"It's hard to find deals that make any sense these days. We liked the price and the cap rate," Marvin Sampson, a principal with Scottsdale-based Superstition Lookout Delaware LLC, tells GlobeSt.com. "We're kind of hoping we're picking it up at the bottom of the downturn of the market. We think there's some potential there."

With escrow lasting 65 days, Sampson met Kearney, NB-based Eastlawn LLC's asking price for the property and has already made $100,000 of road improvements. Additional renovations are slated for the clubhouse. Located at 500 N. Main St., Copper Country was built in 1972, with the self-storage portion added in the early 1980s and completed in 1998.

Sampson obtained a seven-year, $2.2-million loan from GMAC Commercial Mortgage Corp. of Horsham, PA, at a fixed rate of 5.2%. "Mobile home parks are very secure investments. You can usually keep them well-occupied once you've filled them up," says Damon Reed, vice president with GMAC in Birmingham, AL. "Most storage deals are pretty full." He says the buyer has a reputation as a good operator of similar product in the Phoenix metro.

Copper Country consists of 191 mobile home spaces and 206 self-storage units on 26.7 acres. The property boasted 87% occupancy at closing. Mobile home spaces rent on average for $190 per month while storage units average $45 per month.

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