Keel Team refinances Detroit mobile home park for $10.69 million

Keel Team Real Estate Investments completed a $10.69 million cash-out refinance on a 166-lot manufactured housing community in the Detroit metro area after roughly two years of upgrades and occupancy gains. The deal follows a $5 million acquisition in February 2024 and underscores how operational improvements can drive value in mobile home parks.

Why it matters: - The refinance suggests Keel Team turned a $5 million acquisition into a much more valuable asset through operations, not just market movement. - Manufactured housing communities can gain value as occupancy rises and income becomes more stable. - The transaction returned a significant portion of invested capital to the partnership while Keel Team kept ownership of the property.

What happened: - Keel Team Real Estate Investments completed a $10.69 million cash-out refinance on a 166-lot mobile home park in the Detroit, Michigan MSA. - The new financing is a fixed-rate, non-recourse agency loan. - Keel Team acquired the property in February 2024 for $5 million. - The refinance followed a value-add plan centered on infrastructure work, home infill, and occupancy growth.

The details: - The community had 166 total lots at acquisition. - Of those, 155 lots already contained homes and 11 lots were vacant. - Lot occupancy was 93.4% at acquisition. - Home occupancy was 72.9% at acquisition, with 42 homes vacant. - Average lot rent was about $420 per month. - Estimated market rent was about $695 per month. - Keel Team invested about $2.55 million in capital improvements and home renovations. - Infrastructure upgrades totaled about $930,600. - Those upgrades included road paving, utility submetering, electrical and plumbing improvements, security lighting, new fencing, landscaping, updated signage, and lot preparation work. - Home renovations and new housing inventory totaled about $1.62 million. - That work included rehabilitating homes, remodeling vacant homes, installing new HUD-compliant homes, and removing obsolete housing inventory. - The property value more than doubled in roughly two years.

Between the lines: - The deal highlights how manufactured housing value often tracks occupancy, not just physical condition. - Vacant homes and under-rented lots created clear upside at purchase. - The improvement plan targeted both resident experience and revenue, which can lift net operating income. - The financing result also reflects lender confidence in the property’s post-upgrade performance.

What's next: - Keel Team will continue operating the community after the refinance. - The firm is expected to keep focusing on infrastructure, occupancy gains, and affordable housing as part of its broader strategy. - Keel Team says it owns and operates more than 50 mobile home parks across 15+ states. - More information is available on Keel Team's website.