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

February 25, 2022

LACK OF SUPPLY HOBBLES MHINDUSTRY

Filed under: Uncategorized — George Allen @ 10:34 am

Blog Posting # 678. Copyright @ 25 February 2022, EduateMHC

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

EducateMHC is the online national advocate, realty asset class historian, trend spotter, education resource & textbook supplier for land lease communities throughout North America!

To input this blog and or connect with EducateMHC, telephone (317) 881-3815, email gfa7156@aol.com and/or visit www.educatemhc.com Previous phone # no longer connected.

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

INTRODUCTION: This week TMI (‘too much information’)? Maybe. You decide. If I don’t tell you, who will? (And ‘that’ question may take on even more meaning during the week or two ahead!). Whew! Our industry and realty asset class is surely a-changing! GFA


I.

LACK OF SUPPLY HOBBLES MHINDUSTRY

A 2022 Conundrum (‘hard question’) for HUD-Code manufactured housing industry! If, according to the Wall Street Journal, on 19 February, “…the biggest issue affecting the housing market seems to be the lack of supply’, WHY are HUD-Code housing manufacturers not displaying their product at regional trade shows (e.g. canceled Louisville MHShow in January 2022)? And now I learn, there will be little to no product at the Biloxi Show. Instead, HUD-Code manufacturers will be relying on booth space marketing and networking to effect contact with prospective wholesale purchasers (e.g. land lease communities and independent – street – MHRetailers) of said product. Therein lies the conundrum: But WHY?

So, what has HUD-Code manufactured housing been doing to answer lack of housing supply?

By the numbers (i.e. according to Institute of Building Technology & Safety or IBTS), during pre-covid 2018 the HUD-Code manufactured housing industry shipped 96,555 new homes nationwide.*1 At the very beginning of covid, in 2019, that number dropped to 94,615 new homes; and in the midst of covid, further dropped to 94,390. BUT, during year 2021 (semi-post covid) the industry rebounded to 105,772 new homes shipped! So, production momentum is there; just why aren’t HUD-Code housing manufacturers pushing those totals even harder? Hmm. Supply chain issues, new employee recruiting challenges, lack of home-only financing, and what else?

And the unanswered ‘elephant in the room’ question continues to be: WHY are new HUD-Code housing prices continuing to increase unabated and sans any embarrassment?

If you’d like to contribute to this timely discussion, simply email me: gfa7156@aol.com

End Note.

1. IBTS does not tally and publish annual shipment totals for manufactured housing; rather, they only do so monthly. It’s the adding together of their 12 monthly totals that provides the figures just mentioned. These numbers are NOT sullied by subtracting and then adding back Destination Pending units each month. GFA


II.

GSE REFORM, PAST & PRESENT

A recent story, by Don Layton, titled ‘Is GSE Reform Dead?’ covered a lot of territory, past and present, from two perspectives: *1

Between 2009 and 2016, influencers from a number of environments looked to replace two GSEs (‘Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac’) with ‘something different’; collectively referred to as ‘comprehensive GSE reform’. Well, these alternatives have pretty much moved on, as they reflected political philosophies of their proposers (e.g. “liberals and progressives looking for more government involvement and control, conservatives looking for less”) and bogged down, even given congressional interest in 2014.

Today, there’re two key GSE reform activities quietly underway. The “…two companies are retaining all their earnings to build capital”, making them more financially stable, easing conservatorship exit.*2

A second reform occurring is via the Federal Housing Finance Agency (‘FHFA’), the GSE’s overseer, effecting limited revisions to regulatory minimum capital rule, reining in risk of GSEs making uneconomic decisions.

Off topic, and despite recent musings to the contrary, past inaction by the GSEs, relative to Duty to Serve (‘DTS’) plans affecting HUD-Code manufactured housing, has unnecessarily crippled the industry’s ability to answer this nation’s persistent affordable housing (shortage) challenge!

End Note.

1. Housing Perspectives, ‘Research, trends, and perspective from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies/, dated 14 February 2022.

2. “As of 9/30/2021, the GSE’s, between them, have a net worth of $67.5 billion, a much-improved position over the near zero figure of a few years earlier.”

III.

EVERGREEN ISSUES OR PECCADILLOS?


Evergreen (‘always relevant’) Issues, relative to the manufactured housing industry and land lease communities, have long been of lively and important interest to me as an observer, businessman (now retired) and writer/historian. To that end, I maintain a list of 18+/- Evergreen Issues updated at least annually. If you’d like me to email you that file, simply request it via gfa7156@aol.com

Anyway, it’s become apparent to me during recent months there’re other ‘always relevant’ pairings of perspectives worthy of identification and examination. I’ll briefly describe each one and leave it to you to decide if it rises to the level of being an Evergreen Issue or not.

Overvaluation of mid-sized and large land lease communities, oft driven by new investors from outside the manufactured housing industry; almost always resulting in excessive rental homesite rate increases soon after ‘closing’ of deals. And this phenomenon is inflamed, in my opinion, by simple greed on the part of some, but not all, property sellers. What’s the idiom? ‘It takes two to tango!’ And that certainly is the case in these sorry situations, forcing homeowners/site lessees to become victims.

There’s a recurrent shibboleth (‘slogan’) going ‘round these days; specifically: ‘Raw land development into land lease communities is the answer to the affordable housing shortage!’ Not so. Raw land development is LOCAL housing market driven – for better or worse. If city/county ‘fathers’ really want such a rental community nearby they’ll help finance the project and deal with NIMBY, LULU, & BANANA attitudes.*1 Why recurrent? Same shibboleth the last go-round, back in 1992 when J. Wiley & Sons published Development, Marketing & Operation of Manufactured Home Communities.

We lost 10,000+/- independent (street) MHRetailers at the turn of the century (i.e. when we lost easy access to chattel capital for new home sales financing), and community owners/operators learned how to ‘buy, market & sell new homes on-site’. Well, as they say, ‘the worm has turned’ and new MHRetialers want ‘back in’ the communities – but will not do so as long as community owners/operators compete with product and pricing. What’s the challenge? Community owners/operators oft sell at slightly above cost, to fill vacant rental homesites. MHRetailers won’t risk losing customers by sending them into discounted price environments. What to do? Practice what I did, as a community owner, back in the late 1970s thru the 1990s. Engage in the ‘Care & Feeding of MHRetailers’ via regular visits to sales centers, with business cards, trifold brochures, and freshly baked cookies in hand. At one time in Indianapolis, all 18 MHRetailers (now down to two) had coffee mugs on their desks and leather-like binders in hand for writing deals, all with my property logos prominently shown. Oh yes, and my assurance I would not steal their prospective homebuyers.

Know the peccadillo that bugs me most? Our realty asset class’ inability to support and sustain in person training of on-site and regional property staffers as professional property managers! Every other type of commercial real estate investment, from multifamily rental properties, to shopping centers to office buildings make it a point to ensure their employees – managing high-priced properties, are all trained and certified as professional property managers. But not land lease communities! I trained and certified 1,000+ Manufactured Housing Managers, in person, between 2011 and 2021. Today there is no regularly scheduled in person training and certification of this sort! So sad!

End Note.

1. NIMBY = ‘Not in my back yard’, LULU = ‘locally unwanted land use’, & BANANA = ‘build absolutely nothing anywhere near anyone’


IV.

CONGRATULATIONS ART TUVERSON!

“Congratulations to Art, and Berkadia Small Loans, for their recognition as GlobeSt Real Estate Forum’s 2022 Rainmakers in Debt & Equity.”

The magazine article goes on to state that “…Art Tuverson represents a unique niche in the multifamily housing industry, specializing in manufactured housing communities and the RV resort industry.”

V.

DID YOU KNOW?

Median sales price for new homes in the US is now at $350,300. Up 15.4% from last year! The FHFA , however, in a recent press release, put the increase at 17.5%.

Rumor has it a major land lease community portfolio owner/operator is acquiring, or has acquired, one of – or the largest, MH appraisal, marketing, and communication firm in the industry.

In next week’s blog posting I’ll tell you what you might well miss if/when you attend the MHCongress in April 2022.

And that’s all for today folks!

George Allen, CPM, MHM
EducateMHC

February 18, 2022

DID YOU KNOW?

Filed under: Uncategorized — George Allen @ 10:21 am

Blog Posting # 677. Copyright @ 18 February 2022, EducateMHC

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

EducateMHC is the online national advocate, realty asset class historian, trend spotter, education resource & textbook supplier for land lease communities throughout North America!

To input this blog and or connect with EducateMHC, telephone (317) 881-3815, email gfa7156@aol.com and/or visit www.educatemhc.com Previous phone #s no longer connected.

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

INTRODUCTION: Much interesting news for you this week, beginning with the identity of ten states where HUD-Code manufactured housing is the most affordable. Then there’s some teaser information about interest in forming a new national trade body to truly represent the interests of land lease community owners/operators across the board – not just the major portfolio players. And a further reminder of how we, as an industry, shipped 105,772 new homes during 2021 – and don’t let anyone tell you differently! Finally, resident-owned communities continue to materialize across the U.S. – and now, finally in California! GFA

I.

DID YOU KNOW?

The Top Ten States for Manufactured Home Affordability, based on 2021 sales data, and first published in MHVillager on 9 February are as follows:

Kansas. “New manufactured homes in Kansas sell for an average price of $51,780, the lowest average price in the entire country.” And pre-owned manufactured homes sell for $24,306+/- apiece.

Arkansas. There the new manufactured home average price is $56,812; and, pre-owned manufactured home at $50,394.

Mississippi. Down there, new and pre-owned homes, throughout the state, sell for just about the same amount: 457,361.

Oklahoma. Now here’s a dollar spread for you. New manufactured homes sell for $68,743 on the average, and pre-owned homes for $40,777.

North Dakota. Up there the average price of a new manufactured home is $60,841; pre-owned homes at $44,969 apiece.

Missouri. Here’s yet another pretty broad price spread; new manufactured homes at $61,642 and pre-owned homes at only $37,026.

Virginia. Among the original 13 states (colonies), this state boasts an average new manufactured home price of $61,719, while pre-owned homes actually cost more, at $63,436 apiece.

Pennsylvania. New manufactured homes in this state average $62,523 in average price, while pre-owned manufactured homes are sold for an average of $37,307.

Kentucky. Here’s another ‘close comparison’ between average sale prices for new and pre-owned manufactured homes. In the former instance = $63,742; in the latter instance = $61,970.

Georgia. The tenth state on this ‘affordable housing’ list, sees its’ new manufactured homes going for $64,397, while pre-owned manufactured homes sell for $41,900. Apiece.

So, now you know where to find the most affordable new and resale manufactured homes ‘for sale’ in the U.S. these days.

II.

RUMOR OR FACT?

Community Owners (7 part) Business Alliance, a.k.a. COBA7 ended its’ six year run in 2020; SECO (Southeast Community Owners), launched in 2011, and EducateMHC (circa 2020) have become valuable national resources for land lease community owners/operators; and the National Association of Manufactured Housing Community Owners (‘NAMHCO’) in AZ appears to be dormant at this time. What else is there?

This leaves MHI’s National Communities Council (‘NCC’) division as the sole trade body (lobbyist) representing political and regulatory interests of land lease community owners/operators.

But maybe not for long. Email messages have been flying, and preliminary meetings held, pursuant to the probable soon launch of a Manufactured Home Community Owners Association of America (‘MHCOAA’) body, purposed to improve the reputation of the realty asset class, directly counter negative press, and encourage professional property management among owners and property managers. And its’ activities will likely be communicated by an existing trade publication. Interested in participating? Let me know via gfa7156@aol.com and I’ll pass your contact information onto the organizers.

III.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT!

According to the Institute for Building Safety & Technology (‘IBTS’), HUD’s official scorekeeper of the number of new HUD-Code manufactured homes shipped monthly, December’s total (8,014), when added to that from the first 11 months of the year, pushed us – for the first time in 15 years, above the 100,000 target goal. Our industry’s 2021 new MH shipment total was and is, 105,772. And don’t let anyone tell you differently. This 105,772 is the consensus total touted by HUD, MHARR, and EducateMHC.

IV.

ROC USA NOW IN CALIFORNIA!

ROC USA, on 4 February, announced the sale of The Woods, a premier 55+ senior community, located in Little River, CA., to the homeowners/site lessees (i.e. residents). This is the first ROC USA-supported resident-owned community in the state of California!

ROC USA, to date, has helped nearly 300 land lease community owners/operators sell their properties to their residents for fair market values. For more information, contact aromeo@rocusa.org

V.

FANNIE MAE & FREDDIE MAC

Yes, there’s some news afoot relative to the two GSEs, but I’ll hold off telling you about it until next week’s blog posting. Suffice it to say, they’re coming under some Senate scrutiny, and there are questions about their future in receivership.


George Allen, CPM, MHM
EducateMHC

February 11, 2022

2021 = 105,772 NEW HUD-CODE HOMES

Filed under: Uncategorized — George Allen @ 12:20 pm

Blog Posting # 676 @ 11 February 2022: EducateMHC

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

EducateMHC is the online national advocate, realty asset class historian, trend spotter, education resource & textbook supplier for land lease communities throughout North America!

To input this blog and or connect with EducateMHC, telephone (317) 881-3815, email gfa7156@aol.com and/or visit www.educatemhc.com Previous phone #s no longer connected.

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

INTRODUCTION: Some extremely Good News, some Not so Good News, and some Exciting News! Also a return to some potpourri for your reading enjoyment. GFA


I.

2021 = 105,772 NEW HUD-CODE HOMES

Yes, you read that right! For the first time in 15 long years, the manufactured housing industry shipped more than 100,000 new HUD-Code homes throughout the U.S. Now that’s something to celebrate! Let’s say it again: 105,772 new HUD-Code homes shipped during all of 2021! *1

According to MHI-sponsored Dr. Stephen C. Cooke’s ‘production value’ formula for manufactured homes, the 8,014 homes shipped during year 2021 are valued at $451 million. And our 105,772 new homes shipped throughout year 2021 are valued at $4.56 billion! *2

End Notes.

1. Most recent previous year during which more than 100,000 new homes were shipped, occurred during year 2006, and that year’s total was 117,510 units.

2. Dr. Cooke’s ‘production value’ per new manufactured home is $43,126. That factor is now a decade old and MHI, in my opinion, should have the value updated to 2022.




II.

A BAD WEEK FOR MH & COMMUNITY STOCKS

That is, with the exception of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. (‘BRK-A’) – owner of Clayton Homes, whose stock price on 3 February increased to $476K. Everyone else (four manufactured housing firms and five land lease community firms – mostly REITs) saw their stock prices decline. *1

Skyline Champion Corporation (‘SKY’) @ $73.95
Cavco Industries, Inc., (‘CVCO’) @ $292.00
Legacy Housing Corporation (‘LEGH’) @ $25.51
Nobility Homes (‘NOBH’) @ $32.10

Equity Lifestyle (‘ELS’) @ $278.43. (#1 on 32nd annual ALLEN REPORT)
Sun Communities, Inc. (‘SUI’) @ $193.36 (#2 on 32ne annual ALLEN REPORT)
UMH Properties, Inc. (‘UMH’) @ $24.02 (#6 on 32nd annual ALLEN REPORT)
Flagship Communities, on Canadian Stock Exchange @ $18.50 (#23 on 32nd ALLEN REPORT) Manufactured Housing Properties, Inc., (‘MHPC’) @ $2.53 (#28 on 32nd ALLEN REPORT)

Based on above data, the Manufactured housing/land lease community Composite Stock Index (‘CSI’) dropped from $788.87 on 3 January 2022, to $738.00 on 3 February 2022.

End Notes:

1. All stock prices were recorded mid-morning on 3 February 2022.


III.

WAMH, PRONOUNCED ‘WHAM’!

Time has arrived for a new national organization where questions about manufactured housing can be addressed, where women will be recognized for their individual accomplishments, and where, as an advocate, we can help improve the perception of our industry by touting its’ positive features!

And the name of this new organization? Women Advancing Manufactured Housing (‘WAMH’); however, pronounced ‘WHAM’!

Tuesday evening, 2 February, saw more than 40 men and women from manufactured housing and land lease communities, meet virtually for more than an hour, to organize and introduce the new organization conceived at the virtual SECO meeting this past fall. And this Mission Statement was presented:

‘Women advancing manufactured housing by supporting and elevating females in the industry, improving the perception of manufactured housing throughout the country, collaborating, and helping expand each member’s knowledge.’

WAMH’s executive committee is comprised of Justine Natalie (co-chair), Maria Horton, MHM (co-chair), Sherrie Clevenger (deputy chair), Kim Shultz-Rainford (secretary), and Maryuri Barberan, MHM (treasurer). Two additional founding members are Julie Straus and Chandra Houston.

Next event for WAMH will occur 15 March, featuring a guest speaker – yet to be announced. For more information about WAMH and this event, visit:
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14029066/ and https://womenadvancingmanufacturedhousing.com/

On a personal note, by someone not present at the meeting but wholly supportive of what these women executives are doing, I’m pleased once again, to see women leaders take the initiative to their professional lot and the reputation of the manufactured housing industry going forward. A similar attempt was made two decades ago, but failed. This time around, however, as an industry and realty asset class, we need such enthusiasm and focus all the more! *1 GFA

End Note.

1. The turn of the century women’s executive group went by the name of Manufactured Housing Executive Women (‘MHEW’). It met during annual Manufactured Housing Congress sessions.






IV.

POTPOURRI

Did you know there’s a ‘trailer park musical’ titled LUST ‘N RUST’? Well there was (I saw it in 2001) and is today (google it). Gist? A young man comes to town to start a new job but needs a place to stay. At the local greasy spoon restaurant he meets a tattooed waitress who takes a liking to him and suggests he stay with her in her ‘trailer’ – but not to arrive until she kicks out her soon to be ex-husband. Anyway, the musical is full of trailer stereotypes from start to finish. Just one more of the entertainment standards we must fight on our way to land lease community image improvement.

And then there’s Trailer Park of Terror (Yep, google it too). First appeared back in 1975. Then in 2006 I was invited to invest in a Hollywood film version of the tale. I declined but it materialized anyway. Another figurative albatross our industry must bear for the time being.

Here’re nine holistic principles to a clutter-free life:
1. Handle one item at a time
2. A path (place) for everything, everything on its’ path (place)
3. Don’t cover your tracks, i.e. Don’t toss clutter where you’ve already cleaned
4. Group like things together
5. Take breaks
6. Leave no stone unturned
7. Dispose with ceremony (Imbue the letting-go process with flair)
8. After cleaning or working, revel in the empty space and accomplishments
9. Acknowledge steps one takes and resist the temptation to look ahead to see how much is left to do.
Sorry, but I don’t recall where this came from; but it’s in my potpourri file. GFA

Then there’s this NOTICE I once saw and saved for now:

“This department requires no physical fitness program.
Everyone gets enough exercise jumping to conclusions, flying off the handle, running down the boss, knifing friends in the back, dodging responsibility, and pushing their luck.”

George Allen, CPM, MHM
EducateMHC



February 3, 2022

COMPARING HOUSING PRICES!

Filed under: Uncategorized — George Allen @ 2:11 pm

Blog Posting # 675 @ 4 February 2022: EducateMHC

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

EducateMHC is the online national advocate, realty asset class historian, trend spotter, education resource & textbook supplier for land lease communities throughout North America!

To input this blog and or connect with EducateMHC, telephone (317) 881-3815, email gfa7156@aol.com and/or visit www.educatemhc.com Previous phone #s no longer connected.

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

INTRODUCTION: OK; two somewhat related but different topics this time around. First, by how much, the price of (some) new HUD-Code manufactured homes, during year 2021, exceeded the benchmark FHFA House Price Index during the same period of time.*1 Then, comparing rental homesite rates at two – one on the east coast, another on the west coast, of the most luxurious (on one hand) and iconic (on the other) land lease communities in all the U.S.*2 No potpourri this week.

End Notes.

1. FHFA = Federal Housing Finance Agency (oversees the two GSEs: Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac).

2. ‘Iconic’ = “a representation that stands for something by virtue of a resemblance or analogy of it”. Webster’s dictionary. In this case, as an example of what the ideal land lease community might be like.

I

COMPARING HOUSING PRICES!

Let’s begin with the FHFA House Price Index published to the public on 25 January 2022. Here goes: “FHFA House Price Index UP 1.1 Percent in November: Up 17.5 Percent from Last Year. Got that? 17.5% overall U.S. housing price index increase during year of the pandemic, 2022.

Now, quoting from email messages from veteran land lease community portfolio owners/operators who routinely buy new HUD-Code manufactured housing direct from factories, then sell/finance them on-site, once affixed to rental homesites within the properties:

“The base price of the _____model, on attached (factory) pricing ‘adjustment’ letters, increased from $65,826 during January 2021, to $85,505 during February 2022. That’s a 29.9 percent increase in 13 months!” (&)

“The attached spec price on a 3BR 16X76 manufactured home, with standard options, has increased from $45,787 in October 2020, to $56,125 during January 2022. That’s a 22.6 percent increase in 15 months.”

Bottom line? While not really comparing apples to apples (i.e. rather, all types of single family residential housing vs. new manufactured homes), it’s still instructive to observe how new HUD-Code manufactured housing is selling from 5.1 to 12.4 percent higher price than the national housing market at large.

A question for you, especially if you’re a dues-paying member of the Manufactured Housing Institute: Will this price imbalance, between housing at large and new manufactured homes be on the winter meeting agenda, 9-11 February, in New Orleans? Answer. At present, NO.

II.

RENTAL HOMESITE RATE EXTREMES

Now, before you go apoplectic on me, when reading what follows; understand this: the two land lease communities involved here are, for different reasons, well beyond the pale (‘a strictly bounded area’) of usual community characteristics.*1

First, the properties themselves. Baywood community, outside Lewes, DE., looks every bit the very upscale subdivision, featuring large two story homes on spacious rental homesites. And the property itself is surrounded by tournament grade golf courses, a fine dining restaurant, golf driving range, and so much more.

Lido Peninsula in Newport Beach, CA., is a really an old ‘mobile home park’ that’s been upgraded at least twice during the past two decades, with two story HUD-Code manufactured homes.*2 Here’s the secret ingredient. The two story (doll-like) houses are affixed to the same ‘footprint’ used by the original mobile homes of yore! That’s why they’re two stories in height. And the homeowners/site lessees panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean is breathtaking.

OK, now for the rental homesite rates characteristic of these two special properties.

A townhome, with 2,700 square feet living space, located on the 18th fairway at Baywood, is on sale today for $399,000. The lease fee? $1,419 per month; same as other rental homesites.

Average rental homesite rent at Lido Peninsula is more than $3,000 per month.

But know what? There are additional ‘special’ land lease communities scattered across the U.S. and Canada. In certain local housing markets where we can match, even better, conventional housing available for sale. Yes, and in certain rural areas of the U.S. it’s still possible to find, usually smaller, land lease communities, where rental homesite rents remain at. or only slightly more than, $100. per month.

End Notes.

1. Apoplectic = “a sudden, usually marked loss of bodily function due to rupture or occlusion of a blood vessel”. Webster’s dictionary

2. Lido Peninsula was built in 1949 with 26 units to the acre. Today, thanks to the forward-looking planning and efforts of Richard Bessire of Bessire & Casenhiser, new Fleetwood two story homes, at 1,200 square feet, are being sited and will likely rent for more than $7,500/month.

III.

RECOMMENDED ALTERNATIVE AGENDA

No, I won’t be attending MHI’s winter meeting in New Orleans on 9-11 February. Oh, I encourage you to attend, if you’re active in manufactured housing and or land lease communities. I just won’t be going – for good reason – beyond the fact I’m pretty much retired these days and soured on travel. No, it’s much more for the reason here following…

I prefer ‘meat & potato’ issues to be on the agenda of any national trade association meeting I attend, whether it be MHI, IREM, SECO, or otherwise. And just what are such issues? Already identified one candidate in Part I of this week’s blog posting. Here’re three more:

Dire need for Creation and Funding of a National Marketing Campaign, sans specific brand promotion, of HUD-Code manufactured housing! This has been of, sad to say, behind the scenes interest among some manufactured housing aficionados and land lease community owners/operators, since at least the Networking Roundtable held in Mystic, CT., nearly two decades ago. Kevin; remember? Many land lease community folk do. It’s time to act!

Is rampant Consolidation improving or destroying manufactured housing and land lease communities? Won’t attempt to ‘make the case’ either way here, but surely you’ve seen, read, and heard the pros & cons on both sides that fence. If not, ponder how and why only three ‘consolidating’ HUD-Code manufactured housing firms now boast more than 80 percent of national housing market share. And among communities, what to do about the predatory real estate investment and operation practices of some ‘consolidating’ firms nationwide these days?

When was the last time you heard these two troublesome topics discussed and debated – with an eye to resolution, at any national trade gathering during 2019, 2020, 2021, and now 2020?

There’s more I’d like to say on this timely, and in my opinion, critical alternative agenda subject, but won’t for now. But here’s a hint of are more ‘meat & potato’ issues begging attention.

• The perceived lack of ‘equity’ for manufactured homes and prospective purchasers of ‘affordable housing’

• An upcoming White Paper “…relating to the exploitation of federal housing funding and assistance, for purely public relations purposes, by ostensible representatives of the industry’s post-production sector.”*1

• How “…the two most dominant manufactured housing lenders…control a ‘combined 30 percent’ of the manufactured housing market, including 56 percent of chattel lending’….”

To learn more about these three bullet points, phone (202) 783-4087 and request a copy of ‘Issues & Perspectives’, dated January 2022, penned by Mark Weiss.

What additional ‘meat & potato’ issues, not listed here, come to your mind? Let me know via gfa7156@aol.com

End Note.

1. Would someone please define ‘post-production’ for me, relative to composition and scope as an industry sector? It appears to have become, in my opinion, a convenient ‘whipping boy without explanation’, to some folk in manufactured housing.



George Allen, CPM, MHM
EducateMHC


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