Interview with Lee Meekcoms of Parkbridge Capital Group

May 24, 2022

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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 talks with Lee Meekcoms, from Parkbridge Capital Group. Lee and Andrew discuss many mobile home park related topics including: the future of interest rates, the demand for affordable housing, expense ratios associated with owning Mobile Home Parks, and passive investing tips for Mobile Home Park investors. Andrew and Lee also awards us advice for recessions and the current mobile home park investing climate.

Lee initially entered the real estate investing arena in the apartment and self-storage sectors with a private equity firm based in the northwest. He later formed Parkbridge as an affiliate company in the mobile home parks and RV resort investment business. Lee's company was instrumental in the affiliate growing to over 60 communities across 13 states and 28,000 mobile home sites. Lee participated in the first CMBS (conduit) financing in the United States, in the early 1990's resulting in $106 million in financing for his affiliate company.

***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 2,000 lots under management. His team currently manages over 30 manufactured housing communities across more than ten 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.

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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Talking Points:

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

01:40 - Lee's start into the manufactured housing business

05:20 - The future of interest rates

07:50 - Advice for recessions

13:00 - The MHP assets Lee wishes he kept

15:20 - The biggest hurdle in the MHP business

18:35 - The expenses on a case by case basis

21:12 - CapEx reserves

28:00 - Realistic timelines for raising rents in a mobile home park

33:16 - Secondary and tertiary markets and mobile home park investing

35:00 - The most important thing passive investors need to look out for when investing in mobile home parks

38:00 - Finding the demand for affordable housing

41:31 - Lee's perfect mobile home park

43:48 - Park-owned homes versus tenant-owned homes

45:40 - Getting ahold of Lee

46:06 - Conclusion

Links & Mentions from This Episode:

Lee's email: Lee@parkbridgecapital.com

ParkBridge Capital: https://parkbridgecapital.com/

Frank and Dave's MHU: https://www.mobilehomeuniversity.com/index.php

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:

"Hindsight is always 20/20 and as an investment group, we always have to make our investors happy." - Lee Meekcoms

"You see stuff come out, 'Only 18 percent expenses. Only twenty percent. But it's falling apart. Of course there's no expenses, nobody is managing it. You don't have anything going to maintenance! " - Lee Meekcoms

"I think you really have to take care of your tenants." - Lee Meekcoms

"[Passive investors] need to be well-informed." - Lee Meekcoms