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

Blog Posting # 765, Copyright 27 October 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 EduateMHC, telephone (317) 881-3815, email: gfa7156@aol.com, or visit www.eduatemhc.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 year business career in MH and community ownership/management & consulting.

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

‘Rental Trailer Trashed by Tenant’

Gathering ‘storm clouds’ potentially affect the manufactured housing industry and land lease communities nationwide! Lest you think I’ve been exaggerating during the past few weeks of weekly blog postings, here’s the latest example of how we’re collectively ‘shooting ourselves in the foot’, where treatment of homeowners/site lessees and renters of manufactured homes is concerned. Following is quoted from ‘The New York Times Magazine’ on 22 October, in an article titled Homespun, by Michael Friedrich:

“It’s no surprise that social media brims over with videos from real estate influencers. …some of the most broadly despised people in the country are logging on to boast about the most ruthless and loathsome things they do….a landlord exhibits the ‘nightmare’ of a rental trailer trashed by tenants, explaining that rents are so high ‘because of people like this.’ “ pp. 8&9.

So, is it any wonder our industry and realty asset class is beset by national groups of tenant activists, and (so far, one) a Class Action Complaint? I don’t think so – at all. I subscribe to every industry trade publication and receive a plethora of state MH association newsletters (i.e. mostly at the behest of their members). So far, not in one have I seen any mention of discussion and action, by national trade advocacy organizations, relative to aforementioned (and the other) gathering storm clouds.

This is why I’ve floated the idea, in two previous weekly blog postings, of planning and hosting a half day Manufactured Housing Caucus the morning of 18 January 2023 during the annual Louisville (‘KY’) MHShow – either at the venue proper or in a nearby hotel meeting room. So far, I’ve heard from more than a dozen (now approaching two dozen) businessmen and women in support of the idea and assuring me of their in person participation.

What are your feelings and opinions on this important and timely matter? Should be Caucus or not? Let me know ASAP via gfa7156@aolc.om  I’ve committed to ‘make up my mind’ to plan and host – or not, this MH Caucus, no later than 30 October 2023 – just days after we post this week’s blog.

FYI. Such a national meeting is not without precedent. Here’s a list of previous such gatherings:

31 August 1993. 19 land lease community owners/operators convened in Indianapolis, IN., to form an Industry Steering Committee (‘ISC’), precursor to MHI’s National Communities Council division (‘NCC’) which was launched on 1 January 1969, with Jim Ayotte at the helm. Why? Because community portfolios were preparing to ‘go public’ as REITs, and there was no national advocacy, to speak of, for the unique, income-producing property type. Challenge resolved!

27 February 2008. 100 land lease community owners/operators convened at Fountainview Community in Tampa FL., to address the precipitous decline in HUD-Code housing shipments (Hit bottom in 2009 with only 48,789+/- units produced!). Result? Five action areas.*1 This gathering served to ‘get the ball rolling’, so that a year later on…

27 February 2009. A year later, again, 100+/- land lease community owners/operators, plus HUD-Code housing manufacturers, convened at the RV/MH Hall of Fame in Elkhart, IN., to plan an industry turnaround! This date marked the debut of the Community Series Home (‘CSH’) and realization that communities would have to market, sell & finance their new homes.*2 Within five years, the percentage of new HUD-Code homes sold directly into communities jumped from around 15 percent to 40+/- percent. Again, challenge resolved!

2010 saw two significant happenings: Randy Rowe’s Think GreenCourte Partners founder) keynote address at the Networking Roundtable: Five Park Market Share Recovery Plan (also documented in SWAN SONG), and the birth of SECO (Originally, Southeast Community Owners summit), designed for small to mid-size community owners/operators nationwide. These were continuing efforts by land lease community owners/operators to seize control of their own destiny.

2014. This year, the Community Owners (7 Part) Business Alliance (‘COBA’) was launched informally at Saddlebrook Farms in Grayslake, IL Formed to ensure ongoing statistical research, communication among communities, networking opportunities, and professional property management training and certification. However, COBA did not continue beyond my retirement in 2021. Who knows? This ‘disconnect’ might be an agenda topic at the Caucus on 18 January.

So, once again, if you care about the future of manufactured housing and land lease communities, consider being present at a half day caucus on 18 January 2024 in Louisville, KY. – whether hosted by one or both national trade advocacy groups, or yours truly. Again, let me know what you think via gfa7156@aol.com

End Note.

1. For a detailed list of these five strategies & action areas, read  SWAN SONG; available for purchase via www.educatemhc.com

• The Community Series Home moniker did not materialize until more than six months later, at the annual Networking Roundtable, when consultant Don Westphal suggested the new trade term. And the rest is history!

The 1995 MH Terminology Pledge

28 years ago, when annual new HUD-Code housing production was at 339,601+/- units, the publication of the first manufactured home community land development tome (‘a large book’) in 20 years was effected by New York publisher J. Wiley & Sons. One of the unique features of the case bound book was the introduction of new and updated trade terms for the industry and realty asset class. As the ‘Decade (1995 – 2005) of the Manufactured Home Community’ kicked off that year, everyone was encouraged to ‘Take the Pledge to Use Correct Manufactured Housing Industry Terminology!’ going forward.

Here’s a list of those terms:

• Manufactured home community. (This term would be updated to land lease community round-about year 2011)

• Resident & resident relations (Supplanted talk of tenants & tenant relations; after all, these are ‘homeowners/site lessees’ on rental homesites in communities)

• Guidelines for Living was intended to replace ‘Rules & Regulations; and in many locales it did.

• Homesite or rental site was intended to replace stall, lot, pad, sites.

• Leasing or sales consultant was a new HR position on-site in many communities, and generally replaced ‘dealer’ as the default description of anyone selling homes.

• Information Center replaced loose use of office in trade vernacular

• Resident or community manager replaced caretaker and landlord

• Retailer & Retail or Resale Sales Center. Again, an effort to supplant ‘dealer’ lingo; and a few years later, consultant William Carr suggested ‘independent (street) MHRetailer’ as a better catchall term.

• Singlesection & multisection descriptions were intended to replace ‘singlewide’ & ‘doublewide’ terminology

• Transporter was the new term for ‘toter’.

So, how did all this work out? Actually, pretty well. Sure, even today we have individuals, both within and outside the industry who naively continues to use terms like ‘mobile home’, ‘mobile home Park’, lots & pads, ‘dealer’, and more….But for the most part, trade literature takes the higher road and uses the terms listed here.

George Allen

Blog Posting # 764, Copyright 20 October 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.comn, 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 year business career in MH and community ownership/management and consulting.

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

$1,729 National Average US Apartment Rent

&

$576 Average Land Lease Community Site Rent

National average U.S. apartment rent according to Yardi Matrix, quoted in September/October 2023 issue of multifamilyexecutive.com (p.14.)

$576 national average U.S. land lease community rental homesite rate calculated by applying the 50 years Rule of Thumb; dividing the apartment rent rate by ‘three’; hence $576 is one third of $1,729. This is simply an estimated land lease community rental homesite rate.

However, in local housing markets negatively impacted by contemporary investors buying institutional investment grade land lease communities – and shortly after acquisition, greatly increasing rental homesite rates paid by homeowners/site lessees and adding charges previously included in monthly site rents; well, in those markets, the divisor is ‘2’ and not ‘3’. This means monthly rental homsite rent rates in this example will hover around $865.

So, how’s your local housing market fare at this point in time? I’d like to know. Contact me via gfa7156@aol.com

‘ZOMBIE MOBILE HOMES’

Quoted from The Paletz Law Blog of 19 October 2023, in an article penned by Matthew I Paletz, Esq., titled ‘Just in Time for Halloween, Bad Michigan Housing Policies Are Contributing to ‘Ghost’ Apartments & ‘Zombie’ Mobile Homes.’:

“This scary ‘Ghost’ (i.e. apartment & land lease community vacancies) is hitting our state hard right now. Let’s start with the dearth of available mobile homes on lots across Michigan.*1 The owners of the manufactured housing communities cannot refurbish, re-rent, or sell many of these homes because the Michigan mobile home title process has been destroyed through changes made by the Secretary of State. What was once a streamlined title procedure has now been uprooted and replaced by a convoluted policy leading to hundreds of these now ‘zombie-like’ homes being unoccupied and unimproved, and in desperate need of these being brought back to life.”

Now you know what a ‘zombie mobile home’ is. Is this a problem in your local housing market? If so, let me know via gfa7156@aol.com  Frankly, I learned of this challenge, thanks to a blog reader who sent me this Paletz Law Blog.

End Note.

*1. Better stated: “Let’s start with the dearth of available manufactured homes on rental homesites in land lease communities across Michigan.”

When Was Last Time You Heard…

of a land lease community, just about any size (i.e. rental homesite count), changing hands in your local housing market? It’s probably been a while. With interest rates so high of late, about the only way to ‘make an acquisition deal’ is to find a seller willing to finance (i.e. ‘carry paper’) the transaction. This is about the sixth time I’ve seen our unique, income-producing property type go through this real estate cycle (e.g. 1970s = mobile home parks; 1990s = manufactured home communities; and now, midway into the 2020s = land lease communities).

Since I no longer research and publish the annual Lenders Report (i.e. identification of real estate mortgage & personal property or ‘home only’ lenders) it’s impossible for me to give you the inside story, usually shared by loan originators at the major manufactured housing and land lease community-focused firms. But I do remember a few Rules of Thumb, from times past, related to seller-financed community transactions.

Want more money for your property? Be willing to extend the term out over a longer period of time. However, just as important, be sure to carefully research the buyer’s past business performance and reputation. You’re going to be ‘in bed’ (figuratively speaking) with this party for as many years as it takes to pay off the mortgage. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a buyer (investor) come into town, dazzle the seller, buy the property, ‘milk it’ for all it was worth, and then skip town when seller realized what was happening. Few things worse than ‘retiring’ after selling, but having to get back into the saddle when the deal sours.

The alternative? Decide on a cash sale transaction. The upfront money might be less than ideally desired, but when you walk away from the property, you walk away sans any future burdens – other than the huge tax bills you’ll likely face.

And the beat goes on. Just during the past decade I’ve watched friend after friend in the business, sell out wisely – as well as not so much so. The saddest transactions, in my opinion, have been those where community developers/owners have died and their progeny soon sold off the family holdings – even when they’ve worked there most of their adult lives. Almost always hard feelings among the principals.

Know who, in my opinion, has suffered most among the thousands of land lease community acquisitions-cum-portfolios? The state MH trade associations. Few write about it, but the consequences have been nothing short of devastating. How so? On the local level, on-site community managers are no longer encouraged, for the most part, to attend chapter meetings, let alone state conferences. And some, but not all, portfolio owners/operators become direct dues-paying members of these state associations. And this usually occurs only after there’s some sort of landlord-tenant legislation ‘in the works’ in that state. Something I’ve only come to notice of late is that some, but not all boards are comprised of salaried portfolio employees rather than the Mom & Pop entrepreneur owners/operators of years past.

To Caucus or Not to Caucus on 1/18/24?

I’m conflicted. The dilemma? Whether to plan and host a half day Manufactured Housing Caucus, or not to Caucus, the morning of 18 January 2023?

Reasons for and encouragement to Caucus? “Three impending storm clouds potentially affecting the health of the manufactured housing industry.” (Following semi-quoted from blog # 761 on 29 September 2023). The storm clouds?

• Regional and national meetings of land lease community tenants and activists, wherein alleged predatory actions by new owners of recently acquired land lease communities are accused of setting rents so high, and adding new ancillary charges, few homeowners/site lessees can afford them. Possible consequence? Landlord-tenant legislation.
• A recent Class Action Complaint; specifically, a Jury Trial Demanded by homeowner/site lessee plaintiffs, against ten defendants – well known firms in MH and real estate asset class. Alleged actions? “…fix, raise, maintain, and/or stabilize manufactured home lot rental prices.” So much more to be learned about this class action complaint.

• Pending manufactured housing chassis removal legislation, re HUD-Code, with unknown effects on our industry. The issue? How can we experience positive effects (of chassis removal) without incurring negative consequences (e.g. incursion of other forms of housing, such as ADUs, in traditional manufactured housing markets).

Reasons against hosting a regional, informal Caucus? Given the nature of the aforementioned impending storm clouds – and more, these are easily national issues maybe best parsed and resolved at the highest level by one or more manufactured housing advocacy trade organizations. And there’s the local (i.e. Midwest) protocol, at the Louisville MHShow, where HUD-Code manufacturers look with disdain at any organized event (e.g. subject Caucus) that draws attendees away from the show floor and ordering new homes for their sales centers.

All this ‘begs the question(s)’, does the Manufactured Housing Institute (‘MHI’), its’ National Communities Council (‘NCC’) division, or the Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (“MHARR’) have interest in planning and hosting such a Caucus at the 2024 Louisville MHShow on 18 January 2024? If so, let me know ASAP.

And, if not, does the Midwest Housing Federation (i.e. Louisville MHShow owners/organizers) have interest in planning and hosting such a Caucus during the 2024 Louisville MHShow? Or, should such an event (i.e. Caucus) simply be planned and hosted off-site at a nearby hotel? Same here; if so, let me know ASAP.

These are the reasons I’m conflicted. I’m certainly ready to move forward with planning such a Caucus. After all, I already have a dozen individuals who’ve contacted me, encouraging me to this end. And I’m confident such a Caucus would attract 100+/- registrants, if/when held the morning of 18 January 2024. I’m giving myself until 30 October to decide what course of action to take – if any. Appreciate your input, whether it is individually, or in behalf of one or another national MH trade advocacy organization: gfa7156@aol.com

George Allen

Blog Posting # 763, Copyright 13 October 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 EduateMHC, telephone 9317) 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 year business career in MH and community ownership/management and consulting.

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.

IMN’s MH FORUM REVISITED…

Patrick Revere (Think ‘MHInsider magazine) and Sam Landy (Think UMN Properties), since last week’s blog posting, have opined they felt the Manufactured Housing Forum in Nashville was a top notch affair. Sam was especially impressed with what he learned about modern trends in water and sewer metering, as well as how to connect with low cost cable and electric services for his land lease communities. Patrick was impressed with the quality of the overall program and how well it was hosted by the Information Management Network (‘IMN’) team of planners. 

Next IMN Manufactured Housing Forum is reportedly planned for 7-8 May in Scottsdale, AZ.

As I looked through the agenda of the subject event, I had these particular observations:

• Continued misuse of vestigial trade terms ‘mobile home’ and ‘mobile home park’. As an industry, HUD officially switched us over to ‘manufactured housing’ in 1976. In 1994 we started talking ‘manufactured home communities’ ,then ‘land lease communities’ round about year 2011. Point? As long as individuals claiming to be manufactured housing aficionados, continue to talk ‘mobile home’ lingo, we’ll suffer the pervasive negative image problem that’s plagued us for decades! Be committed to use right terminology!

• Featuring ‘women’s inclusive leadership’ in manufactured housing, as an agenda topic, is/was a good move at this IMN event. However, there’d have been more impact to the session if members of the Women Advancing Manufactured Housing (‘WAMH’) had been involved as presenters. Visit WAMH.com

• A topic I’d have liked to have heard had to do with ESG – that’s short for Environmental, Social, & Governance investing. Why? Because a recent issue of AMAC (‘Association of Mature American Citizens’) magazine had this to say about ESG investing, “instead of making investment decisions according to what will maximize shareholder profits, ESG investors choose what companies to put money in based on how committed they are to advancing an invariably left-wing political agenda.” An example of this is how major investment banks, like Vanguard and Blackrock, have divested from (profitable) oil and gas companies…and (are now) “pouring money into ‘renewable’ energy companies that either routinely lose money or turn a far smaller profit.” P.20. Another ‘woke’ pitfall!

GAO Recommendations to FHA & Ginnie Mae

Yet another agenda topic at the aforementioned IMN Manufactured Housing Forum had to do with “GAO (Government Accounting Office) making two recommendations – one each to the Federal Housing Administration and Ginnie Mae (both entities in HUD) – to implement planned changes to increase financing options for manufactured homes, including identifying options for greater securitization of mortgage and personal property loans, and establish time frames and milestones for actions.” FHA & Ginnie Mae have agreed with these recommendations!

1.  The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development should ensure the Commissioner of FHA implement planned changes to provide additional financing options for manufacture homes, including identifying options for greater securitization of manufactured home mortgages and personal property loans and establishing time frames and milestones for the action.

• The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development should ensure the President of Ginnie Mae implements planned changes to provide additional financing options for manufactured homes, including identifying options for greater securitization of manufactured home mortgages and personal property loans and establishing time frames and milestones for the actions.

A UNION of & for LAND LEASE COMMUNITY OWNERS/OPERATORS?

This conversation began with a recent exchange of email messages on the subject: ‘Why is there no mobile home park operators union?’ Now, I’ve gotta admit, this is the first time in my 45 years in manufactured housing where and when this subject has emerged! But you know, given the increasingly prevailing political and regulatory climate nationwide, involving land lease communities, perhaps now is the time to think on, and maybe act on, this subject. What do you think? As always, reach me via gfa7156@aol.com

Here’re some apropos random thoughts picked from the exchange of email messages this fall:

• A community operators union would be expected to ‘stand against local planning and zoning committees that have been squeezing operators with changing ordinances.’

• There are already some, just not enough, ‘boots on the ground lobbyists’ in the Midwest, who’re fighting for more affordable housing in seveeral local markets.

• There may or may not have been past efforts to this end, on the part of one or more national trade advocates, but said efforts have veered off into social events.

• This is not a crazy idea, but has more difficult and moving parts to consider in the process, e.g. These would need to be local initiatives, as well as ‘no one size fits all’.

• Also expensive (i.e. attorney fees), and local victories are oft overturned at state level.

• 85% of U.S. land lease communities number fewer than 100 rental homesites apiece, hence they lack economic efficiency and surplus cash, making union funding difficult.

• A helpful truism. Counties face severe negative publicity and public reaction if/when they force communities to close. Where will homeowners/site lessees go to live?

• Recent trend by portfolio ‘players’, upon acquisition of new communities, to jack site rent rates and add new fees, has spread a pall (‘a gloomy, blanketing effect’) over the realty asset class nationwide. Would a union protect these predatory interests as well?

Sure, there’s much more to be said on this fledgling subject. But the above eight points demonstrate the uphill climb ahead if this idea, of a community operator’s union, moves forward from here. Again, let me know your thoughts on this matter: gfa7156@aol.com

Blog Posting # 762, Copyright 6 October 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 year business career in MH and community ownership/management, and consulting.

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.

IMN in TN a BOOM or BUST?

OK, right up front I’ll tell you I did not attend the Information Management Networks’ (‘IMN’) inaugural Manufactured Housing Forum, an interpersonal networking conference supplemented with ‘educational content & industry insights’, in Nashville, TN., on 28 & 29 September. From what I hear and read, this ‘global organizer of institutional, finance, investment, and real estate conferences’ maybe did not deliver what was expected by manufactured housing and land lease community aficionados who attended. IMN claims 370+ attendees on-site. A sampling of responses received here to date:

“Some interesting take-aways. Almost every speaker, in recent years, bought a (land lease) community with cash or used seller-financing. Where they used debt, the GSEs were the preferred (originator/guarantor).”

“The most fascinating speaker was a 29 year old woman who somehow escaped China. She was fascinated with the concept of owning property since you can’t do that in China. When she graduated from Georgia Tech, she started buying (land lease) communities, and she and her partners now own 28….”

‘While I was there, the Government Accountability Office issued a report on government support for manufactured housing:www.gao.gov/products/gao-23-105615 It provides details of all programs, including those of the GSEs. A great resource. GAO wants Title I to step up.”

Attendance? “Maybe 100 or so on day 1. Day 2 seemed more oriented to (community) operators, many fewer (attendees) on Day 2.”

In a recent IMN communique, they announced the 2024 edition of The Manufactured Housing Forum would occur in Scottsdale (AZ?) on 7-8 May 2024.

MHStats & 18 January 2024 in Louisville, KY

In the widely read and referenced ‘MHShipment Volume @ August 2023 & Stock Market Report @ 5 October 2023’ – two economic statistical indicator reports combined into one, were these key observations:

• While production of 8,670 new HUD-Code homes in August was up from the previous month (July) by 41 percent, that total was 19 percent less than a year ago (August).

• Year to date HUD-Code homes production continues to be 27 percent less than a year ago – for the fifth straight month.

• Of the five publicly-traded HUD-Code housing manufacturers, stock prices of four were down from the previous month

• Of the five publicly-traded land lease community property portfolios (including REITs),  stock prices of four were down from the previous month

• The Composite Stock Index (‘CSI’) – for manufacturers and community owners/operators together, was $673 on 5 October; down from the $790.07 base CSI during January 2022.

And then there was this announcement at the end of said combined MH statistics report:

“Land lease community real estate asset class entered an uncertain era during year 2022. For the first time since 1989 this unique, income-producing property type is without the annual ALLEN REPROT, & Allen Letter. Many owners/operators believe national leadership is faltering as political and regulatory ‘storm clouds’ gather. If willing to meet for a half day National Community Caucus on 18 January 2023 at the Louisville MHShow, let me know NOW via gfa7156@aol.com or (317) 881-3815. Fee? Only enough to cover meeting expenses.” GFA

Referral Fees & On-site Home Sales

Do you sell new HUD-Code manufactured homes on-site in your land lease community(ies)? As an incentive for homebuyers/site lessees (a.k.a. new community residents) to buy said homes do you market and sell them at or near cost? If so, you might want to emulate what this community portfolio owner/operator is doing:

‘Since there’s no profit to us in the sale of a home (only in site rent and long-term financing), we pay a $1,000.00 referral fee to licensed real estate agents, through to the end of 2023, for buyers referred to us who are approved and consummate a home sale with us.”

Will that sort of arrangement work for you? Run the numbers and decide if this is a good and timely idea for your community(ies)’ infill effort!

George Allen, CPM, MHM