What if one of the most recession-resistant and cash-flowing real estate investments has been hiding in plain sight all along? While many investors continue chasing traditional multifamily and commercial assets, savvy operators and institutional capital are increasingly turning toward mobile home parks for their affordability, strong demand, and long-term stability. In this episode, we sit down with Randy Smith from 52TEN to unpack why manufactured housing communities are becoming one of the most attractive opportunities in real estate today.
Randy shares the biggest misconceptions about mobile home park investing, why the asset class continues to thrive during economic uncertainty, and how investors can build durable cash flow while helping address America’s affordable housing crisis. Whether you’re an active investor, passive investor, or simply curious where sophisticated capital is flowing next, this episode offers a powerful look into one of real estate’s fastest-growing sectors.
Episode Highlights Here:
Brett
Before we jump into this episode, I want to invite you to join our community to help you become a better steward scale to billions and ultimately give more or all of it away. All I want you to do is to click the subscribe button right now. I love your support. It’s incredible to see your comments, and we’re just getting started. I can’t wait to go on this journey with you. Thank you so much for subscribing. It means the world to me. Welcome to the build it to billions podcast where we guide successful entrepreneurs and investors on their journey from millions to billions. We believe that the key to scaling and compounding your wealth and life starts every single day with the mindset and practice of stewardship over ownership and applying billionaire biblical principles. Our ultimate goal is to have to scale and compound your wealth and life so you can give more or all but a way to help. MVPs, my name is Brett Swarts, and each episode, we’re joined by the world’s top entrepreneurs, millionaires or billionaires, and they share their secrets, insights and wisdom with us, so we can all level up and make a bigger impact. I’m excited about our next guest. He’s out of Arizona, and with over 25 years of experience in sales and leadership, investor relations, capital raising, he brings a unique blend of Corporate Excellence and entrepreneur insight to the investor experience. In his current role as Investor Relations Manager at 52TEN he’s focused on raising capital, expanding their investor base, and scaling proven real estate investment strategies and so much more. Please welcome the show Mr. Randy Smith, Randy, how we doing?
Randy
Doing really well. Brett, thanks so much for having me on the show.
Brett
Excellent. We’re talking about some mobile home park and investing and kind of the marketplace, what’s going on and what you’re seeing out there with 50 to 10 so but before we can do all of that, would you give us just a little bit more about your story and your current focus?
Randy
Yeah, you could. You kind of shared the high-level overview. But as you mentioned, I spent about 25 years in corporate America. I was a high income w2 sales guy, and I had a terrible tax problem, so I started investing in real estate, like so many folks do, and through my active investing, I figured out pretty quickly that I did not want to be an active investor. While I was in my w2 it was better for me to spend my time doing what I did best in my superpower of sales and decided to start passively investing in other people’s deals. So did a bunch of projects where I became an LP investor in other people’s deals, and then I got laid off from corporate America, and found out really quickly that all of those passive deals I were doing. I was doing where I didn’t want to have high cash flow because of tax reasons. I figured out really quickly when you lose the w2 job, you need cash flow. So talked with my network, figured out my superpower after corporate America and I landed in the fund-to-fund space, where I started bringing capital from my network and from my pocket to other people’s deals. Also did that for a few deals before joining 52TEN.
Brett
fantastic. And let’s kind of dive into what you guys do at 5210 and in mobile home park. You know what’s, what’s the state of the industry and what’s what? Where do you see it going in 2026
Randy
Yeah. So 5210 we are a mid-sized mobile home park operator. We’ve got about 1800 lots currently own, 12 parks across five different states. And what’s unique about us is that we’re a group that our entire portfolio is performing at or above targets. So if you’re an LP in deals out there, and you’ve spread your capital across a bunch of different operators and deals, you’ve probably found that most groups have a couple of dogs and have some deals that aren’t going so well. And that’s really what attracted me to this group. So they’re a group that has never missed a distribution, never delivered a k1 late, and just all-around good guys,
Brett
so performing at such a high level when a lot of others are struggling,
Randy
yeah, so I, you know, everybody claims to be conservative underwriters, but I would say that these are the most conservative underwriters that I’ve seen so much so that they, I think they underwrote 130 some ideals last year and only bought one. So they’re very, very selective with the assets that they buy and those that they do. They’re really just kind of singles and doubles and Performa is very, very conservatively underwritten.
Brett
Awesome. That’s good. Well, good, good for them. And it’s not easy to do. So that’s, that’s good, good for them, by the way. People want to learn more about the company. It’s 5052
ten.com 52 ten.com and it’s actually the number 52 and then spelled out, 10, T e n.com Okay, excellent. What’s this? What’s, what are you seeing in mobile home park industry right now? Are you seeing the stress and opportunities? What’s, what’s kind of your take on, on, on, just being able to be a buyer right now in today’s market?
Randy
Yeah, so there, there is always, like a bid, ask, variance between the two, like, we are not having a lot of success buying you.
Brett
So if you like this little short clip of the interview I just did, click over here to watch the. Fullinterview, and please don’t forget to subscribe. Thanks so much, everybody.
Watch the episode here:
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About Randy Smith
Randy Smith is a real estate investor, capital raiser, and investor relations expert with a passion for helping investors build long-term wealth through alternative real estate investments. As part of 52TEN, Randy specializes in manufactured housing community investments, educating investors on why mobile home parks have become one of the most resilient and cash-flowing asset classes in today’s market. His experience spans investor relations, business development, and private capital placement, with a strong focus on creating win-win opportunities for both investors and communities.
Prior to joining 52TEN, Randy built a successful career in sales leadership and private investing, helping connect investors with strategic opportunities across multiple asset classes. Known for his practical insights, relationship-driven approach, and commitment to investor education, he continues to help individuals navigate the evolving real estate landscape while emphasizing conservative investing principles and long-term financial freedom.
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