Diversified Investments
Diversified’s current portfolio was acquired for $30 million and is now valued at an estimated $111 million. For investors, RV properties are among the safest and strongest real-estate assets, particularly in times of economic downturn. Our properties are located in thriving, destination locations and attract families and retirees seeking affordable, convenient vacations. Occupancy and NOI is at an all-time high in our resorts particularly based on guests who own their own RV units and rent our sites on a yearly basis. For the middle-income families in our customer base, the annual site rental provides an attractive “second home”, a viable alternative to costly vacations in California, Florida or elsewhere. By leaving their RV unit at the assigned site year-round, these customers save on gasoline and avoid the repeated hassles of unit set-up and take-down. Diversified prudently operates these communities with a view to selling the properties to investment groups, institutional investors, or private or publicly-traded REITs. Tellingly, two of the wealthiest individuals on Wall Street are directly linked to the RV Resort industry. Berkshire Hathaway (Warren Buffett) owns major manufacturers of RV’s and manufactured homes, namely Forest River and Clayton Homes. Sam Zell is the founder of Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS), the largest REIT of Manufactured Home and RV Communities in the US. The principals of Diversified have a 21-year relationship with ELS, having sold them 81 properties.
Real Estate Specialization
| Special Purpose |
Barry Haase
Barry L. Haase, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Diversified is responsible for acquisitions, financing, and the oversight of site management and expansion. Mr. Haase holds a B.B.A. from the University of Massachusetts and received an L.L.B. degree in 1962 from George Washington University School of Law. Mr. Haase was a Staff Attorney with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C. from 1967 to 1970 and Vice President and General Counsel of A.G. Becker, an investment banking firm, from 1970 to 1977. Mr. Haase was Director of the Office of Pipeline and Producer Regulation of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from 1977 to 1979 and a practicing attorney in Washington, D.C. from 1979 to 1986. From 1987 to 1992, Mr. Haase has served as President and CEO of Diversified Partners, Inc. which acted as co-general partner with one of the nation's largest owner/operators of mobile home communities. In 1992, Diversified Partners merged with Ellenburg Capital Corporation ("ECC") as a 25% Noteholder and President. From 1992 through 1996 ECC was engaged in the acquisition, development and management and operation of mobile home communities and recreational vehicle parks. In 1997, Mr. Haase arranged for the sale of a majority of the ECC portfolio of mobile home communities to Manufactured Home Communities, a NYSE listed Real Estate Investment Trust. The transaction involved 38 parks valued at over $350 million.
David Zweig
Mr. Zweig is responsible for all property, asset management and operations, including staffing, marketing, operating budgets and overall P/ L management and financial operating results. Mr. Zweig has more than 34 years of experience in all aspects of asset and property management. From 1998 to 2006 he was the Senior Vice President and Head of the Eastern United States for Apartment Investment and Management Co. (NYSE:AIV) one of the largest fortune 500 American REITs, with responsibility for over 26,000 residential units and retail assets in 16 states. His division represented 40% of the REIT’s total NOI and generated more than one half billion in revenue and over $200 million in NOI annually. Prior to AIMCO, Mr. Zweig was associated with several prominent New York-based real estate investment and development companies including Lawrence Properties and Rockrose Development Corp. He most recently was President of Urban Investment Partners and was a Managing Partner at Redbrick Partners – both in Washington, DC. UIP is a property and asset management firm specializing in value added projects in the District of Columbia. Redbrick is an investment and management firm where Mr. Zweig and his partners created and managed a variety of closed end opportunity funds focusing on the single family housing sector. Mr. Zweig is a graduate of Binghamton University; is a licensed New York real estate broker and holds the CPM accreditation from the Institute of Real Estate Management. From 2012 – 2015 he was a pro-bono advisor to a 501(c)(3) non-profit that managed and developed affordable housing across northern VA. The portfolio included group homes, permanent supportive housing and transitional housing for returning veterans and those working out of homelessness. Mr. Zweig was an adjunct faculty member at the New York University Schack Institute of Real Estate and just recently completed his second term as a member of the Board of Directors of the Property Management Association of Washington DC.
Gayle Benson
Gayle Benson, has been Diversified’s Chief Financial Officer since 1998 and is currently working on a part time basis. She is responsible for financial reporting. She is an integral part of the acquisition and financing of properties, providing financial analysis, deal structure, review of third party reports, market analysis and on site due diligence. Ms. Benson has a degree in Accounting and more than 30 years of experience in real estate investments. Her career started at the San Francisco office of Arthur Andersen, after which she became the Director of Finance for two real estate investment firms located in northern California. From 1988 through April 1995 Ms. Benson held senior positions including Chief Operating Officer for The Arcand Company that specialized in the syndication of affordable housing for individual and institutional investors. During Ms. Benson's tenure at the Arcand Company, over 350 properties (nationwide) were acquired and more than $300 million in investor (mostly institutional) equity was placed, dealing primarily with senior level professionals and technical staff of Fortune 100 companies. From 1995 through 1998 she served as Director of Investor Relations for ECC where she also was involved in financial underwriting for property acquisitions.
Tamara Diederichs
Ms. Diederichs joined Diversified in 2001 and has 28 years’ experience in real estate accounting. She has an accounting degree from University of Phoenix. Prior to joining Diversified, Ms. Diederichs was the controller for a large nationwide owner/operator property management company with approximately 110 properties. Supervising a staff of five, Ms. Diederichs is responsible for the administration of all centralized accounting functions including the production of all company financial statements and operating budgets, preparation of annual tax returns, the oversight of the company accounting software and information systems, procedures and internal controls and reporting processes relating to property level revenue collection.