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

March 31, 2022

NEW HOME FOR ‘INNOVATIONS IN

Filed under: Uncategorized — George Allen @ 1:33 pm

MH (the ‘I’M HOME’) NETWORK’

Blog Posting # 683. Copyright @ 1 April 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: The times they are a-changing, or so it certainly seems. Prosperity Now has bowed away from its activist interest in manufactured housing, in deference to the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. And look who’s going to be administering that part of the program! Also, a stunning, but o’ so practical suggestion from within the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies! Frankly, I found it hard to believe the first time I read the suggestion. Go for it! GFA

I.

NEW HOME FOR ‘INNOVATIONS IN
MH (the ‘I’M HOME’) NETWORK’

Learned a couple weeks ago the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy is now supervising the Innovations in Manufactured Homes (‘I’m Home’) Network. Since 2005, this initiative, launched to address the housing affordability crisis here in the U.S., was administered by the activist group Prosperity Now. Simply, the initiative “promotes manufactured housing as a source of wealth-building home ownership and stable rental housing.”

And now this week we learn Jim Gray, formerly with the Federal Housing Finance Agency (‘FHFA’) – where he headed up the Duty to Serve effort fielded by the two GSEs, Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac, is now the point of contact at the Lincoln Institute, where the ‘I’m Home’ program is concerned. Reach him via (202) 722-7543.

What can we expect, relative to the institute’s interest in housing affordability where HUD-Code manufactured housing and land lease communities are concerned? Guess we’ll have to wait and see. Personally, I’m encouraged to see the Lincoln Institute become involved. Hopefully this will mean that manufactured housing will be looked upon as ‘more than low income housing’ and land lease communities as the desirable lifestyle they are!

II.

AN INSPIRED SUGGESTION

Don Layton of the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, in the 3/26/2022 issue of that organization’s HOUSING PERSPECTIVES newsletter boldly suggests, “The four government mortgage agencies (i.e. GSEs’ Freddie Mac & Fannie Mae, also FHFA, and the VA) should produce a unified report on mission activities.”

Layton then lays the groundwork for his suggestion, by first informing us of how there’s almost $12 trillion outstanding of traditional first mortgages on single-family homes, about 70 percent of which is financed by these agencies! Then he reminds readers how all four agencies attempt to increase the supply of affordable housing in the U.S. via 1) manufactured housing, and 2) preservation of existing affordable housing.

After describing how the four agencies, which should be working together, have created a reality that is considerably messier than need be or desirable, he drops this bombshell of a suggestion:

“…my modest suggestion: the four agencies should work together to produce, at first annually but then quarterly, a single, unified and comprehensive report on their SECONDARY-MARKET MISSION ACTIVITIES to illustrate how well the government has utilized taxpayer support to reach the goal of successfully IMPROVING HOMEOWNERSHIP, especially for underserved groups of families. This could produce comprehensive and timely reporting about how much taxpayer-supported financing is received by specific racial groups, by rural families in low-income geographies, by LMI families, and so on.” (EMPHASIS ADDED. gfa)

Whoa! This is precisely what those of us in the manufactured housing industry, and among owners/operators of land lease communities (needing home-only loans) have been hollering for for years! Yes, we need better, easier access to chattel capital for our home-only loans on-site in communities, but we also need ready and regular access, with GSEs help, to the secondary market – where we’d sell off our mature housing loans and renew our supply of chattel capital for more transactions. And for sure this would open up chattel loan sourcing beyond the singular firm presently enjoying, I’m told, an estimated 70 percent of market share.

Like this thinking? Reach out to Don Layton via jchs@harvard.edu

George Allen, CPM, MHM
EducateMHC

March 24, 2022

PUTTING BEST FOOT FORWARD!&?

Filed under: Uncategorized — George Allen @ 11:51 am

Blog Posting # 682. Copyright @ 25 March 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: A lot of territory to cover this time around. Part I describes what appears to be a transition from freelance consulting, where land lease community development planning is concerned, to a specific Canadian firm. Part II. Just who is our industry’s worst enemy? Part III. Four deficiencies afflicting manufactured housing. & Part IV. Do you know a Vietnam veteran?

I.

PUTTING BEST FOOT FORWARD!&?

Yes this is a time of transition throughout the manufactured housing industry, especially among land lease community owners/operators nationwide. George Porter of MH installation renown, Cary Monroe & John Jacobs, loan originators, Win Moses & Sharon Niccum, community owners are a few of those retiring during 2021 and 2022. One of the most well-known present day retirees, however, is Don Westphal, veteran landscape architect and development planner in Michigan. His firm has merged with the Nadigroup headquartered in Canada.

The Nadigroup recently published a Project Case Study titled Stony Mountain Secondary Plan – a plan for development of a dynamic community subdivision on 67 acres in the Township of Stony Mountain. It presents a good example of the work quality available from this new firm to manufactured housing. The gist of the plan explored 12 guiding principles; the first six of which are unique grid and aesthetics, places for people, sense of place, safe and fun environment, intergenerational design, aging-in-place. To request an electronic file copy of this plan, contact Rebecca@nadigroup.com

What I and others await, however, is the publishing of a land lease community design and development plan featuring use of HUD-Code manufactured homes. Why is this important? With the retirement of Don Westphal, our industry and realty asset class risk the emergence of ‘information shortfall’ we don’t need during these changing and challenging times!. For additional discussion on this timely and critical topic read Part III here following.
II.

OUR WORST ENEMY? US!

An east coast land lease community portfolio owner/operator bought a new HUD-Code manufactured home for $49,000 in year 2020. And now, in 2022, finds the same floor plan from the same manufacturer priced at $68,000. That’s more than a 38 percent price increase in two years! And this is not an isolated phenomenon these days. It seems HUD-Code housing manufacturers are raising wholesale prices faster today than ever before – citing all sorts of reasons (or excuses), from building supply issues to Covid-related labor issues. True or false?

Another example. From CPR News: “Colorado lawmakers have introduced a sweeping bill meant to protect residents of mobile home parks from excessive price hikes and other disruptions.” If passed, this would be Colorado’s first statewide regulation of rent prices. Rent increase rate limit? The rate of inflation or three percent per year – whichever is higher. Other provisions of this legislation require property owners to pay rental homesite lessees who are displaced by development (i.e. change in land use), and make it easier for homeowners/site lessees to buy mobile home parks for themselves (i.e. as resident-owned communities). This is just a taste of what is occurring in other states around the U.S., where land lease communities have been acquired by self-serving corporate investors paying whatever it takes to ‘make the deal’, then enacting measures to ensure payment of high debt service and operating expenses.

How long will our industry and realty asset class continue to ‘shoot itself in the foot’ with outrageous prices and escalating rental homesite rates? As the cartoon character Pogo has been known to say, “We have met the enemy and he is us!”

III.

FOUR DEFICIENCIES IN MH

I was recently asked to identify Evergreen-like Issues negatively affecting HUD-Code manufactured housing and its’ land lease community sector. Of the dozen Evergreen Issues I routinely track, here the four I suggested this time around:

INFORMATION SHORTFALL. There are no longer any annual ALLEN REPORTS; or State of the Industry articles and addresses inclusive of land lease communities; a national registry of (25) lenders actively originating mortgages for communities; an annual directory of freelance consultants (like Don Westphal & now the Nadigroup) serving the industry and property type; a compendium of MH & LLCommunity print and online media; as well as a comprehesnive directory of state and province trade associations; an annually updated lexicon or glossary of MH trade terminology; a useful directory of GSE and NGO organizations interacting with MH and communities; an official definition of ‘affordable housing’, and how it’s faring nationwide; and finally, an annual directory of all HUD-Code manufactured housing firms. See what I mean?

LACK OF PROFESSIONAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT EDUCATION & CERTIFICATION. Back in the early 1980s, I was one of the first Certified Property Manager (‘CPM’) members of the Institute of Real Estate Management (‘IREM’) to express an affinity for (then) ‘mobile home parks’. And via my first book, ‘Mobile Home Park Management’, reintroduced the realty asset class to ‘professional property management’ training and certification – in cooperation with MHI and its’ newly minted Accredited Community Manager (‘ACM’) program. After a decade there were only 100+/- fully accredited ACMs, so we debuted the Manufactured Housing Manager program and today there’re nearly 1,000 MHMs owning/operating communities in the U.S. & Canada. And here arises this problem: Except for a very few in person classes, the only way to become an ACM today is via an online education. And the MHM program is pretty much dormant, until someone steps forward to teach it via the textbook ‘Community Operations in the Manufactured Housing Industry’ (This is the 8th edition of the aforementioned MHPark text). So professional property management has regressed once again! MHI, MHEI & NCC listening?

LOPSIDED ADVOCACY. No easy way to address this shortfall. But MHI, in my opinion, continues to be a ‘big boys club’, dominated by the Big 3-C HUD-Code housing manufacturers, with smaller regional firms represented by MHARR. Similar situation relative to land lease communities. While the NCC division of MHI started off with enthusiasm and widespread support in early 1996, all that’s fallen by the wayside. Not even an NCC division meeting, I’m told, during MHI’s recent annual meeting. So, there’s a sorry and continuing need for balanced representation (i.e. advocacy) of all segments of the manufactured housing industry. Will this ever change? Probably not in my lifetime, as it will take a very charismatic leader(s) to shake MHI out of its’ complacency and decry the sorry attitude of ‘Here’s how we do things’.

LACK OF PUBLIC SUPPORT FROM HUD. Has long amazed and disappointed me. The very federal agency tasked with regulatory oversight of our industry does ‘next to nothing’ to promote what it readily agrees is the most affordable type housing in the U.S. today. How to change this?

III.
NATIONAL VIETNAM VETERAN REMEMBRANCE DAY

Occurs 29 March 2022. This is a day to thank and honor RVN veterans nationwide. Nine million served from 11/55 through 5/85, six million are still alive. Reach out and remember a Vietnam vet!

March 16, 2022

LOAN ORIGINATORS SPEAK OUT!

Filed under: Uncategorized — George Allen @ 10:28 am

Blog Posting # 681. Copyright @ 18 March 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.

Moto: ‘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’s posting is chockfull of financial advice, program change, and what a couple of our colleagues are doing with their retirement time and resources. Enjoy! GFA

I.

LOAN ORIGINATORS SPEAK OUT!

Did you see or read ‘Making Sound Financing Decisions in a Chaotic World’, penned by Tony Petosa, Nick Bertino, Erik Edwards, and Matt Herskowitz, all loan originators with Wells Fargo Bank?

Well, if not, here’s one of nine paragraphs that were chock full of good & timely advice relative to financing and refinancing land lease communities in today’s hectic investment climate.

“As far as acquisition financing is concerned, most commercial real estate investors recognize cap rates have continued to compress in recent years, particularly among land lease communities, which proved to be one of the most resilient asset classes throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to try to maximize returns, we have seen some borrowers seek out interest-only loans at the highest leverage level possible. However, this type of financing structure in an increasing interest rate environment may be putting one’s property at refinance risk in the future. While 2007 may seem like a long time ago, it is important to remember that many commercial real estate owners at that time, who had taken out high leverage, short-term, interest-only loans, found themselves in quite a bind when those loans matured in a more conservative lending environment with higher rates. It is worth keeping the tough lessons learned from the last downturn in mind as we head into what may be an increasing interest rate environment.” (lightly edited. GFA)

To receive your own copy of the complete document, reach out to tpetosa@wellsfargo.com Also nick.bertino, erik.edwards, and matthew.herskowitz – all at wellsfargo.com Tell them ‘George Allen sent me!’

II.

NEW HOME FOR ‘I’M HOME’ PROGRAM

Here’s how the Press Release begins: “For nearly two decades, Prosperity Now, first as CFED (‘Corporation for Enterprise Development’), has housed the Innovations in Manufactured Homes (‘I’M HOME’) program…the nation’s leading resource for manufactured housing policy education, programming, communications, and events.” And here’s how the Press Release kinda ‘ends’: “Over the next few months, we will transition the program to the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, a nonprofit, private operating foundation that seeks to improve quality of life through the effective use, taxation, and stewardship of land.”

Research into the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy finds it was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. But more important, to manufactured housing aficionados, is the reality this institute is one of 20 members of the Underserved Mortgage Market Coalition – a coalition urging FHFA and both GSEs (Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac) to improve their loan performance (availability) serving families presently not in the traditional mortgage market. This includes elusive home-only mortgages needed by prospective buyers of manufactured homes being sited within land lease communities.

Next Step and ROC USA are the only two manufactured housing and land lease community-related organizations that I saw, presently among the 20 members of the Underserved Mortgage market Coalition. Neither MHI or MHARR are included among the coalition membership, and probably for good reason. (?)

As a personal aside, I’ve read the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy magazine for many years and have always viewed it, based on editorial and subject content, as a quasi-academic magazine sans a social and financial activist presence. Perhaps this is about to change as they seek to improve the quality of life for folk in need of chattel capital to finance their purchase of a manufactured home. Guess we’ll have to wait and see….

And this sidebar. When I googled ‘Innovations in Manufactured Homes’, guess what popped up ahead of Prosperity Now’s program? Innovations in Manufactured Homes – Clayton Homes. No surprise there, really, as Clayton has long been a leader in innovative manufactured housing.


III.

A NEW NOVEL & A UKRAINE DOG RESCUE

So, what do land lease community owners/operators do when they retire? Some become world travelers, others sportsmen (hunters), some novelists, while still others take on altruistic and service projects of one sort or another. To that end, Charles Irion’s new mystery/adventure novel landed on my doorstep recently. And given the war turmoil in Ukraine these days, I was pleased to see ‘one of our own’ step forward to assist in unique rescue operations.

‘Murdered by Gods – Timbuktu’ is Irion’s latest novel and I’m looking forward to getting started on it. This is his 16th book, featuring a heady mix of fiction and non-fiction works over the past few decades. And know what? I already know it’s going to be a good ‘attention getting’ read! I’ve watched his wordsmithing and style improve with each book, and the last few have been difficult to put down until the end. Google Charles Irion and order his books via Amazon.com

Then there’s Anne-Marie Wiseman. Remember her? She helped grow a land lease community portfolio a while back, managed it for years, and retired when the properties sold. Well, if you were present at the Networking Roundtable in Colorado Springs in 1999, you’ll recall Anne-Marie being present with two Borzoi Russian Wolfhounds, now generally referred to as being The Borzoi. Well, she’s director of the National Borzoi Rescue Foundation-International, working out of Florida. And just within the past couple weeks, she’s arranged for the rescue of several Borzoi from the Ukraine. To reach and support her efforts, telephone (844) NBRFZOI; better yet, email her via annmarieNBRF@gmail.com

Know of other recent retirees who’re doing something interesting, charitable, adventuresome or in service to society? Let me now via gfa7156@aol.com


George Allen, CPM, MHM
EducateMHC


March 10, 2022

AN HISTORIC FIRST FOR MH!

Filed under: Uncategorized — George Allen @ 7:44 am

Blog Posting # 680. Copyright @ 11 March 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: Parts I & II are chock full of helpful information and statistics relative to manufactured housing and land lease communities. Part III simply lets you know what I’m doing these days.
I.

AN HISTORIC FIRST FOR MH!

All five reporting agencies and manufactured housing advocacy organizations reported the very same number of new HUD-Code homes shipped during the month of January 2022, resulting too in the same Year to Date total as well. In both instances this magical number is 9,110 units!

The reporting agencies and advocacy organizations? Institute for Building Technology & Safety (‘IBTS’), Department of Housing & Urban Development (‘HUD’), Manufactured Housing Institute (‘MHI’), Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (‘MHARR’) and EducateMHC.

Why is this ‘historic first’ important for the manufactured housing industry? Because it demonstrates that all five entities are indeed capable of reporting the same benchmark statistic, without bastardizing the basic shipment volume total by deducting the number of Destination Pending units one month, only to add them back to the next month’s total.

We can only hope that this public display of industry unity continues on into February and the months to follow! MHI has a new statistician on board; let’s hope he sees the wisdom of unity in reporting data like this, and follows suit with IBTS, HUD, MHARR and EducateMHC.



II.

PUBLIC MARKET SIDE OF MH & LAND LEASE COMMUNITY INVESTING

It has long amazed me no one routinely reports stock performance of manufactured housing-related firms, and real estate investment (‘REIT’) land lease community property portfolios. I’ve been doing so for several years, until we stopped publishing the Allen Letter and The Allen Confidential business newsletters. Now I simply send the ‘MHShipment Volume & Stock market Report’ to several dozen major firms in the industry and throughout the realty asset class. Here’s the gist of what we learned on 4 March 2022.

Manufactured housing manufacturers:

Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. (BRK-A), i.e. Clayton Homes. $483,000; up from $476K in February

Skylilne Champion Corporation (‘SKY’). $66.71; down from$73.95 in February

Cavco Industries, Inc. (‘CVCO’). $267.64; down from $292.00 in February

Legacy Housing Corporation (LEGH’). $23.76; down from $25.52 in February

Nobility Homes (‘NOBH’). $31.45; down from $32.10 in February

Land lease community portfolio firms:

Equity Lifestyle (‘ELS’). #1 on 32nd ALLEN REPORT. $77.38; down from $77.38 in February

Sun Communities (‘SUI’). #2 on 32nd ALLEN REPORT. $181.10; down from $193.36 in February

UMH Properties (‘UMH’). #6 on 32nd ALLEN REPORT. $24.05; up from $24.02 in February

Flagship Communities. (#23 @ 32nd ALLEN REPORT. $18.35; down from $18.50 in February

Manufactured Housing Properties. #28 on 32nd ALLEN RPEORT. $3.25 In February

Manufactured Housing/land lease community composite stock index (‘CSI’) @ March 2022 = $713.. down from $738 in February.

If you’d like to receive the ‘MHShipment Volume & Stock Market Report’ each month, simply request it via email message to gfa7156@aol.com
III

WORK BEGINS ON NEW BOOK

Those of you who know me well, will recall I’ve been wanting to review 400+/- personal letters I sent home to Carolyn, from Vietnam, during 1968 and 1969. Well, I’ve finally started on this daunting project. The letters have been removed from steel ammunition boxes, placed in chronological order, and are not being typed.

The ‘working title’ is simply Dear Carolyn & Susan. In the preface I explain why it’s taken 60 years to write this book (my 16th book). And the introduction describes what was going on among the three of us ‘way back when’ Carolyn and I were in our early 20s, and Susan a toddler.

When will this project be finished? Not for some time. I’m reading each handwritten letter, then pulling interesting narrative describing what’s going on at the time. And yes, I have some concern about what I’ll run into when I read letters penned while in a foxhole or underground bunker before, during, and after combat. Guess I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.

In the meantime, if you’ve not yet read From SmittyAlpha6 to MHMaven, my autobiography, but would like to do so, visit www.educatemhc.com to order it, or simply google the title online. The Smitty Alpha 6 reference is to my radio call sign while a U.S. Marine lieutenant company commander in a Shore Party Battalion in late 1969.

Retirement. For the first time in my life I’m enjoying opportunities to do what I want to do, when and where I want to do it. This book project is a key part of that, along with helping Carolyn care for our nearly one year old great granddaughter Emerson. And we’re enjoying spending the most time together since our dating days back at Eastern Baptist College in 1963.


George Allen, CPM, MHM
EducateMHC






March 2, 2022

ELS, INC. ACQUIRES DATACOMP & MHVILLAGE

Filed under: Uncategorized — George Allen @ 9:06 am

Blog Posting # 679. Copyright @ 25 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: Part I contains late and important industry/asset class news. Part II gives us all something to think about. And Part III shows you ‘what might have been’ OR ‘what will indeed be’. Have you read From SmittyAlpha6 to MH Maven (my autobiography) yet? Several readers have expressed surprise at learning I was trained, while a Marine lieutenant in Vietnam, in 1969 & 69, to be a ‘suicide bomber’ (i.e. Atomic Demolitions Munitions or ADM technician). And there are other surprises as well. Get your copy via www.educatemhc.com GFA

I.

ELS, INC. ACQUIRES DATACOMP & MHVILLAGE

Quoting directly from ELS’ Fourth Quarter Report: “In December 2021, we completed the acquisition of MHVillage/Datacomp for a purchase price of $43 million. MHVillage is the premier online marketplace dedicated to manufactured home buying and selling. Datacomp provides independent, market-based valuations for manufactured homes in land lease communities.”

A few sidebar observations relative to this surprising, major business transaction:

• My understanding is this deal includes acquisition of MHInsider magazine, the sole remaining print trade publication serving manufactured housing and land lease communities. No change in staff, so hopefully, little to no change in editorial stance.

• Speaking of ‘land lease communities’; it’s encouraging to see the largest portfolio owner/operator of land lease communities in the world, transition away from ‘manufactured home community’ and ‘mobile home park’ trade terminology.

• This transaction unintentionally highlights, in my opinion, a perennial legacy recognition shortfall per the RV/MH Heritage Foundation’s Hall of Fame recognition of industry and realty asset class pioneers and notable personalities. More on this in Part II following….

II.

DESERVED, MARGINAL & NO RECOGNITION

Assuming here you’re familiar with the RV/MH Heritage Foundation and its’ prestigious Hall of Fame, library& museum in Elkhart, IN. If not, encourage you to visit www.rvmhhalloffame.org

I was honored to be inducted into the RV/MH Hall of Fame as one of the Class of 2011, and attend the annual induction banquet every August. Carolyn and I donate $ annually to support the foundation, and recently gifted our extensive collection of MH and land lease community books (Most comprehensive in the U.S. & CN.) to the library, where they are now on special display. And we host MH trade events whenever possible, at the facility in Elkhart.

There are 427 members of the RV/MH Hall of Fame. And on August 15th, ten more will be added. The five MH inductees will be David Carter, Raylen Gritton, Harry Karsten, Eugene Landy, and Tim Williams. To purchase banquet tickets, phone (574) 293-2344. Join me there!

However; and again in my opinion, all is not as well as it could be relative to the RV/MH Heritage Foundation’s Hall of Fame. There are deserving individuals who’re yet to be honored, the occasional marginal candidate, and more than a few who’re ‘deserving’ but likely never to be inducted. Some examples…

The founder of DATACOMP and MHVillage (circa 1986), Theo (‘Ted’) A. Boers – also one of the few published authors in the manufactured housing industry, has yet to be inducted into the RV/MH Heritage Foundation’s prestigious Hall of Fame. *1 Few would argue the observation that Ted and his firms have improved the face of manufactured housing and land lease communities, by dint of their valuation of manufactured homes, and marketing of same within and outside our unique income-producing properties. And don’t forget MHInsider magazine!

And there are additional deserving-but-unrecognized pioneers and notable personalities throughout the manufactured housing industry and land lease communities.

Another example of someone who’s ‘changed the face of manufactured housing and land lease communities’ is the founder, president and CEO of London Computer Systems – better known throughout our industry and realty asset class as Rent Manager (circa 1987). Most mid-sized to larger land lease communities utilize this firm’s accounting and property management software on a daily basis, year in year out. But, once again, the pioneering notable personality behind this well-known and respected firm continues to await induction into the RV/MH Hall of Fame.

Herein, I’m making the assumption the individuals have not declined induction.

And Yes, there’re more pioneers and notable folk not honored; unfortunately, some have died.

The late Tom Raper. You’ve likely never heard of him – unless you’re heavily into RVs and live or work in the Midwest. There was a time, several decades, when Tom was owner/operator of the largest RV dealership in the U.S.! He was flamboyant. For many years, more than a dozen full-sized highway billboards, advertising his dealership, could be seen along Interstate I-70 where it went through Richmond, IN. He was a generous philanthropist, even honored with a street named after him in his hometown. But recognition? Still in the wind. Maybe someday.

And there’s former professional football player and CPA, big Tom Horner, Jr., who acquired a sizeable portfolio of land lease communities during his lifetime. But that’s not why he deserves induction into the RV/MH Hall of Fame. Tom was a perennial board member in two states, and created the ‘21st Century National Manufactured Home Community Rating system’ introduced in the text, ‘How to Find, Buy, Manage & Sell a Manufactured Home Community’. He was one of the 19 community owners who met in Indianapolis in 1993 to improve asset class advocacy.

The list continues, but not here. There are longtime retirees who come to mind. One of them introduced ‘resident relations’ to our realty asset class 25 years ago; the other one, during his prime, was one of the top independent (street) MHRetailers (& multi-communities owner) in the U.S. And how’ bout U.S. ex-pat, known throughout Canada as ‘Mr. Manufactured Home’?

At this time I won’t comment much on ‘the other side of the coin’, i.e. individuals selected for induction into the RV/MH Hall of Fame who’re salaried executives or successful businessmen and women, but who do not stand out, in my opinion, given their lack of notable influence outside their state or company of employ, nor tangible contributions to the advancement of the MH industry at large.

Hope to see you at the RV/MH Hall of Fame induction banquet on 15 August in Elkhart, IN.!

End Notes.

1. Ted Boers’ books include Three Simple Rules – Guaranteed to Improve Your Finances! and Demons of Poverty – how to improve the wellbeing of people in Haiti. Latter book is available from Amazon.com

III.

GOING TO MHI’S 2022 CONGRESS & EXPO?

When? 11-13 April. Where? Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, FL. What? Three high-end manufactured homes on display, 100+ exhibitors and sponsors, one keynote industry outlook session, 12 breakout educational workshops (more on this in next paragraph), two networking receptions, two optional forums re Developer Seminar & NCC Spring forum, and two optional fundraisers. For more information, email: events@mfghome.org

OK, so what will you likely NOT experience at this year’s Congress & Expo event?

Either or both these educational workshops I proposed to the Manufactured Housing Institute:

• Professional property management training for land lease community owners and managers! Having created and taught the popular Manufactured Housing Manger™ certification program since year 2001, today there are 1,000 MHMs ™ owning and managing communities throughout the U.S. and Canada. The course textbook, ‘Community Management in the Manufactured Housing Industry’ will be available for purchase after the seminar. Or visit www.educatemhc.com to purchase the text online. This is the book that should be in every land lease community information office!

• Retail Marketing & Sales within the Land Lease Community. In year 2016 I pioneered the first national class offered re ‘Four Steps to Selling & Financing New Homes On-site Within Land Lease Communities’. Besides the seminar synopsis, every participant will receive a 3”X 5” plastic wallet card containing said ‘four steps’, as well as the ‘Six Right Ps of Marketing’ new homes within communities. Also the much-used ‘Ah Ha! & Uh Oh! Worksheet’ for estimating sale and purchase prices of new manufactured homes in any local housing market in the U.S. In my opinion, this topic continues to be the most needed in our industry/asset class today, after professional property management.

Anyway, I suggested these two topics to MHI for consideration. At this writing I’ve not heard back as to which one, or either or neither, will be included in the Congress & Expo. But wanted you to see/read what it is you’ll likely be missing at this year’s event – unless they decide otherwise.

IV.

LATE BREAKING NEWS! Women Advancing Manufactured Housing (‘WAMH’) will meet virtually at 7PM on 15 March 2022. Paula Reeves, president of CIS Financial will be the special guest. For more information, contact Maria Horton via maria@newportpacific.com

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