Interview with Jeff Cook of Cook Properties NY

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 a previous guest on the show, Mr. Jeff Cook, the CEO of Cook Properties NY, the largest owner and operator of manufactured housing communities in New York state.

Jeff Cook's career began as a project manager at a market research firm before venturing into real estate by acquiring multi-family properties in Rochester, NY starting in 1997. In 2008, he expanded into purchasing his first manufactured housing community. Since then, Cook Properties has experienced remarkable growth, boasting a mobile home park portfolio of over 100 communities comprising 7,000+ lots.

In this episode, Andrew and Jeff Cook reconnect to explore Jeff’s recent endeavors since his last appearance on the show. They delve into his remarkable scaling strategies in today’s market and discuss the mobile home park industry’s future outlook. Jeff also shares his insightful approach to building a team from scratch, offering a wealth of knowledge for aspiring, emerging, and experienced passive mobile home park investors alike.

***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

03:54 - Scaling a team and growing pains

06:54 - Finding the perfect Manufactured Housing community Acquisitions and Management team

08:50 - Mobile Home Park acquisitions and the growth of Cook Properties

11:24 - Mobile Home Park evictions and rent control in New York State

15:50 - Pivoting in the current Mobile Home Park market

18:30 - Staffing appropriately if you’re going to scale up in the mobile home park asset class

21:52 - Raising capital quickly

23:56 - How were mistakes addressed?

26:00 - Mobile Home Parks can cash flow well, if managed right

28:53 - Ground-up Mobile Home Park development

36:00 - Being good stewards of the Mobile Home Park Industry and making the right decisions

37:31 - Getting a hold of Jeff Cook of Cook Properties

38:02 - Conclusion

Links & Mentions from This Episode:

Jeffery’s email: [e-mail]

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 never cease to be amazed about some of the things that I see, not only in our parks, but with our own employees and with our team.” - Jeff Cook

“Interest rates have definitely been difficult the past couple years.” - Jeff Cook

“Check bank account statements to check the payout: is what's coming in what the seller says is coming in.” - Jeff Cook

“Always over-raise, have an extra budget.” - Jeff Cook