Welcome back to the Mobile Home Park Lawyer Podcast! In this solo episode, Ferd Neman breaks down a due diligence blind spot that quietly wrecks otherwise “great” mobile home park deals: the dirt isn’t just the soil. It’s the title, easements, access, encroachments, and every recorded (and unrecorded) mistake tied to that land.
Ferd walks through real examples where buyers relied on “we’ve never had a problem” and didn’t realize that usually just means nobody looked. From landlocked access scenarios and life-safety setbacks that can block infill, to shared sewer obligations, drainage easements, and boundary issues that can kill licensing, Ferd explains why title commitments and exception documents are where the real risk lives.
He also gets practical about what serious operators should do: order the right survey, overlay it with the title commitment, and think 3–5 years ahead—because these issues don’t appear out of nowhere. They show up when you expand, refinance, sell, or when a neighbor decides to get hostile.
Tune in now to learn how smart buyers protect themselves before the deal turns into an expensive lesson.
Highlights of the episode:
00:32 – “Risk in dirt”
01:47 – Skipping surveys
03:15 – Title vs survey
04:11 – Missing access easement
05:11 – Life safety trumps
06:05 – Highway setback fight
07:00 – Easement types
08:07 – Drainage easement costs
09:16 – License blocked
11:10 – DOT easement story
13:47 – Bank lawyers read
14:01 – Portfolio deal delay
16:43 – Overlay and verify
17:36 – Problems show later
20:11 – Control the asset
20:51 – Due diligence insurance
22:52 – Verify, don’t trust
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