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

May 28, 2021

A MEMORIAL DAY PENSE’ (‘reflection’)

Filed under: Uncategorized — George Allen @ 6:00 am

Blog Posting # 640 @ 28 May 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.eduacatemhc.com

Motto: ‘U Support US & WWE 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: On this Memorial Day, celebrate the lives of not only those who served, but especially ‘Those Who Served & Gave All!’ And relative to Parts II, III & IV, here following, let’s together ensure, next Memorial Day, we won’t be mourning the passing of manufactured housing and land lease community business models! And Part V? ‘Ah, the mystery deepens!’

I.

A MEMORIAL DAY PENSE’ (‘reflection’)

This is a Personal Reflection Penned After My First Visit – alone – to the VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL (The Wall) in Washington, DC. on 15 July 1984, 15 years after my return from RVN.

If the coarse language in this poem offends you, reflect on this reminder penned by author George Orwell: ‘People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.’

Damn black wall!
Why do I cry so before you?
I’m alive – ‘Thank God’ for that
But what of these friends I knew?

Many years have passed
But now – “I’m really there again’
With the same strong emotions
And memories flooding back again….

‘Got, I hate to cry!’
But that’s all I’ve done today
Out of gratitude – grief – and pride
For these my comrades, where’er they lie.

‘Damn black wall!!’ But I’m oh so glad you’re there…..

GFA, Jr.

When you visit The Wall, and you really should someday, kindly look up the names of these two Marine officers, friends of mine, who did not make it back from Vietnam. Each left behind a loving wife and small child.

Lieutenant Mark Fiebelkorn
Lieutenant John White, III

II.

YOUR RESPONSE TO: ‘WHAT WE KNOW IS ALREADY HAPPENING!’

Last week’s ‘outing’ here, of Wall Street-type investment companies , including some private equity firms and investment funds acquiring land lease communities ‘touched a nerve or two’, among blog floggers (readers). Why? Because few manufactured housing professionals support the abhorrent use of predatory measures toward homeowners/site lessees and the exorbitant rental homesite rates they’re expected to pay, as well as absorb new add-on charges.

So the profiteering and related controversy (to embrace ‘rent control’ of not) continues! What I’m waiting to hear and see, is a very public denouncing of predatory practices. By whom? The only viable national advocate for land lease communities nationwide, the Manufactured Housing Institute’s (‘MHI’) National Communities Council (‘NCC’) division! The NCC adjunct to MHI began its’ work on 1 January 1996, after being birthed 2 ½ years earlier as the Industry Steering Committee (‘ISC’). And among the first founding group’s Mission Statement & Objectives is this goal:

“Avoiding and combating rent control and landlord/tenant legislation.”P.97 in SWAN SONG.

So, 30 years later, is there a parallel focus in the contemporary mission of MHI’s NCC division?

In my opinion, it’s time for the leadership of MHI’s NCC division to publicly address this serious matter – one that’s fast becoming the newest ‘evergreen issue’ negatively affecting the entire manufactured housing industry! Perhaps their Code of Ethics is the place to start.

If you’re a member, let them know how you feel!

III.

GSEs Once Again, Bail on MH!

Compare the content of the next two paragraphs. The first is quoted from SWAN SONG (‘History of Land Lease Communities’), describing an FHFA & GSEs national chattel finance roundtable in Indiana in early 2010. The second paragraph is quoted from Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform’s (‘MHARR’) Press Release dated 18 May 2021.

2010. “This decade began under the worst of business conditions! A Manufactured Housing Finance Roundtable was convened, early in the year, in Elkhart, IN., attended by representatives from the manufactured housing industry and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (‘FHFA’), as well as GSEs (‘Government Sponsored Enterprises) Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac. Purpose of the meeting? To tell the (MH) industry it was, henceforth, ‘on its’ own’ and not to expect any substantive financial assistance from any of them.” P. 51, Chapter # 5. Nor did we receive any GSE assistance for several years.

2021. “The most striking aspect of both proposed (‘DTS’) plans, in relation to federally-regulated manufactured housing, is their complete omission of any programs, initiatives, or activities of any kind, designed to provide or advance either securitization and or secondary market support for the manufactured housing personal property (i.e. chattel loans constitute nearly 80 percent of the HUD-Code manufactured housing consumer lending market for new home purchases). The latest proposed (‘DTS’) plans included…absolutely NO proposed chattel loan purchases, NO chattel loan ‘pilot programs’, NO chattel loan data or information gathering, NO ‘education’, NO ‘engagement’, or any other activity of any kind.” Emphasis added. GFA

2021. And if the previous paragraph messages of serious benign neglect by Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac is not clear to you, read this for effect: “For the 2022-2024 (‘DTS’) Plan cycle, Freddie Mac will devote our resources to supporting the real property manufactured housing market…We will NOT pursue the purchase and securitization of personal property (chattel) loans on MH.” Is it clear to you now? Once again, we are 100 percent ‘on our own’! Emphasis added. GFA

IV.

MHARR CALLS ON HUD TO RECTIFY FOUR MAJOR BARRIERS TO MH!

Short and ‘not so sweet’. MHARR, in correspondence dated 21 May 2021, admonishes HUD Secretary Fudge to take steps now to address and rectify four major barriers to MH:

• Full program reform in accordance with the 2000 law (MH Improvement Act)

• Elimination of discriminatory and exclusionary zoning

• Revitalization of the Federal Housing Administration’s Title I manufactured housing program

• Full implementation of Duty to Serve (‘DTS’) plans

So, here we are, six months into the New Year (2021), and these are our post-pandemic Marching Orders. Question now is, WHO is going to lead us in these worthy endeavors?

Always interested in your feedback – and you’ve certainly been giving it to me of late! Don’t stop now. Communicate with me via gfa7156@aol.com

V.

THAT DATE

Many of you receiving this weekly blog posting have been reading/hearing whispers of an unusual industry and realty asset class gathering later this year. Pencil 12 August 2021 onto your personal planning calendar. Details to follow…for the FINAL NETWORKING ROUNDTABLE.

George Allen, CPM, MHM

May 21, 2021

HERE IS WHAT WE KNOW IS ALREADY HAPPENING!

Filed under: Uncategorized — George Allen @ 6:19 am

Blog Posting # 639 @ 21 May 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@aaol.com & visit www.educaatemyhc.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: Whoa! This blog is jam-packed with interesting, albeit in some cases, controversial information today. So read closely and comment as you feel motivated to do so.

I.

HERE IS WHAT WE KNOW IS ALREADY HAPPENING!

What follows is the Best ‘land lease community predatory practices’ Summary I’ve read to date, here quoting from ‘Wall Street Investors Pricing Americans Out of Last Bastian of Affordable Housing’. This is a report produced by the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at University of Maryland’s Phillip Morris College of Journalism. February 17, 2021. What follows is lightly edited for clarity.

“Wall Street-type investment companies, including private equity firms and investment funds, expanded into residential real estate in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, snapping up foreclosed suburban single-family homes at bargain prices and renting them out to middle-class families. The business model has proved so profitable, Wall ‘Street money is now flowing into every segment of the housing market, including mobile home parks and other forms of affordable housing.”

“The trend creates an unusual juxtaposition where some of Wall Street’s largest investment firms, including Apollo Global Management, The Blackstone Groups, and Brookfield Asset Management, are now landlords to some of America’s poorest residents. Smaller private investment firms, including Havenpark, have sprung up in recent years with the sole purpose of acquiring a large number of mobile home communities.”

“The median household income of a family living in a manufactured housing community is about $35,588 annually, compared to $50,056 for conventional renters and $91,342 for conventional homeowners, according to research by professors Noah J. Durst at Michigan State University and Esther Sullivan at the university of Colorado Denver.”

“With affordable housing across the U.S. already in limited supply, housing advocates worry big investors are pushing rents up so far so fast that even mobile home communities – the nation’s single largest source of nongovernment-subsidized affordable housing – could become out of reach for families on fixed incomes. The advocates also charge that the investment firms are quicker to evict tenants, especially those who are elderly and on disability, to make room for residents who can afford to pay higher rents.”

Havenpark now uses the name Havenpark Communities. For more info on this, read Part IV.

A concluding thought, not part of the Best Summary just shared with you.

During the 1970s thru mid-1990s, land lease community owners/operators, sole proprietors and corporations alike, often used a 3:1 Rule to estimate what rental homesite rates should be in a newly developed or acquired property; e.g. 3BR2B apartment @ $600/month? Divide $600 by ‘3’ and set site rent at $200/month (&) consider monthly mortgage payment on said manufactured home. For example; taken together, the site rent & house payment combination should be 10+ percent below 3BR2B apartment rent in the same local housing market Doing so, creates and protects the competitive edge needed by this affordable housing alternative!

During the latter 1990s and going forward, among some of the largest land lease community portfolio owners/operators, the 3:1 Rule morphed to 2:1. So, with apartment rents at the time on the rise, site rent might be pegged at $300/month when apartment rent was $900/month. However, those using the 2:1 Rule inflated site rent to $450/month – resulting in $150/month less ‘buying power’ for homeowners/site lessees.

Where are we today? Figure it out yourself. Survey and average conventional 3BR2B apartment communities monthly rent rates in your local housing market(s), then compare that ‘average’ with what’s being charged, per rental homesite, in large local land lease communities. To complicate matters somewhat, be sure charging for water & sewer, cable TV, and other utilities are handled similarly in both rental housing environments.

II.

‘DON’T HOLD YOUR BREATH!’

Community Reinvestment Act (‘CRI’) update could incentivize loans for home-only manufactured housing finance, improving affordability for low-to-moderate income families.

But don’t count on it! Following quote is from a 12 May 2021 article, on this timely topic, by Nick Bourke and Rachel Siegel, of the Pew Charitable Trusts finance and home financing projects. Again, following paragraphs are lightly edited for clarity.

“Manufactured homes can be difficult to finance for two reasons. First, there is general shortage of small mortgages nationwide – even for qualified buyers –and second, personal property loans are offered by relatively few lenders and at higher interest rates, which undermines affordability. Updates to CRA regulations could improve access to small mortgages nationally for both manufactured and site-built homes. Although manufactured home buyers who own their land could finance with conventional (real estate-secured) mortgages, the CRA update could incentivize banks to increase the supply of both loan options.”

“The FHFA wants to bolster the secondary market for manufactured homes. Accordingly, it has required Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the companies it oversees, to purchase mortgages for manufactured housing, which will increase lending. However, personal property loans lack a strong secondary market – a serious obstacle to banks’ ability to offer this financing. As a result, such loans generally must be retained, which keeps banks from replenishing funds and reduces their available dollars to loan out.”

Talk about the (card) deck being stacked against us!

III.

TODAY’S HOUSING SUPPLY LOWEST IN U.S. HISTORY!

“Based on my research, I believe the (housing) supply today, which is down in the one to two months’ range nationwide, is the lowest it’s ever been in the history of the United States.” American Enterprise Housing Institute.” In other words, ‘the worst housing supply ever’!

IV.

DISPLACEMENT, Inc.

Subtitled: ‘How Havenpark Capital and Enterprise Community Partners are eroding affordable housing and how residents are fighting back.’

Well, I listened in on the DISPLACMENT, Inc. telephone webinar Wednesday afternoon, 19 May 2021. Listened to at least ten individuals with ‘similar axes to grind’ relative to Havenpark Communities and other land lease community portfolio owners/operators who, in the opinion of these commentators, are relating to their homeowner/site lessees in a predatory fashion, regarding exorbitant and frequent homesite rent rate increases, submetering of utilities, pet fees, and other add-ons, to increase corporate cash flow.

Here are a few of my takeaway from this half hour webinar:

• MHAction. “A national movement of manufactured home residents” hosted this event.

• Announcement of supposed future release of a “groundbreaking report on how manufactured home residents are being forced from their homes during the pandemic.” Will let you know if/when I obtain a copy, probably from MHAction.

• Dr. Esther Sullivan, an urban sociologist at the University of Colorado Denver. An articulate and passionate presenter. Thought her name was familiar – and it is; as author of Manufactured Insecurity. Mobile Home Parks & Americans Tenuous Right to Place, published in 2018. 264 pages. Her view of ‘us’? “…mobile homes are a primary way we house the poor in the U.S.” True enough, but we’re (land lease communities) so much more than that: popular retirement housing in Sunbelt regions, affordable housing for singles and newlywed couples, and rental housing of choice among middle class workers and citizens.

• At the other end of the spectrum was a participant who spoke out strongly against Havenpark, but is no longer a homeowner/site lessee in any land lease community. And allegedly has a checkered history of evictions, court filings, and other legal challenges.

• Terms used to describe predatory land lease community portfolio owners/operators: raiders, blood suckers, rent gougers, ‘…ruining affordable housing wherever they go.’

• Two state representatives (a congresswoman and a senator) described pending legislation in their respective states, requiring advance notice to residents when property is for sale, a bill of rights for homeowners/site lessees; also renewable leases and right to move one’s manufactured home.

• An overt endorsement of resident-owned communities via services of ROC USA.

• Webinar participants encouraged to contact Enterprise Community Partners to complain of their financial support of Havenpark Communities: (212) 284-7178

George Allen, CPM, MHM
EducateMHC

May 14, 2021

GSE Recognizes ‘Entry-level’ Single Family Housing Shortage & Does Not Fully Address It!

Filed under: Uncategorized — George Allen @ 6:10 am

Blog Posting # 638 @ 14 May 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: Three potentially explosive topics today! How dialed-in are you on these emerging ‘evergreen issues’ relative to manufactured housing & land lease communities?

I.

GSE Recognizes ‘Entry-level’ Single Family Housing Shortage & Does Not Fully Address It!

Did you read MHARR’s May 2021 Issues & Perspectives feature titled ‘Freddie Mac Unwittingly Proves Its’ Own Failure’? If not, you really should! Obtain a copy by phoning (202) 783-4087.*1 Why?

In it, Mark Weiss summarizes an analysis by Freddie Mac Vice President and Chief Economist Sam Khater’, titled ‘The Significant Shortage of Starter Homes’, dated 15 April 2021. Herein he states ‘entry-level’ single-family homes in the U.S. stands FOUR million units below existing demand.’ (American Enterprise Institute estimates double that amount, at EIGHT million)

In any event, “Freddie Mac’s analysis concludes the ‘main driver’ of the entry-level housing supply/demand gap, is a “long-term decline in the….supply of entry-level single-family homes, or ‘starter homes’, “which has dropped from an average of 418,000 units/year during 1970s to 65,000 in year 2020.

The Freddie Mac analysis makes these two points: “…renters can’t buy houses that don’t exist’ & “…we must build more single-family entry-level housing.” MHARR Weiss points out the GSEs “…have not provided the necessary level of consumer financing support for that segment of the market….”

And that’s where the proverbial ‘rubber meets the road’, in this industry observer’s opinion. Though Weiss does a yeoman’s job pointing out the GSEs “…prejudice and bias – a willful ‘blind spot’.” relative to MANUFACTURED HOUSING FINANCED WITH CHATTEL CAPITAL, he does not detail that sorry situation – until later in the analysis. And there he rightly decries GSE’s Duty to Serve Support (‘DTS’) of “…significantly more costly MH Advantage, Choice Home, and so-called ‘Cross-Mod’ homes” that do qualify – (understand this) – for real estate-secured financing!

So, a Two Part Bottom line.

‘Home-only’ or chattel capital financing of manufactured housing mostly destined for siting on rental homesites within land lease communities, continues to be difficult to obtain, resulting in far less than capacity production of ‘entry-level’ single-family homes in the U.S.! Yes, that’s the boogeyman standing in the way of our providing affordable housing when it’s needed most: NOW!

However, real estate-secured financing (i.e. conventional home mortgages) for manufactured housing destined for siting on scattered building sites conveyed fee simple, is far easier to obtain. But production is slowed here by frequent unit price increases, fluctuating and distant delivery dates, as well as labor shortages at factories and among building product suppliers. And this too results in far less than capacity production of ‘entry-level’ single-family homes in the U.S!

There’s even more to read in MHARR’s summary of Freddie Mac’s analysis of the shortage of starter homes in the U.S. today. So, get a copy, read it, and let your thoughts be made known!

How? Via gfa7156@aol.com

End Note.

1. MHARR = Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform

II.

Well, It’s Happening!

In Vietnam, circa 1968 & 69, many of us, when not afield, lived in underground bunkers constructed of heavy timbers, aluminum matting for roof support, and sand bags all around. These in forward combat bases like Khe Sanh, Dong Ha, Quang Tri, and dozens of other locales. Their protection was comforting, particularly during ‘incoming’ rocket attacks. But there was a problem: Getting everyone to come out into the open to do their jobs, e.g. patrolling, route reconnaissance, admin and mess hall duties, and more. Some folk simply found it difficult to emerge and get back to living and the fighting as was expected of them.

Well, I’m seeing a similar phenomenon unfold as we emerge from quarantine during the coronavirus pandemic. I, for one, am tired of being confined to home – though it’s been fun to be with Carolyn, doing puzzles, reading, and writing. No, I’m ready to travel some, and re-engage with my friends and associates in manufactured housing. But it doesn’t seem ‘everyone’ is of the same mindset – yet. Right now, can you think of more than one or two in person industry events scheduled in your state, nearby, or even nationally? I can’t, really. That was, until this week. Know what I’ve learned?

After the annual RV/MH Hall of Fame induction banquet kicks off the 2021 meeting season on 16 August 2021 – and then another as yet unannounced (national) meeting later that month (26 August),‘there’s really nothing scheduled until September and October; then ‘watch out’!

Ah, but first, more about the upcoming RV/MH banquet. You really do want to attend, for several good reasons. FIRST, it’s our opportunity to emerge as an industry, from this pandemic. SECOND, there’s nearly a dozen manufactured housing celebrities being inducted into the RV/MH Hall of Fame this time around (combining Classes of 2020 & 2021). How many of these distinguished manufactured housing and land lease community folk do you know?
• Ken Anderson
• Keith Casenhiser
• Charles Lott
• Debra Pizer
• Alan Spencer
• Steven Adler
• Burt Dickman (deceased_
• Ron Dunlap
• George Porter
• Jerry Ruggirello
And THIRD. This stellar event attracts hundreds of attendees (400-700). It’s where one gets to meet and network with the pioneers and leaders of our industry and land lease community owners/operators from throughout the U.S. See you there? For tickets, phone ((574) 293-2344.

OK, what’s next? A ‘meeting traffic jam’ in late September! Here’s what I know for sure so far:

• Annual SECO Conference has become a ‘must attend’ event! It was virtual in 2020 and will be virtual again, 27 September – 2 October 1021. Phone Spencer Roane, MHM @ (678) 428-0212

• Supplier Show at the RV/MH Hall of Fame in Elkhart, IN. This is an in person event also during the last week of September. Again, for more information, phone (574) 293-2344

• Shed Builder Expo! Huh? You read it right. The shed-building industry has a large annual in-person show, this year in Grand Rapids, MI, 28-30 September. Some shed builders are trending their structures towards Tiny Houses and ADUs…see May issue of The Allen Confidential for a photograph of one.*1 For more info, phone (616) 575-9998

• Reunion of TBS 2-68, in Quantico, VA., 9/29-10/2/2021. Yes, a ‘red herring’, but this is the USMC officer’s class I was in before heading for Vietnam. First time we’ll be back together in 53 years.

Hey, if you know of more meetings on the horizon, please let me know via gfa7156@aol.com I’ll share that information here.

End Note.
1. ADU = Accessory Dwelling Unit; usually less than 400 square feet in size. Otherwise, ADUs would be subject to the HUD-Code. Increasingly popular in CA as rental units sited in back yards, and they’re ideal for filling functionally obsolete rental homesites in land lease communities.

III.

Financing Is No Longer The Only Challenge…

Here’s the lament of a land lease community owner frustrated with selling new HUD-Code manufactured homes on-site in land lease communities these days.

“You are between a rock and a very hard place. The new home you order today will be 20-25 percent more expensive than the identical home you ordered a year ago! It may get delivered a year from now, but don’t count on it. Between placing the order and actual delivery, the manufacturer will likely increase the price two or three times. Consequently, the homebuyer will need 25-30 percent higher down payment, and 25-30 percent more personal or family income to qualify for home-only financing, whether conventional or seller financed.”

“All this would seem to reduce the pool of prospective homebuyers. And when the government stimulus checks stop, and folks are forced to go back to work, we may see wages drop some, due to an oversupply of labor. If so, the prospective homebuyer pool will become even smaller. Also, if/when interest rates increase, qualification will become more difficult.”

“On the other hand, all housing alternatives are increasing in cost/price, so just maybe, manufactured housing will continue to be a comparatively less expensive, albeit affordable, attainable alternative.”

IV.
U.S. Population now at 331,449,281 According to U.S. Census Bureau

May 8, 2021

Changing Face of the ALLEN REPORT

Filed under: Uncategorized — George Allen @ 6:14 am

Blog Posting # 637 @ 7 May 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: Are you as tuned-in as you think you are, or need to be? Reading Parts I & II here following, will help you answer that curious question. Hints. For the first time in more than three decades, there are major changes ahead for the annual ALLEN REPORT, the longest running statistical compendium in the manufactured housing industry! AND, if you’re not using IBTS’ HUD-Code shipment numbers data, consider improving your accuracy and credibility by doing so. AND, where else can you ‘single source’ the stock prices of all nine public MH & LLCommunity public companies’ stock prices?

I.

Changing Face of the ALLEN REPORT

Land Lease Community Consolidation, a Portfolio to Portfolio Phenomenon

Now, that subtitle about consolidation is not ‘new news’ by any measure. Portfolios have been exchanging land lease communities (and RV parks) for as long as acquisition front men – and women, have been accessing the exclusive ALLEN REPORT contact data base, to effect direct mail solicitation campaigns. Surely by now, you know how that drill works.*1 If not, and seriously interested, email me via gfa7156@aol.com

What is ‘new news’ is the wholesale manner in which the largest property portfolio firms, public and privately-owned, have been acquiring land lease communities, dozens at a time, i.e. 12 – 36 property portfolios. The latest example is RHP Properties acquisition of Elkhart, IN., headquartered Heritage Financial and all 29 land lease communities containing 4,200 rental homesites! This acquisition boots RHPs holdings to 297 such properties nationwide…that property total is up from the 237 cited in the 32nd annual ALLEN REPORT this past January. And know what? There are even bigger portfolio transactions ‘in the making’ at present. That’s why you need to read this blog posting every week.

So, how does this wholesale acquisition of dozens of land lease communities, at a time, affecting the ALLEN REPORT as you’ve known it these past 32 years? For instance, at the very top: Just among the four largest portfolio ‘players’ listed in said report, their total community count, taken together, has jumped from 1,122 land lease communities owned/operated to more than 1,350 or an overall increase of 230+/- properties…which if a portfolio in its’ own right, would likely be ranked as #5, right behind ELS, Inc., Sun, Inc., RHP Properties, and YES! Communities.

So there you have the ‘changing face’ of the ALLEN REPORT – at the top end, among the four largest owners/operators of land lease communities in North America!

Are there other changes afoot? Probably. While I’m not prepared to share specifics, know this much: The annual ALLEN REPORT is exceedingly difficult to prepare and publish each year. How so? We poll all 500+/- portfolio owners/operators in August and September. Know how many usable responses (completed questionnaires) I get by the submission deadline? Usually 50. I get data from the remaining 50 (as listed in the 32nd ALLEN REPORT) by making telephone calls to owners – who admit they don’t send in completed questionnaires because they know I’ll eventually call and we’ll enjoy our annual ‘talk shop’ conversation. Which I do enjoy, by the way. But it sure slows down the research portion of this annual project. And then, ‘writing the report’. While I have past years reports as templates, so much information changes, it takes me every bit of 40 hours to pen what you want to know.

So, where is all this going? Don’t know for sure yet, but am leaning towards discontinuing the annual ALLEN REPORT, due to lack of succession interest on the part of any national real estate investment-related advocacy trade group! It had been my hope, way back in 1993 & 1996, when ‘we’ started the Industry Steering Committee, and then the National Communities Council (now division) of MHI, that they’d ‘step up to the plate’ and continue the products and services Carolyn and I created and nurtured, in the behalf of community owners/operators, for the past 40 years.*2 That simply has not happened, nor do I see it happening. So….
In conclusion, ‘smart money’ will see you visiting www.educatemhc.com to purchase the 32nd annual ALLEN REPORT for present use and future reference. Now you can’t say I didn’t warn you. GFA

End Notes.

1. ALLEN REPORT contact data base contains names and addresses of 500+/- land lease community portfolio owners/operators in North America. Addresses are 99% accurate and almost every direct mail piece goes to the major decision-maker in the subject firm. Cost to access? $1,000.00

2. Just what are those products and services? Easy answer is, go to www.educatemhc.com and see. Otherwise, we’re talking about monthly newsletters, books, Resource Documents (at least a dozen, e.g. ‘Annual Registry of ALL Lenders…), networking roundtable, management focus groups, the Manufactured Housing Manager (‘MHM’) professional property management training and certification program, and much more.

II.

Never Before in the History of MH…

Have We Read MH Shipment Stats & Stock Market Prices in a Monthly Report!

Did you know? Shipment volume of HUD-Code housing units jumped from 7,995 in February 2021 to 10,008 during March 2021? That’s an increase of more than 2,000 homes in one month! That is very good news for the MHIndustry!*1

Do you know the ‘production value’ of those 10,008 new homes? Based on research funded by MHI more than a decade ago, the per home value is $43,126; so, that makes the value of March’s 10,008 units $432 million & $1.42 billion YTD

Now turn to stock prices among the nine manufactured housing and land lease community public firms.

Did you know? Stock prices, on 3 May 2021, were DOWN for all HUD-Code housing manufacturers except for Berkshire-Hathaway – whose price was UP. Skyline-Champion, Cavco, and Legacy stock prices were DOWN from April.

Did you know? Stock prices, on 3 May 2021, were UP for all five land lease community portfolio firms, i.e. ELS, Inc., Sun Communities, Inc., UMH Properties, Flagship Communities (rebranded SSK Communities) and Manufactured Housing Properties.

The manufactured housing/land lease community composite stock index, on 3 May 2021, was $648.32, down from $652.72 in early April – primarily because of the slippage among HUD-Code housing manufacturers.

This report recently started publicizing FHFA’s housing price index. It was up 0.9 percent in February; up 12.2 percent from last year.

Won’t promise you’ll always read these unique and hard-to-find stats in this blog. But you can be privy to such helpful data by subscribing to The Allen Confidential newsletter via www.educatemhc.com

End Note.

1. All MH shipment totals cited in EducateMHC’s monthly ‘MHShipment Volume & Stock Market Report’ are as reported by HUD’s contractor, the Institute for Building Technology & Safety (‘IBTS’) reports them to MHARR, HUD & EducateMHC.

George Allen, CPM, MHM

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