The MHP Operator Experience

From the Field

All posts from Brandin Pettersen — operator, investor, and founder of Realovative Asset Management.

All Operations Passive Investing Acquisitions Capital & Syndication Portfolio Updates

Operations What Real Operations Look Like: Lessons from My Conversation with Cory Harelson One of the most valuable parts of my conversation with Cory Harelson was hearing how he built his team. What started with just him and his wife has become a…

Oct 31, 2025 10 min →
Capital & Syndication Risk VS. Reward- GP Compensation General Partner (GP) compensation can make or break a real estate deal. From acquisition and asset management fees to promotes, catch-ups, and hidden “junk fees,” how operators structure pay says…

Aug 21, 2025 18 min →
Operations Behind the Operations: What Our Q2 Performance Really Says Discover what really happened in Q2 across our mobile home park portfolio — the wins, the setbacks, and the real work it takes to drive performance. From rent increases and…

Aug 8, 2025 12 min →
Acquisitions Exit Strategy Risk: Can They Really Sell or Refinance? Refinance and sale risk is real—and it’s killing deals. In this article, I break down what happens when pro forma assumptions miss, rates spike, cap rates expand, and the market…

Jul 10, 2025 16 min →
Operations Trenches, Tenants, and the Truth About Mobile Home Parks When a main water line burst at our mobile home park in Georgia, it wasn’t just a plumbing issue—it was a test of leadership, logistics, and trust. In this real-world…

Jul 4, 2025 7 min →
Passive Investing The Silent Killer of Syndications: Debt Gone Wrong Most real estate investors focus on the property — but it's the debt that can destroy the deal. In this article, we break down the hidden risks of bad debt…

Jun 27, 2025 18 min →
Operations Why Mobile Home Parks Stay Full When Others Empty Out While other landlords are scrambling to fill units, our mobile home parks stay full—with a waitlist. It’s not luck. It’s how the model works. Tenant-owned homes create stability, and our…

Apr 25, 2025 8 min →
Operations Behind the Operations: What We Accomplished This Quarter in Our Communities Discover how mobile home park operator Realovative achieved major stabilization milestones across three communities in Q1 2025—boosting collections, completing key rehabs, and distributing profits. Learn what it takes to turn…

Apr 18, 2025 13 min →
Operations Operator Risk: The Most Overlooked Threat in Passive Investing Most passive investors focus on the deal, the market, or the returns — but the biggest risk often lies in the person running the deal. This article breaks down the…

Apr 10, 2025 17 min →
Capital & Syndication Understanding Capital Call Risk in Real Estate Syndications Capital calls are the silent killer of real estate syndications—something most investors don’t expect until it's too late. In this article, we break down exactly how they happen, what causes…

Apr 4, 2025 17 min →
Operations BEHIND THE DEAL : Acquiring a 73 Lot MHP Discover the full story behind our newest contracted acquisition, from sourcing the off-market opportunity to the value-add strategy, learn why this park stood out, how the business plan was built,…

Mar 28, 2025 9 min →
Operations Aggressive Underwriting: The Silent Killer of Passive Returns Many mobile home park investment deals look great on paper—but the numbers can lie. From inflated rent assumptions to unrealistic infill timelines and rosy exit cap rates, aggressive underwriting can…

Mar 21, 2025 17 min →
Operations Behind the Operations: How One Tenant Tried to Paint Me as a Slumlord When you own mobile home parks, you’re bound to deal with difficult tenants. But what happens when one skips the housing authority and takes their complaint straight to the Attorney…

Feb 28, 2025 11 min →
Operations The Value-Add Strategy in Mobile Home Parks: Why It Works and How We Do It Value-add mobile home park investing is all about transforming neglected communities into thriving, cash-flowing assets. Many park owners fail due to lack of capital or management skills, creating opportunities for…

Feb 21, 2025 20 min →
Operations The Eviction Process: Why It’s Never as Simple as You Think Evictions aren’t as quick or simple as some landlords think—especially when tenants know how to game the system. This story walks through a real eviction in Georgia, from endless excuses…

Feb 14, 2025 10 min →
Operations 5 Ways to Make Money with Mobile Home Parks Mobile home parks generate revenue through multiple streams beyond just lot rent. Smart operators maximize cash flow by separating home rent, Rent-to-Own (RTO) payments, utility bill-backs, and service fees. This…

Feb 7, 2025 12 min →
Passive Investing Why Passive Investors in Real Estate LLCs Could Be Breaking the Law Are you investing in a real estate LLC as a passive partner? You could be unknowingly taking on personal liability and risking SEC violations. Many operators skip syndications to save…

Jan 16, 2025 18 min →
Operations Behind the Deal: The Hard Choice to Cancel Discover why I made the tough decision to cancel a 188-lot mobile home park deal in this "Behind the Deal" story. From unexpected infrastructure issues to failed negotiations, learn the…

Jan 3, 2025 14 min →
Operations The Truth About Passive Income: Why SFRs Are Holding You Back Think single-family rentals (SFRs) will give you easy passive income? Think again. From constant repairs to high turnover, managing SFRs is far from passive. In my latest article, I break…

Dec 20, 2024 20 min →
Operations Is My Operator Scaling too Fast? Thinking about passive investing in mobile home parks? 🤔 It’s essential to ensure your operator has a strategic, sustainable growth plan. Scaling too fast can lead to mismanagement, impacting your…

Dec 13, 2024 22 min →
Operations Behind the Deal: When Inspections Reveal the Unexpected When inspections reveal hidden surprises, will your contract and due diligence hold up? 🚨 Failing sewer pipes, unexpected water issues, and a seller with 'missing details'—this deal tested every clause…

Dec 6, 2024 18 min →
Operations Why Proactive Maintenance Saves Your Bottom Line in Park-Owned Homes Why proactive maintenance matters in mobile home parks: Neglected repairs can lead to escalating costs, tenant conflicts, and community decline. Learn how quarterly inspections and rule enforcement save the bottom…

Nov 29, 2024 15 min →
Operations To Buy or Not to Buy: When to Say NO to a Mobile Home Park Investment Discover a unique approach to mobile home park investing in To Buy or Not to Buy: When to Say No to a Mobile Home Park Investment. This article explores a…

Nov 9, 2024 22 min →
Passive Investing Behind The Operation: Quarterly Reporting for Mobile Home Parks Closing out the quarter for a mobile home park means more than just numbers on a page. 📊 It’s about communication, transparency, and ensuring Limited Partners know their investment is…

Oct 18, 2024 11 min →
Acquisitions Behind the Deal: How Walking Away from a $700K Investment Protected Our Limited Partners’ Capital Behind every investment opportunity is a long process of marketing, analyzing, and walking away from deals that don’t align with our goals. This article highlights the importance of saying "no"…

Oct 4, 2024 17 min →
Operations Building a Strong Foundation: Accounting Strategies for Mobile Home Park Operators Four bookkeepers, three CPAs, and a lot of mistakes later—I’ve finally built a solid accounting system for mobile home park operations. Here’s a look at the lessons I’ve learned, how…

Sep 27, 2024 16 min →
Passive Investing Behind the Scenes – Accounting- What every LP Should Ask About Before investing in mobile home parks or any real estate syndication, understanding the operator’s accounting process is crucial. Poor accounting can lead to delayed tax documents, inaccurate financial reporting, and…

Sep 20, 2024 13 min →
Operations The 1/3 Rule In Taking Over Mobile Home Parks When taking over a mobile home park, expect a third of your tenants to leave, a third to complain, and a third to adapt quietly. In this article, we break…

Sep 10, 2024 13 min →
Passive Investing Why I Chose Mobile Home Parks—and Why You Should Too After 14 years in real estate—flipping houses, renting homes, and managing residential properties—I realized I was putting in all the effort but not getting the financial freedom I was after.…

Sep 6, 2024 12 min →
Passive Investing What Is Really Included in the Purchase Price of a Mobile Home Park? Curious about what really goes into the purchase price of a mobile home park? 🏘️ It’s more than just the sticker price—you need to understand the hidden costs, fees, and…

Aug 30, 2024 29 min →
Operations Adding Value to the Residents in Your Mobile Home Park Discover how effective property management goes beyond just raising rents. In this article, Brandin Pettersen shares real-life stories and practical insights on building strong, thriving communities in mobile home parks.…

Aug 23, 2024 17 min →
Operations The Dangers of Cheap Rents in Mobile Home Parks Landlords facing financial strain due to low rents in mobile home parks struggle to cover maintenance costs, leading to property degradation and tenant flight. Cheap rents negatively impact the industry,…

Aug 16, 2024 19 min →
Operations How Could You Lose Money? The Crucial Question in Real Estate Syndications Marie, a Limited Partner, raised a crucial question about her investment, prompting a vital discussion on potential risks and failure scenarios in mobile home park syndications. The focus shifted from…

Aug 9, 2024 22 min →
Operations Mobile Home Parks, The Quick Facts Before You Invest There is a lot of talk about Mobile Home Parks and RV Parks in the investing space, especially if you hang around…

Jul 30, 2024 17 min →
Passive Investing Exploring Passive Investment Debt Opportunities in Mobile Homes w/Adrian Smude Welcome to the “Let’s Talk Passive Investing in Real Estate” blog, where we delve into unique and lucrative real estate investment opportunities.…

Jul 25, 2024 4 min →
Passive Investing Optimizing Real Estate Investments: Matching Deals with Investor Profiles Investing in real estate syndications requires understanding different investor roles and their expectations. Limited Partners seek passive involvement, often busy professionals looking for stable income and capital appreciation. Loan Sponsors…

Jul 14, 2024 15 min →
Passive Investing Decoding the Archetypes of Real Estate Operators for Success : Insight from a Mentor What Tony was about to explain gave me insight not just into mobile home and RV park operators but maybe into personality traits of all real estate operators. It was…

Jul 7, 2024 26 min →
Passive Investing Passive Investing in Real Estate Syndications: A Lucrative Strategy Explained. Part 3. Our call picked up again the following Friday where he proceeded to ask me more general questions about Syndications being a suitable…

Jun 30, 2024 17 min →
Passive Investing Passive Investing in Real Estate Syndications: A Lucrative Strategy Explained. Part 2. My Call with Ken picked back up where it left off pretty seamlessly, He wanted to dive into the specifics of the…

Jun 30, 2024 15 min →
Passive Investing Passive Investing in Real Estate Syndications: A Lucrative Strategy Explained. Part 1. Passive Investing in Real Estate, a lucrative strategy, offers diversification, hands-off operations, and tax benefits. Syndication allows investors like Kenneth to pool funds for purchasing and managing larger assets. Success…

Jun 30, 2024 14 min →
Operations Managing Late Payments and Non-Payers in Mobile Home Communities We run a strict eviction policy at Pettersen Communities. In fact, after 14 years of handling all kinds of real estate-related drama,…

Jun 22, 2024 12 min →
Passive Investing Mobile Home Parks: The Ideal Passive Investment for Retirement Real estate, particularly mobile home park investments, presents a compelling opportunity for retirement planning. While stocks are a common choice, their lack of regular income and reliance on market performance…

Jun 21, 2024 14 min →
Operations Why Are People Talking About Mobile Home Parks? The MHP Operator shares why mobile home parks offer a compelling investment opportunity. Contrasting with single-family rentals, MHPs offer better cash flow, operational efficiency, affordable rents, and higher valuation based…

Jun 20, 2024 11 min →