That Sucking Sound II

The mobile home park year has a rhythm.  Residents start the year broke, having spent what they had for the holidays.  An infusion of cash comes in around in February, when tax refunds arrive.  Seasonal work opens up during the summer.  Things dry up in the run-up to the holidays in late fall.  Lot rent payments ebb and flow accordingly.

For a park operator, the year and the months also have a rhythm.  April is the cruelest month, because that is when tax returns are due.  Leases go out in September; that is a scut-fest.  Infrastructure projects take precedence during the summer.  The months from December through March are quiet, except for freeze-ups and snow emergencies.  Rents come in during the first ten days of the month.  Gold-star residents pay on or before the first.  People who want to benefit from the early-bird credit pay on the fifth.  People who want to avoid late fees pay before the tenth.  The rest straggle.

Around the fifteenth of the month, I dun the stragglers.  I start by emailing those who have email addresses and texting the rest.  Five-day demands go out by certified and regular mail.  Thirty-day notices go out to everyone who has not paid by the last week of the month.  If anyone does not square up within the thirty-day period, I continue the dunning process by other means.

I settle accounts in the middle of the month.  First, I pay the balance on the company credit card.  Then, I set aside reserves for capital projects and lumpy payments.  Then, I do payroll.  Then, I post the mortgage payments. Finally, if anything is left over, I pay my own peanut wage.

Chat GPT – Can mobile home park management be fully automated using AI?

Mobile home park management can benefit from the implementation of AI technology, but it may not be feasible or practical to fully automate all aspects of park management using AI alone. AI can streamline certain processes, improve efficiency, and provide valuable insights, but human oversight and intervention are often necessary for effective management.

Chat GPT – Can the repetitive scut work aspect of mobile home park management be fully automated using AI?

Yes, the repetitive scut work aspect of mobile home park management can be partially or even fully automated using AI. Many routine tasks and processes can be effectively automated, saving time and effort for park managers.

In a perfect world, here are the tasks that I would like performed by a robo-manager.  Coders in the audience are encouraged to contact me to let me know whether these tasks could be automated using AI, and whether they want to form a start-up to provide these services for other mom-and-pop park owners:

• Dunning Texts and Emails  Every two days, starting on the eleventh of the month, residents who have a balance of more than, say $50, would get a text and an email containing their statement and a noodge.  A bot would scrape records in Rent Manager and attach information to the applicable messages.

• Five-Day Demands  On the fifteenth of the month, each resident with a balance greater than $50 would receive two letters, one through regular mail and another via certified mail, listing the amount that they owe for rent for each past month and the amount that they owe for non-rent items. To do this, records in Rent Manager would be scraped, applicable information would be put into a template letter, two letters would be printed out for each applicable resident, one draft would be sent by regular mail and the other by registered mail, and proof of sending by registered mail would be saved.

• Thirty-Day Notices  On the first day of the last week of each month, a thirty-day notice would be sent to the applicable process server.  Rent Manager records would be scraped, applicable information put into the applicable template, and the resulting notice sent to the process server.  A human signature or its equivalent would have to be on each notice.

• Reserves  Each month, an applicable amount of reserves would be moved from the working capital account at the applicable bank to the reserves account at the same bank.  The transfer would be recorded as a journal entry in Rent Manager.

• Bill Payments  The park credit card would be paid, and charges allocated to applicable expense or capital accounts.  Some human interaction would be required here.  Maybe, a monthly push notification with a list of outstanding charges on the card with prompts for allocations.

• Payroll  Each month, payroll would be recorded in the payroll provider’s records as well as in Rent Manager, and applicable amounts paid by direct deposit.  Since managers receive a fixed amount per lot under management, plus a fixed amount for, say, mowing or plowing in any given month, this should be automatable without human input.

• Annual Leases  Each September, each resident receives two packets, one by mail and one hand delivered.  Each packet contains a cover memo, two copies of their lease, and a copy of the updated park rules.

The process for printing leases from a template is already automated in Rent Manager.  To fully automate the process, the leases and supporting documents would be printed, mailing labels would be printed, documents stuffed in applicable envelopes, and envelopes stamped with applicable postage.  Query whether that would be possible without significant human input.

• Tax Returns  You press a button and your tax return is filed.  I am dreaming, I know – but it is a very pleasant dream, for an old man.

If I could free up time by automating scut work, I do not think that I would, per Keynes, invest it in leisure and civic activities.  I would probably continue to eat crayons and abuse alcohol.  I might read a few more books.  I might engage in higher-order business pursuits, like aggregating capital, buying parks in red states and turning them around.  I might even start a blog.