Editor’s Note: Welcome to the companion article to Episode 18 of the MHP_IRL podcast! The purpose of this article is to expand your podcast listening experience with additional content. Companion articles will unpack larger concepts that we talk about during each episode that will give you practical and most importantly, actionable advice that you can apply to your MHP investing journey.
Owning and operating a mobile home park can be a dangerous business.
Don’t believe me? A tenant I was in the process of evicting threatened to take my life, and this is my story.
Part One: The Situation
It was a Thursday afternoon at about 5PM and the last week of the month. It was the slowest time of day during the slowest week of the month…or so I thought.
We had just taken over the property 30 days ago and I was prepping new employees for rent week, as well as implementing our systems at our new property. Since nothing happened for the last couple of hours and my flight home was early afternoon the next day, I sent my employees home so I could continue implementing systems without any distractions.
With the office locked and closed for business, I continued working. Then, a tenant started loudly banging on the doors screaming, “he’s coming to kill you.”
Annoyed, I tried to ignore it at first because it sounded like normal rumor mill drama. I’ve heard countless, unsubstantiated claims ranging from “this guy’s a child molestor” to “he's the biggest pill dealer in the county.”
Naturally, I figured this was another outrageous accusation geared to serve this woman’s ulterior motive. But, as she persisted, her volume progressively increased. Finally, I gave in and opened the door. I demanded that if I found out she was lying, I would kick her out of the community. To which she replied, “I’m not and you need to hear this.”
Reluctantly, I let her in and locked the door behind her. I knew I was making a huge mistake by encouraging this type of behavior. She bagan, “The guy in lot (blank) comes over once a week and we let him use our washer and dryer because he’s fallen on hard times. He’s started to get really weird especially now that you’re evicting him. He says that he has a shotgun and he’s coming to kill everyone in the office tomorrow.”
Naturally, I replied, “I’m calling the police so if this is true I need you to wait for them to arrive so you can fill out a witness report and be willing to testify if this escalates.” She complied.
We called the police. It was rush hour and since it was technically not an emergency, we had to wait an hour for them to show up. At the time, I still didn’t believe her. While waiting, I started digging up anything that I could about this guy, the “killer.”
The previous management had moved him in only about 45 days prior. The information in his file was fresh. He had a full background check on him. He was in his mid-forties and his only identity was a basic ID card from Wyoming. His proof of income was his own scribbles on a scrap of paper and his background check yielded no helpful information with a very limited credit history. The odd thing was...it was like this guy didn’t exist until about five years ago.
As the reality of the situation sunk in, I thought through my own memory of interactions I’ve had with this guy. He’s a tall, stout, yet mild-mannered guy with desperation in his eyes. He seemed very weak, a beta male, that would never hurt a fly. But the more I pieced together the puzzle, the scarier his behavior became.
Had he been some tall intimidatingly, confident, towering figure, I’d say he’s likely just trying to be a bully. Usually, alpha male types get positive feedback over the years of bullying and become all bark, no bite types of people. But, the killer was a beta with a history of losing and those types can snap.
Next, I spoke with some of the residents that knew him to see if I was alone in this assessment. Every single person said this guy was a ticking time bomb.
When the police finally arrived, I shared with them everything I knew. Both the tenant and I filled out a report but it was essentially worthless. The police told us that no crime had been committed since the threat wasn’t made directly to me. Worse, this guy was a ghost in their system too. Meaning with no active arrest warrants and since he hadn’t committed a crime, the police had no grounds to apprehend him.
When I expressed how strange it was that this guy was a ghost for the first 35 years of his life, the police said that there was a high likelihood that this guy wasn’t who he said he was.
So...with a credible threat and a reactive police force, and an eviction date set for weeks from now, what means did we have to protect ourselves?
What would you have done?
Part Two: The Plan
The first thing that happens when you realize that you have a real death threat, understandably, is that you freeze in place. Chills run up and down your spine and a cold sweat permeates through your skin.
Honestly, my life flashed before my eyes. I asked myself if I was happy with what I had done in my life.
I called my investor partners and explained the situation. They all recommended I get a hotel instead of staying on the property that night and heading to the airport first thing the next day.
But here was the kicker, the killer didn’t say, “I’m going to kill Ryan.” He said, “I’m going to kill everyone in the office.” And, all of my employees lived on the property.
What would it say about me, a leader, if in this moment I chose to run away and leave everyone else in that danger?
The second thing that happened to me was a bit more unexpected. Once I got through finding peace within myself that I had lived a pretty fulfilling life, my mind did a 180.
I got pissed. My blood boiled with anger.
This is how it’s going to end? Some loser getting evicted was going to end my life?
No. I refuse to let this happen.
Given my experience defusing confrontational situations at the dealership to my degree in psychology to the resources that I had at my disposal, I decided that if anyone could fix this, it could be me.
That night, I gave myself a last meal. I went out by myself, had a beer, watched some NFL, talked to some of my best friends, and grabbed a Dairy Queen blizzard on my way home. If I was going to die the next day, I was going to enjoy some of my favorite things on this earth one last time.
During this final outing, I constructed my plan. I realized two crucial things.
This guy was about to have nothing so he had nothing to lose.
In his mind, I was the bad guy.
I concluded that if I could change both of those factors, even just temporarily, I stood a chance of getting him out of the property before he snapped.
How was I going to do that? The next day, when he inevitably came to the office, I was going to put some money in his pocket so he wasn’t quite at rock bottom and I was going to convince him that I was on his side and switch who the bad guy really was.
If I could remove those two factors and offer him the money in exchange for him signing a document that says that if he was ever on the property again, he’d be arrested on-site, we might stand a chance.
Part Three: The Execution
I chose to sleep on the property that night. I opted to decline the hotel because I wanted to show my employees who I was as a leader. I am in this with them. I am going to lead from the front and face the danger with you.
To my surprise, I actually slept great that night. The killer only lived about 100 yards from me and had to know I was there as my rental car was parked outside. He could have busted down the door at any moment that night and I would have been a dead man. But strangely, coming to peace with the situation relaxed me.
That quickly changed in the morning.
I made the mistake of thinking I’d drive by his home and if I didn’t see him then maybe he just left. Turns out, as I crept down his street in my rental car he was very much at home. He was standing in this big window with the shades drawn up just staring at me while I drove by. His eyes were wide open, piercing right thru me. And, just like out of a horror film, he was standing there shirtless and possibly naked. One glance in his direction was all I needed to scare me into looking straight and not peeking anymore. That was one of the creepiest things I had ever encountered.
When my employees got into the office, I caught them up to speed. We had two maintenance workers and two office ladies, one was on her way out and one was just having her first day. I’m sure that was an unforgettable first day. To my surprise, everyone bought into my plan. All of my employees were Latino. I came to learn that they were used to self-policing in situations like this rather than involving the authorities. I told my maintenance guys to be ready at a moment's notice, to drop everything and come to the office. When they got to the office, to find a way to stay as close to him as possible without raising any suspicion and be prepared to just wait in the office even if no homes were repaired that day.
I told the ladies to be calm, but call the police as soon as they had a chance to do so without raising any suspicion if things got out of hand.
Not long after we opened, the killer showed up to the office wearing a big black backpack with only God knows what inside of it.
Ready or not, it was game time.
Before he even had a chance to speak, I blurted out, “oh, I’ve got some great news for you, can you wait for me on the couch? I’ll be right with you.”
That was strategic on my part. It took me a few minutes to get the guys back to the office and get the women in place to call the police if necessary. It changed his mindset to whatever he had planned or was expecting. Now, he was waiting for some positive news.
Once all five of us were in place, I sat down next to the killer on the couch and I began.
The next 45 minutes consisted of me firmly repeating myself and him talking in circles. It takes a lot of character in these moments to not call someone out on their obvious lies and inconsistencies that are geared towards them buying more time on the property.
For example, “but what if I want to come visit my friends here” simply translates to “I'm planning on moving in with them.”
It’s difficult to hear something like that and separate humanity from what ultimately is a ploy to manipulate you.
The truth is, if I had succumbed to the temptation of arguing with him, I would risk losing the deal and possibly finding out what was in that ominous black bag. Everyone, myself included, was relying on me to keep my composure and keep the situation calm yet communicate that he was unwelcome.
To achieve this, I had to bite my tongue and firmly repeat that in exchange for the check I was going to write, he would sign a document saying he will relinquish his rights to the home, as well as never set foot on the property ever again. Otherwise, we reserved the right to arrest him for criminal trespassing.
Being repetive, calm, and ultimately threatening to take the deal away from him eventually sealed the deal.
He signed the document, took the check, and gradually left the office and walked down the street.
I never saw him again.
The Takeaway
The paradox of courage is that a man must be a little careless of his life, even in order to keep it. - GK Chesterton.
I want to start by saying what I did was probably stupid and a bit reckless.
I’ve mentioned before that my first real job out of college was selling cars. Each car sale is a slow and grudging process of tactfully easing tense confrontations to deliver the warm and fuzzy feelings when your customer drives off the lot.
It’s an emotionally draining, psychological arm wrestling match in which the customer starts off ready to fight, skeptical of everything you say and has a huge upper hand because they can leave at any given moment for any reason. One slip up could cost you a sale.
But, in time, you slowly win their trust, talk through their concerns, and de-escalate the tension. It’s a brutal process for the sales person because customers can be unforgiving during the sales process and oftentimes get really ugly because you are sub-human to them.
Otherwise, completely kind and normal people can become ruthless savages while buying a car. And they get away with this behavior because if they don’t buy a car, you don’t get paid.
As you can imagine, after selling close to 900 cars in four years, I developed some thick skin and had become pretty efficient at de-escalating heating situations.
That experience gave me the confidence, or maybe arrogance, to think I could handle a death threat.
I don’t recount this story to make me seem like I am a superhero. In fact, I, and my employees, were scared. I don’t recount this story to scare you from jumping into the mobile home park industry.
In fact, I tell you this story so that you can get into mobile home parks and improve your tenant’s situation. What happened to me was rare, but it can happen.
When you get into mobile home parks, you’re getting into something that is very real. And, you may be thrusting someone else into a dangerous situaiton that you created. For that reason, that is why I shared this story.
Whatever the problem may be, will you hide behind your desk and employees? Or, will you jump up and face the problem head on?