24 min

The MHP Brokers Tips and Tricks Podcast Interview with Kevin Caiaccio, closing attorney with Robinson Franzman in Atlanta The Mobile Home Park Broker's Tips & Tricks To Investing

    • Investing

In this episode of The MHP Broker’s Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed Kevin Caiacci, a closing attorney who represents multi-family and mobile home park investors and sponsors.     

This and every Tips and Tricks podcast episode is brought to you by The MHP Broker’s’  proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Ask Max for details.   

Here Are the Show Highlights: 

Kevin Caiaccio is a closing attorney who works with Robinson Franzman in Atlanta and represents investors and sponsors in the multi-family, and specifically mobile home park sector of commercial real estate. (Max, 1:21) 


Kevin graduated from the law school at the University of Georgia in 1995 and has specialized in commercial real estate transactions for most of 28 years. (Kevin, 1:48) 
His primary focus has been on multifamily housing transactions, and a subset of that--mobile home park transactions all over the country. His focus is on trying to make sure deals happen, rather than stifling deals. (Kevin, 2:30) 
Kevin cautions investors and sponsors to remember that, in the vast majority of deals, they’re using other people’s money as part of the capital stack, so they have to stay in compliance with the various loan covenants and obligations. (Kevin, 4:46)  
For instance, if it’s a Fannie Mae loan, there might be limits to the number of park-owned homes you can have in the deal. Other lenders might mandate tenant protections. You must be aware of all such regulations and restrictions regarding the lender portion of the capital stack. (Kevin, 5:31)   
When you take investment money from other parties, whether it’s a corporate syndicate or family and friends, you have a fiduciary duty to act diligently and invest that money prudently. (Kevin, 6:08) 


Sponsors should also remember that no one wins every deal. Some go bust, and when they do you end up with unhappy investors. There’s always a threat that they’ll sue you as the failed sponsor, so it’s imperative that you’ve acted prudently every step of the way. (Kevin, 6:40) 
Kevin writes operating agreements for investment partners that clearly spell out the rights and disclose the risks to all parties. (Kevin, 7:25) 
There’s no guarantee that you won’t be sued for a deal that goes south, but a well-written operating agreement can help reduce the risk. (Kevin, 7:59) 
Kevin sees more uncertainty in the market today than has been there in many years. The value of real estate has steadily climbed since coming out of the Great Recession in 2010. Even the pandemic didn’t create much of a shock to the system. (Kevin, 9:48) 
But today, a couple factors have created a heightened sense of uncertainty. Steadily rising interest rates and questions as to when they’ll come down and how this will impact rent growth have shaken the market despite very low unemployment figures. (Kevin, 10:33) 


Another negative point is the insurance situation, especially in Florida. Increased hurricane activity of late has disrupted insurance markets. Despite all of this, and the confusion in the capital markets, business is still going strong and transactions are still getting done. Kevin’s clients are bullish on the markets, at least in the mid-term. (Kevin, 11:29) 
As a broker, Max has seen lost titles to park-owned homes as a common challenge for sellers. (Max, 12:32) 
Some park owners don’t keep great records, and sometimes the titles to older homes or those bought through affiliates can get misplaced and need to be retitled. Sponsors need to be aware of this problem upfront and address title access as soon into the transaction as possible. (Kevin, 13:15) 
Do this before going to close because

In this episode of The MHP Broker’s Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed Kevin Caiacci, a closing attorney who represents multi-family and mobile home park investors and sponsors.     

This and every Tips and Tricks podcast episode is brought to you by The MHP Broker’s’  proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Ask Max for details.   

Here Are the Show Highlights: 

Kevin Caiaccio is a closing attorney who works with Robinson Franzman in Atlanta and represents investors and sponsors in the multi-family, and specifically mobile home park sector of commercial real estate. (Max, 1:21) 


Kevin graduated from the law school at the University of Georgia in 1995 and has specialized in commercial real estate transactions for most of 28 years. (Kevin, 1:48) 
His primary focus has been on multifamily housing transactions, and a subset of that--mobile home park transactions all over the country. His focus is on trying to make sure deals happen, rather than stifling deals. (Kevin, 2:30) 
Kevin cautions investors and sponsors to remember that, in the vast majority of deals, they’re using other people’s money as part of the capital stack, so they have to stay in compliance with the various loan covenants and obligations. (Kevin, 4:46)  
For instance, if it’s a Fannie Mae loan, there might be limits to the number of park-owned homes you can have in the deal. Other lenders might mandate tenant protections. You must be aware of all such regulations and restrictions regarding the lender portion of the capital stack. (Kevin, 5:31)   
When you take investment money from other parties, whether it’s a corporate syndicate or family and friends, you have a fiduciary duty to act diligently and invest that money prudently. (Kevin, 6:08) 


Sponsors should also remember that no one wins every deal. Some go bust, and when they do you end up with unhappy investors. There’s always a threat that they’ll sue you as the failed sponsor, so it’s imperative that you’ve acted prudently every step of the way. (Kevin, 6:40) 
Kevin writes operating agreements for investment partners that clearly spell out the rights and disclose the risks to all parties. (Kevin, 7:25) 
There’s no guarantee that you won’t be sued for a deal that goes south, but a well-written operating agreement can help reduce the risk. (Kevin, 7:59) 
Kevin sees more uncertainty in the market today than has been there in many years. The value of real estate has steadily climbed since coming out of the Great Recession in 2010. Even the pandemic didn’t create much of a shock to the system. (Kevin, 9:48) 
But today, a couple factors have created a heightened sense of uncertainty. Steadily rising interest rates and questions as to when they’ll come down and how this will impact rent growth have shaken the market despite very low unemployment figures. (Kevin, 10:33) 


Another negative point is the insurance situation, especially in Florida. Increased hurricane activity of late has disrupted insurance markets. Despite all of this, and the confusion in the capital markets, business is still going strong and transactions are still getting done. Kevin’s clients are bullish on the markets, at least in the mid-term. (Kevin, 11:29) 
As a broker, Max has seen lost titles to park-owned homes as a common challenge for sellers. (Max, 12:32) 
Some park owners don’t keep great records, and sometimes the titles to older homes or those bought through affiliates can get misplaced and need to be retitled. Sponsors need to be aware of this problem upfront and address title access as soon into the transaction as possible. (Kevin, 13:15) 
Do this before going to close because

24 min