my rent to like, hey, I'm happy to pay it, I like this place better now.

Deal Flow, LOIs, And Buying On Actuals

SPEAKER_00 24:04

You're adding more value to their life. You're making their life better by coming in. Even though it's more expensive for them, they get a better quality of life going forward.

SPEAKER_01 24:12

Right. I love that. So if somebody's sitting here listening and they're like, mobile home parks, that sounds interesting. What are some goods and bads that you just now going through all this, you're like, watch out for this, think about this, I love this, whatever.

SPEAKER_00 24:25

You have to be okay with C-class residents. You're gonna have C class problems, you're gonna have domestics, you're gonna have cars parked on front lawns, you're gonna have tires that appeared overnight, piles of them. People just pull their pickup truck, dump off tires and disappear, mattresses, couches. So you have to be okay with dealing with some rougher tenant base. And it's really just solving problems. But it's not that difficult, you just have to be okay with it. So when you're going to mobile home parks, you're gonna run into a lot of different characters. So you have to be okay with interacting with your residents.

SPEAKER_01 24:55

I love that.

SPEAKER_00 24:56

So that's key. It's not like an A-class apartment building. You have people stealing copper out of the lines in the ground. So you definitely have to think about what you're getting into.

SPEAKER_01 25:05

I always think with like the C class stuff, like there's never a dull day. Ever. There's always a story. So that's awesome. Um just thinking where are you headed now? What's the next thing?

SPEAKER_00 25:18

My goal is to get 260 lots by the end of 2025. 260. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 25:22

Why 260?

SPEAKER_00 25:23

Because for each home, I net about$100 a month. So for if I have 260 homes, that's$26,000 net in my pocket per month in lifestyle income.

SPEAKER_01 25:36

Love that.

SPEAKER_00 25:36

So I backed my way into that through my own personal expenses, some up and downs if I have them. Because without fail, you're gonna lose some rent money at some point. So that's a cushion plus lifestyle. And that's how I got the 260.

SPEAKER_01 25:49

I love that. And to anybody that's here that's new, that's just getting into this, notice how I asked Carl that and he didn't even hesitate. He said, I want 260. Why do you want 260? Because of this. Like the goals are crystal clear. And I just find it funny. So many people ask, like, what do you want? And they're like, I don't know. I just want to buy an apartment or I just want to buy a park. And you're like, man, that's why.

SPEAKER_00 26:07

So For me, it's about lifestyle. Like, why are we doing this? Why am I up at night, not sleeping, you know, dealing with loan brokers, doing all this work, why are we doing it? And I think that's something each person has to ask themselves, what do I want my life to look like? Do I need cash flow or appreciation? Do I like my job? Do I not like my job? That's something you have to think about to decide what asset class you go into. How you invest or what you invest into is key to you personally and what you want in your life.

SPEAKER_01 26:38

So good. So absolutely good. Um I think it's time. I usually ask every single guest the same five questions, and so I'm gonna ask them to you. You can answer quickly, you can answer at length, whatever you want to do. But what separates top performing investors from everybody else, the rest of the crowd?

SPEAKER_00 27:00

I would say goals and the ability to have grit and just keep going no matter how hard it gets.

SPEAKER_01 27:08

Love it. Daily habit that contributes to your success.

SPEAKER_00 27:12

Going to the gym. Hands down.

SPEAKER_01 27:14

Side question. I know you're big into um I guess personal improvement, and I know you're in a lot of mastermind groups, andor just like um I guess masterminds, right? So, sidebar, take me into that world. How do you like that? What do you recommend people get into, etc.?

SPEAKER_00 27:31

I love masterminds because you I like the in-person stuff because you put yourself in rooms with other people doing really cool shit and big stuff. So when you meet like another person and they're telling you how they're doing this really cool project and they're super passionate about it, and you kind of absorb some of that energy from them, and you can see like this is just a normal person, and they're crushing it. And so your frequency goes up, and now you're like when you go back home, you're like, I can do anything. And as long as you put that into momentum and keep it going, you really can do anything.

The One That Fell Through And Lessons

SPEAKER_01 28:05

It's awesome. And it's what's so nice about having these events, having people like you here that we're both fired up about this stuff, and hopefully everybody else feels that. Um, and it's just nice that to spend time here and to do this stuff, like you said, walk away with something and then act on it. I think it's so important.

SPEAKER_00 28:19

Yes, that's huge. I like the masterminds also because if you have a problem, like I'm in the mobile home park mastermind, so Kevin and Tier, I meet with them every week. If I have a problem with a park, I could just take this problem to the group call, like, hey, I'm dealing with this, this, and this, and everybody will go and tell their experience of what they did to solve that problem. And someone in there might know someone that could solve your problem today. So having those connections with other operators or other people doing things in your space have so many more connections and ways to solve more problems. Because you're always gonna have problems, it's just who you surround yourself with to solve the problems.

Second Park: Assuming A Hidden Seller Note

SPEAKER_01 28:54

It's so good. It's so funny. Like you never know who you're gonna meet at a meetup, and a lot of times people always say, like, how'd you get started to whoever? And it's just like, well, I went to this meetup and I met this guy who knew this guy, who knew that guy, and then I bought my first building, and then he knew this guy, and you can't make this stuff up, it just happens. And it all starts with that one meetup or that one place or that one event or whatever. So love that. Um, back to it. What's a piece of advice you'd give to yourself if you're starting again?

SPEAKER_00 29:20

Get clearer on why you're doing it and what you want to do. Because if you're not clear, you're just gonna shiny object everywhere. Everybody's doing different things, and you're gonna get overwhelmed with different options. So I think understanding your lifestyle and the direction you want to go is the most important place to start.

unknown 29:37

Love it.

SPEAKER_01 29:37

So good. Favorite real estate or business book?

SPEAKER_00 29:41

I mean rich dad, poor dad for sure. Um Seven Highlights of Highly Effective People, great personal development book. Um Who Not How? Also great. I think those will be my top three for sure.

SPEAKER_01 29:55

They're all awesome. All right, my last question for you is what's your favorite part of real estate? Investing.

SPEAKER_00 30:02

The lifestyle. I think you're making your own way. The amount of effort you put in is directly correlated with how much money you make, how much value you can give to other people. It's all based on your effort and your ability to network and grow it, all from all the energy you put into it.

SPEAKER_01 30:18

Love it. So good. All right, let's give Carl a round of applause. Thank you for being here.