Chris & John
- Jul 27, 2021
- 3 min read

Ep 154: From Syndication To Starting a Fund with Daniel Weisfield

In today’s episode of the Real Estate Investing Experience, we are joined by a very special guest, Daniel Weisfield. Daniel is a manufactured housing innovator and co-founder of Three Pillar Communities, a Top 50 owner of mobile home parks in the United States. Their company runs and operates 34 communities across five states, has vertically integrated over 8000 residents, and recently transitioned from individual syndication to starting their first fund. In our conversation with Daniel, we discuss how mobile home parks have changed in the last few decades and why he is so passionate about what they offer residents. Listening in, you'll hear Daniel discuss how the COVID 19 pandemic affected their priorities as a company, their current approach to expansions and why they decided to start their first investment fund. We discuss the competition that buyers are currently facing when investing in mobile home parks and how a limited supply is affecting demand. We also hear from Daniel about how to find investors and why he’s enjoyed starting his first fund. You won’t want to miss this fascinating conversation, so make sure you tune in today!

Key Points From This Episode:

Introducing today’s guest Daniel Weisfield.
Daniel breaks down how mobile home parks have changed over the past few decades.
How Daniel is currently approaching the expansion of his business.
Why the deal cycle for mobile home parks can be arduous to put together.
Daniel’s ratio of multi-family to mobile home park investment in his business.
Why Daniel prioritizes cash flow over months of renovation.
How the COVID 19 pandemic affected Daniel’s priorities.
How the size of a deal affects where and how Daniel invests.
How to find inefficiencies in how properties are managed and upgrade the level of professionalism.
The arguments for and against diversification in acquiring real estate.
The competition that buyers are currently facing when buying in the mobile home space.
The limited amount of mobile home parks in the US and how that is affecting demand.
Why the affordability of mobile home parks for tenants is integral to their appeal.
How Daniel decided to launch a fund.
Why it’s so beneficial for entrepreneurs to pursue deals even if it’s painful.
Daniel breaks down his experience raising money for his fund and why he’s enjoyed it.
Why certain investors prefer funds to syndications.
What investors base their investments on and why it’s often determined by an emotional connection.

Tweetables:

“We still fight a lot of stigma, a lot of stereotypes, and the burden is always on us to prove why this is a legit form of housing that provides an important service to the community.” — Daniel Weisfield [0:04:39]

“Today more than ever, I would much rather [have] cash flow than 12 to 18 months of heavy renovation to achieve cash in the future. I want to buy something today that gives me money today, because cash flow is absolutely critical.” — Daniel Weisfield [0:16:07]

“I don't see a real need to diversify into departments just for the sake of diversification because you're dealing with a similar tenant base, similar demand drivers in similar markets.” — Daniel Weisfield [0:27:44]

“And with eight deals in contract, it doesn't make sense to go syndicate deals one by one in parallel. So we said let's do a fund, it's our first fund, we might still go back and do individual syndication in the future. I'm not opposed to that model. I think it's a good model.” — Daniel Weisfield [0:36:21]

“Most people invest based on emotional connections and some people invest based on very analytical criteria. It just depends on how their brain works and what seat they are sitting in. That’s been my experience.” — Daniel Weisfield [0:44:51]