If the brochure for a rural mobile home park looks promising, my next step is a quick look at the town. Before taking the deal further, I want an initial read on three things: what keeps the town going today, whether people are staying, and what gives it a future. One park I reviewed had attractive numbers. But I couldn’t find the retailers I normally look for, a school had closed, and the remaining school appeared to serve only primary grades. Taken together, that was enough for me to pass. The numbers were appealing, but I wasn’t comfortable with the community picture. These are the three questions guiding my first checks: 1. What keeps the town going today? I look for hospitals, government offices, major employers and retail stores. This gives me a starting picture of the jobs and services supporting the town. How dependent it is on any one employer takes more investigation. 2. Are people staying? I check the population trend and which elementary and secondary schools serve the town, including any openings or closures. Census figures and school listings give me somewhere to start before digging into enrolment and housing trends. 3. What gives the town a future? I look for announcements about hospital or school projects, employer expansions, new businesses and closures. At this stage, these are leads to follow. An announced project still needs checking for funding and progress. A missing retailer or a school closure wouldn’t decide it on its own. I’m looking at the combined picture to decide whether the park deserves more of my time. For experienced MHP buyers, what have you found in an early check of a town that made you pass despite attractive numbers?