Seller Defered Maintenance
any one here ever buy a property and later found the Seller seriously defered maintenance before you bought. this was done to make the #'s look good for 2 years or so.
Any other tricks, that i should be looking for?
have just about completed a deal for 30 units, and a comment was made some where, its possible all the expences have not been recorded by the property manager
:-?
Its not only highly possible, but highly probable. Most of the parks I have looked at, unless they are over 100 units, do not keep accurate records. Also right before a sale they always "freshen up" to make it look better. I tend to do it, needed or not before a sale. Certain things they cannot hide quickly are:
Lawn Maintenance,
you can tell a well manicured lawn, over one that was just started to be taken care of. look for weeds, and border maintenance.
Wood under Soffits
If wood has been covered constantly with paint over a period of years there is no change, if it has had years of non coverage, there will be splits, and bubbling
Propane connections
Look for the older versus the newer connections, to see if they have tried to stay in compliance
Bushes
Older bushes that have been tended to have a fuller appearance.
Curbs, Roads
Someone that likes there park will repair or replace curbs as they are needed, not all in one shot, if all repairs are aged equally, it is a cover up. If the Roads have been sealed annually then there should be minimal splitting and pothole repairs. If they have just gotten back up to speed then you will notice the repairing needed.
Record Keeping
If they have been keeping accurate record keeping then they will have receipt books, and logs that you can look through, try a year or two ago, and look at the ink to ensure different days recording. Also if it is the managers, look for aging of the books, and different Ink colors. If none of that is present then they could be dummied up.
Equipment Repair
Look at the equipment they use, ask who does there repairs. This one is kind of tricky, if they know what they are doing then they will use it less. But you should be able to tell if the manager knows what he is doing.
Sidewalks, walkways
If maintenance has been kept up, there will be no weeds, and no crackage. If a clean up was just done within the last year, look for discoloration where the weeds once were. Hardly anyone takes the time to bleach them out.
Ask the neighbors
Take the next park overs owner or manager to lunch, and ask away. Or just ask the tenant that keeps looking out the window, they are just dieing to tell you anyway.
Sewers
If they have been taking care of problems as they come along, The grass wont be greener around the cleanouts. If they have a back up problem, the grass is the first indicator, if you shovel one shovel full out next to the cleanout, you will know if they had a problem within the last year.
Good Luck,
Kyle