George Allen / EducateMHC Blog Mobile Home & Land Lease Community Advocate & Expert

Blog Posting # 717. Copyright 5 December 2022. EducateMHC

Perspective. Land lease communities, previously manufactured home communities, and earlier, ‘mobile home parks’, comprise the real estate component of manufactured housing! EducateMHC is the online national advocate, realty asset class historian, trend spotter, education resource, and textbook supplier for land lease communities throughout North America! To input this blog and or connect with EducateMHC, telephone (317) 881-3815, email: gfa7156@aol.com or visit educatemhc.com

George Allen, CPM®Emeritus, MHM®Master, RV/MH Hall of Fame, & MHI Emeritus member


The Decline of Mainstream News Media


How do you get your news? Print media, cable & local television, radio, and or the internet? Where print media is concerned I’ve found a combination that ‘works’ for me. I read USA Today daily (despite its’ liberal slant) and a local rag (the Daily Journal), the New York Times (Gasp!) Sunday only, and the rapidly growing Epoch Times weekly. All this because our local state newspaper, the Indianapolis Star – besides its’ left-leaning political slant, has become a billing nightmare, charging extra when subscription invoices are paid by personal check instead of online, and more subscriber affronts. Reading USA Today and New York Times reminds me, with each and every issue, why I deplore the decline of mainstream media in society today. I think to myself: OK, then the truth must be 180 degrees different from what’s printed here!

Recently read a confirming – of my opinion – article on the decline of mainstream news media (a.k.a. MSM) in SALVO magazine. Titled ‘The Signaling Class’ by Denyse O’Leary, its’ subtitle laying the groundwork for what’s to follow: ‘Today’s Mainstream Media Exist to Disseminate Approved Thought’. Leading off, is a supporting collection of performance statistics worth knowing and noting:

“…CNN’s ratings are down 27 percent from last year, and MSNBC’s are down 23 percent. Print media have probably fared worse. A recent study showed, in the U.S., a country of 332 million people, no newspaper has a print circulation greater than one million. Only nine US newspapers today have more than 100,000 subscribers, and over a quarter have ceased to publish in the last 15 years.” In my subdivision neighborhood alone, among the 25 or so families I know well, only two of us even take (read) the daily newspaper!

“A related, more ominous decline is in public trust. In 2021, public trust in media, as surveyed by Gallup, plunged to the second lowest point ever recorded, only four percentage points above the all-time low in 2016. The US ranks last in 46 countries surveyed for trust in media.” Is this even a surprise, as MSM avoids reporting news like illegal immigrants flooding the US southern border, underutilization of national energy resources, and on and on?

“This year, Pew Research found that 65 percent of nearly 12,000 journalists surveyed felt they did a good job on the most important stories. But only 35 percent of the public agreed. Thirty percent is a pretty significant gap, and of course shows up in profitability. CNN’s profits, for example, are expected to dip below $1 billion for the first time since 2016. Newspapers are hurting too.” But not hurting enough for them to return to professional journalism in their pages.

And the article goes on from there, offering this tidbit: “…some observers cite the fact that journalists as a group are much more progressive than the public.” Do ya think?

How ‘bout you? Any suggestions for how to get factual, timely news from one or more of the MSN platforms? I’d like to know. Send your musings to gfa7156@aol.com



‘Manufactured Housing Action’ – On the Move!


A newsletter distributed (11/30/22) by Manufactured Housing Action (‘MHAction’) describes how tenant activist members made recent visits to the White House, Illinois (Springfield, Peoria, Bloomington, and Urbana-Champaign), New York (re: rent justification law) and Michigan, to share the organization’s “…perspective on the predatory business model affecting manufactured housing residents….”

Land lease community owners/operators have only themselves to blame for this sorry state of affairs. Not all owners/operators, mainly the ones who’ve acquired their properties and portfolios of communities during the past few years – and then, despite cautions otherwise, raised rental homesite rates excessively. Result? A wave of landlord-tenant legislation and threats of regulatory oversight not suffered during the past 30+/- years.

I’ve suggested several measures, in past blog postings, how to address this serious and timely abuse of homeowners/site lessees in land lease communities. Not going to do it again here today. But if you really wish to know, contact me via gfa7156@aol.com and I’ll share the ‘formula’ with you.

GFA/cc

Blog Posting # 715. Copyright 18 November 2022. EducateMHC

Perspective. Land lease communities, previously manufactured home communities, and earlier, ‘mobile home parks’, comprise the real estate component of manufactured housing!
EductaeMHC is the online national advocate, realty asset class historian, trend spotter, education resource, and textbook supplier for land lease communities throughout North America! To input this blog and or connect with EducateMHC, telephone (317) 881-3815, email gfa7156@aol.com or visit educatemhc.com

George Allen, CPM®Emeritus, MHM®Master, RV/MH Hall of Fame, & MHI emeritus ember


‘Go Along to Get along’ OR ‘Aggressive Opposition’

When I began my manufactured housing career in 1978 I expected to learn a raft of new trade terminology, rules of thumb, helpful formulae, ‘tricks of the trade’, acronyms and abbreviations. And that’s precisely what happened – then and during the nearly five decades that followed. Still learning! In the paragraphs to follow I’ll share just some of those Lessons Learned along the way. Ready? Here goes:

Have you wondered why, in a relatively small segment of the U.S. housing industry (i.e. factory-built homes), it appears necessary to have not one but two national trade or advocacy organizations? Well, we do: Manufactured Housing Institute (‘MHI’) and the Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (‘MHARR’). MHI has been around for more than 60 years; MHARR was formed during 1985 by former members of MHI. But why? Because the largest producers of ‘mobile homes’, then in 1976 ‘manufactured homes’, MHI lobbied in ‘Go Along to Get along’ fashion with legislators and regulators. Smaller producers of the same product, however, unable to absorb increased product costs oft associated with increased regulation, formed MHARR engage in ‘aggressive opposition’ to what they viewed as unfavorable legislation and onerous regulation. So the die was cast, and the rest is history, e.g. today’s differing opposition to incorporation of Department of Energy Standards into the HUD Code for manufactured housing, by MHI & MHARR. Read their respective newsletters for details.

Have you ever wondered why HUD-Code manufactured housing, in general, lacks the ‘bells & whistles’ one encounters in traditional site-built (stick) housing? Now, opinions vary about this, but the general rule is NOT to add anything to the basic home that will increase its’ cost to the home buying consumer! It’s why ‘smart (manufactured) homes’ are not commonplace yet – if ever. And in years past, attempts to build single unit smoke alarms, weather radios, gas detectors and intrusion detection devices have just about always failed. And frankly, that’s a major reason why both national trade entities are fighting the product cost control battle alluded to in the previous paragraph, albeit from different perspectives.

For many years I heard the phrase ‘D&R Deliveries’ voiced in regards to manufactured housing delivery. Took me a while to learn this meant the manufactured housing industry had a wide reputation for delivering housing product, then leaving right away! This was early in the day, when independent (street) MHRetailers took delivery of homes into their retail homes sales center, onto privately-owned, scattered building sites, and into ‘mobile home parks’. D&R was a symptom of a much larger, more serious problem: lack of responsibility, on the part of anyone, for the safe and secure installation of new HUD-Code homes! Some have posited that D&R deliveries are the Achilles Heel of this industry. How so? Manufacturers routinely pushed this responsibility off onto the MHRetailer and community owners/operators; who, in turn, passed the responsibility onto homebuyers. And know what? The matter has improved today only because there are fewer MHRetailers in business, and the trend that 40+ percent of new homes are going directly into land lease communities where property owners/operators know the consequences of ‘drop and run deliveries and installations’. Safe and secure home installation remains an unresolved matter across much of the country, e.g. even in the face of empirical evidence the Frost Free Foundation system created and espoused by George Porter, continues to languish when it should, in this industry observer’s opinion, be HUD-approved methodology.

Did you know? In many parts of the U.S. it is commonplace, within land lease communities, to find water and sewer lines laid in the same utility trench? This is one reason infiltration of sewer lines, by ground and potable water, remains one of the most difficult challenges to address in this unique property type. How ‘bout another trade secret?

New Rule of 72. Until recently, when community valuations became unjustifiably high, this was a handy means of estimating the potential and real capitalized income values of average land lease communities. In the first instance, multiply the number of rentable homesites, occupied and vacant, by the prevailing rental homesite rate and then multiply by the whole number 72. For example: 200 sites X $300/month rent X 72 = $4,320,000. For the actual present estimated capitalized income value (not including the presence of rental units, if any), multiply the number of occupied and paying rent sites (e.g. 180) X $300/month X 72 = $3,888,000.

How ‘bout the traditional 3:1 Rule for estimating land lease community rental homsite rates in a given local housing market? Simply perform a Market Survey of 3BR2B conventional apartments in the local market. Once ascertained, e.g. $1,500/month. Divide this figure by ‘3’ for a result of $500/month estimated rental homesite rate. Now, of late, some portfolio owners/operators of large properties are dividing by ‘2’. Do it both ways to decide which is the reasonable approach.

And the beat goes on. There’re more such ‘tools’ to share with you in future blog postings. Are there such rules of thumb you’d like to share? Send them to me via gfa7156@aol.com

GFA

Blog Posting # 714. Copyright 11 November 2022. EducateMHC
Perspective. Land lease communities, previously manufactured home communities, and earlier, ‘mobile home parks’, comprise the real estate component of manufactured housing! EducateMHC is the online national advocate, realty asset class historian, trend spotter, education resource, and textbook supplier for land lease communities throughout North America! To input this blog and or connect with EducateMHC, telephone (317) 881-3815, email gfa7156@aol.com or visit educatemhc.com

George Allen, CPM®Emeritus, MHM®Master, RV/MH Hall of Fame, & MHI Emeritus member

BIG NEWS – THAT’S NOT BIG NEWS

But first, a Disclaimer Statement. I am not an expert on all things related to the content of this blog; rather, these are my viewpoints and opinions. Also not responsible for any loss or damage caused by information provided here. It is your responsibility to verify the accuracy, completeness and usefulness of information contained herein. Any reliance you place on such information is strictly at your own risk. GFA

An introduction to the BIG NEWS – THAT’S NOT BIG NEWS. As many, if not most, of you who read my weekly blog postings know, I’ve been reporting Institute for Building Technology & Safety (‘IBTS’) unadulterated monthly ‘Shipments and Production Summary Reports’ for several years.*1 And during the last two years or so, I’ve added a Stock Market Report that follows the performance of five HUD-Code housing manufacturers and five land lease community portfolio owners/operators – at least three of whom are Real Estate Investment Trusts (‘REITs’). Part of the latter reporting includes a Composite Stock Index (‘CSI’) that excludes but one publicly-owned firm, and includes an unchanging ad hoc factor.

It’s the most recent ‘MHShipment Volume @ September 2022, and Stock Market Report of 3 November 2022’ that sets the stage, so to speak, for the BIG NEWS – THAT’S NOT BIG NEWS.

Quoting from the subject Report: “Manufactured housing/land lease community Composite Stock Index (‘CSI’) on 3 November 2022 is $612.02, down $178 from this year’s starting point of $790.07 during early January 2022.” This is a nearly 20 percent decline in the CSI during the past 11 months! This is the BIG NEWS – THAT’S NOT BIG NEWS, at least where our national advocacy entities and trade press coverage appears to be concerned, or not concerned.

Why the overall decline in stock prices? Our monthly production and shipment totals are, at 89,222 units YTD, on track to eclipse 2021’s 105,772 new manufactured homes – maybe by another 10,000 units (Think 115,000+). There’s an unsolved mystery regarding what is going on in the manufactured housing industry and land lease community real estate asset class these days.

And I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts on the matter. Send them to me via gfa7156@aol.com Confidence assured. GFA

End Note. Unadulterated? Reference to the unfortunate fact that IBTS data, contracted for by HUD, is not accepted as carte blanche by at least one national manufactured housing trade advocacy group. Furthermore; for a copy of the only comprehensive record of annual MH production/shipment totals (from 1955 till 2021), order a copy of SWAN SONG via www.educatemhc.com


STORIES I’D LIKE TO READ!

Manufactured housing history is rich with exciting tales of entrepreneurial enterprise, business acumen (‘keenness of perception’) and product innovation. Just as land lease communities are diverse in size, location and ownership, with unique stories of personal and corporate success and failure. So, where can we find these ‘tales of yore and nowadays’?

Best place to start is the library at the RV/MH Heritage Foundation Hall of Fame facility in Elkhart, IN. Though not as well-archived, in my opinion, befitting the legacy guardian of our industry and realty asset class’ historical records, one can find dozens of corporate biographies and personal autobiographies within its stacks.

For example, here’re the authors and titles of 11 such works; all well worth reading and studying for the practical lessons they teach even today:

Kristian Jensen, Sr., ‘A Danish American’. Dutch immigrant and 1972 Hall of Fame inductee. Here we have a long deceased entrepreneur whose portfolio passed to the third generation before being sold off to another firm. Fascinating tale.

John Crean, ‘The Wheel & I’. Late founder of Fleetwood Enterprises. Probably one of the earthiest of MH moguls, in his writing style. His book is leather bound with gold-edged pages.

James Clayton, ‘First A Dream’. Still shows up at MH industry events. Son Kevin today runs the firm his father founded decades ago – but for Berkshire-Hathaway.

Borislav (‘Boro’) Vukovich. ‘The Life & Times of B.M. Vukovich’.His family, after his death, produced a photo-autobiography of his life before and after immigration to the U.S.

Harrell & Darrell Cohron, identical twins, now deceased. ‘The Trailer Twins’. Friends of mine who developed and grew the largest portfolio of land lease communities in Indiana. Now in the hands of their third generation of family members.

Mike Conlon’s ‘Unconventional Wealth’ reads like Part I of his life story – sharing his secrets to financial success, e.g. ‘go ugly early’. Watch for Part II sometime in the future.

George N. Goldman, ‘The Road Less Traveled’. An old, but now deceased, ‘friend in the MH business’. Besides communities, George owned the Woodall Publishing Company for a while (Think ‘MH & RV directories)

Alvan L. Schrader’s ‘No Respect At All…A PATH TO MILLIONS’. This should be required reading for every MH industry professional! 100 memoirs and a timely commentary on our industry.

Samuel Zell. ‘Am I Being Too Subtle?’ Only autobiography published by a traditional publisher. It’s subtitle says it all: ‘Straight Talk from a Business Rebel’. One of my favorite ‘reads’.

Jim, Ralph & Jeff Scoular’s ‘Leap of Faith’. Newest of the 11 autobiographies, a collective effort by three generations of the Scoular family. Ralph is deceased but Jim and Jeff continue active.

George Allen’s ‘SWAN SONG’. A history of land lease communities from 1970s to now, & Official Record of MH Production Since 1955. ‘From SmittyAlpha6 to MHMaven’ is my autobiography, chronicling overlapping 40+ years careers as a Marine officer and community owner/operator

All but three of these books are available for purchase from the RV/MH Hall of Fame. Conlon, Goldman, and Zell books are available via amazon.com

Now for those titles – not yet penned or published, that I’d like very much to read and study:

Eugene Landy of UMH Properties. ‘Name Your Passions: Sulky Racing & mid-1980s REIT’

Rob tunnel, III of Pots-Nets. ‘Three Generations of Land Reclamation & Development in Delaware’

Spencer Roane, MHM of Pentagon Properties. ‘Birth, Growth & Today’s Role of SECO’

Chuck Fanaro of Saddlebrook Farms. ‘Visionary Community Developer & High End Housing Manufacturer’

David Nap & Colleen Edwards. ‘Reinventing Oneself Over and Over and Over Again!’

Randy Rowe. ‘My Road from ELS to Hometown America to Green Courte Partners’

Sharon Niccum of ACT III. ‘Succeeding in a Man’s World & Inspiring Young Women Entrepreneurs’

Donald Westphal. ‘My Legacy? Landscaping This Nation’s Best Communities’

Paul Bradley, MHM. ‘ROC USA; from Concept to a Popular New Path to Community Ownership’

Martin, Tim & Todd Newby of Newby Management. ‘Christian Approach to Professional Fee Management’

Danny Ghorbani of MHARR. ‘Washington Watchdog’ for the Manufactured Housing Industry’

Dave Hegemann of Rent Manager. ‘Flying Under the Radar Growing Property Management Software for You’

Walter Comer of Adventure Homes. ‘Growing the Employee-Owned Manufacturing Firm’

Ross Partrich of RHP Properties. ‘Following in Dad’s Footsteps & Passing Him Along the Way’

John Rogosich, CPM. ‘Executive Property Managers Have Thick Skin to Survive & Thrive!’

And yes, there are more titles I’d like to see materialize during the next few years. But that is not going to happen unless those with ‘stories to tell’, begin to take time now to organize their thoughts and memoirs, for eventual compilation into their life story.

Need help to this end? Reach out and let me know. Gfa7156@aol.com

George Allen, CPM®Emeritus, MHM®Master
Author/consultant for EducateMHC
Member, RV/MH Heritage Foundation’s Hall of Fame
Emeritus member, Manufactured Housing Institute
(317) 881-3815

Blog Posting # 713. Copyright 4 November 2022. EducateMHC

Perspective. Land lease communities, previously manufactured home communities, and earlier, ‘mobile home parks’, comprise the real estate component of manufactured housing! EducateMHC is the online national advocate, realty asset class historian, trend spotter, education resource, and textbook supplier for land lease communities throughout North America! To input this blog and or connect with EducateMHC, telephone (317) 881-3815, email gfa7156@aol.com or visit educatemhc.com

George Allen, CPM®Emeritus, MHM®Master, RV/MH Hall of Fame & MHI Emeritus member


What Are SFRs, & WWII Vets Quickly Dying Off

We’ve noticed it in our neighborhood; have you noticed it in yours? A greatly increased number of SFRs! Huh? That’s the abbreviation for ‘single family rentals’; you know, those homes traditionally bought and sold as conventional suburban housing, now being rented out. Well, thanks to the pandemic, and now the national economy, large investment firms are buying-up single family houses at a record rate, in some local housing markets, comprising as much as 40 percent of the volume listed and sold.

Quoting from a recent (October 2022, pp. 17-19) issue of GLOBEST. REAL ESTATE FORUM magazine, “…the US has failed to match population growth with housing expansion for years. On the single-family home side, according to a study commissioned by the National Association of Realtors, ‘While the total stock of U.S. housing grew at an average annual rate of 1.7% from 1968 through 2000, the U.S. housing stock grew by an annual average rate of 1% (during) the last two decades, and only 0.7% in the last decade’.”

Today, thanks to a variety of factors (e.g. working from home and remote learning require more space, millennials now forming new households, and increasing home prices and rising interest rates make it difficult if not impossible to ‘buy’), the single-family rental (‘SFR’) market has exploded during the past few years.

Another interesting observation has to do with why the SFR market was not an institutional market a decade or two ago. Why? “…the complexities of managing it institutionally (involved) the ‘three Ts: tenants, trash and toilets.” But now, aggregation and consolidation have eased the property management challenge somewhat. And rental agents, thanks to technology (e.g. ‘showing’ via You Tube videos, online instructions re maintenance, and cel phone aps) typically work out of call centers – never having to leave to drive around to demonstrate units.

But, in my opinion, there’s another side of this story; and it’s somewhat akin to the challenge we face when renting homes within land lease communities. If management does not keep close watch on how their tenants (residents) live, curb appeal and home interior cleaning and maintenance can get out of hand. I see this in the SFR across the street from my home: grass is cut as a last resort, several trees are now dangerously overgrown, and ‘last year’s leaves’ are still piled around the base of one tree. Oh, and we just learned a not for profit organization has converted two large homes (i.e. four bedrooms) into SFR group living units for recovering addicts. Nothing in the subdivision covenants and restrictions prevents this risky change in use.

It will be interesting to observe how the investment future of SFRs evolved during the months and years ahead.


16 Million + U.S. Service Members Fought in WW II

In a recent issue (5 November) issue of WORLD news magazine, researchers shared some salient, startling statistics obtained from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and the National WWII museum. The date goes like this:

• WWII veterans are dying at the rate of 180 per day!

• 70% of WWII veterans served in the Army, 26% in the Navy,& 4% in the Marines

• 291,557 died in battle

• 113,842 died in non-theater service

• 670,846 suffered non-mortal wounds

• 167,278 were still living as of 30 September 2022

77 years following the end of WWII, the actions and sacrifices of WWII veterans remain with us. My maternal uncle was wounded and awarded the bronze star for heroism during the Battle of the Bulge; and, Carolyn’s lifelong girlfriend Billie Ann was orphaned when her father was killed in action during that same conflict, and her mother died soon thereafter. Want to read a book that well-describes the battles fought, as the war drew to a close? I recommend Alex Kershaw’s ‘The Longest Winter’ – The Battle of the Bulge & the Epic Story of WW IIs most decorate platoon.

George Allen, CPM®Emeritus, MHM®Master
Author/consultant EducateMHC
Member, RV/MH Heritage Foundation’s Hall of Fame
Emeritus member, Manufactured Housing Institute

Blog Posting # 712. Copyright 28 October. EducateMHC

Perspective. Land lease communities, previously manufactured home communities, and earlier, ‘mobile home parks’, comprise the real estate component of manufactured housing! EducateMHC is the online national advocate, realty asset class historian, trend spotter, education resource, and textbook supplier for land lease communities throughout North America! To input this blog and or connect with EducateMHC, telephone (317) 881-3815 and or visit educatemhc.com

What You Missed on 24 October 2022

An eclectic mix of manufactured housing and land lease community history, contemporary business musings, useful resources, and more. Following the SECO Conference of a few weeks ago, the ‘MHP Tribe Team’ (specifically, Katerina, Mario & Pablo) asked me to be guest presenter in a Zoom call this past Monday evening. This was a first for me. Since retiring mid-2021 I’ve been very selective as to where and when I participate in industry and realty asset class events. But this opportunity played to my interests: MH & community history, current state of business affairs, and sharing of key resources.

What follows here is a summary of what was covered during the ‘more than hour long’ Zoom call. I hope you find it interesting and helpful. Have questions? Reach me via gfa7156@aol.com

HISTORY. The early history of manufactured housing is well-covered in Allan Wallis’ classic, ‘Wheel Estates’ – The Rise & Fall of Mobile Homes (1997). The history of land lease communities is documented in George Allen’s ‘Swan Song’ – 1970s to present day (2017).

Terminology changes over decades: mobile homes to manufactured homes; mobile home park to land lease community; singlewide & doublewide to single section & multisection. And site rent. Once collected in cash – now rarely the case. Rents due on 1st of month, no longer move-in date. And yes, tenant, over time became resident and or homeowner/site lessee.

But, how many know tales of the ‘bad boys of manufactured housing’? Here’s a succinct review:

• Joseph (‘Joey’) Testa, according to UPI, was ‘a millionaire mobile home (park) and restaurant owner, and alleged associate of Chicago crime figures’ – possibly using Sterling Estates, one of his properties, to launder mob money. Read ‘Double Deal’ – The Inside Story of Murder, Unbridled Corruption, and the Cop Who Was a Mobster’, 2003

• Gian Ferre came to Indianapolis, IN., in 1979, buying four ‘mobile home parks’. Things soon went awry, due to far less cash flow than his due diligence team projected. He sold out, and a decade later murdered several attorneys and their clients in a downtown San Francisco high rise office building. Google: ‘101 California Street Shootings’.

• John Robinson, for a short time in the mid-1980s, published ‘Manufactured Modular Living’ newsletter in IL. Used his wife’s job as a transient community manager to cover his nefarious preying on single women, to get their money, and then murder them. His story is in ‘Anyone You Want Me to Be’ – A True Story of Sex & Death on the Internet.

CONTEMPORARY. At present, the Manufactured Housing Institute (‘MHI’) is working hard to reconcile the controversial DOE energy standards for manufactured homes, with the HUD-Code. They’re doing this via the Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee (‘MHCC’) and legislation (HR-7651). The Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (‘MHARR’), a.k.a. ‘Washington Watchdog for Manufactured Housing’ is an additional force to be reckoned with in this battle. If we lose? New home prices jump by around $6,000 per unit.

MHI’s s National Communities Council (‘NCC’) division is the land lease community real estate asset class’ sole national advocate. And while the NCC was launched with great enthusiasm in 1996; in the eyes of some, it has not lived up to early expectations. Some examples: lack of asset class statistics (i.e. with discontinuation of the 30 year ALLEN REPORT, a.k.a. ‘Who’s Who of Land Lease Community Owners/operators Nationwide, no NCC effort to replace it); lack of communication (i.e. no land lease community-focused print or online newsletters from the NCC, or from anywhere else now); and, lack of emphasis on professional property management (i.e. few to no in-person ACM courses and MHM is dormant), with only 125 Certified Property Managers expressing affinity to our unique income-producing property type. This is really an embarrassing state of affairs among commercial real estate property types!

SECO Conference. Land lease community owner/operator focused, now in its’ 12th year, and hosted in Atlanta, GA. Rapidly becoming ‘the place to go’ for community training and interpersonal networking. A dozen new homes on display last month, with dozens of exhibitors.

RESOURCES. In my opinion, the following texts, then trade publications, belong on every land lease community owner/operator’s desk:

• SWAN SONG. Mentioned earlier in this blog as historical profile of land lease communities, it is also the only Official Record of Manufactured Housing Production, year by year, since 1955.

• Community Management in the Manufactured Housing Industry. This is 8th edition of Mobile Home Park Management, first published during 1988. Chock full of helpful property management information for land lease community owners/operators.

• From SmittyAlpha6 to MHMaven. My autobiography, describing 30 years career as a USMC officer, and 40 year overlapping career as a land lease community owner/operator, and author/consultant to the manufactured housing industry.

All three texts are available for purchase from www.educatemhc.com
And here’s what you should be receiving and reading relative to the MH trade press:

• MHIndustry magazine. Published quarterly and available via MHVillage.com. Be sure to read my Allen Legacy column at the very end of every issue – a mix of industry/asset class history and lessons we learn that can be applied to today’s business decisions.

• MHInsider BUYER’S GUIDE. A new resource, but an important one. Also available via MHVillage .com

• Manufactured Housing Review, a periodic online communique for everyone in manufactured housing and owning/operating land lease communities. Contact manufacturedhosuingreview.com

MY CURRENT PROJECTS. There are two; and for good measure…

Louisville MHSHow Interlude will occur during the timeframe of 18-20 January 2023. Specific date and location TBA. This will be a half day opportunity to convene, discuss and parse industry and realty asset class issues and more. Ask yourself, ‘What other venue offers me the opportunity to talk openly about matters that affect my MH-related business interests?’ Answer? None! So, if seriously interested, let me know via gfa7156@aol.com

‘RVs as Affordable Housing’. I’ve begun research on this timely topic; my manuscript will be due to the publishers of VISIONS, an academic magazine, during fall 2023. If you have thoughts and or experience to this end, please let me know, again, via gfa7156@aol.com or phone me via (317) 881-3815.

RV/MH Heritage Foundation Hall of Fame, Museum & Library. Most readers of this blog already know this legacy organization is celebrating its’ 50th anniversary during year 2022. But, how many know that a new, huge ‘manufactured housing museum’ or exhibit hall, was opened to the public during August? Add a visit to this facility in Elkhart, IN. (right adjacent to I-80) to your bucket list! And while there, after touring the RV and MH museums, take time to visit the extensive library – where you’ll also see the showcased George Allen collection (recently donated to the RV/MH Hall of Fame) of all land lease community books published since the 1970s. Also while there, inquire as to how to nominate someone, even yourself – if qualified, to be considered for election into the prestigious RV/MH Hall of Fame.


George Allen, CPM®Emeritus, MHM®Master
Member, RV/MH Heritage Foundation’s Hall of Fame
Emeritus Member, Manufactured Housing Institute.
Contact via www.educatemhc.com

Blog Posting # 711. Copyright 21 October. EducateMHC

Perspective. Land lease communities, previously manufactured home communities, and earlier, ‘mobile home parks’, comprise the real estate component of manufactured housing! EducateMHC is the online national advocate, realty asset class historian, trend spotter, education resource, and textbook supplier for land lease communities throughout North America! To input this blog and or connect with EducateMHC, telephone (317) 881-3815 and or visit educatemhc.com

Louisville Interlude, Mystery Writers, & More

You are invited to plan and attend a Louisville (KY) Interlude! What’s an interlude? ‘A short time or performance between acts’, as in a play or other production. In the cases of manufactured housing in general, land lease communities in particular, it’ll be a scheduled opportunity, between consequences of the pandemic and fresh start to the year 2023, to identify, discuss, and plan how to deal with energy, land planning/zoning, and related issues ahead of all of us.

The Interlude will occur during the upcoming Louisville MHShow in KY, between 18 & 20 January 2023. The specific date, time and location will be announced in a near future blog posting.

In the meantime, here’s what you should do if interested in the present State of the Manufactured Housing Industry, and where we’ll be headed during the balance of year 2023. Sit down now and ponder (‘consider deeply’) the business, social, regulatory, and legislative matters that affect you most as a corporate executive or entrepreneur businessperson. While tempted to list a few of them here, I won’t – as I do not want to unduly influence your thinking and input to this end.

Once you’ve articulated said matters, issues, and concerns, send me an email message via gfa7156@aol.com; or better yet, prepare a file and attach it to aforementioned email. Also OK to mail a hard copy via USPS to GFA c/o Box # 47024, Indianapolis, IN., 46247.To best plan this Interlude, I’ll need your initial input on or before 1 November 2022; but if need be, it’s OK to send this or additional information during the months of November and December.

What has precipitated this manufactured housing interlude? If you read last week’s blog posting (#710), you know the recent 11^th annual SECO conference identified and parsed some of the timely issues facing our industry and realty asset class.  The Interlude is a voluntary and public sequel to the yeoman service that occurred in Stone Mountain, GA.

Mystery Writers

A futuristic political thriller novel, authored by former community owner/operator Charles G. Irion, of AZ, will soon be released as an Amazon paperback, ebook & audiobook. Titled FOUR, this novel is the latest in Irion’s Summit Murder Mystery series & Murdered by Gods series, it describes the ‘next world war and what lies in its wake’.

I’ve read all Chuck’s books, even his tongue in cheek, ‘Roadkill Cooking for Campers’, as well as other titles. Where his mystery novels are concerned, they get better with each new release. While waiting for this new one, order a copy of ‘Murdered by Gods – Timbuktu’, from Amazon.

Another mystery writer – identified? I think so. Are you one of the unnamed recipients of a periodic online newsletter titled ‘The MHC Weekend’, penned by an unnamed writer? Research suggests the interesting, albeit opinionated compilation of trade press releases, is produced by Chris Ebert, CEO of Charlotte, NC – based, Six Rock Properties.

More…

‘RVs as Affordable Housing’. That’s the working title of a yearlong project I’ve been invited to pursue by VISIONS academic magazine. The focus of the issue I’m writing for is ‘New Era for RV Consumers’.

So, what’s this project involve? Though still working on my writing outline, I know now I’ll be defining ‘affordable housing’, then identifying many ways RVs are now being used, legally and otherwise, as semi-permanent and permanent housing (e.g. Think entire RV rental communities in central Florida, as one example; and, in California, ADUs sited on privately-owned parcels of land already containing a house*1).

I’ve only just begun my research; so, if you have worthy input on this emerging trend, please send it my way via gfa7156@aol.com or if you have hard copy resources, mail to GFA c/o Box # 47024, Indianapolis, IN. 46247. Thank You!

The subject magazine will not be published until this time in year 2023.

End Note.

1.  ADU = accessory dwelling unit, granny flat, tiny house, and more.

George Allen, CPM, MHM

EducateMHC

Blog Posting # 710. Copyright 14 October 2022. EducateMHC

Perspective. ‘Land lease communities, previously manufactured home communities, and earlier, ‘mobile home parks’, comprise the real estate component of manufactured housing! EducateMHC is the online national advocate, realty asset class historian, trend spotter, education resource, and textbook supplier for land lease communities throughout North America! To input this blog and or connect with EducateMHC, telephone (317) 881-3815 and or visit educatemhc.com

SECO Take-Aways, & Are You a Go-Giver?

Ever been to Stone Mountain, GA? Well, this is where the 11th annual SECO conference was held last week. Once again, Spencer Roane, MHM, and his team planned and hosted what has become the premier educational and networking opportunity for land lease community owners/operators and their supporting service and product vendors.

Due to scheduling issues I was only able to attend for 1 ½ days of the four day program; but in that short period of time I picked-up on a plethora of new and helpful information to share with you. Here goes:

No formal theme to the event that I saw, but it certainly could have been – given the ‘play’ it received from keynote presenters: Change from NIMBY to YIMBY! That is to say, work to mitigate ‘Not in my back yard!’ land use prejudices and encourage, at every level, ‘Yes in my back yard!’ zoning and rezoning for all forms of affordable housing! Once and for all, neutralize proponents of LULU (‘Locally Unwanted Land Use’) and BANANA (‘Build absolutely nothing anywhere near anyone!’). How to do this? Support initiatives by the Manufactured Housing Institute (‘MHI’) and get personally involved in local politics! The latter is not an easy task; however, as land use is local housing market sensitive, local influence and pressure must be applied!

Manufactured housing design in 2023? One economist suggested, given pandemic-influence and emerging work trends, include a home office in every manufactured home and improve homeowner’s access to the internet.

‘Bring Capitalism back to the U.S.!’ was another underlying theme at this year’s SECO event.

‘No more trailer talk!’ Hard for me to believe we still have to repeatedly and publicly take stands against this regressive terminology bugaboo. No one who wants to see the manufactured housing industry and land lease communities improve market share, and embracing of the lifestyle, MUST take a stand against using ‘trailer terminology’ at all levels and at all times!

And there are some novel business economic resources available to manufactured housing entrepreneurs and performance analysts:

• ‘Flexible CPI, St. Louis Fed’. What you’ll find is an alternative means of tracking and evaluating the Consumer Price Index as a key economic indicator. Try it, you’ll like it.

• ‘ESG or Environmental Social & Governance’. In my opinion this concept is a ‘woke red herring’ where businesses are concerned. Nothing about profitability here, but still worth considering.

• www.stdb.com a commercial real estate tool that helps analysts to evaluate ‘sites to do business’. Might be just what you need before opening a new plant or developing raw land into a new land lease community.

Make plans now to attend the SECO conference during year 2023. More than likely it’ll be sometime during the fall, maybe October again. This was my first business trip out of retirement, since August 2021, and though the trip was difficult for me (long walks in airports); I hope to see you there next time around. GFA

Are You a Go-Giver?
Just finished reading THE GO—GIVER, ‘A little story about a powerful business idea’, authored by Bob Burg and John David Mann way back in 2007. And yes, it’s available, at a very low price, on Amazon.com

What started out here as a book review, broadens into a specific character study of a well-known manufactured housing businessman.

The book claims there’re five keys to personal success in business, keys often overlooked in business schools and sometimes by mentors. My intent is not to quote these keys word for word, but tell you enough for you to ‘get the idea’, and maybe read the book yourself.

Key # 1. Purports one’s true worth has to do with how much you give, rather than ‘take’ during the course of events. In other words, are you a routinely ‘giving’ person?

Key # 2. One’s income has a lot to do with how many, and how well, you serve business associates. You know, ‘what goes around comes around’.

Key # 3. Your influence has a lot to do with how much you look out for the other guy, a.k.a. ‘enlightened self-interest’. Easy to do once one makes this a habit.

Key # 4. Not meaning to repeat, but the most valuable gift you have to offer your colleagues is yourself. Bet this type person is your best friend in business circles. It certainly is for me.
Key # 5. And when previous keys are in place, be open to receiving what comes your way!

Now, here’s where I experienced an epiphany (‘insight’) reading this book. I, all of a sudden, realized the very person who gave me this ‘read’ epitomizes the key points put forth therein.

He’s forever, in my case, giving of himself, in terms of advice, camaraderie, even this book.

He’s reaped the financial rewards that arise by well-serving his business associates nationwide.

He’s famous for advancing the realty education interests of college and grad students.

He’s just about ‘everybody’s friend’ when it comes to networking and mentoring among peers.

He’s, while probably reticent to admit it, willing to receive from others as well.

So, who, in my opinion, embodies of the core message of THE GO-GIVER? Rick Roethke, founder and president of Barrington Investments (Indiana and southern California). I’ve known Rick most of my 40+ year business career. And as recently as early October (2022), we sat and lunched outdoors at Tom Todd’s General Supply ‘Open House’ in Indianapolis. Time and again, and again, individuals walked over to talk to us; more often than not, to ask Rick for his opinion or advice about one or another matter. And that’s how go-giver rolls: give of oneself, serve others, put them first, offer oneself, and be open to receiving!

George Allen, CPM, MHM
EducateMHC

Know the two best-selling books at EducateMHC these days? First and foremost is COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT IN THE MANUFACTURED HOUSING INDUSTRY. This is the 8th edition of ‘Mobile Home Park Management’, penned way back in 1988. It’s chock full of everything one needs to know and do when professionally managing a land lease community.

And SWAN SONG. As the subtitles proclaim: ‘History of the land lease community from 1970 to present day’, and ‘Official list of new manufactured homes produced annually, from 1955 to present day’. No other text has this veritable one-two punch!

In my opinion, both these books belong in every land lease community office across the U.S. To purchase your copies, visit www.educatemhc.com

And while you’re there, consider ordering my autobiography: FROM SMITTYALPHA6 to MHMAVEN. The Smitty Alpha 6 reference is to my radio call sign when a USMC company commander in Vietnam, and MHMaven is an Allenism abbreviation for ‘manufactured housing maven’. Try it, you’ll like it! Lots of photographs, including two showing the ¼ mile diameters of atomic demolitions munitions blasts out in the desert. ADMs = our secret ace in the hole in Vietnam.

Blog Posting # 709. Copyright 7 October 2022. EducateMHC

Perspective. ‘Land lease communities, previously manufactured home communities, and earlier, ‘mobile home parks’, comprise the real estate component of manufactured housing! EducateMHC is the online national advocate, realty asset class historian, trend spotter, education resource, and textbook supplier for land lease communities throughout North America! To input this blog and or connect with EducateMHC, telephone (317) 881-3815 and or visit educatemhc.com

GOOD NEWS & BAD NEWS

First the Good News. Institute of Building Technology & Safety (‘IBTS’), a.k.a. HUD’s official scorekeeper of manufactured housing production performance, reports Shipment Volume for August 2022 was 10,722 new HUD-Code homes! That’s UP from 8,050 homes in July 2022, and up from 9,087 homes produced during August 2021. And in toto, 16,392 ‘floors’ were shipped.

How’s Year to Date shipments compare? Well, as of August 2022, we’re at 80,431 new units for the year, compared to August 2021 when we produced 70,410 new homes. Now that’s Progress!

Production value of these homes (based on an aging formula) pencils out to $462 million for the month of August, and $3.469 billion YTD. Why isn’t this sort of information ballyhooed more within and outside our industry? Perhaps if we had more up to date formulaic methodology to use. Anyone at MHI listening? You’ve promised time and again to update Dr. Stephen C. Cooke’s ‘per home $ factor’.

Now for the Bad News. There are ten public manufactured housing-related companies, five each from the manufacturing sector and five from the land lease community portfolio sector.

Here’s a list of said firms and their slip in stock prices (except for Skyline Champion and Legacy Housing) since last month (September 2022):

Berkshire-A Hathaway @ $412,000
Skyline Champion Corporation @ $55.80
Cavco Industries, Inc. @ $214.56
Legacy Housing Corporation @ $17.76
Nobility Homes @ $24.30

Equity Lifestyle, Inc. @ $63.85
Sun Communities, Inc. @ $137.81
UMH Properties, Inc. @ $16.20
Flagship Communities @ $14.77
Manufactured Housing Properties, Inc. @ $1.70

So, how does all this appear to be trending? Well, the Manufactured housing/land lease community Composite Stock Index or CSI (formulaic total of all stock prices except for Berkshire Hathaway, plus a base number) has been in decline since August 2022, e.g.

October = $636.74
September = $677.46
August = $713.06

And this CSI decline since a year high of $790 during January 2022.

What’s going on? Regularly increasing production of new HUD-Code homes, month by month, contradicts nearly month by month declines in corporate stock prices.


ON A PERSONAL NOTE…

As some/many of you know, I was hacked this past week while attending a ‘first & only’ reunion among USMC officers I served with in 1967 – before heading off to Vietnam.

I’m sincerely sorry about the nature of the false email message you received. All is well with the Allens. I am not in dire need of help of any kind – that I’m aware of at this time.

The reunion? Boy have we (about 50 male officers) changed much during the past 55 years! Many of our number were KIA (killed in action) in Vietnam, and now old age is taking its’ toll.

Now here’s a poignant happenstance from that occasion. At one point we, along with our wives, were transported to TBS (The Basic School) in Quantico, VA., where young 2d lieutenants (a.k.a. ‘butter bars’) are trained as platoon commanders. Well, while in a huge auditorium, with 200 young officers (i.e. 20 years or so of age) on one side, and 50+ grizzled old veterans on the other side. As I looked around, the thought occurred to me: ‘Hmm. How would I have felt if 50+ WWI vets had walked into our classroom in 1967 as we trained for Vietnam?’ The age gaps are identical. That really made me ‘feel my age’.

Later in the day we toured the helicopter hanger where the president’s very special chopper is stored and maintained when not transporting him. Got to climb around inside. Same with the Osprey parked nearby (flies either vertical or horizontal vectors).

Yes, it was ‘special’, returning to where Carolyn – along with daughter Susan, spent much of the second year of our life together. Some officers reminisced bouncing (then) baby Susan (one year old) on their knee at weekend parties off base. One of them is now an astronaut in the Astronaut Hall of Fame. And remember General Peter Pace, from President Bush days? He was the first USMC officer to serve as head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and he was a member of our TBS 2-68 class.

George Allen, CPM, MHM
EducateMHC

Blog Posting # 708. Copyright 30 September 2022. EducateMHC

Perspective. ‘Land lease communities, previously manufactured home communities, and earlier, ‘mobile home parks’, comprise the real estate component of manufactured housing! EducateMHC is the online national advocate, realty asset class historian, trend spotter, education resource, and textbook supplier for land lease communities throughout North America! To input this blog and or connect with EducateMHC, telephone (317) 881-3815 and or visit educatemhc.com

A Week of Nostalgia & Week of Land Lease Community Education & Networking

57 years ago I was a 22 year old second lieutenant of U.S. Marines. I’d just graduated from Eastern University, in St. Davids, PA., then relocated with Carolyn, and our 10 month old daughter Susan, to Woodbridge, VA., – near Quantico, VA., where I’d be attending The Basic School (‘TBS’) during the last half of year 1967. Next, following a month of combat engineer officer training at Camp Lejeune, NC, in early 1968, I settled Carolyn and Susan into an apartment in Drexel Hill, PA., and headed off to the Republic of South Vietnam for a 13 month tour.

A half century has passed, and except for very infrequent contact with Marine officers I trained with at TBS, I’m about to be reunited with 80 or so who’ll convene this week for our first and only reunion. Our TBS class numbered 200+; many were killed in action (‘KIA’) in Vietnam and many have died of natural causes since then. Carolyn will rekindle relations with a half dozen or so wives who were with us back in 1967 (married officers were the extreme exception at the time, children even fewer). Will likely be a happy, but also bittersweet, time together once again.

Of particular interest to me will be seeing John Dietz; he and I traveled to Junior Platoon Leaders Class (‘PLC’) together in 1964, and then TBS. John was an infantry platoon commander in Vietnam, and returned to the states to begin a career with the IRS, eventually forming his own private investigation firm in Texas.

And Chris Ray. He and his wife Jeanie were with us in Quantico. Chris and I spent the first half our combat tours, as combat engineer officers with the 11th Engineer Battalion, 3rd MARDIV. He’s a New Englander, and we’re looking forward to catching up the half century since we were last together.

Then there’re the Marine officers who won’t be present at this reunion. One in particular, Marcus Fiebelkorn. He and his wife and infant were with us in Quantico too. Marcus was KIA a month after he arrived in-country. To this day I wonder what happened to his family….

And our class has its’ noteworthy alums: General Pete Pace, the 16th, but first USMC Chairman, of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President George Bush (2005-2007); and Colonel James Buchli, astronaut (1979), and now member of the Astronaut Hall of Fame. Some of you reading this will recall my tale of Jim’s three ‘life objectives’ shared at TBS: Go to Vietnam & come back a hero – which he did; become an astronaut and fly to the moon – which he came close to doing with several shuttle flights into space; and become Commandant of the USMC. Hey, two out of three is a worthy performance!

***

Onto the SECO Conference in Atlanta, GA!

Other than the annual RV/MH Hall of Fame Induction Banquet in Elkhart, IN., last month, this trip to SECO 2022 will be my first participation in a manufactured housing-related event since the Final Networking Roundtable during mid-August 2021. Why? Because when you’re retired, and no longer have a business enterprise ‘paying your way’, one becomes very selective as to where one invests his/her retirement income. So, SECO ‘Here I come!’

Hope to see many blog floggers (readers) at this seminal event. This is the 11th year it’s been hosted in Atlanta. If you attend, look me up poolside on 5 October. I’ll be there with Lou Vela and other ‘old timers’, sharing tales (all true) from years and decades past in the ‘mobile home’ world. EXAMPLES: How many of you know of the Chicago mob’s past involvement (& why) in mobile home parks back in the late 1970s. Or the convicted murderer of single women (for their money), who did his nefarious work while his wife managed manufactured home communities in the Midwest. And the one time multi-community owner, circa late 1970s, who became a mass murderer before committing suicide over a business deal gone bad. And there’s more….

For more information about the SECO Conference program, google it – and then register.

***

One More Reason You Should Be Reading MHInsider Magazine

As I was penning the previous paragraph, the thought occurred to me: I wonder how many blog floggers (readers) also read MHInsider magazine. Hopefully, many of you. But here’s the additional reason why you should. My ‘marching orders’, so to speak, as Allen Legacy columnist, is to share a wide variety of true stories, from both manufactured housing and land lease community camps, that have historic and contemporary importance and application. In essence, I’m relating personal and corporate adventures and experiences that have occurred since the late 1970s. Nowhere else will you ever find this sort of interesting information. EXAMPLES: In single section ‘mobile homes’ why were entry doors always on the curb side of the home (there’s a hint within that question). Today we think of ROC USA, but there was a pre-REIT firm by the name of ROC Properties. Know the firm that ROC abbreviation represented? Who coined the much-used term ‘community owner/operator’? No, it wasn’t me. And finally, for now, what Florida-based, now retired, fee manager of land lease communities introduced the concept of ‘good resident relations’ to manufactured housing during the early 1980s? See what I mean? All this comes out in MHInisder magazine!

George Allen, CPM, MHM
EducateMHC

Blog Posting # 707. Copyright 23 September 2022. EducateMHC

Perspective. ‘Land lease communities, previously manufactured home communities, and earlier, ‘mobile home parks’, comprise the real estate component of manufactured housing!
EducateMHC is the online national advocate, realty asset class historian, trend spotter, education resource, & textbook supplier for land lease communities throughout North America!
To input this blog and or connect with EducateMHC, telephone (317) 881-3815 and or visit educatemhc.com

What You Need to Know for This Week

From a faithful blog reader: “So sad to hear about John Boll and Steve Waite. I knew Steve and learned early on about John’s legacy. And your first paragraph about overvalued land lease communities is simply ‘the same story, new decade’! Wall Street guys throw their money into the manufactured housing industry and get burned – every time! I well remember how many independent (street) MHRetailers sold their businesses, circa 2007. The ones who took stock got suckered and lost big time! Those who took cash won big time! And some were able to buy back their former business at a steep discount!” The MH industry simply ‘spins’ the wheel’ every 25+/- years! “(Edited. GFA)

Clear proof of these sorry phenomena? Year 2022 – 1998 (our last ‘big year’ for new MH shipments) = 24 years; and, 1998 – 25 years = 1973 (When 579,940 new ‘mobile homes’ were shipped nationwide!). These production statistics quoted from SWAN SONG, ‘History of land Lease Community Real Estate Asset Class (1970 to present day) & Official Record of Manufactured Housing Shipments (1955 to present day)’, George Allen. Book available for purchase via www.educatemhc.com

***
According to MULTIFAMILY EXECUTIVE magazine for September 2022, “The average U.S. asking (conventional apartment unit) rent in July is $1,717.00, up $10.00 from the previous month.” So, what does that mean for rental homesites in land lease communities on average across the U.S.? Simply divide the $1,717 figure by ‘3’ to calculate $572. Estimated rental homesite rate. But remember, rental housing market rates are all local; ranging from below $200/month in rural south locations and up to $1,500/month is select high rent areas, e.g. Newport Beach, California and Lewes, Delaware, for starters – where land lease communities are concerned.

***

I’m oft asked about heretofore (‘before this time’) standout personalities in the manufactured housing business, among land lease community owners/operators, and related fields of endeavor. Have two for you this week.

Remember Chrissy Jackson, ACM? Well, according to my research, she is happily retired in St. Petersburg, FL., and part of the time enjoys being a ‘discussion colleague’ for the Academy of Senior Professionals at private Eckerd College in that city.

Many of us knew and enjoyed being with Mary Frances de la Pava, founder and owner of the Jefferson Group in Arlington, VA. She marketed land lease communities throughout the east. Now retired, she spends her time with her daughter Carla’s family.

***

Last chance to register and participate! As many of you know, Carolyn and I will be attending ‘the first and only reunion’ of USMC officers I trained with during late 1967 and early 1968. We’re convening in Quantico, VA., next week for 3 ½ days. Expecting to renew friendships with 50 fellow officers from nearly 60 years ago.

And then I’ll be flying down to Atlanta to participate in the 11th annual SECO Conference for land lease community owners/operators from throughout the U.S.. This is the largest annual gathering of land lease community owners/operators – for property management education, viewing new HUD-Code manufactured homes, and best interpersonal networking available anywhere in our industry and realty asset class! Hope to see you there!

***

George Allen, CPM, MHM
EducateMHC