Building the Ops Team: How Many People You Actually Need
Adding people is the fastest way to add cost, and the slowest to undo. In this episode, we talk about how to build an operations team for a mobile home or RV park, starting from the work that has to get done rather than an org chart, and how to decide how many people that work really requires. We cover: Start with the work: Listing every recurring task, from rent collection and lease administration to lot maintenance, utilities, and vendor management, before deciding on any roles. The core roles: Who handles on-site management, maintenance and repairs, leasing and resident relations, collections, and bookkeeping, and which of these can be combined early on. Doing it yourself versus hiring: What an owner should keep personally in the first year, what to outsource to a third-party manager or vendor, and what needs an employee who is always on site. Sizing the team: Using pad count, number of occupied homes, and the amount of maintenance and turnover as the drivers of headcount, rather than a fixed ratio copied from another park. Cost and timing: Adding roles as revenue and workload justify them, and keeping payroll in line with the park's net operating income so a slow month doesn't put the park in the red. Who is involved in a deal and who runs the park: Separating the people who buy and finance the property from the people who operate it, and making sure both groups know who owns which decisions. Keeping the team small and accountable: Clear written duties, simple reporting, and checking results against the rent roll and the P&L every month. This episode is for general education and is not legal, tax, employment, or financial advice. Check employment and wage rules in your state and work with your own attorney, accountant, and advisors when hiring. Visit treesidecapital.com to learn more.




