Interview with Demetre Booker and Gretchen Zucker of Elevate Commercial
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 Demetre Booker and Gretchen Zucker of Elevate Commercial. The big topic today is “social impact” and “social responsibility” when it comes to mobile home park investing and management. Investing, managing, and operating mobile home parks isn’t just about the property, it’s also about the people. One would argue, it’s mostly about the people. Demetre, Gretchen, and Andrew talk about how to handle non-paying residents, how to look at a deal in a “socially responsible” way, and what “social impact” means for passive mobile home park investors. Demetre and Gretchen also tackle Andrew’s questions on the toughest hurdles they have faced in manufactured housing community ownership, their advice for limited partner investors, and their process of sourcing deals.
Elevate Commercial Investment Group is a real estate firm that focuses on acquiring value-add multifamily assets. They are a full-service, socially responsible, and vertically integrated and has either acquired, partnered, or consulted on over 1,300 work-force housing multi-family units, over 1,400 mobile home park lots, and over 113,000 sq ft of retail and medical office buildings since 2015. Demetre Booker Jr. is the Principal Partner of Elevate Commercial, a full service, socially responsible, and vertically integrated commercial real estate firm. Gretchen Zucker has a career working with social entrepreneurs. She works with around 4,000 entrepreneurs, in over 90 countries to blend profits with social impact.
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.
Talking Points
00:21 - Welcome to the Passive Mobile Home Park Investing Podcast
01:51 - Demetre’s story and journey into manufactured housing
03:30 - Gretchen’s story and how she met Demetre
05:15 - What “social impact” means for mobile home parks
07:01 - The toughest hurdle
09:07 - The management of their parks
10:41 - Sourcing deals
11:48 - The most important thing LP’s need to look out for prior to making an investment
17:52 - Examples of being socially responsible when managing MHP’s
21:53 - How to handle a non-paying resident
24:07 - Their perfect mobile home park
25:30 - Esusu, Till, and PayLease
29:40 - Common mistakes new investors make
32:48 - The toughest time for real estate
38:29 - Getting a hold of Gretchen and Demetre
39:07 - Conclusion
