Interview with Kolman Bubis of Sunstone Real Estate Advisors

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 talks with Kolman Bubis, a founding partner of Sunstone Real Estate Advisors (or Sunstone REA). Andrew and Kolman talk about what passive investors (Limited Partners) need to look out for prior to investing into the mobile home park asset class, in addition to what Kolman’s perfect mobile home park looks like. They also discuss Kolman’s advice for LP’s, and discuss Sunstone REA and mobile home park operations. Kolman also uses his background and expertise to answer questions about the future of the Manufactured Housing business as well as his personal vetting process for deal sponsors.

Kolman has been instrumental to the success of Sunstone REA in their completion of brokerage, capital placement and consulting assignments. He is also founding partner of Sunstone Mortgage Capital, a sister company of Sunstone Real Estate Advisors, founded in 2013. Before Sunstone, he worked at Marcus & Millichap, where he focused on the brokerage of mobile home park properties. Kolman helped clients with fine-tuning their property disposition, acquisition and investment strategies. He went to school at Indiana University and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Finance.

***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 2,000 lots under management. His team currently manages over 30 manufactured housing communities across more than ten 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.

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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Talking Points:

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

01:49 - Kolman’s story and journey into mobile home parks

03:30 - Kolman’s view of mobile home parks during the 2008 recession

06:41 - Kolman’s transition into the owner/ operator side of the trailer park business

08:18 - The toughest hurdle in the manufacture housing community business

09:50 - Handling the property management side of things

10:41 - The most important things LP’s need to look out for

12:49 - Kolman’s vetting process when looking at operators

14:07 - How Kolman finds his deals

17:00 - Fishing and real estate

20:03 - Kolman’s perfect mobile home park

24:00 - Common mistakes new operators make

25:12 - Inside tips on water lines and utility infrastructure

26:00 - Hurdles in the future for the Manufactured housing industry

29:00 - A little about Sunstone REA

31:53 - Getting a hold of Kolman

32:24 - Conclusion

Links & Mentions from This Episode:

Sunstone Real Estate Advisors: https://sunstonerea.com/

Kolman’s email: [e-mail]

Kolman’s phone: [phone]

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/PassiveMHPin...

Andrew Keel Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/passivemhpi...

Twitter: @MHPinvestors

Quotes:

“Operating is certainly harder than it looks.” - Kolman Bubis

“If you want to run these well, it’s a very very involved business.” - Kolman Bubis

“We bookkeep from a single centralized location. I think that’s how most small operations are going to work.” - Kolman Bubis

“I like to look at the fees and the track records.” - Kolman Bubis, on what to look for when looking at different sponsors

“I’ve trolled many days, in fishing and in real estate, without any catches.” - Kolman Bubis