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

February 26, 2021

MHShipments During Year 2021

Filed under: Uncategorized — George Allen @ 9:43 am

Blog Posting # 627 @26 February 2021: 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, asset class historian, data researcher, education resource, & communication media for all land lease communities throughout North America!

To input this blog and/or affiliate with EducateMHC, telephone Official MHIndustry HOTLINE: (877) MFD-HSNG or 633-4764. Also email: gfa7156@aol.com & visit www.educatemhc.com

Motto: ‘U Support US & WE Serve U!’ Goal: to promote HUD-Code manufactured housing & land lease communities as U.S. # 1 source of affordable attainable housing! Attend MHM class!

INTRODUCTION: So, will ‘manufactured housing shipments’ eclipse 90,000 or 100,000 units during year 2021? Part I hints at an answer to that pithy and timely question. Part II? If you’re a land lease community mortgage originator or broker, and/or make home-only chattel capital loans, you’ll want to read the 23rd National Registry of ALL Lenders! Some stunning info contained therein, and most comprehensive directory of independent third party (personal property loan) lenders ever published! Part III? The question that’s on everyone’s mind: ‘What was the degree of ‘MHAdvantage/Cross-Mod™ implementation’ partnership during year 2020?

I.

MHShipments During Year 2021

Year 2020 MHShipment summary statement tying together years 2006, 2020, and now 2021.

“If we had those 3,000 (lost to coronavirus in April, May & June 2020) homes back (actually 2,775 net), we’d have likely shipped 97,165 new HUD-Code homes during all of 2020, achieving the highest performance level since 117,510+/-, way back in year 2006, or 14 years ago!” Edited quote from blog # 625.

But know what? We, as an industry and realty asset class, have no logical reason to believe 98,000, let alone 100,000 new HUD-Code homes will be shipped during year 2021 as long as we have to deal with:

• Dilatory effect of personal subsistence payments from the federal government, resulting in the under-manning of saw mills producing lumber, and factory-built housing plants producing and shipping new homes

• Unpredictable and substantial invoice price increases occurring after new homes have been ordered

• Continuing backlogging of homes, in large part, due to first bullet point.
• Lack of chattel capital home-only financing for new manufactured homes being sited and sold on-site in land lease communities

• Inaction of the FHFA and GSEs Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac relative to Duty to Serve plans

• Lack of chattel lending statistical transparency and sharing, on the part of one or more independent third party chattel finance firms enjoying market dominance

• Lack of chattel capital home-only financing for new manufactured homes being sited and sold on-site within land lease communities nationwide.

• Inaction of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (‘FHFA’) and GSE’s Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac, relative to their Duty to Serve (‘DTS’) plans for manufactured housing.

And there are additional stumbling blocks we could add to this troublesome list, but you certainly get the idea.

II.

23rd National Registry of ALL Lenders

Well the ‘numbers are in’ (i.e. ‘dollars’, that is), and we now know year 2020, despite the coronavirus pandemic and all that went with it, was a Banner Year for real estate-secured mortgages brokered and originated pursuant to land lease community acquisitions and refinance! The grand total $ amount brokered and lent? Prime subscribers to The Allen Confidential newsletter will learn that stunning amount in the March 2021 issue due out next week – or so. But here’re a couple hints: the 2020 $ lending total exceeds mortgage $ volumes, for land lease communities, in years 2013 through 2019 (That’s as far back as records go), by more than $2 billion dollars! Whew! What a year!

If not already a Prime Subscriber to TAC, visit www.educatemhc.com to do so today.

Furthermore; do YOU realize TAC is our industry and realty asset class’ sole source land lease community news, and these key Resource Documents?

• ALLEN REPORT (a.k.a. ‘Who’s Who Among Land Lease Community Portfolio Owners/operators Located Throughout North America!’)

• Official ‘State of Manufactured Housing Industry & Land Lease Community Asset Class’

• National Registry of ALL Lenders & Brokers Serving MH & LLCommunities

• ‘Who Ya Gonna Call in 2021?’ directory of freelance consultants

• Directory of MH & LLCommunity Print & Online Media, plus state associations

• Official Lexicon & Glossary of MH & LLCommunity Trade Terminology

• Official Directory of GSE & NGO Organizations, plus professional property management training and certification programs

• Only accounting of MH & LLCommunity ‘trending topics’ (a.k.a. Evergreen Issues), plus official definition of affordable housing, low income housing, & very low income housing

• Directory of MH & LLCommunity National Advocacy & related trade organizations

• Directory of HUD-Code Manufactured Housing Manufacturers, plus descriptions of Community Series Homes (circa 2009) & CrossMod™ homes (circa 2016)

• Industry Briefing Sheet (e.g. statistics re MH & LLCommunities), and an abbreviated ‘State of the MHIndustry & LLCommunities’ document

• Statistics Sourcing & Formulae for MH & LLCommuniteis (i.e. ‘Where to get the information needed to better understand our industry & realty asset class’)

And, believe it or not, that list of a dozen plus Resource Documents available from EducateMHC is not comprehensive! For example, every monthly TAC now contains a ‘MHShipment Volume & Stock Market Report’ featuring the official MHShipment volume agreed upon among IBTS, HUD, MHARR & EducateMHC; as well as an accounting (i.e. stock market prices) of the nine public MH firms (includes three REITs) that’s available nowhere else!

III.

WE WANT TO KNOW!

Everyone in manufactured housing, and among land lease community owners/operators, knows year 2019 was DISMAL, where ‘MHAdvantage/CrossMod™ implementation’ was concerned (Like, maybe six transactions in all)!

OK, we’re now three months into year 2021 and still no word from the FHFA and two GSEs (i.e. Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac), as to degree of ‘MHAdvantage/CrossMod™ implementation’ during year 2020. Federal Housing Finance Agency, please supply that information, or instruct the GSE’s to do so, in the near future!

Why? Because, once and for all, we – as an industry and realty asset class, should know whether this much ballyhooed partnership is indeed viable; OR, if we should be looking elsewhere (Is there anywhere else?) for financial support for the HUD-Code manufactured housing industry and home-only loans for in-community home sales transactions.

We’re waiting…..

***

George Allen, CPM, MHM
EducateMHC

February 19, 2021

There’s An Important Matter Afoot

Filed under: Uncategorized — George Allen @ 12:25 pm

Blog Posting # 626 @ 19 February 2021: 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, asset class historian, data researcher, education resource, & communication media for all land lease communities throughout North America!

To input this blog and/or affiliate with EducateMHC, telephone Official MHIndustry HOTLINE: (877)MFD-HSNG or 633-4764. Also email: gfa7156@aol.com & visit www.educatemhc.com

Motto: ‘U Support US & WE Serve U!’ Goal: to promote HUD-Code manufactured housing & land lease communities as U.S. # 1 source of affordable attainable housing! Attend MHM class!

INTRODUCTION: Some things that need to be said and resolved….

There’s An Important Matter Afoot
&
I’m Unsure How to Address It, but will try!

Faithful readers of this weekly blog posting are well aware of an important matter hinted at in this headline. We’ve described it in blogs # 622, 623, & 624, during the past several weeks. It’s the ‘community owner’s lament’ (i.e. ‘expression of grief & frustration’), relative to some if not all, HUD-Code housing manufacturers’ backlogging homes to be produced and shipped, and adding significant price increases on units after orders have been placed.

Now the matter has taken on a new dimension; one of scale – one that might, however, have been present all along.

The Question today is: ‘Are large property portfolio (e.g. those with more than 50 land lease communities apiece) owners, compared to smaller (i.e. one or two properties apiece) operators, experiencing similar backlogging of homes ordered, and significant unilateral increases in unit prices after orders have been placed or not?’

Frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that ‘large portfolios, routinely ordering many new HUD-Code homes to fill vacant rental homesites’ are indeed being given a huss (i.e. in USMC parlance, ‘Help me!’), since manufacturers can expect volume home sales from them. But if true, is this right and fair?

The challenge, in historical perspective, seems similar to what the manufactured housing industry faced in the mid-1980s, when smaller, regional HUD-Code housing manufacturers felt beleaguered by 1) relatively new HUD-Code (i.e. circa 1976) regulations, as well as 2) much larger firms being able to absorb costs of increased regulation better than them.

Result? Formation of the Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform or MHARR.

Not for a moment am I suggesting smaller land lease community owners/operators run off and charter a new national advocacy entity to represent their business interests. Rather, via the National Communities Council (‘NCC’) division of the Manufactured Housing Institute (‘MHI’), a forum for such discussion of this timely and troubling matter, should be possible! For that matter, next week, MHI/NCC, from 22 thru 24 February, hosts a virtual meeting of members. Why not make ‘community owners’ lament’ a matter of discussion and exploration?

Now, in my opinion, there is a proverbial Achilles Heel to this ‘community owners’ lament’. Specifically, while MHI/NCC boasts a couple hundred members to date, very few attend such meetings, virtually or in person. At the same time, there are hundreds more community owners/operators nationwide, who do not belong to the institute/council – and hence have no voice in addressing this timely and troubling matter. What to do about them?

To that end, the MHARR has been pretty straight-forward and vocal, during the past several years, recommending post-production segments of the manufactured housing industry (including the land lease communities realty asset class) organize a new and completely separate national trade body to this end! How many more years will ‘tail of the dog’ MH business types labor on in search of parity and effective national advocacy?

As one of 19 founders of the Industry Steering Committee (‘ISC’) who met on 31 August 1993, and a founding board member of the NCC on 1 January 1996, I do not believe the council has achieved goals set for it at that time!*1 It is not even the ‘court of last resort’ for matters such as contentious landlord-tenant legislation, use of floor fees to promote brand awareness and image improvement, encouraging certified professional property management at all levels, and – as in this case – researching and arbitrating issues among post-production segments of the manufactured housing industry. If nothing else, after 25 years, it’s time for an NCC ‘reset’!

Someone let me know if ‘community owners’ lament’ is discussed, or not, at the MHI/NCC meeting.

End Note.
1. For a list of the goals agreed upon by the ISC during the fall of 1993, request it from me via email: gfa7156@aol.com

George Allen, CPM, MHM
EducateMHC

February 12, 2021

MHShipments Falter Once Again & Stock Prices, for the most part, Recover to pre-Covid Levels!

Filed under: Uncategorized — George Allen @ 6:57 am

Blog Posting # 625 @ 12 February 2021: 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, asset class historian, data researcher, education resource, & communication media for all land lease communities throughout North America!

To input this blog and/or affiliate with EducateMHC, telephone Official MHIndustry HOTLINE: (877) MFD-HSNG or 633-4764. Also email: gfa7156@aol.com & visit www.educatemhc.com

Motto: ‘U Support US & WE Serve U!’ goal: to promote HUD-Code manufactured housing & land lease communities as U.S. # 1 source of affordable attainable housing! Attend MHM class!

INTRODUCTION:
• Manufactured Housing Shipments Falter in Year 2020
• Manufactured Housing Stock Prices Recover to Pre-Covid Levels
• Affordable Housing Under Assault Everywhere
• 2020 Election. Here’s What TIME magazine now tells us about it
• Lease Option Home-only Financing Today & Tomorrow

I.

MHShipments Falter Once Again & Stock Prices, for the most part, Recover to pre-Covid Levels!

If this time last year you hoped the annual shipment volume of new HUD-Code homes would eclipse 98,000 units – for the first time since 2006, prepare to be sorely disappointed! We started the year ‘strong’, with monthly shipment totals above what they were during 2019. Then the coronavirus hit! For the next three months (April, May, June), shipments were ‘off’ by 1,000+/- units per month; and, from that point on, seesawed through the remainder of 2020, ending with a dismal total of only 94,390 new HUD-Code homes shipped (Based on Institute of Building Technology & Safety reported unadulterated monthly totals alone!). That’s 225 fewer new homes than were shipped during all of year 2019!

Know what that means? If we had those 3,000 (lost) homes back (actually 2,775 net), we’d have likely shipped 97,165 new HUD-Code homes during 2020, achieving the highest level since 117,510+/-, way back in year 2006, or 14 years ago! Another unintended consequence of the coronavirus pandemic.

Given continued home-only finance uncertainty, in most local housing markets, the fact the manufactured housing industry ‘recovered so well’ by year end 2020, bodes well for hitting or even eclipsing aforementioned goal of 98,000 units by year end 2021. What do you think?

Then there’s the stock market performance of our nine public companies; four HUD-Code housing manufacturers (i.e. BRK-A, SKY, CVCO, & LEGH) and five land lease community portfolio owners/operators (i.e. ELS, SUI, UMH, MHPC, & MHC.U). Between March (coronavirus) and April, all these firms took major hits to their stock prices, with one halved in value! By February 2021 however, all companies returned to, or close to, their March 2019 stock price levels – with the one ‘hit the hardest’, rebounding to an even higher price than during March 2019.

Any of this ‘new news’ to you? If so, subscribe to The Allen Confidential business newsletter; available via www.educatemhc.com Every issue contains a ‘MHShipment Volume & Stock Market Report’ for your edification. There’s nothing like it anywhere else in the MHIndustry!

II.

Affordable Housing Under Assault

‘Homeless Seniors R Us’ is how homeowners/site lessees in some Upper Midwest land lease communities now describe themselves. Why? Because a few private equity giant firms, from outside the manufactured housing industry, have acquired land lease communities for their property portfolios, and then, too aggressively ‘jacked site rents’ and began charging additional for trash removal and water! For example, in one Montana community, site rent increased to $380 per month, and with addition of aforementioned charges, raised a typical resident’s total payout to $500/month.

And then there’s this gem, describing the repurposing of a land lease community in Puyallup, Oregon. Vacant rental homesites are being filled with 313 square feet Tiny Homes selling for $60,000., with 30 year leases. And the monthly HOA (Homeowners Association) fee is $800/month! Anyone see ‘affordable’ anywhere in that description? I sure don’t.

III.

TIME Magazine: Saving or Rigging of 2020 Election?
“-…a well-funded cabal of powerful people, ranging across industries and ideologies, working together behind the scenes to influence perceptions, change rules and laws, steer media coverage and control the flood of information. They were not rigging the election; they were fortifying it.” According to Molly Ball, a writer for TIME magazine.

Now, there’re two opposing perspectives, leaking one profound truth! The 2020 election was either RIGGED or FORTIFIED. What’s your opinion? Mine? The former.

IV.

Lease-Option Home-only Financing Today & Tomorrow…

Following two paragraphs are quoted and edited, from email correspondence between two land lease community portfolio owners/operators, discussing home-only chattel financing.

We’ve had very good experience with Country Place Mortgage in Dallas, TX. although they only finance Cavco/Fleetwood Homes. Also had very good experience with American Commerce Bank in Bremen, GA. And, very good experience with private investors who frequently finance our acquisition of homes through self-directed IRA accounts. We are not fans of one top market share chattel lending program, because of fees and interest rates a community owner is responsible for if the buyer/borrower defaults, and lender’s (alleged) refusal to substantiate the amount they claim a community owner is responsible for when a buyer defaults.

A discussion many community owners have had during the past five to 10 years, has been regarding interest in developing a lender who’d provide home-only acquisition financing to land lease community owners/operators selling on-site. Lease-Option programs implemented by community owners are very attractive to said owners, as well as homebuyer/site lessees who don’t qualify for conventional loans, manufacturer programs, and the industry in general; as they are well-secured for the entity advancing funds. The hurdle we invariably encounter is one of scale – lenders able to invest large amounts of capital at attractive interest rates, don’t want to do so at much less than tens of millions of dollars.

Times change, however, and interest rates are still at all-time lows, so perhaps it’s time to revisit this timely topic.

OK blog reader, you interested in being part of such a discussion should it take place, probably virtually, during the next several months? If so, let me know via gfa7156@aol.com

***
George Allen, CPM, MHM EducateMHC

February 5, 2021

Community Owners Taking Action!

Filed under: Uncategorized — George Allen @ 6:53 am

Blog Posting # 624 @ 5 February 2021: 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, asset class historian, data researcher, education resource, & communication media for all land lease communities throughout North America!

To input this blog and/or affiliate with EducateMHC, telephone Official MHIndustry HOTLINE: (877) MFD-HSNG or 633-4764. Also email: gfa7156@aol.com & visit www.educatemhc.com

Motto: ‘U Support US & WE Serve U!’ Goal: to promote HUD-Code manufactured housing & land lease communities as U.S. # 1 source of affordable attainable housing! Attend MHM class!

INTRODUCTION: Unforeseen consequences of the coronavirus pandemic? Delayed deliveries (out to fall 2021 with some factories) and arbitrary increasing of HUD-Code housing base price! Part II shares some Good News, for a change. Major gala event scheduled for 9 August 2021 at the RV/MH Hall of Fame in Elkhart, IN. And if, as a land lease community owner/operator you have homeowners/site lessees who’ve paid off MH loans originated with Greentree ‘many years ago’, and are in search of lien releases; well, read Part III.

I.

Community Owners Taking Action!

Appears the manufactured housing industry now has a ‘baker’s dozen’ Evergreen Issues!

“An Evergreen Issue is content that’s always relevant.” As defined in the 32nd annual ALLEN REPORT (a.k.a. ‘AR’ & ‘Who’s Who Among Land Lease Community Portfolio Owners/operators Located Throughout North America!’). Amidst its’ widely-referenced statistical compendium, the popular AR identified a dozen Evergreen Issues that have dogged the industry and realty asset class, to varying degrees, for the past decade and longer. Now, here’s the 13th Evergreen Issue, or so it seems….

#13. ‘Delayed deliveries and arbitrary jacking of HUD-Code housing base prices are profoundly counterproductive, fostering bad will toward the manufacturer, consumer remorse on the part of homebuyers/site lessees, and perennial problems for community owners/operators.’

But NOW, land lease community owners/operators, in some parts of the U.S., are uniting to make this plight known, and suggesting remedial action in a two-step process:

First, effect an informal agreement between the home supplier and community owner, whereby the latter accepts the arbitrary price increase, but insists manufacturer sign off on a statement, added by the community owner to the product sheet (a.k.a. Sales Order Confirmation), below or near the signature line on said form that reads akin to this:

“We understand manufactured housing prices are rising because of significant increases in the cost of raw materials and building products. However, when the costs of these materials decrease, we expect housing prices to be reduced as well. Agreed!” _________________manufacturer’s representative.

This is the second time land lease community owners/operators have come together to protect their business interests! To date, as before, this initiative is not being encouraged by state and national advocates for manufactured housing! This is somewhat understandable, given most operational funding for these trade entities comes from the manufacturing segment of the industry. But maybe, like last time (i.e. 31 August 1993 – 1 January 1996 = fructification and birth of MHI’s National Communities Council division), we’ll again underscore the truth of Benjamin Franklin’s famous quote: “We must, indeed, hang together, or most assuredly, we shall hang separately.”

So, start adding the above statement to your HUD-Code housing manufacturer’s product sheet or Sales Order Confirmation, and request your manufacturer’s rep sign it!

II.

What’s Going On @ RV/MH Hall of Fame?

Are you, like many others and me, suffering from year-long pent-up desires to travel and engage in interpersonal networking with manufactured housing and land lease community peers? Well, mark your calendar NOW, and plan to attend a truly historic RV/MH Hall of Fame Induction Banquet the evening of 9 August 2021! I’ve already made my hotel reservation for the event; suggest you do likewise, as rooms sometimes sell out for this stellar annual event.

Why will this one be truly ‘historic’? Because, for the first time in a half century, two ‘classes’ (2020 & 2021) will be inducted into the RV/MH Hall of Fame! Know what this also means? Attendance will likely swell to 700 or more businessmen and women! SO, a stellar opportunity to celebrate this honoring of 20 inductees, and opportunity to engage in the Best Networking available anytime, anywhere in the manufactured housing industry! Who’s being inducted? Here’s a near complete list of the MH (only) inductees:

• Steven P. Adler of MUREX Properties in Ft. Myers, FL.
• Ron Dunlap, retired Virginia MHAssociation executive, and military veteran
• George Porter of Manufactured Housing Resources, in DE., and RVN military veteran
• Jerry Ruggirello, land lease community owner/operator
• Ken Anderson, MHI of AZ executive
• Keith Casenhiser, partner at Bessire & Casenhiser in CA.
• Charles Lott of Fleetwood Homes in GA.
• Debra (Dee) Pizer of Zeman Properties in IL.
• Alan Spencer from Dakotaland Homes in SD.

I can’t speak for you, but I’ve known the majority of these individuals for more than 30 years, and count them not only as business associates, but good friends. I’m certain many of you feel the same; so, ‘let’s get together’ and celebrate Monday evening, 9 August 2021. To purchase banquet tickets, phone (574) 293-2344. If you’ve never visited the RV/MH Heritage Foundation’s Hall of Fame, Library, & Museum facility, you are in for a very pleasant surprise!

III.

Greentree Financed & Need a Lien Release?

Contact Shellpoint Mortgage Servicing via Customer Care Line (800) 365-7107

George Allen, CPM, MHM
EducateMHC

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