The ABCD Real Estate Asset Property Rating Chart (PRC) provides an easy way to rate a community based on key characteristics, features and off-site factors By George Allen, CPM

This month, I'm unveiling a do-it- yourself guide to grade manufactured home communities, the first new real estate asset comparison tool to be published in more than 20 years.

The ABCD Real Estate Asset Property Rating Chart (PRC) applies commonly used A-B-C-D investment property methodology to manufactured home land-lease communities.

This two-sided form lists four key property characteristics on the front of the form, and 10 different features, amenities and off-site factors on the back.

(The A-B-C-D grading system is a sliding scale with A equaling a five-star, top-of-the-line community, B a four-star property that's better than average, C a good three-star development and D a fair to poor community.) Fill out the heading before you start the evaluation process. Include the name and address of the property, the date you evaluate it, who will prepare the chart and the amount of acreage and sites already developed.

The property characteristics side of the form lists four criteria for rating a community:

• Location: This benchmark is based on the community's ability to reach its target market (homeowners/renters), their needs and wants, local geographic characteristics, accessibility, living environment, visibility, employment, services and recreational activities.

• Curb appeal: How does this property look, smell, sound and feel to the prospective homebuyer, renter or passerby?. Judge the cleanliness and overall condition of homes, skirting and sites in the community. Does the curb appeal of this community enhance or spoil the manufactured housing industry's image?

• Infrastructure: As you are rating this category, consider what is visible (wide, paved streets, offstreet parking, deferred maintenance) and unseen to the naked eye (submetering, underground utilities, public or private utilities).

• Homesite density: Consider the number of homes sited per acre (density is determined by dividing the number of homes by the acreage with five homes per acre the ideal), and the ratio of single-section homes to multi- section models. Does this property have a spacious feel, or are homes sited too closely together?. This category comes closest to being an objective measurement.

Allocate up to 20 points for each of the four property characteristics based on the A-B-C-D grading system. Point totals can also be split between two letter grades.

The back page

The features and amenities section lists nine local market expectations and practices and leaves room to customize by adding new categories and deleting others as needed.

The categories already listed on this section to be rated are:

• Offstreet parking or wide streets.
• The presence of cable TV.
• Secure on-site storage.
• Clubhouse or information center building.
• Flushing and/or fire hydrants.
• Rules and regulations (Guidelines for Living).
• Lockable cluster mailboxes.
• Professional on-site property management.
• Attractive entrance and signage.

For each feature or amenity present in your community, add 1 point in the appropriate A-B-C-D column.

A community can earn up to a maximum of 15 points in this section.

The off-site factors section lists three factors worth 1 point apiece, up to a maximum of 5 points (if two locale-specific features are identified):

• Proximity to fire and police assistance.
• Favorable local manufactured home taxes and licenses.
• The quality of local education.

After completing all the relevant rankings. add the numbers in each letter grade. The column with the largest point total suggests the appropriate property rating. Matching point totals in adjacent columns suggest a marginal ranking between two letter grades.

For industry purists preferring to rate communities by the star system (2-5 stars), this chart works very well.

A 5-star community would receive an A rating, 4 stars a B rating, 3 stars a C rating and 2 stars a D rating.

The PRC, along with the Income and Expense Cash Flow Analysis form and the Valuation Calculation Worksheet, provides a comprehensive vehicle for measuring the quality and profitability of a manufactured home community.

For a free printed copy of these forms, please call or write to me at the address below.