A row of gravel pads in a small RV park at dusk, one older motorhome sitting level on blocks with warm light in its windows and a step at the door.

What Kills the Deal

County bans, unit rot, the tenant who removes the unit, eviction timelines, rent-to-own traps, and over-improvement. Score each one before you buy.

Module 10 of 105 lessonsWritten in full1 worksheet

Start this module The whole course

The lessons

All 5, in the order they are read.

1. County bans
The county can say no, before or after you have placed units, and the only defense is to have asked first and in writing.
2. Unit rot
Water is the only thing that destroys a unit, and it does it slowly, from the roof down, while nobody is looking.
3. The tenant removes the unit
A unit on wheels can be towed by anyone with a truck, and the lease clause, the title, and the setup are what make it yours in fact and not only on paper.
4. Eviction timelines
An eviction takes as long as your statute and your court say it takes, and the model has to survive that many months of zero rent on that pad.
5. Rent-to-own traps and over-improvement
The two ways owners talk themselves out of the model's simplicity: selling the unit slowly, and building around it.

The worksheet

Deal-killer scorecard

Score each risk 1 (low) to 5 (high) before the first unit and once a year after. Any single 5 is a stop: fix that line before buying the next unit. The evidence column says what a low score has to be backed by.

Deal-killer scorecard
Risk	Score 1 (low) looks like	Score 5 (high) looks like	Evidence required for a low score	Your score	Next action
County ban	Planning department answered yes in writing; permit allows long-term spaces; units inside permit count	No written answer, or permit silent and unasked, or complaint history	Dated email from planning; copy of permit; jurisdiction checklist complete and attorney-reviewed	—	—
Unit rot	Inspected at yard with meter; week-one seal and water test dated; roof inspected spring and fall	Bought on photos only; water test skipped; nobody on the roof in a year	Inspection checklist; water-test date in unit file; roof inspection dates on ops checklist	—	—
Tenant removes the unit	Title in park's name in file; unit placarded; set on blocking with wheels stored or locked; lease clause initialed	Title unclear; unit on tires with hitch open; no placard; lease silent	Title copy; photograph of placard and setup; initialed lease clause	—	—
Eviction timeline	Attorney counted the weeks; screening criteria written and applied; collections ladder followed on the day; reserve covers one eviction a year	Weeks unknown; screening informal; reminders ad hoc; no reserve	Attorney's written estimate of weeks; screening criteria document; ledger and notice records; reserve balance	—	—
Rent-to-own trap	Not used; or used only under an attorney-drawn installment agreement with state rules confirmed	Verbal or template rent-to-own; tenant believes unit is theirs	Attorney's document or a written decision not to use it	—	—
Over-improvement	Standard scope only; nothing attached to any unit; pads as Module 4 left them	Decks, roofs, skirting, sheds, or interior upgrades beyond scope on any unit	Budget trackers at or under cap; photographs of units as set; park rules prohibiting structures	—	—

2 further rows in the downloadable sheet.

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