Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/283550
For any commu- nity owner, the most important member of your team is the on- site manager. You can buy a manufac- tured home commu- nity at a great price. You can do excellent due diligence and have the perfect business plan. But you will never be able to execute to your full potential if you do not have somebody in the field who is proactively working in your best interests. So how can you get the most out of this vital member of your team? Proper selection You can't have a winning manager if you don't select one. For many community owners, the biggest problem they have in choosing a manager is that they put zero effort into it. If you want to find somebody who can exceed, you need to fol- low the proven road map on personnel. You will need to work from a large pool of applicants in order to have a chance of finding a good one. Just like a spouse or business partner, you cannot just grab on to the first applicant that comes your way and expect a happy outcome. We try to have at least three decent candidates to choose from. We typically find our manager prospects on Craigslist, or within the manufactured home community it- self. We then interview the applicants in person or, if that's not feasible, by Skype. It's very hard to pick a manager without seeing their appearance – and risky, too. I've been shocked one too many times to find that the applicant who sounded so good on the phone is covered in gang tattoos and would scare off all but the worst community resi- dents. Our favorite question is to ask the applicant what they honestly think of the community and how to improve it. What we want to hear is "bet- ter mowing, picking up the litter, and new street signs to replace the old rusty ones". What we don't want to hear is "an Olympic-sized pool, a jogging trail, and free cable TV". Remember that this is going to be your eyes and ears – they better be calibrated to the same wavelength that you are on, and share your goals. Training Can you throw someone into a pool for the first time and expect them to immediately start swim- ming? Does the Air Force give a new pilot a five- second review of where the ignition switch is and expect them to fly to France? You cannot expect good results without proper training of the man- ager. This means a face-to-face meeting to go over exactly what you want them to do, in a man- ner that they can write it down for future refer- ence. If you can't stand taking the time away from your family for this important step, then buy the Certified Community Manager program for $295 from MobileHomeUniversity.com, or some other source. But you have to show them the ropes if you hope to have a successful experience. Direction Once you show them what you want done, you must continue to monitor and focus them on the key drivers to profitability. We have a weekly phone conference with the manager on collec- tions, remodeling of vacant homes (if any), rent- ing of vacant homes (if any), and water & sewer leaks and usage. In addition, we do a monthly budget/actual/difference on every property, and include the manager in the meeting, so that we can discuss where things went bad, or compliment them on the things that went good. Since our annual budget is our roadmap to success, we let it be our APRIL 2014 7 THE JOURNAL F B y F r a n k R o l f e COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE \ 8 How To Get The Most Out Of Your Manager