Tonight, people who call the Jeffery Sand Mobile Home Park in Maumelle home , have three months to find a new place to live.

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Mobile Home Park Evicts 40 Families - FOX16.com

Naples Estates, a senior citizen mobile home park, will hold a flea market Saturday to benefit its homeowners association’s general fund. The flea market, from 7 am to 1 pm, will help the 484 residents fund repairs, security, …

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Local mobile home park to hold flea market to benefit association …

The point is clear! Mobile-home parks are an underdeveloped part of our economic structure. Of the more than twelve thousand parks in the country, only about four thousand are approved by the Mobile Homes Manufacturers Association. And, in the face of an increasing demand for new mobile homes and better parks, more and more parks are getting obsolete every day.

Keep in mind, too, the differences between mobile-home parks and motels or efficiency apartments. A mobile-home park has a large part of its facilities underground in the form of sewer lines, electrical connections, water connections, and so on. Deprecia- tion and maintenance are low, since you don’t have to keep up a large number of buildings or continually replenish furnishings. Moreover, when a mobile home is permanently located in your park, the occupant usually cares for his own space and takes pride in doing so. In this way, your customers take over some of the burdens of your business. And, if you’re a congenial man- ager, they’ll volunteer to help on other things.

So, when you start a modern mobile-home park, you’ll have many things in your favor. You can depend on the long-term growth of the mobile-home industry, on a large retired popula- tion that will take to mobile living, and on the fact that many older parks are not designed to meet the needs of today’s mobile-home owners.

Here are some lists of questions that you must ask before you consider opening a mobile home park:

Capital Requirements

1. Have you made a careful estimate of the money you will need?

2. How much will you invest in land? .

3. What will your buildings cost? .

4. How much will you invest in equipment and fixtures?

5. Have you thought of insurance liability, fire, theft? .

6. How much will you need for at least six months’ operating expenses (rent, salaries, supplies, gas, light)? .

7. Have you enough money to cover your personal living ex- penses until the business begins to pay? .

8. Have you a reserve for emergencies?

9. How long do you estimate it will be before the business makes a profit? .

Financial Resources

1. How much of your savings will be needed in the business immediately?

2. How much do you have in the form of assets that, if necessary, you could sell or borrow on to get more money?

3. Is your credit such that you can borrow money from a bank or other financial institution?

Personal Finances

1 . How much money do you make at the present time?

2. What would be your estimated income as the owner of a business?

3. Are you willing to get along for a while on lower earnings?

4. Are you willing to risk uncertain earnings for the next year or two?

Economic Status of the Community

1. Is the business trend in the community you’re thinking of up, down, or stationary?

2. Is the community industrial, agricultural, or residential?

3. Are the major businesses and industries old and established, or are they new and expanding?

4. Is the business diversified, or is it a one-industry town?

5. Is the population of the community growing, decreasing, or staying about the same?

6. Are transportation facilities, professional services, banks, schools, and so on adequate?

7. Are the civic associations aggressive?

8. Have any mobile-home parks failed in the community? Why?

9. Have you checked to see how much business activity there is and how it would affect your business?

10. Are your competitors well established?

11. Are their parks obsolete by modern standards?

12. Does the community welcome mobile-home parks or is it against them?

General Considerations

1. What do the local businessmen think of your chances of success?

2. Have you talked to your banker? What does he think of your setup?

3. Would he lend you money if you needed it?

4. Have you talked to representative citizens to get their opinions?

5. Have you figured out how many employees you will need and how much you will pay them?

6. Will you be able to get along with part-time help?

7. Do you know what the usual wage scale is in the community in which you intend to set up business?

8. Do you have a bookkeeping system worked out?

9. Have you decided on what brochures and letterheads you will need?

10. Have you determined your business policies in regard to rental per space, advertising, business hours, and the like?

11. Have you inquired about the cost of adequate insurance to cover damage from storms and floods, damage suits, public liability claims, and loss from burglary?

12. Have you checked with your local, town, city, or state authorities in regard to licensing requirements?

13. Have you checked with the local health authorities to be certain that your business will meet with the requirements of the community?

“Knowledge is power” particularly where your own business is concerned. A little planning in the beginning, a little knowledge at the start, talking it over with people already in business three or four days spent this way may avoid years of grief later on. Sound planning will help remove many of the risks that experience will otherwise teach in an expensive way.

Weigh carefully the advantages and disadvantages, the difficulties and rewards, the requirements in capital, work, and knowledge.

Get copies of the state laws and municipal codes that will affect your mobile-home park. Check with attorneys and architects who are familiar with applicable statutes and building requirements. And let the Mobile Homes Manufacturers Association know you’re going to build a park and where you intend to locate. They have on hand several approved park designs that will help you get started. They also have information available relating to health and sanitation laws.

When you go into business, for example, there will be respon sibilities to your family, employees, and creditors. Meeting the payroll and paying monthly bills are heavy loads. Important decisions will be made by you every day. If you make too many mistakes, you face the danger of losing your capital or your earnings will be much less than working for someone else.

Regardless of these difficulties, you’ve probably said to your- self, “I want a business of my own.” All of us, at one time or another, want to create our own opportunities and build our own security.

And, after all, there are many bright sides to the picture! When you start a business, you’re boss. When new ideas come, you can put them right to work or drop them as quickly. There are risks plenty of them. But, if all goes well, you can pay your- self a good wage and a husky dividend. Since no one can fire you, success in business makes ownership permanent and of lasting value.

Then there is the pride and security that comes with the ownership of income-producing real estate. It is a real pleasure to own a mobile-home park, watch it grow and flourish, and know that it is yours.

The fact that you’re reading this book puts you ahead of the thousands of dreamers who build air castles and never carry out their visions with concrete plans and action. It is possible, too, that, when you finish reading, you will be enthusiastic about becoming the owner of a mobile-home park.

CHAPTER 1. EXPLORING THE MOBILE-HOME PARK BUSINESS

Exploring the Mobile-Home Park Business

BE YOUR OWN BOSS

Sit back and relax. Imagine a beautiful, landscaped tract of
land 10, 15, or 20 acres located in a nice resort area away from
the dirt, noise, and tension of the city. Or perhaps in a nice sub-
urban area, out far enough to be beautiful and in close enough
to be convenient.

On this land sets a new way of life the mobile-home com-
munity. You are the head of that community. If it were an
elective office, you’d probably be the mayor. But you’re its head
because you’ve shown the initiative to start one of the many
mobile-home parks needed today.

Now, imagine your community in operation. You see attrac-
tive mobile homes placed on neatly spaced lots with sidewalks,
paved roads, and street lighting. See Plate 1.

You see, too, a new kind of community spirit. People no
longer live in isolated homes socially insulated from one an-
other. They are now part of a self-contained community, where
people can have sociability when they want it or privacy when
they need it.

What does all this mean to you? Just this. If you start a
mobile-home park, you’ll be going into a business that is needed
and which, in most cases, will be highly profitable. Beyond that,
you’ll be starting a new way of life that cannot be duplicated by
other forms of housing.

You can, of course, work for someone else. And this may even
be better than owning your own business or being your own
boss. Any business of your own requires good planning, extra
work, and some worry. You’ve got to plan, save, sacrifice, and
learn from inevitable mistakes. Problems are the rule, not the ex-
ception.

The mobile-homes industry is comparatively young. It is
essentially an outgrowth of the camping-trailer industry which
prevailed during the early thirties.

As a mobile-home industry it has faced growing pains and the
need for adequate standards and planning. Much of this need has
been in the field of the trailer park, known today as the mobile-
home park.

Professor Michelon, who had spent several periods in Florida
studying mobile-home park development and its relation to re-
tirement programs, came to the conclusion that there was a
definite need for a text on the construction of such a park.

The Mobile Homes Manufacturers Association, which with
its Park Division had spearheaded the planning of such parks,
readily joined with his cause.

Mr. Michelon then proceeded to construct his own park and
from such construction weave the pattern to help other prospective park operators.

The Mobile Homes Manufacturers Association acknowledges
the work of Professor Michelon and appreciates the part played
by the staff of the University of Chicago Industrial Relations
Center, which participated in the retirement research program
at AlA Mobile Home Park, Melbourne Beach, Florida.

The Manufacturers Association takes pride in the publication
of this text, the first complete volume covering the construction
of a mobile-home park.

Contents

PART I. PLANNING A MOBILE-HOME PARK

CHAPTER 1. EXPLORING THE MOBILE-HOME PARK BUSINESS
Be Your Own Boss The Need for Mobile-Home Parks Have
You Got What It Takes? -How Much Money Will It Take?-
Have You the Right Kind of Business Organization? Get
the Facts Opportunity Unlimited Check List of Personal Quali-
fications and Other Factors

CHAPTER 2. FINDING THE RIGHT LOCATION

Factors Affecting Location Topography and High Level of
Land Site Provisions Yardsticks of Cost Conclusion

CHAPTER 3. DESIGNING A MOBILE-HOME PARK

Large and Attractive Spaces Angular Parking of Mobile Homes
Suitable Auto-parking Areas Concrete Patios and Sidewalks
Hard-surfaced or Durable Roads Buildings, Landscaping, and an
Appealing Entrance MHMA-approved Layouts of Mobile-Home
Parks Tips in Designing a Mobile-Home Park

CHAPTER 4. GETTING READY To BUILD

Retaining a Competent Attorney Inventory of the Laws Affect-
ing Utilities and Buildings Bill of Materials Selecting the Right
Items for Subcontracting How To Get Definitive Bids Setting
Cost Goals and Staying within Them Avoiding Liability from
Injuries during Construction Getting Waivers of Lien on Work
Fully Paid For Conclusion Sample Specifications for Service
Building

PART II. BUILDING A MOBILE-HOME PARK

CHAPTER 5. CLEARING AND GRADING YOUR MOBILE-HOME SITE

Making a Ground-Elevation Map Clearing and Grading Equip-
mentSome Key Factors To Keep in Mind Estimating the Cost
of Clearing and Grading

CHAPTER 6. SEWER SYSTEM

Planning a Sewer System How To Construct a Sewer System
The Septic Tank, Distribution Box, and Drain Field Recom-
mended Mobile-Home Sewer Connection

CHAPTER 7. WATER SYSTEM

Factors To Consider When Installing a Water System Location
Development of Wells Pumping Equipment Storage Dis-
tribution System Disinfection of the Water System Inspection
and Maintenance Suggestions for Installing Metal Water Pipe

CHAPTER 8. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Wiring Diagram Sample Specifications for a Park Electrical
System Conclusion

CHAPTER 9. BUILDING THE ROADS

Grading and Laying Out the Roads Suggestions on Contracting
Road Work Conclusion

CHAPTER 10. PATIOS, SIDEWALKS, AND SHUFFLEBOARD COURTS

Patios and Sidewalks Shuffleboard Courts Conclusion

CHAPTER 11. BUILDINGS IN A MOBILE-HOME PARK

Recreation Building Service-Laundry Building Hobby Shop
and Lathhouse Conclusion

PART III. OPERATING A MOBILE-HOME PARK

CHAPTER 12. BEFORE You OPEN FOR BUSINESS

Licenses, Inspections, and Insurance Promoting and Advertising
Your Park Registering of Guests Refuse Disposal Fire Pro-
tectionPreparing Effective Rules and Regulations Tips on
Handling the Clientele Learning How To Park and Connect
Up a Mobile Home

CHAPTER 13. How To KEEP USEFUL BUSINESS RECORDS

Some Simple Records To Keep Preparing a Balance Sheet and
Profit-and-Loss Statement Conclusion

CHAPTER 14. INCREASING NET INCOME

Income from the Use of Telephones Income from a Park Laun-
dryIncome from a Park Store Income from Bottled-Gas Fran-
chiseMobile-Home Sales and Service Park Electricity Keep-
ing Overhead Down

CHAPTER 15. How To ORGANIZE A RECREATIONAL PROGRAM

Typical Recreational Activities Making Recreation Pay