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

January 31, 2018

Five Options;Making History; MHInsider & More!

Filed under: Uncategorized — George Allen @ 12:17 pm

Blog # 475; Copyright @ 24 January 2018; community-investor.com

Perspective. ‘Land lease communities, previously manufactured home communities, & ‘mobile home parks’, comprise the real estate component of manufactured housing.’

This blog posting is the sole national advocate, voice, official ombudsman, historian, research report & online communication media for all North American LLCommunities

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 to transform & improve MHBusiness performance!
____________________________________________________________________

INTRODUCTION. Whew! Here’s what you’re about to read in this blog posting:

1. COBA7 moves center stage, as my decades long membership in MHI lapses. After 40 years, I no longer own/manage a land lease community & hence, am ineligible to continue participation in the NCC division I helped found more than 20 years ago!. Now I’m focused on serving your information, resources, communication, networking, deal-making, & PM training/certification needs.

2. Spencer Roane, MHM, & I stepped forward, on 1/17/2018, to lead the effort to craft & launch a hybrid chattel capital loan program to promote the seller-financing new HUD-Code homes within land lease communities!

3. MHInsider, our industry/asset class new print trade magazine took Louisville MHShow by storm. It is one impressive publication. Want a copy, phone (887) 853-0298 & ask for Darren Krolewski. And there will be no second new MH publication this Spring as once hinted at occurring. More about that later.

4. Four handouts you absolutely want to have in your possession going forward!

Sorry ’bout the length of this blog posting, but every single part is breaking news!

Five Options Update; Making History, MHInsider, & More!

Everything following is about our future, seller-financing new homes in land lease communities; a new, better & free way to get industry/asset class news; and, why you work in the most exciting business model in the U.S. today!

So, Where Do the Five COBA7 Alternatives Stand Today?

1. No change to COBA7. Investigating not for profit status procedure and have interviewed a manufactured housing capable, experienced, motivated representative in Washington, DC., to possibly represent land lease community interests across the board: legislative, regulatory, & housing supportive.

2. Meld COBA7 into the rumored new independent national advocacy entity planning to represent and serve all non-manufacturing segments of the industry. This isn’t going to happen if COBA7 is expected to be the lead entity; though, would be open to supporting all other segments in this fashion if it materializes.

3. Partner COBA7 with MHI, broadening the focus of its’ NCC division, to better serve information and statistical reporting needs of land lease communities nationwide! A second conversation has occurred, but no firm plans to date. There is a way to make this happen, but only if in the best interests of the asset class!

4. Have COBA7 quit MHI and proceed alone. Why? MHI, despite repeated invitations, remains unaffiliated with COBA7. Having sold my last land lease community, I’m ineligible to continue as a member, despite having helped found the NCC division, & am a perennial board member. I have not renewed membership & do not plan to do so unless irritants like ‘no proxy voting’, change.

5. Dissolve COBA7 during year 2018. Too early in the year for that alternative. Main concern? Unlike the way things are today (i.e. research, good resources, communication, networking & deal-making, & PM training/certification), land lease community owners/operators would again, as during the late 1970s – when I entered this business, operate in an information, training, & advocacy vacuum

Well, there you have it. Some progress since the first of the year (2018). And once again, if you have input re suggestions, etc., on this important matter – to those who own/operate land lease communities, of all sizes, nationwide, let us know via Official MHIndustry HOTLINE: (877) MFD-HSNG or 633-4764 or gfa7156@aol.com. Thanks!

Land Lease Community Owners on Threshold of Making Manufactured Housing History, Financing New Homes On-site

Three dozen owners of land lease communities gathered for an impromptu, unofficial, likely historic meeting at 11AM, Wednesday, 17 January, during the Louisville MHShow. Why?

(*) Following recent release (circa 5 January) of “…final ‘Duty To Serve’ Underserved Markets plans…by Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac…approved by…the FHFA….” serving (an estimated) only “…4,000 purchasers, or a mere 1.85% of the (new) manufactured housing market through (year) 2020” – land lease community owners now realize the only practical solution to their need for ongoing chattel capital to fund HUD-Code housing transactions on-site, lies with them – likely in partnership with one or another supportive lender.

And that was the gist of the meeting hosted and led by George Allen, CPM & Spencer Roane, MHM, veteran land lease community owners/operators in the Midwest, East, and Southeast U.S.

Following background (historical) information from Allen, Roane covered the following points and more…

• During the past two years, the FHFA, Fannie Mae, & Freddie Mac have attended networking roundtables and congresses to learn more about the manufactured housing industry and land lease communities. They’ve also hosted listening sessions around the U.S. and in Washington, DC. Recent results? Reread second paragraph above (See *); plus they made an overt, but sadly unanswered, request for loan performance information from the industry. Ask me ‘Why?’ sometime….

• 1.85% of (MHARR) estimated 216,000 new HUD-Code homes to be shipped during 2018, 2019, & 2020, for a total of only 4,000 units. This barely scratches the surface of how much chattel capital land lease community owners need for on-site transactions during that period of time. So, community owners almost have to come up with an alternative $ source of their own. Where to start?

• Maybe create a hybrid loan made solely to carefully screened, qualified homebuyer/site lessees*1, a loan ensured (i.e.’ guaranteed’) by community owners, on attractive functional, reasonably-priced Community Series Homes (a.k.a. CSH models). And where a similar loan program might already be in effect, emulate the parts best suited for use in the land lease community environment.

• Desirable loan parameters: As low interest rates as possible, depending on lender’s borrowing ability; short term @. 12-15 years max); qualified community (Maybe graded per the ABClassification System*2) per curb appeal, resident relations, maintenance; long term rental homesite leases (longer than loan term) with reasonable escalations; and a community owner motivated by penalty (recourse) and or reward (no defaults).

OK, so where to go from here?

First step is already in play, by growing a list of community owners, and others (lenders, GSEs) desiring to be kept abreast of development of this hybrid loan program. And soon, there’ll be an opportunity to volunteer to be part of an ad hoc task force to actually articulate and proof the lending methodology. If you’re interested in having your email address added to this august list, simply send it to gfa7156@aol.com

End Notes:

1. Have 10% down payment; appropriate & sufficient verified income; securely employed; good rental history; no criminal history; acceptable to lender, debt-to-income (‘DTI’) ratios, front & back; and good credit.

2. For a FREE copy of the ABClassification form used, for decades, by land lease community owners/operators, phone the Official MHIndustry HOTLINE: (877) MFD-HSNG or 633-4764.

MHInsider = most popular topic of conversation at MHShow!

We lost the Manufactured Home Merchandiser magazine a decade ago; The Journal, this time last year. Now MHInsider debuts to ‘pick up that slack’ with a top quality slick magazine, initially quarterly but prepared to go monthly if demand and support so indicates. You really do need to get your hands on the inaugural copy of MHInsider. Not only is it awash with good and timely trade information about manufactured housing and land lease communities, it’s now a Collector’s Item for placement in your corporate library. To request a copy, follow the instructions in the INTRODUCTION to this blog posting. And hey, Darren is looking for capable, experienced, motivated writers!

Four Part Handout Package Pulls It Together for ‘Housers’

• the mini-white paper: ‘Solving Our Nation’s (Lack of) Affordable Housing Crisis, with Factory-built Housing & Land Lease Communities!’ Hundreds of copies now in circulation within and outside the manufactured housing industry. Read it!

• Official Definition of Affordable Housing. This is a FIRST for the manufactured housing industry and land lease community real estate asset class!

• $ examples of Affordable Housing, by definition, as well as Low Income Housing (‘LIH’), & Very Low Income Housing (VLIH’). New territory for many of us!

• ‘A Call for New Tactics & Improved Strategy’ Watch out! This one page, two sided challenge goes where no one in the MHIndustry has gone before! It’s a MUST READ. if you want to be inspired to take action in the days ahead.

Want FREE copies of one or ALL four documents? Simply phone the Official MHIndustry HOTLINE and request it/them, or via gfa7156@aol.com

***

George Allen, CPM, MHM
COBA7, a division of GFA Management, Inc., dba PMN Publishing.

January 26, 2018

Five Options Update; Making History; MHInsider; & More!

Filed under: Uncategorized — George Allen @ 2:34 pm

Blog # 475; Copyright @ 24 January 2018; community-investor.com

Perspective. ‘Land lease communities, previously manufactured home communities, & ‘mobile home parks’, comprise the real estate component of manufactured housing.’

This blog posting is the sole national advocate, voice, official ombudsman, historian, research report & online communication media for all North American LLCommunities

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 to transform & improve MHBusiness performance!
____________________________________________________________________

INTRODUCTION. Whew! Here’s what you’re about to read in this blog posting:

1. COBA7 moves center stage, as my decades long membership in MHI lapses. After 40 years, I no longer own/manage a land lease community & hence, am ineligible to continue participation in the NCC division I helped found more than 20 years ago!. Now I’m focused on serving your information, resources, communication, networking, deal-making, & PM training/certification needs.

2. Spencer Roane, MHM, & I stepped forward, on 1/17/2018, to lead the effort to craft & launch a hybrid chattel capital loan program to promote the seller-financing new HUD-Code homes within land lease communities!

3. MHInsider, our industry/asset class new print trade magazine took Louisville MHShow by storm. It is one impressive publication. Want a copy, phone (887) 853-0298 & ask for Darren Krolewski. And there will be no second new MH publication this Spring as once hinted at occurring. More about that later.

4. Four handouts you absolutely want to have in your possession going forward!

Sorry ’bout the length of this blog posting, but every single part is breaking news!

Five Options Update; Making History, MHInsider, & More!

Everything following is about our future, seller-financing new homes in land lease communities; a new, better & free way to get industry/asset class news; and, why you work in the most exciting business model in the U.S. today!

So, Where Do the Five COBA7 Alternatives Stand Today?

1. No change to COBA7. Investigating not for profit status procedure and have interviewed a manufactured housing capable, experienced, motivated representative in Washington, DC., to possibly represent land lease community interests across the board: legislative, regulatory, & housing supportive.

2. Meld COBA7 into the rumored new independent national advocacy entity planning to represent and serve all non-manufacturing segments of the industry. This isn’t going to happen if COBA7 is expected to be the lead entity; though, would be open to supporting all other segments in this fashion if it materializes.

3. Partner COBA7 with MHI, broadening the focus of its’ NCC division, to better serve information and statistical reporting needs of land lease communities nationwide! A second conversation has occurred, but no firm plans to date. There is a way to make this happen, but only if in the best interests of the asset class!

4. Have COBA7 quit MHI and proceed alone. Why? MHI, despite repeated invitations, remains unaffiliated with COBA7. Having sold my last land lease community, I’m ineligible to continue as a member, despite having helped found the NCC division, & am a perennial board member. I have not renewed membership & do not plan to do so unless irritants like ‘no proxy voting’, change.

5. Dissolve COBA7 during year 2018. Too early in the year for that alternative. Main concern? Unlike the way things are today (i.e. research, good resources, communication, networking & deal-making, & PM training/certification), land lease community owners/operators would again, as during the late 1970s – when I entered this business, operate in an information, training, & advocacy vacuum

Well, there you have it. Some progress since the first of the year (2018). And once again, if you have input re suggestions, etc., on this important matter – to those who own/operate land lease communities, of all sizes, nationwide, let us know via Official MHIndustry HOTLINE: (877) MFD-HSNG or 633-4764 or gfa7156@aol.com. Thanks!

Land Lease Community Owners on Threshold of Making Manufactured Housing History, Financing New Homes On-site

Three dozen owners of land lease communities gathered for an impromptu, unofficial, likely historic meeting at 11AM, Wednesday, 17 January, during the Louisville MHShow. Why?

(*) Following recent release (circa 5 January) of “…final ‘Duty To Serve’ Underserved Markets plans…by Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac…approved by…the FHFA….” serving (an estimated) only “…4,000 purchasers, or a mere 1.85% of the (new) manufactured housing market through (year) 2020” – land lease community owners now realize the only practical solution to their need for ongoing chattel capital to fund HUD-Code housing transactions on-site, lies with them – likely in partnership with one or another supportive lender.

And that was the gist of the meeting hosted and led by George Allen, CPM & Spencer Roane, MHM, veteran land lease community owners/operators in the Midwest, East, and Southeast U.S.

Following background (historical) information from Allen, Roane covered the following points and more…

• During the past two years, the FHFA, Fannie Mae, & Freddie Mac have attended networking roundtables and congresses to learn more about the manufactured housing industry and land lease communities. They’ve also hosted listening sessions around the U.S. and in Washington, DC. Recent results? Reread second paragraph above (See *); plus they made an overt, but sadly unanswered, request for loan performance information from the industry. Ask me ‘Why?’ sometime….

• 1.85% of (MHARR) estimated 216,000 new HUD-Code homes to be shipped during 2018, 2019, & 2020, for a total of only 4,000 units. This barely scratches the surface of how much chattel capital land lease community owners need for on-site transactions during that period of time. So, community owners almost have to come up with an alternative $ source of their own. Where to start?

• Maybe create a hybrid loan made solely to carefully screened, qualified homebuyer/site lessees*1, a loan ensured (i.e.’ guaranteed’) by community owners, on attractive functional, reasonably-priced Community Series Homes (a.k.a. CSH models). And where a similar loan program might already be in effect, emulate the parts best suited for use in the land lease community environment.

• Desirable loan parameters: As low interest rates as possible, depending on lender’s borrowing ability; short term @. 12-15 years max); qualified community (Maybe graded per the ABClassification System*2) per curb appeal, resident relations, maintenance; long term rental homesite leases (longer than loan term) with reasonable escalations; and a community owner motivated by penalty (recourse) and or reward (no defaults).

OK, so where to go from here?

First step is already in play, by growing a list of community owners, and others (lenders, GSEs) desiring to be kept abreast of development of this hybrid loan program. And soon, there’ll be an opportunity to volunteer to be part of an ad hoc task force to actually articulate and proof the lending methodology. If you’re interested in having your email address added to this august list, simply send it to gfa7156@aol.com

End Notes:

1. Have 10% down payment; appropriate & sufficient verified income; securely employed; good rental history; no criminal history; acceptable to lender, debt-to-income (‘DTI’) ratios, front & back; and good credit.

2. For a FREE copy of the ABClassification form used, for decades, by land lease community owners/operators, phone the Official MHIndustry HOTLINE: (877) MFD-HSNG or 633-4764.

MHInsider = most popular topic of conversation at MHShow!

We lost the Manufactured Home Merchandiser magazine a decade ago; The Journal, this time last year. Now MHInsider debuts to ‘pick up that slack’ with a top quality slick magazine, initially quarterly but prepared to go monthly if demand and support so indicates. You really do need to get your hands on the inaugural copy of MHInsider. Not only is it awash with good and timely trade information about manufactured housing and land lease communities, it’s now a Collector’s Item for placement in your corporate library. To request a copy, follow the instructions in the INTRODUCTION to this blog posting. And hey, Darren is looking for capable, experienced, motivated writers!

Four Part Handout Package Pulls It Together for ‘Housers’

• the mini-white paper: ‘Solving Our Nation’s (Lack of) Affordable Housing Crisis, with Factory-built Housing & Land Lease Communities!’ Hundreds of copies now in circulation within and outside the manufactured housing industry. Read it!

• Official Definition of Affordable Housing. This is a FIRST for the manufactured housing industry and land lease community real estate asset class!

• $ examples of Affordable Housing, by definition, as well as Low Income Housing (‘LIH’), & Very Low Income Housing (VLIH’). New territory for many of us!

• ‘A Call for New Tactics & Improved Strategy’ Watch out! This one page, two sided challenge goes where no one in the MHIndustry has gone before! It’s a MUST READ. if you want to be inspired to take action in the days ahead.

Want FREE copies of one or ALL four documents? Simply phone the Official MHIndustry HOTLINE and request it/them, or via gfa7156@aol.com

***

George Allen, CPM, MHM
COBA7, a division of GFA Management, Inc., dba PMN Publishing.

January 16, 2018

What’s Going On?

Filed under: Uncategorized — George Allen @ 1:34 pm

Blog # 474; Copyright @ 7 January 2018; community-investor.com

Perspective. ‘Land lease communities, previously manufactured home communities, & ‘mobile home parks’, comprise the real estate component of manufactured housing.’

This blog posting is the sole national advocate, voice, official ombudsman, historian, research report, & online communication media for all North American LLCommunities.

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 to transform & improve MHBusiness performance!
_____________________________________________________________________

What’s Going On?

Why the erratic blog postings from COBA7 these past few weeks? I could blame the holidays (i.e. shopping, parties, travel); or, just ‘end of the year blahs’ – for me anyway. The truth of the matter is, I’m trying to sort matters out relative to our personal and corporate past, present, and future, relative to the manufactured housing industry and land lease community real estate asset class. And, as of this moment, New Years Day, I’ve not accomplished that end.

You see, I’m in good health; thoroughly enjoy what I do for you, i.e. collect data & research information, repackaging it in statistical reports, two monthly newsletters, several directories, the occasional mini-white paper – and yes, of late, semi-weekly blog postings. Plus, we provide professional property management training and certification (No one else does!), as well as hosting networking and deal making opportunities. But I feel a pressing need for significant and lasting change, during the weeks and months ahead. What form(s) might that change, or changes, take? As you know from blog posting # 473, we listed merger, partnership, sale or transfer, and liquidation, as four alternatives for COBA7, going forward.

And we requested your input – and many of you provided it. For that, we’re very grateful! As a result we’ve expanded those alternatives, in number, from four to five.

• No change to COBA7. Continue growing as ‘the primary national advocate & information resource’ for land lease communities nationwide & in Canada! This will likely necessitate converting to ‘not for profit’ tax status, & retaining services of a Washington, DC – based consultant as lobbyist.

• Meld COBA7 into the rumored new independent national advocacy entity planning to represent and serve all non-manufacturing segments of the industry! This group has met, is surveying your interest, & will likely proceed accordingly.

• Partner COBA7 with MHI, broadening the focus of its’ NCC division, to far better serve information and statistical reporting needs of land lease communities nationwide! An overture has been made to this end. One conversation to date.

• Have COBA7 quit MHI and proceed alone! Why? For starters, MHI, despite repeated invitations, remains unaffiliated with COBA7; continues reporting MH shipment #s different from IBTS, HUD, MHARR & COBA7; engages in meeting location affluence gerrymandering; &, allows no proxy voting at NCC elections.

• Dissolve COBA7 during year 2018, ending a 40 year career in professional property management, & 35+ years providing information and services to 50,000+/- land lease communities nationwide! This is least desirable alternative, but a practical one, relative to ongoing indecision per preceding bullet points.

That new fifth alternative recommendation, ‘Have COBA7 quit MHI and proceed alone!’ took us by surprise. But you make a good case when suggesting it, in light of more than one state manufactured housing association terminating membership with the institute. And we continue to field frustrations expressed, at being ignored, by other single and small portfolio owners/operators of land lease communities.

In the interest of full disclosure, our past and present MHI membership has been, and continues to be, for the time being, in the name of one or another of our for-profit firms, not COBA7 per se..

Well, there you have it. The gist of our efforts, now with your assistance, to sort things out relative to COBA7’s past, present and future, relative to the manufactured housing industry and the land lease community real estate asset class. The last thing we want to see, as first expressed in blog # 473, is a return to the information, resources, communication, PM training & certification, and networking wasteland of 40 years ago (1978), when I took over my first four (then) ‘mobile home parks’. But that’s where we could be headed….

What would you do? Again; I truly would like to know your input! So, respond either via gfa7156@aol.com, phone the Official MHIndustry HOTLINE: (877) MFD-HSNG or 633-4764; or, via a personal note to GFA c/o Box # 47024, Indianapolis, IN. 46247. And I’m available most afternoons via (317) 346-7156. Many of you have helped get us this far, especially since COBA7s’ founding during early 2014. Thanking you in advance for your latest assistance.

George Allen, CPM, MHM
COBA7, a division of GFA Management, Inc., dba PMN Publishing

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