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

Blog Posting # 756, Copyright 25 August 2023. EducateMHC

Parallel Perspectives. HUD-Code manufactured housing is federally-regulated, performance-based, affordable factory-built housing! And land lease communities (a.k.a. manufactured home communities & ‘mobile home parks’) comprise the investment real estate component of manufactured housing ! EducateMHC is the online advocate, historian, trend tracker, and text resource for these two business models! To input this blog or connect with EducateMHC, telephone (317) 881-3815, email: gfa7156@aol.com, or visit www.educatemhc.com, to order Community Management in the Manufactured Housing Industry. This is the sole professional community management text in print today! And SWAN SONG is a history of land lease communities and official record of annual MH production totals since 1955; and my autobiography, From SmittyAlpha6 to MHMaven – describes combat adventures in Vietnam, and a 45 years business career in MH and community ownership/management.

George Allen, CPM®Emeritus, MHM®Master, Emeritus member of the Manufactured Housing Institute (‘MHI’), RV/MH Hall of Fame enshrine, retired lieutenant colonel of U.S. marines, and author/editor of 20 books re MH, communities, business & management wisdom, and prayer.

WHO GOES?

I attend the annual RV/MH Hall of Fame induction banquet every year, and always come away with at least a tale or two to tell – here and elsewhere. This time around? Thought you’d enjoy reading a list of some of the manufactured housing-related ‘players’ who attended this year – on 21 August 2023.

In no particular order. Joe Stegmayer, past chairman of MHI and CEO of Cavco Industries ,in AZ; Mike Sullivan, CPM®, head of Newport Pacific family of companies in CA; Spencer Roane, MHM® of Pentagon Properties in GA; Mark Bowersox of MHI, along with a couple other staffers; Paula Reeves, president of CIS Financial Services in AL; Sam Landy and his team from UMH Properties in NJ; Ron Breymier, IMHA/RVIC in IN; Tim DeWitt, now retired in MI; Amy Bliss from WI; Eric Oaks of GreenState Credit Union in IL; Leo Poggione, Chairman, MHI Board of Directors, from NV; Dick & Becky Ernst from TX, and the MHInsider team from MI. These are attendees I know well; plus several hundred more were in attendance!

Who was inducted in this Class of 2023, from the manufactured housing industry? Darlene Stahla-Gardner, owner of Henry Stahla Mobile Homes (independent – street – MHRetailer) and four times past president of the NMHA. Marc Lifset, a longtime attorney with McGlinchey Stafford in NY, and perennial legal resource for MHI and others. Paula Reeves, president of CIS Financial Services since 1991, and member of Alabama MH Association Hall of Fame. Donald Sharp, long time financier of manufactured homes. Ronald Breymier, executive director for Indiana Manufactured Housing Association/Recreation Vehicle Indiana Council since 2015. Longtime lobbyist for the MH Industry.

Now here’s a little known statistic about RV/MH Hall of Fame enshrinees. To date there are 449 honored individuals. Care to guess the percentage of those members who’re deceased? Answer: At least 45 percent! Took time to count those folk, only to find that not all of them are so designated in the Hall of Fame roster distributed at the banquet. And this 45 percent should not really come as a surprise. The Hall of Fame has been inducting industry pioneers and leaders since 1972, and since one must have a minimum of 20 years service in RV or MH circles to be eligible, most inductees were middle-aged when honored. 

Interested in applying for induction into the prestigious RV/MH Hall of Fame, or recommending a deserving colleague? Then go to www.RV/MH Hall of Fame and print off the application and instructions on how to navigate this process.

National MHFacTOURy Summit 2023

This event has been occurring annually since 2016 (except for year 2020), the days following aforementioned RV/MH Hall of Fame Induction Banquet. Originally facilitated to teach land lease community owners/operators how to prepare their properties for on-site sales, how to ‘spec’ new MHs, buy new MHs, sell them on-site and finance transactions. Now that these specialized skills are commonplace among portfolio folk, the summit focus has changed somewhat.

This time around, Congressman Rudy Yakym presented a keynote address to the audience of 75. Then, Leo Poggione, chairman of MHI’s Board of Directors, and Craftsman Homes in NV., reviewed the advocacy work the institute is performing in our behalf in Washington, DC., relative to combatting aggressive, unnecessary energy standards by DOE, and enhancing placement of new manufactured homes within and outside land lease communities. Nathan Smith, CIO of REIT Flagship Communities gave perhaps the most riveting talk, relative to strategic decision making as a land lease community owner/operator. This was followed by a Lenders Panel featuring Eric Oaks of GreenState Credit Union, Luke Foster of Park Lane Financial Solutions, and Barry Noffsinger of Credit Human. Additional presentations were effected by Darren Krolewski from MHVillage, and Mike Niebauer of Rent Manager. The day ended with a manufacturers’ panel comprised of Jeff Tanner from Fairmont Homes, Jay Ciokajlo from Campion Home Builders, Shawn Carnahan from Adventure Homes, and Jasen Miller of Clayton homes. Don’t you wish you’d been in attendance?

The second day of this annual summit was spent touring five local HUD-Code manufacturing facilities.

Some Elkhart (IN) Miscellany…

Here are a few personal observations from the several days I spent in Elkhart, IN., at the RV/MH Hall of Fame, prior to and during the induction banquet, and afterwards:

Appropriate trade terminology continues to be a bugaboo (‘a fanciful object of terror) throughout the manufactured housing industry. How so? We should be routinely referring to our factory-built housing product as manufactured housing, or simply ‘housing’. Not ‘mobile homes’ or worse. And, what used to be ‘mobile home parks’, then manufactured home (not ‘housing’) communities, is increasingly referred to as being land lease communities – or simply ‘communities’. There were even MHI-produced Power Point visuals that mixed some of those terms. We really do need to concentrate and do better to this end – to improve our image, etc…

History appears to be repeating itself! Again, how so? It’s becoming a renewed issue as to whether the HUD-Code manufactured housing industry would be better off, or not, having the option of removing the steel (wheeled) chassis from under our homes proper upon delivery. Consensus, at the aforementioned summit, seemed to be this would be a market-opening improvement for new manufactured homes delivered into housing subdivisions and onto scattered building sites conveyed fee simple…facilitating easier and cheaper real estate mortgage financing. And continuing to keep the chassis under said homes would continue to be ideal for those delivered directly into land lease communities. Your thoughts on this matter? Gfa7156@aol.com

And finally; where have all the property portfolio executives gone? They’re not in attendance at most manufactured housing events these days. Oh sure, a few attend from time to time for networking, etc., but not much else. For example, one could count on one hand (figuratively speaking) the number of senior execs present at the RV/MH Hall of Fame banquet. This is the gala event of the year, yet the heads of MHI and MHARR were ‘no shows’ (Mark Bowersox was present from MHI), nor were the present leaders of the Big 3-C HUD-Code manufacturers; and certainly ‘very few’ of the 500 land lease community portfolio owners/operators in the U.S. today. Which, by extension, accentuates the fact that virtually no one from Canada was present at the events in Elkhart this past week.

BOOK REVIEWS – OLD & NEW…

As I shared with you earlier, I’ve continued my new practice of reading a new book (usually a novel), then an ‘oldie but goodie’ from years past.

Well, this week I picked up and read Miles Nelson’s newest Cape May (NJ) mystery, titled ‘Death Rents a Beach House’. It was a ‘good read’, fast paced, with good character development and intriguing plots. A special attraction for me was how the author wrote my younger brother Mark Allen into and throughout this murder mystery novel. For example: “…(Sheriff) Saxby was making his way towards the outside fire pit with a glass of Cape May Cabernet when he almost bumped into this friend Mark Allen, a local radio host and well known man-about-town.” Soon thereafter, Mark provides a key clue to solving a couple recent murders in Cape May. This is Nelson’s fifth novel. Mark interviewed him on his Friday noon radio program the week Carolyn and I were in town to visit, and we met him late in the day at a party. The book is easily available via amazon.com

Then I pulled out my copy of ‘Shite’s Unoriginal Miscellany’, by A. Parody, for a reread. Don’t miss this: A. Parody? Parody = “a humorous imitation of an author’s or artist’s style, a burlesque, and to ‘imitate in a derisive manner’.” Here’re a few of the gems I mined from these pages:

Portmanteau words = ‘a word made by combining parts or other words’, e.g. brunch (breakfast & lunch). Also emoticon = emotion & icon; faction = fact & fiction; hassle = haggle & tussle; palimony = partner & alimony; workaholic = work & addict; and there’re plenty more. P.45

Palindromes = “a word whose letters read the same backward as forward, e.g. level.

Ready for these? Here goes: nun, did, hah (exclamatory), bib, mom (US), pip, gag, tit (ornithol), Lil (proper name), ere. P. 112

And there’s much more to Shiteseries books like this, as they bring together “a mass of arcane, vital, or merely fascinating information.” Also available via amazon.com

George Allen, CPM, MHM

Blog Posting # 755, Copyright 18 August 2023. EducateMHC

Parallel Perspectives. HUD-Code manufactured housing is federally-regulated, performance-based, affordable factory-built housing! And land lease communities (a.k.a. manufactured home communities & ‘mobile home parks’) comprise the investment real estate component of manufactured housing! EducateMHC is the online advocate, historian, trend tracker, and text resource for these two business models! To input this blog or connect with EducateMHC, telephone (317) 881-3815, email: gfa7156@aol.com, or visit www.educatemhc.com, to order Community Management in the Manufactured Housing Industry.  This is the sole professional community management text in print today! And SWAN SONG is a history of land lease communities and official record of annual MH production totals since 1955; and m autobiography, From SmittyAlpha6 to MHMaven–describes combat adventures in Vietnam, and a 40+ years business career in MH and community ownership/management.

George Allen, CPM®Emeritus, MHM®Master, Emeritus member of the Manufactured Housing Institute (‘MHI’), RV/MH Hall of Fame enshrine, retired lieutenant colonel of U.S. Marines, and author/editor of 20 books re MH, communities, business & management wisdom, and prayer.

TIME TO REBIRTH FOCUS GROUPS?

Do you remember? Soon after the turn of the (21^st) century, informal convenings of land lease community owners/operators occurred on a fairly regular basis. These gatherings were HUD-Code manufacturer- sponsored (e.g. Fleetwood Enterprises), NSAC Caucuses (i.e. National State of the Asset Class), and owner/manager Focus Groups. These were in addition to biannual MHI membership meetings, the MHCongress (in Las Vegas), and annual International Networking Roundtables – all of which sought answers/solutions to the industry’s increasing woes.

So, what was the woe impetus for this plethora of meetings? HUD-Code manufactured housing production was ‘tanking’! In 2007, when the Fleetwood Enterprises meeting and an NSAC Caucus convened, annual new MH production had plummeted from the 1998 high of 372,943+/-*1, down to 95,769+/-, and continued to drop until we hit the industry’s all time nadir of only 49,789+/- homes produced in 2009.

These meetings were not really all that successful, where ‘turning the industry around’ was concerned. However, they did foster an awareness and reckoning as to what was going on throughout the industry and realty asset class. It was during these meetings this reality hit: Having lost easy access to chattel capital (i.e. home-only loans) at the turn of the century, according to MHI, more than 10,000 MH ‘dealers’ went out of business. Consequence? In time, in time, a paradigm change that found owners/operators of land lease communities, in order to survive (i.e. create influx of new homes to fill vacant rental homesites), became latter day independent (street) MHRetailers for the industry!

Frankly, as an industry, we have not fully recovered from this now two decades long ‘recession’. By year end 2022 we were at 112,886 new HUD-Code homes shipped – far less than half of what was produced during the industry’s last renaissance in 1998. And at this point (June 2023) new MH production continues to falter – at 28.8 percent less than where we were a year ago!

So, in this industry observer’s opinion, it’s high time to call entrepreneur businessmen and women together, outside the usual national trade advocacy groups, to identify appropriate measures and corrective actions, to get us back on track to 100,000+ new HUD-Code homes produced per year.

Yes, such a move, IMHO, should come from the HUD-Code housing manufacturers themselves. But it’s not happened to date. (Probably due to fear of being accused of controlling trade practices). Nor have the Big Three C HUD-Code housing manufacturers called ‘company stores’ and independent (street) MHRetailers (i.e. land lease community owners/operators selling new HUD-Code homes on-site) together, to address this timely and critical matter. It appears the onus (‘challenge’) will be and is, on the land lease community real estate asset class. Enter the Focus Group model of years past.

How did the Focus Groups function two decades ago? First off, a leader stepped forward, and with the assistance of a few like-thinking peers, spread word of the need to get together for a couple days. Usually a large host land lease community with a clubhouse was identified as the meeting destination. Then a letter of inquiry was circulated, gauging interest and requesting input as to desired topics for this event. The host or leader compiled said topics and selected three to five for the upcoming Focus Group meeting. Next communique established the dates and time frame, often a Thursday and Friday combination.

On the scheduled Thursday, everyone attending flew or drove to the stated destination, most staying at the same nearby hotel. That evening they’d gather for dinner and networking. Next morning everyone carpooled to the host property, and after a quick tour, convened in the clubhouse. Program was usually underway by 9AM, with topics loosely scheduled for one hour sessions – though flexible to 1 ½ hours when need be. So, there’d be two or three topics during the morning hours, followed by a ‘working lunch’, and one more scheduled topic in the afternoon. No rush to close the meeting, though some would leave early to catch flights home on a Friday afternoon. Often, half the group would remain and continue conversations on the covered and other topics. Everyone present at the meeting agreed to maintain confidence about matters discussed. And after the meeting, the leader prepared a summary of what transpired and circulated it to everyone who attended. Focus Group meetings generally attracted between a dozen and two dozen owner/operator participants.

Yes, these were small groups, in terms of participants, that’s why it’s appropriate to have several Focus Groups meeting at different times in different parts of the country – to remain sensitive to local housing market peculiarities, and the busy schedules of entrepreneur businessmen and women.

If you’d like to talk about Focus Groups further, let me know via gfa7156@aol.com

I expect Focus Groups will be one of the several topics of discussion at the upcoming RV/MH Hall of Fame induction banquet and festivities this weekend.

End Note.

1. This question always surfaces: ‘Why the (+/-) notation after some annual MH production figures? It’s because HUD’s contracted ‘counter’ of new MHs produced, the Institute for Building Technology & Safety (‘IBTS’) publishes monthly totals, which are accepted and passed on by MHARR, EducateMHC, & HUD ‘as is’, while at least another national group routinely ‘adjusts’ the IBTS  monthly total as a matter of practice.

ARE YOU A READER?

On average I read two books most weeks; usually one from the fiction genre and one that is non-fiction or with a spiritual focus. As a result, my personal library numbers close to a thousand books. (I’ve already donated our corporate – GFA Management, Inc. – library to the RV/MH Hall of Fame, given its’ focus on land lease communities).

I realized, a couple months ago, that even if I started now, I’d be unable to reread all my volumes ‘again’ during this lifetime. So, decided to intersperse favorite ‘past reads’ with the new books I continue to purchase. Well, that’s already been an interesting adventure. How so? Well, let me describe just a few of the recent favorite rereads:

Ever hear of the book ‘Greyfriars Bobby’ by Eleanor Atkinson? She authored it in 1912. It’s about a Bobby, “…a little country dog – the very youngest and smallest and shaggiest of Skye terriers – bred on a heathery slope of the Pentland hills (in Scotland).” The story follows Bobby through his long (dog’s) life, describing his loyalty to his deceased master, and popularity with local children. So much popularity, that when Bobby died, a large bronze statue of him was placed in the Edinburgh central square. It is a tear jerker, but engaging read. This was my third time through it. Oh, and Eleanor Atlkinson’s only other novel? ‘Johnny Appleseed’.

And given my Vietnam experience of 55 years ago, I relished the opportunity to read again, Karl Marlantes’ ‘ Matterhorn’; and one by personal acquaintance, now deceased Don Myers’, ‘Your War, My War’. Karl was a Marine lieutenant when in Vietnam – like me, and during same time frame, and in same locale (Ahau Valley & Ho Chi Minh Trail). Very well written historic novel of (his?) experience in RVN. And Don Myers, an enlisted Marine of three combat tours, minces no words when describing what it’s like to be a Marine in combat. I quoted his description, in my autobiography, of a brutal assault during Operation Dewey Canyon, where his men were shouting and singing the Marine Corps Hymn as they overran North Vietnamese soldiers. Two really good reads – just not for the faint of heart or those disturbed by graphic descriptions and language. Both these books available via Amazon.com

And yes, I’ve been inserting some ‘fun reads’ into the mix along the way. In one instance, I reread ‘The Consolidated Wagster’s Unexpurgated Dictionary of Humor and Wit’, published in 1990. Some examples:

Code, (n), what stops up your nose.

Entrepreneur, (n), like a turtle, not much good until he sticks his neck out a little.

Frog, (n), the only animal with more lives than a cat: it croaks every night.

Golf, (n), a lot like taxes: you drive hard to get to the green and then wind up in the hole.

Nepotism, (n), putting on heirs

Old age, (n), 1) when you now all the answers and no one asks you the questions, 2) when everything you have seems to wear out, spread out, or fall out, 3) when all the names in your little black book end in M.D., 4) when you get winded playing chess, 5) when you are 20 around the neck, 50 around the waist, and 123 around the golf course.

Socialist, (n), one who has nothing and wants you to divide with him.

Success, (n), the ability to get along with some people – and ahead of others.

So, what are some or your favorite reads to date? GFA7156@aol.com

NO QUOTE THIS WEEK, JUST AN AMAZING PUZZLE

Supposedly this happens only once every 1,000 years. Ready? OK, write down your present age. Immediately under it write your birth year. Add the two numbers together – and what do you get? Should be 2023…this year! For example, my age is 78. Add to that my birth year of 1945, and the sum is 2023. Does this work for you? Ah Ha!

George Allen, CPM, MHM

Blog Posting # 754, Copyright 11 August 2023. EducateMHC

Parallel Perspectives. HUD-Code manufactured housing is federally-regulated, performance-based, affordable factory-built housing! And land lease communities (a.k.a. manufactured home communities & ‘mobile home parks’) comprise the investment real estate component of manufactured housing! EducateMHC is the online advocate, historian, trend tracker, and text resource for these two business models! To input this blog or connect with EducateMHC, telephone (317) 881-3815, email: gfa7156@aol.com, or visit www.educatemhc.com, to order Community Management in the Manufactured Housing Industry. This is the sole professional community management text in print today! And SWAN SONG is a history of land lease communities and official record of annual MH production totals since 1955; and my autobiography, From SmittyAlpha5 to MHMaven – describes combat adventures in Vietnam, and a 40+ year business career in MH and community ownership/management.

George Allen, CPM®Emeritus, MHM®Master, Emeritus member of the Manufactured Housing Institute (‘MHI’), RV/MH Hall of Fame enshrinee, retired lieutenant colonel of U.S. Marines, and author/editor of 20 books re MH, communities, business & management wisdom, and prayer.

MH POTPOURRI

Carolyn and I traveled this past week, so I’ve fallen behind in some of my routine writing research relative to this weekly blog posting and other assignments. No excuse, just the reason for the potpourri (i.e. ‘a mixture of literary composition’) here following:

Did you know? The dates for the 2024 Louisville MHShow are 17-19 January 2024. This is one of those few ‘must attend’ industry events when you’re a bona fide  ‘player’ in manufactured housing and land lease community circles. Though retired, I certainly plan to attend; hope you do too. More details to follow when they become available.

Then there’s the soon annual RV/MH Hall of Fame induction banquet in Elkhart, IN., the evening of 21 August 2023! Expecting 400-500 attendees at this prestigious event. For tickets, phone (574) 293-2344. If attending alone, ask to be seated with Spencer Roane, MHM, and I. Two more reasons to be in Elkhart that day – and maybe the next two days. First off, I’m making myself available for anyone who read last week’s blog posting (‘30^th Anniversary of Community Unity?’), suggesting group discussion about industry/asset class issues and challenges (i.e. ‘Think ‘rent control’, etc..). Also, if starting to pen your memoirs, I’d be happy to meet privately with you as well – and if you don’t already have the new booklet: ‘Who Will Preserve Your Legacy? Answer: You!’, I’ll give you one at that time. So, if interested, let me know via gfa7156@aol.com and I’ll make meeting location arrangements (likely in the RV/MH Hall of Fame library or auditorium).

And, if in Elkhart for the banquet, consider staying over to participate in the 7^th National MH facTOURy program at the same location. This two day program of new home sales seminars and plant tours began in 2016 as a means of teaching land lease community owners/operators how to prepare their properties for home sales, how to select homes to sell, how to market and sell homes, and how to arrange financing. For more information, phone (317)  247-6258.

See you  on 21, 22 & 23 August at the RV/MH Hall of Fame in Elkhart, IN. And while there, don’t forget to visit the new manufactured housing exhibit hall. Well worth time to tour.  GFA

MISERY LOVES COMPANY –  OR DO WE?

Here’s what the Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (‘MHARR’) recently told us about the continuing downward trend relative to new HUD-Code manufactured housing production:

“MHARR reports, according to official statistics compiled on behalf of the U.S. Department of HUD, manufactured housing industry year-over-year production declined again in June 2023. HUD Code manufacturers produced 8,169 new homes in June 2023, a 28.1% decline from the 11,373 new HUD-Code homes produced in June 2022. Cumulative production for 2023 is now 43,888 homes, a 28.8% decrease from the 61,659 homes produced over the same period during 2022.” The rest of the statistics story? These numbers collected and published by the Institute for Business Technology & Safety (‘IBTS’), and are NOT adjusted by deducting Destination Pending units, only to add them back to the IBTS total the following month….

And here’s a near parallel account describing what’s going on in our sister industry, that of recreational vehicles (‘RVs’). Under the headline, ‘RV industry steers through post-pandemic U.S. slump’, we read of this dire state of affairs: “As demand evaporated, (RV) manufacturers hit the brakes. North American shipments of new motorhomes and trailers, almost all of which are produced in the U.S., are expected to plummet to 300,000 this year, about half the number shipped in 2021, according to the RV Industry Association.” And just how ‘bad’ is that? “Retail sales of RVs are on track to be the lowest since 2015, said Ferrando, CEO and president of Fort Lauderdale Florida-based Blue Compass RV, which operates in 33 U.S. states.”

For perspective (i.e. Where ‘misery loves company’ is concerned); the last time HUD-Code manufactured housing production eclipsed the 300,000 level – to which the RV industry is diving now, was in 1998, when we shipped 372,943+/- new homes. Today we ‘play around’ at just the 100,000 level, with 112,886 new homes shipped during 2022. It now appears we’ll be fortunate to eclipse 100,000 new homes shipped during year 2023.

REBIRTH OF THE FOCUS GROUP!

Did you know? There was a time a few years ago, when informal groups of land lease community owners/operators would come together to meet for a day, usually in the host owner’s community clubhouse, to work through a previously agreed upon agenda. And they’d convene ‘the night before’ at a nearby hotel for enthusiastic interpersonal networking, before settling down to work through common challenges and issues facing their businesses. Yes, all that happened over several years.  No details here, but I’ll likely build next week’s blog posting around that concept, as it appears to me the time has come for just that sort of intimate peer problem-solving.

QUOTING SENATOR KENNEDY FROM LOUISIANA

“Free advice friends. If the government tells you not to buy a gun, buy two!”

George Allen, CPM, MHM

Blog Posting # 753, Copyright 4 August 2023. EducateMHC

Parallel Perspectives. HUD-Code manufactured housing is federally-regulated, performance-based, affordable factory-built housing! And land lease communities (a.k.a. manufactured home communities & ‘mobile home parks’) comprise the investment real estate component of manufactured housing! EducateMHC alone is the online advocate, historian, trend tracker, and text resource for these two business models! To input this blog or connect with EducateMHC, telephone (317) 881-3815, email: gfa7156@aol.com, or visit www.educatemhc.com, to order Community Management in the Manufactured Housing Industry. This is the sole professional community management text in print today! And SWAN SONG is a history of land lease communities and official record of annual MH production totals since 1955; and my autobiography, From SmittyAlpha6 to MHMaven – describes combat adventures in Vietnam and a 40+ year business career in MH and community ownership/management.

George Allen, CPM®Emeritus, MHM®Master, Emeritus member of the Manufactured Housing Institutes (‘MHI’), RV/MH Hall of Fame enshrinee, retired lieutenant colonel of U.S. Marines, &d author/editor of 20 books re MH, communities, business & management wisdom, & prayer.

30^th ANNIVERSARY OF COMMUNITY UNITY?

What were you doing on 31 August 1993? Here’s what forward-looking owners/operators of land lease communities were doing. Quoting from SWAN SONG, a history of land lease communities, the unique income-producing investment property type: “…on 31 August 1993, 19 owners/operators of (then) mobile home parks, convened in Indianapolis, IN., for a strategic planning meeting where the goal was to decide how to work collectively, to represent and advocate for the real estate asset class – knowing a year or so later, several participants would take their companies public as real estate investment trusts (‘REITs’).” The initial organization, dubbed the Industry Steering Committee (‘ISC’), penned a mission statement, collected dues, and sought a national trade body (e.g. NAA, IREM & MHI) to adopt them.

The story of that momentous meeting and 18 months following, changed the course of manufactured housing-related real estate investments, and is well told in the book The First 20 Years, authored by the late Bruce Savage, one time executive with the Manufactured Housing Institute (‘MHI’). Copies are available for purchase via www.educatemhc.com

In retrospect, how did this historic meeting change the course of land lease community history? A couple obvious, and several subtle ways.

• 1 ½ years before the 31 August 1993 meeting, more than 100 community owners/operators, from across the U.S., convened for the very first time – in Clearwater, FL. Every year since then, they continue to gather at various national and regional networking and trade events. This was the impetus for the 8/31/1993 meeting, and continues to be key in creating and sustaining camaraderie among these entrepreneurial businessmen and women.

• 2 ½ years after the initial ISC meeting, on 1 January 1996, MHI launched the National Communities Council (‘NCC’), later named a full-fledged division of the institute. The first MHI executive to lead the NCC was Jim Ayotte, CAE; today, state executive of the Florida Manufactured Housing Association (‘FMHA’). This is when ISC became a part of MHI.

• While the ‘property type’ label changed from ‘mobile home park’ to manufactured home community, upon publication of J. Wiley & Sons’ Development, Marketing, & Operation of Manufactured Home Communities, in 1992, the continued evolution of that trade term took another decade or more, to become land lease community(ies).

• In 1987, the Roulac Real Estate Consulting Group identified only 25 portfolio owners/operators of ‘mobile home parks’ nationwide. By the time the ISC cum NCC was ‘up and running’, that number had swelled to 500+/- firms owning an average of 150 communities apiece. Why the huge jump? The formation of three new REITs (i.e. UMH Properties launched a decade earlier) popularized the property type, making for an eventual seller’s market. And it became common knowledge the operating expense ratios (‘OERs’) for these ‘communities’ were significantly lower than their conventional apartment counterparts.

• Some highly desirable ‘improvements’ to community operations have been proposed, even accepted and tried over the last three decades, but not all achieved sustained momentum. Examples. Professional property management. Of all the commercial real estate investment property types, land lease communities continue to be the least represented by Certified Property Manager (‘CPM’) members of the prestigious Institute of Real Estate Management (‘IREM’)…usually around 100 CPMs among 50,000+/- properties! And neither of the two homegrown PM certification programs, MHI’s Manufactured Housing Educational Institutes’ (‘MHEI’) Accredited Community Manager (‘ACM”), and GFA/PMN’s Manufactured Housing Manager (‘MHM’) certifications have added much (i.e. professional property managers) to the realty asset class.  And at one time it seemed highly desirable to replace the defunct (since 1976) Woodall Star System of quality raking communities. Hence the ABClassification System for Grading Communities. While still used by some, it was a victim of NCC politics, as REIT executives were concerned some of their holdings might be degraded by the new system. And there was also a detailed but high-priced program for recognizing and touting superior communities. But due to cost, it lasted only a short time.

So, where are we today? Depends on who you ask. Fervent supporters of the NCC (i.e. those who faithfully attend MHI’s biannual meetings at expensive venues) will tell you ‘all is well’ – and perhaps from their perspective that is true. However, knowing NCC meetings are rarely attended by more than a dozen or two dues-paying members, and there’s rarely public reporting of plans and actions, one might question the efficacy of the NCC division. Add to this the prohibition of proxy voting for officers at annual meetings – limiting access and amalgamation of new leadership. So yes, there is room for improvement going forward.

And since only five of the original 19 founders of the ISC are still active in land lease community ownership, it’d be interesting to know how they feel about present day community advocacy of the NCC. Speaking of the original founders of the ISC cum NCC division of MHI, they make for an interesting cross-section of owners/operators, large and small, of this unique type income-producing property typr. Following names are quoted, again, from The First 20 Years text authored by Bruce Savage.

Randy Rowe, formerly with MHC, Inc. cum ELS, Inc., a REIT; founder of Hometown America, then Green Courte Partners/American Landlease, and most recently Windward Communities. Randy continues to be active in the realty asset class, from his offices in CO and IL.

Gary McDaniel, founder of ROC Properties cum ROC Communities, Inc., a REIT; co-founder of YES! Communities (now under new ownership); also past chairman of MHI, and an RV/MH Hall of Fame enshrine. Now retired.  

Jim Grange. Similar corporate profile to business partner Gary McDaniel. To the best of my knowledge, also now retired.

Jeff Kellogg. Executive with  REIT Chateau Communities, Inc., until it was merged with ROC Communities, Inc. in 1997, later Hometown America in 2003.  To the best of my knowledge, Jeff is now retired.

Tom Horner, Jr., CPA, of T. Horner & Associates. Former professional football player, creator of the 21^st Century National Manufactured Home Landlease Community Rating System. Deceased.

Martin Newby of Martin Newby Management, now retired. Company still active as fee managers of land lease communities throughout the southeast. Martin brought a distinctly Christian perspective to his company, one that lives on to this day.

Dick Leiter. Formerly with Martin Newby Management. To the best of my knowledge, he’s no longer active in the realty asset class.

Kamal Shouhayib, Choice Properties (president of The Choice Group). While maybe semi-retired, his firm is now operated by his son Rob. Kamal is also a real estate developer in the U.S. and Lebanon.

Bill Williams of CWS Corporation in CA. While a major player during the 1990s, the firm was acquired by Chateau in 2001. To the best of my knowledge Bill is no longer active in the realty asset class.

Lynwood Wellhausen of Rudgate Communities. Lynwood is retired, and Rudgate was acquired years ago.

Bill Geary, CPM; president of Carlsberg Management. After his firm was acquired, he appeared to be no longer active in the real estate asset class.

Martin Lavin, esquire. A chattel capital financier, and head of AJAX Property Management. Now retired. Long an articulate commentator on manufactured housing matters in The Journal.

Eugene Landy, founder of United Mobile Homes cum UMH Properties, a REIT. Still active in the realty asset class, and recent inductee into the prestigious RV/MH Hall of Fame in Elkhart, IN.

Jerry Ellenberg of Ellenberg Capital. While active in the realty asset class at the time (8/31/1993), the firm was acquired and Jerry appears to have pursued other interests.

Scott West. Also with Ellenberg Capital at the time. No information on his current activities.

Brian Fannon, CPM. With Lautrec, Ltd., as well as founder of Strategic Operational Solutions, LLC. Most recently developing & filling a new Zeman MHC land lease community, The Oaks of Rockford, in Rockford, MI. Also an RV/MH Hall of Fame enshrinee.

Ed Zeman of Zeman Realty & Zeman MHC. Still very active in the realty asset class.

Ron Richardson of Ballerina Homes (Named after his first wife’s talent). Deceased.

George Allen, CPM®Emeritus, MHM®Master. Founder of GFA Management, Inc., & PMN Publishing. Also RV/MH Hall of Fame enshrinee, and Emeritus member of MHI. Now retired.

Well, there you have a brief history, not so exciting present status, and list of ISC founders from 30 years ago. The big question today, at least for some of us land lease community aficionados, is what will the future hold for this real estate asset class? Today we’re beset by threats of landlord/tenant legislation like we’ve never experienced before. Why? Mostly due to investors from outside the manufactured housing industry, buying up all sizes of communities – and property portfolios, then raise rental homesite rates, often in an exorbitant fashion. And here our nation is in the midst of an affordable housing crisis, but we’re generally unable to secure favorable home-only financing, as well as affordable housing land planning and zoning in most local housing markets! And the troublesome list goes on. Point? If we needed a national advocacy group for land lease community ownership and operations in 1993; we need one even more so today! What will the NCC division of MHI do to reinvigorate itself and take the lead in matters such as those just described?

Tell you what. Spencer Roane, MHM, of Pentagon Properties in GA., and I will be at the RV/MH Hall of Fame all day on 21 August, preparing to attend the Hall of Fame banquet that evening. If you’re ‘in the area’ and would like to sit down and discuss the present and near future of manufactured housing and land lease communities, let me know via gfa7156@aol.com. I’ll make arrangements for meeting location and timing. Hope you decide to participate. If interested in attending the banquet, get your tickets via (574) 293-2344. Even stay overnight and attend the 7^th National MH FacTOURy conference (How to Market & Sell New MHs in Land Lease Communities) on Tuesday and Wednesday. For more information phone the event hosts via (317) 247-6258.

George Allen, CPM, MHM