Blog # 384 Copyright 2016 COBA7® @ 31 January 2016; community-investor.com
Perspective. ‘Land-lease-lifestyle Communities, a.k.a. manufactured home communities and ‘mobile home parks’, comprise the real estate component of manufactured housing.’
This blog posting is the national advocacy voice, official ombudsman (press), research reporter, & online communication media for all LLLCommunities in North America!
To input this blog &/or affiliate with Community Owners (7 Part) Business Alliance®, a.k.a. COBA7®, use Official MHIndustry HOTLINE: (877) MFD-HSNG or 633-4764.
COBA7® Motto: ‘U Support US & WE Serve U!’,& Goal of its’ print/online media = to ‘Not only inform & Opine, but transform & improve MHBusiness Model Performance.’
INTRODUCTION. This week began with ‘no idea’ what we’d cover in this week’s blog posting. It ends, however, with timely and helpful information about the upcoming ‘Two Days of Plant Tours & Home Sales Seminars’; the 25th anniversary International Networking Roundtable; what will likely become one of the very best LLLCommunity educational sessions during all of 2016; and a ‘heads up’ about next weeks blog posting – or not. And don’t miss the Postscript…in light of salacious reporting elsewhere earlier this week. GFA
I.
Two Days of Plant Tours & Home Sales Seminars
(an update)
Carolyn and I’ve just returned from a two day trip to northern Indiana, visiting facilities where this inaugural event might be held later this Spring. Now we’re working with a half dozen HUD-Code home manufacturing firms to agree on a two day block of time during which to facilitate this unique ‘hands on’ & ‘how to’ opportunity to familiarize LLLCommunity owners/operators, with PRODUCT (new HUD-Code homes) & PROCESS (selling & seller-financing of same), with the ultimate goal of filling vacant rental homesites with homeowner/site lessees.
This much is certain so far. During the two day program, registrants – likely to be LLLCommunity owners/operators from throughout the Midwest, will be encouraged to pre-register four blocks of time (morning, & afternoon sessions, on two consecutive days = four sessions) for their preferred combination of plant tour(s) and home sales-related seminars. For example: one tour & three hours of seminars or one seminar and three tours; two hours of each; or; even four tours & no seminars or four seminars & no tours.
Plant tours? The following companies are scheduled, at this point, to host two hour tours, mornings and afternoons, during the two day program. They are, in alphabetical order, Adventure Homes (in Garrett), Cavco Industries’ Fairmont & Harmony Homes ( in Nappanee), Champion Home Builders (in Topeka), Clayton Homes (in Middlebury), Clayton Homes (in Wakarusa), Commodore Corporation (in Goshen), and possibly, Hi-Tech Housing (in Bristol). A special handout is being prepared to help registrants decide which plant(s) to tour. It’ll be a one page list of all these firms, along with characteristics of the new HUD-Code homes they manufacture and ship from the plants. This valuable handout will be available only to event registrants!
Home sales-related seminars? There will be four primary blocks of instruction, each repeated once again, during the two day program. The four key topics are:
• Getting Ready! Tips on readying one’s LLLCommunity to sell homes on-site.
• Buying Homes! How to select the right home & price point of new homes ordered
• Marketing & Selling! How to sell that new home once it’s on-site and installed
• Seller-financing! Overview of the $ alternatives, including leasing & lease-option
Specifically, ‘Getting Ready!’ will be presented during the morning of the first day, then repeated during the afternoon of the second day. That way, someone desiring to visit a plant the morning of the first day, can return to the host meeting facility and begin taking the next classes in sequence, e.g. ‘Buying Homes!’ the afternoon of the first day; ‘Marketing & Selling!’ the morning of the second day; and, ‘Seller-financing!’ – or – ‘Getting Ready!’ the afternoon of the second day. NOTE. To get max value from this two day session, it’s advisable to have two individuals attend from the same firm, if desiring to visit one or more plants, AND benefitting from the specialized knowledge shared during all four primary blocks of instruction.
By the way, and this is important: It’s anticipated all instructors teaching the four primary blocks of instruction, will be capable, experienced, successful, motivated owners of land-lease-lifestyle communities who’re actively selling and seller-financing new and resale homes on one or more of their properties!
Furthermore; one of the details not resolved yet, is how to provide opportunities to learn about ‘compliance with state & federal finance regulations’, while at this two day event; as well as ‘become familiar with chattel capital home loan programs’ available from independent, third party chattel capital finance firms. Since the daily programs extend from 8 AM to Noon; and 1 – 5PM (For plant tours, that schedule allows an hour’s drive each way, with two hours at selected plant, morning & or afternoon); with primary seminars (following a 45 minute Welcome & Introduction session), at 9-10:15 & 10:30-Noon; and, 2-3:15 & 3:30-5 each day. It’s anticipated, consultants and vendors with valuable services and products will be available by appointment, or on a catch-as-catch can basis, throughout the two day program. If you’re a consultant or vendor interested in this venue, let me know via (317) 346-7156.
So, what do you think so far? Interested in participating? We sure hope so. While specific dates and location will soon be determined, don’t hesitate to reach out and let us know of our interest and preferences. We already have 50+/- interested parties on a preliminary sign-up list. Add your name via gfa7156@aol.com or phone the Official MHIndustry HOTLINE: (877) MFD-HSNG or 633-4764. No commitment; just knowledge you’ll be among the first to receive details.
II.
25th Anniversary, International Networking Roundtable
(an update)
Now this is a little further out; 7-9 September 2016. But given the special nature of this year’s annual event (It’s the 25th anniversary of the International Networking Roundtable!) and the way exciting themes are emerging, YOU – if an owner/operator of one or more land-lease-lifestyle communities, do NOT want to miss it! Here’re the plans so far….
Themes? Usually it’s a challenge to come up with one good one. This year we’re deciding among at least four:
• Manufactured Housing’s Conundrum! Whether to continue the new home shipment malaise of the past seven years, or make dramatic business model changes in at least four core aspects of manufactured housing. (See blog # 383)
• Preserve your legacy as a LLLCommunity Owner! Emulate the late Kris Jensen, Sr. as in his ‘A Danish American’, or the late John Crean (Fleetwood) in ‘The Wheel & I’. Then there’s the iconic Jim Clayton in ‘First a Dream’, along with Harrell & Darrell Cohron in ‘The Trailer Twins’, plus the pictorial autobiography of the late B.M. Vukovich (CREICO cum Acentia Real Estate), and now, Al Schrader of A.L.S. Properties, have all authored autobiographies. If we’re fortunate, at least one, two, even three of those pioneers might be with us this year! And I’ll share a brief ‘HOW TO write your life story’ basics with attendees.
• Four ‘Home Sales Seminars’ as presented at aforementioned (in this particular blog posting) ‘Two Days of Plant Tours & Home Sales Seminars’ in the Midwest
• ‘Bring Your Banker’! This movement to ID & court local bankers originating ‘home only’ chattel loans in LLLCommunities, began at last year’s Roundtable. A clear indication how LLLCommunities, the ‘New Breed of MHRetailer & Lender’ has taken the lead during this NEW ERA of Manufactured Housing!
And the 20 topics we’ll cover this year? I’ve already got a dozen or so of them covered. What do YOU want to hear and see? Just like with Part I of this blog posting, let me know via email: gfa7156@aol.com or the Official MHIndustry HOTLINE.
III.
The Best of Spencer Roane, MHM® & Team!
OK, I fumbled access to Spencer Roane’s Power Point Presentation re ‘Marketing New Homes to Hispanics!’ last week. You really do need to avail yourself of some, if not much, of what he shared with a 175 person audience in Louisville, KY., a few weeks ago.
Go to: http://leaseoptionmhsales.com/information Once there, scroll down to ‘Power Point Presentations-Lease-Option Transactions’, then click to open that menu, and scroll down to the Louisville presentation.
IV.
There Might Not Be a Blog Posting @ 7 February. Why?
Because I’ll likely be on what family refers to as my annual pilgrimage, to PA, NJ, DE, & MD. Since I’ll be driving all that way – to finally attend MHI’s Winter meeting in Washington, DC., there isn’t much time for blogging and sending BEBAs (Blast Email Blog Alerts) – but I might just surprise you.
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A postscript of sorts…
Sure, I criticize MHI and MHARR from time to time, because I believe the manufactured housing industry, and by extension, the land-lease-lifestyle community asset class, deserves the very best job performance possible from salaried and elected leaders of our two national advocacy entities!
In more than three decades of op/ed writing, for one or another of past and present MH trade publications, and or within the pages of the Allen Letter professional journal, the Allen CONFIDENTIAL! and this blog at community-investor.com, I’ve yet to call out any one person or persons, by name, for dereliction of duty or any other reason – and I don’t plan to start now. Nor should others…
At this critical stage in our industry’s cycle prone history, we need to be working more together than apart. That’s why COBA7® reaches out to MHI & MHARR, in the hope we can work better together to manufacture, ship, sell, and seller-finance more new HUD-Code homes in 2017 than during 2016, and fewer than we’ll experience during 2018. Does anyone else out there agree, or are we going to continue to witness more self-defeating infighting?
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