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

Blog Posting # 860; Copyright 26 September 2025. EducateMHC

Know this! HUD-Code manufactured housing (‘MH’) is federally-regulated, performance-based, affordable-attainable, factory-built housing (a.k.a. one of four types of offsite construction: manufactured, modular, panelized housing & Park Model RVs), routinely paired with traditional stick-built housing (a.k.a. onsite construction). Land lease communities (a.k.a. manufactured home communities & ‘mobile home parks’) comprise the commercial real estate (‘CRE’) component of MH. And various types of housing finance (e.g. chattel or ‘home only’ loans), and real estate mortgages constitute the post-production segment of MH.

EducateMHC is an official MH historian, trade term & trend tracker, as well as perennial information source! Contact EducateMHC via (317) 881-3815; email gfa7156@aol.com, and www.educatemhc.com, to purchase Community Management in the Manufactured Housing Industry (This book belongs in every land lease community nationwide!), and SWAN SONG –History of land lease communities & official record of annual MH production totals since 1955.

My autobiography, From SmittyAlpha6 to MHMaven, describes personal combat adventures in Vietnam as a USMC lieutenant, a 45 year entrepreneur business career in MH & community ownership, as well as freelance consulting and authoring of 20 nonfiction texts.

George Allen is the sole emeritus member of the Manufactured Housing Institute (‘MHI’), a founding board member of MHI’s National Communities Council (‘NCC’) division, RV/MH Hall of Fame enshrinee, Allen Legacy columnist & editor at large for the popular MHInsider magazine.

WRITING FOR YOU, IN THE MOMENT & IN RETROSPECT

French-born American female writer, diarist and novelist Anais Nin (1903-1977) presciently describes my life in retirement with this quote: “We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.” I did not realize this truth until just recently, during the SECO Conference in Atlanta, when asked to describe my present day writing projects. Here they are…

In the moment, so to speak, I continue to pen and post a weekly blog for EducateMHC. In fact, this is the 860^th blog since 2008. And we’ve covered a lot of territory during the past 17 years: wide variety of manufactured housing and land lease community matters and perspectives; a rewriting of the classic ‘Upside Down in a Mobile Home Park’, describing how chattel finance shenanigans in and around 1998 caused the MH industry to lose easy access to ‘home only loans’ – bringing about the paradigm shift of new home sales away from independent (street) MHRetailers to the onsite sale and financing of homes. Also sharing of combat experiences in Vietnam 60 years ago, and the popular post, ‘Bad Boys of Manufactured Housing’.

Another ‘in the moment’ writing focus is a passionate, ongoing interest in what I see as ‘righting a serious wrong’ in new U.S. housing statistical reporting. As you may or may not know, the U.S. Census Bureau, every month, tallies and reports online, the volume of new stick-built housing (a.k.a. onsite construction) permits, starts, and completions. No mention whatsoever is made of HUD-Code manufactured housing, modular housing, panelized housing, or Park Model RVs (a.k.a. offsite construction & factory-built housing). Why are these forms of affordable housing not included? Maybe because that data, other than MH shipments reported by the Institute for Business Technology & Safety (‘IBTS’), and Park Model RVs by RVIA (‘Recreational Vehicle Industry of America’), are too difficult to tally, e.g. number of modular & panelized units estimated to be 2 percent of the onsite construction total. Plus, the data for offsite housing, as a rule, surfaces a month later after the U.S. Census Bureau report is published online. The grand consequence? In round numbers, the monthly total of onsite construction of new U.S. homes is approximately 90 percent of what it would be if offsite construction was added to the total!

From the retrospect perspective, I spend much time writing in two separate and distinct areas. Since the very beginning of MHInsider magazine (August 2018), I’ve penned the Allen Legacy column. My instructions there are to write interesting manufactured housing and land lease community columns – with an historic bent. There I’ve covered the gamut from RV/MH Hall of Famer pioneers and enshrines, the evolution of MH trade terminology or lingo, identity and autobiographical summaries of various prominent business founders and leaders, the five decade long partnership between MH and HUD, and community value appraisal, the Big Auction of 2005, Vietnam War veterans in MH, community rating (grading) systems, and a look back at community management 50 years ago. And soon to come, ‘MH Poems, Songs, Narratives and More!’ Perhaps someday, someone will collect and publish these dozens of columns as a supplemental history of manufactured housing and land lease communities.

Another retrospect focus has been two years of research relative to preparing a comprehensive history of the RV/MH Hall of Fame in Elkhart, IN. The late Dr. Carl Edwards, an RV/MH Hall of Fame enshrinee, authored an unpublished history covering the years 1972 through 1992. I picked up the pen, beginning with year 1993, but soon discovered much was amiss in the earlier years. SO, the project has expanded and is estimated to be completed (maybe) sometime in late 2026 or year 2027. In the meantime, if you’d like to learn more about the prestigious RV/MH Hall of Fame, visit their website: RV/MH Hall of Fame. And while there, consider nominating a deserving friend or relative who’s been in the MH and or RV industries for more than two decades, for induction into the Hall of Fame. Better yet, visit the RV/MH Hall of Fame and tour its’ two large exhibit halls, one dedicated to RVs and one dedicated to MH and land lease communities. You’ll be glad you did.

So, recalling writer Nin’s words, I continue to taste MH life twice; in the moment and in retrospect. Comments or recommendations are welcome via gfa7156@aol.com

George Allen

Blog Posting # 859; Copyright 19  September 2025. EducateMHC

Know this! HUD-Code manufactured housing (‘MH’) is federally-regulated, performance-based, affordable-attainable, factory-built housing (a.k.a. one of four types of offsite construction: manufactured, modular, panelized housing & Park Model RVs), routinely paired with traditional stick-built housing (a.k.a. onsite construction). Plus, land lease communities 9a.k.a. manufactured home communities & ‘mobile home parks’) comprise the commercial real estate (‘CRE’) component of MH. Various types of housing finance (e.g. chattel or ‘home only’ loans, and real estate mortgages constitute the post-production segment of MH.

EducateMHC is an official MH historian, trade term & trend tracker, as well as perennial MH information source! Contact EducateMHC via (317) 881-3815; email gfa7156@aol.com, and www.eduatemhc.com, to purchase Community Management in the Manufactured Housing Industry (This book belongs in every land lease community nationwide!), and SWAN SONG –History of land lease communities  official record of annual MH production totals since 1955

And my autobiography, From SmittyAlpha6 to MHMaven, describes personal combat adventures in Vietnam as a USMC lieutenant, a 45 year entrepreneur business career in MH & community ownership, as well as freelance consulting and authoring of 20 nonfiction texts.

George Allen is the sole emeritus member of the Manufactured Housing Institute (‘MHI’), a founding board member of MHI’s National Communities Council (‘NCC’) division, RV/MH Hall of Fame enshrine, Allen Legacy columnist & editor at large for the popular MHInsider magazine.

SECO & I’m HOME Network’s Menu of Policies

What happened when 350 manufactured housing aficionados and 100+ ROC homeowners/site lessees socialized and met together in Atlanta, GA during 8-11 September 2025? Well, they talked and learned together about their common interests, living in HUD-Code manufactured homes and residency in land lease communities. Specifically, this was a ‘first time ever’ coming together of the annual SECO Conference and Lincoln Institute of Land Policy’s I’m HOME Network.

Many I’m HOME Network attendees participated in an evening reception, and visiting five new HUD-Code homes on display in the Renaissance Hotel’s outdoor parking area. The next day, several SECO folk sat in on I’m HOME Network’s Menu of Policies panel presentation and lively discussions. What follows here is a potpourri of observations and extracts from selected writings I reviewed during the sessions.

Trade Terminology. This was an important topic among the I’m HOME folk. While panelists made a concerted effort to take the high road in this area, there still were errant references to ‘parks’ and ‘park-communities’, but not many. One handout, ‘Words Matter: How Terminology Shapes Policy for Manufactured Home Communities (‘MHCs’)’ went into detail recommending use of ‘manufactured home’, not ‘mobile home’ or ‘trailer’, and why ‘manufactured home community’ is favored over ‘park’. Since the majority of I’m HOME attendees appeared to be from ROCs (‘resident-owned communities’), they preferred ‘landowner’, ‘ business owner’ or ‘stakeholder’ rather than ‘park owner’, even ‘community owner’. I suggested, during discussion, a few more clarifying terms, e.g. resident, not tenant; rental homesites, not lots, spaces or stalls; and ‘independent (street) MHRetailers’ – or simply MHRetailers, not ‘dealers’.

Yet another interesting handout was the preview copy of Lincoln Institute’s ‘State Policy Handbook’ for manufactured housing, a.k.a. Playbook & Menu of Policies – September 2025.

Goal 1. Expanding the Market and Creating Affordable Housing Supply via reforming of zoning and land use policies for manufactured homes; replacement of substandard housing with new, efficient units; and, provide financing and other support for new home development using manufactured homes.

Goal 2. Improving Home Financing Options via allowing broader access to mortgages by making it easier to title manufactured homes as real estate; and, supporting manufactured housing through state first-time homebuyer programs.

Goal 3. Preserving Existing Affordable Housing via ensuring manufactured home community (‘MHC’) residents have the opportunity to purchase their community when it is for sale; supporting the preservation of MHCs, including new ROCs, through state financing and grand programs; Improving public data collection and disclosure on manufactured home communities; including MHCs in state and local affordable housing analyses and planning processes; and, strengthening minimum lease protections in communities.

Within each of the three stated goals, Lincoln Institute writers provided researched and learned details as to how to accomplish said goals. The fact that these matters are being articulated in a quasi-academic fashion suggests, to me anyway, that continued refinement of this State Policy Handbook for Manufactured Housing will garner deeper and serious interest on the part of government agencies, NGOs (non-government organizations), even the manufactured housing business industry itself. (Is anyone at MHI & MHARR paying attention to this cooperative effort?)

So, what else happened at this SECO/I’m HOME Network forum? More than I can tell you here. But I did suggest a couple measures to consider in promoting the above goals:

1. I’m HOME Network should make its’ presence and work better known throughout the manufactured housing industry, as well as local and national government offices, by dint of regular, professionally-penned PRESS RELEASES. At present, few know the I’m HOME Network exists, let alone what it is doing now and in the future.
2. Research and publish the first formal glossary or directory of MH trade terminology. Invite the manufactured housing industry (e.g. MHI, MHARR, & MHInsider magazine) to participate in such a project.

What will you do to help further this blooming cooperation between the manufactured housing industry – including land lease communities, and the SECO team, as well as folk at I’m HOME Network at the Lincoln Institute? Your input is always welcome: gfa7156@aol.com

George Allen

Blog Posting # 858; Copyright 12 September 2025. EducateMHC

Know this! HUD-Code manufactured housing (‘MH’) is federally-regulated, performance-based, affordable-attainable, factory-built housing (a.k.a. one of four types of offsite construction; the other three being modular & panelized housing, & Park Model RVs), routinely paired with traditional stick-built housing (a.k.a. onsite construction). Plus, land lease communities (a.k.a. manufactured home communities & ‘mobile home parks’) comprise the commercial real estate (‘CRE’) component of MH. Various types of housing finance (e.g. chattel or ‘home only’ loans, and real estate mortgages constitute the post-production segment of MH.

EducateMHC is an official MH historian, trade term & trend tracker, as well as perennial MH information source! Contact EducateMHC via (317) 881-3815; email gfa7156@aol.com, and www.educatemhc.com to purchase Community Management in the Manufactured Housing Industry (This book belongs in every land lease community nationwide!), and SWAN SONG –History of land lease communities & official record of annual MH production totals since 1955.

And my autobiography, From SmittyAlpha6 to MHMaven, describes personal combat adventures in Vietnam as a USMC lieutenant, a 45 year entrepreneur business career in MH & community ownership, as well as freelance consulting and authoring of 20 nonfiction texts.

George Allen is the sole emeritus member of the Manufactured Housing Institute (‘MHI’), a founding board member of MHI’s National Communities Council (‘NCC’) division, RV/MH Hall of Fae enshrinee, Allen Legacy columnist & editor at large for the popular MHInsider magazine.

TOTAL U.S. HOUSING COMPLETIONS DURING JULY 2025

EducateMHC’s Economic Report: Total new onsite & offsite homes completed!

This total U.S. Housing Completion Report for July 2025 combines online data from the U.S. Census Bureau (i.e. their annual estimated onsite construction completion total divided by 12 months; then adding offsite construction completions comprised of 1) HUD-code manufactured housing production data from the Institute for Building Technology & Safety (‘IBTS’), 2) modular & panelized housing units estimated to be 2% of onsite construction completion total, and 3) RV Industry of America (‘RVIA’) website report of monthly production of Park Model RVs – a type of accessory dwelling unit (‘ADU’).

A disturbing albeit historic fact! The U.S. Census Bureau’s Housing Completion Report today, cites only  estimated onsite construction completion totals (i.e. stick-built homes), totally ignoring four types of offsite construction, a.k.a. factory-built housing; specifically, HUD-Code manufactured housing, modular & panelized housing, and Park Model RVs. Result? Under estimation of total U.S. housing completions month after month after month. If you agree the time has come to broaden the data reporting scope of the U.S. Census Bureau, read on…

The real U.S. Housing Completion total for July 2025. Rather than there being just 117,917 new onsite construction homes completed during this time frame, the all-encompassing estimated total (i.e. including 10,973 offsite construction units) is 128,890 new onsite & offsite construction homes – a difference of 10,973 and an underestimated total for all of 2025 of 131,676 new homes.

What are the ‘numbers’ that make up these totals?

U.S. Census Bureau, for the month of July 2025, reports 117,917 single-family, site-built, privately-owned onsite housing completions (i.e. this is 1/12^th of the published annual total of 1,415,000 completions). Meanwhile, the monthly grand total, inclusive of four types of offsite construction (Again, 10,973 HUD-Code housing + modular & panelized homes + Park Model RVs) totals 128,890 total U.S. housing completions during July 2025.

So why does the U.S. Census Bureau continue to research and report ‘half a loaf’ where onsite and offsite housing completions is concerned? Your guess is as good as mine, though I sense  conventional housing builders are not interested in any recognition of the factory-produced housing used on privately-owned, scattered building sites, and within land lease communities. Anyone care to prove me wrong?

As we’ve said before, this ‘Total U.S. Housing Completion Report’ is indeed a work in progress. Let us know what you think of this interplay between onsite and offsite housing statistics: gfa7156@aol.com

‘LET’S TALK’

Will you be at the annual SECO Conference in Atlanta, GA., 8-10 September? Well, I will be and I’d like to propose a new interpersonal protocol for regional and national meetings attended by manufactured housing aficionados and owner/operators of land lease communities. And this year’s SECO Conference is a good place to begin.

Heretofore, interpersonal protocol has been described as informal networking among peers. Nothing wrong with that. I’d just like to take the matter a formal step forward. Here’s how. We already know we can’t count on the organizers and hosts of regional and national trade meetings to arrange for scheduled, stimulating conversations focused on business issues at the time.

Here are three topics I’m making myself available to discuss during the SECO Conference.

This very topic of Total U.S. Housing Completions. Whether the U.S. Census Bureau should continue underreporting housing completions month after month after month. Or, bring offsite construction into the fold to join with onsite construction reporting – and how to bring this about. Your opportunity to comment upon and discuss a national MH issue.

Have you visited the RV/MH Hall of Fame museum and library in Elkhart, IN.? If not, you really should. It’s a very large collection of vintage RVs and manufactured homes, all under one huge roof. It’s the veritable preserver of our two industries’ history and legacy. I’m in the midst of researching and authoring a comprehensive history of the Hall of Fame, and if you have stories to tell, please talk to me about them. This is your opportunity to input!

And finally. As one approaches the end of a business career, it behooves one to think about the legacy they’ll be leaving for colleagues, friends, family, and employees. Do you know the difference between a memoir and an autobiography? Simply, a memoir is a short story; an autobiography is a collection of those short stories – whether personal, familial, or career-related. Stop and talk to me about starting to pen your memoirs and possibly an autobiography in the future. Who else in the MH industry is willing to help you learn this process?

If you’re not attending the SECO Conference, talk to me anyway; via gfa7156@aol.com

Parting thought. Why isn’t this sort of interpersonal protocol part of every regional and national – even state association gathering? It boggles my mind to think of the many and varied topics now begging open discussion-leading-to-action. For example: national brand marketing of manufactured housing, greater emphasis on professional property management of land lease communities nationwide, and broader use of lease option methodology when marketing manufactured homes onsite.

See you in Atlants!

George Allen

Blog Posting # 857; Copyright 6 September 2025. EducateMHC

Know this! HUD-Code manufactured housing (‘MH’) is federally-regulated, performance-based, affordable-attainable, factory-built housing (a.k.a. one of four types of offsite construction), routinely    paired with traditional stick-built housing (a.k.a. onsite construction). And land lease communities (a.k.a. manufactured home communities & ‘mobile home parks’) comprise the commercial real estate (‘CRE’) component of MH. A variety of housing finance types (e.g. chattel or ‘home only’ loans, & real estate-secured mortgages) constitutes post-production MH.

EducateMHC is the official MH historian, trade term & trend tracker, as well as perennial MH information source. Contact EducateMHC via (317) 881-3815; email gfa7156@aol.com, and www.educatemhc.com to purchase Community Management in the Manufactured Housing Industry (This book belongs in every land lease community nationwide!), and SWAN SONG –History of land lease communities & official record of annual MH production totals since 1955.

My autobiography, From SmittyAlpha6 to MHMaven, describes personal combat adventures in Vietnam as a USMC lieutenant, a 45 year entrepreneur business career in MH & community ownership, and freelance consulting plus authoring 20 nonfiction texts & 900 blog postings.

George Allen is the sole emeritus member of the Manufactured Housing Institute (‘MHI’), a founding board member of MHI’s National Communities Council (‘NCC’) division, RV/M Hall of Fame enshrinee, Allen Legacy columnist & editor at large for the popular MHInsider magazine.

OUR WORST NIGHTMARE

‘EMP Attack Would Kill Millions of Americans!’ This is the vivid headline of a feature article in the September 2025 issue of NEWSMAX magazine. Here’s from that startling news story:

“One of the primary reasons the U.S. needs a Golden Dome (like Israel) is to prevent an electromagnetic pulse (‘EMP’) attack, which if successful would kill millions of Americans over a short period of time.”

And “Instead of detonating when it hits the ground, an EMP would explode 200 miles above the U.S.”, damaging current and effecting voltage surges nationwide – and a whole lot more!

So, where’s all this coming from? Various sources for sure. I first learned about EMPs back in 2009, when a friend working in the federal government recommended I read William Forstchen’s science fiction novel One Second After. Well, I did so – and was shocked to learn  how devastating an EMP attack would be here in the U.S. I mean, and think about this for a moment, how do we live without electricity? No power, no lights, no pumping of any liquid, no electronic communication, no HVAC, and on and on! Guess what likely becomes the primary method of monetary exchange? Bullets! There’re needed for hunting, as there will be no grocery stores to speak of. Anyway, this dire scenario goes on and on throughout the novel, leaving readers stunned at ‘what might be’. This real fear of an EMP so stunned politicians in Washington, DC. at the time, that Newt Gingrich encouraged Dr. Forstchen to pen this story – and that was 16 years ago! Now EMPs are coming back into the national news.

Again, “After about 20 days, your town is out of food, and then the (loss of) command and control starts with the bad guys coming to take whatever they want. It turns into a massive catastrophe.”

A second novel by Forstchen, titled One Year After, revisits the towns and characters introduced in the first novel, 12 months later, describing how many, but not all, have adapted to a very primitive lifestyle. It sure reawakens the angst and awe spawned in the first novel.

Finally, author Forstchen closes this epic tale in The Final Day, describing an almost apocalyptic event – but not, on the east coast. By the time one finishes reading this triad of science fiction novels, one wants to never experience an EMP attack, anywhere, anytime!

So, if you’re looking for a challenging, albeit educational ‘read’ this fall, be sure to pick up a copy of One Second After. And let me know what you think of the plots and characters, via gfa7156@aol.com

George Allen