Interview with Frank Rizzo of Stone Capital Investors and MHP Exchange

Passive Mobile Home Park Investing

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 interviews Frank Rizzo, co-founder of Stone Capital Investors and the MHP Exchange.

Frank Rizzo has over 20 years of experience in real estate as a broker, owner, and syndicator. For the past decade, he has been active within the Mobile Home Park asset class, acquiring and re-positioning over 20 mobile home park communities and over 1,500 lots. Frank has previously been elected to serve his local real estate board as director and later served as President of the Staten Island Board of Realtors. Frank Rizzo is also the host of the MHP Exchange Podcast.

In this episode, Andrew Keel and Frank Rizzo delve into Frank’s distinctive business model within the Mobile Home Park realm, characterized by substantial VALUE-ADD components. Since embarking on this path in 2013, Frank has thrived in the mobile home park industry, crafting vibrant communities from trailer trash beginnings, cultivating a strong organizational culture, and ensuring the discovery and retention of ideal on-site managers. His journey in mobile home park investing has been rich with learning experiences and invaluable lessons, many of which he shares with listeners today.

***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 3,000 lots under management. His team currently manages over 40 manufactured housing communities across more than 10 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. Check out KeelTeam.com to learn more.

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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Would you like to see value-add mobile home park projects in progress? If so, follow us on Instagram: @passivemhpinvesting for photos and awesome videos from our recent mobile home park acquisitions.

Talking Points:

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

00:50 - Frank Rizzo’s background and journey into the Mobile Home Park asset class

04:00 - Learning how to operate a mobile home park from a distance, remote management

06:08 - Frank Rizzo’s first mobile home park deal and buying Mobile Home Parks in 2013

09:15 - The importance of culture and maintaining mobile home park community rules

13:00 - Building roads and deep value-add situations within mobile home park investments

16:00 - Getting comfortable with the variables when investing in mobile home parks remotely

23:18 - Frank’s unique mobile home park investing model

27:00 - Quality mobile home park managers

31:00 - Lightning round questions

36:00 - Getting a hold of Frank Rizzo

37:40 - Look at your business plan- mobile home park investing

40:00 - Conclusion

Links & Mentions from This Episode:

Stone Cap Investors: https://stonecapinv.com/

The MHP Exchange: https://themhpexchange.com/

Keel Team’s official website: https://www.keelteam.com/

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:

“I always tell people there are just two great days. Your favorite day is the day you close on a new deal. It's like you're super excited. The next best day is the day you're doing the roads.” - Frank Rizzo

“We like to go in there knowing that we're adding value, and taking on projects that maybe a lot of other operators would shy away from.” - Frank Rizzo

“If you do proper due diligence, you can avoid it. But with private utilities, you're opening up Pandora's box for all these things that could potentially go wrong.” - Andrew Keel

“If they feel that attachment, they'll stay. If they don't feel that attachment, and are willing to, they will leave.” - Frank Rizzo