Blog Column # 278 Copyright 2014 5 January 2014
George Allen writes about MHBusiness Matters, Issues & Serious Concerns
Perspective. ‘Land-lease-lifestyle communities, a.k.a. manufactured home communities & earlier, ‘mobile home parks’, is the real estate component of manufactured housing.’
Purpose of this blog. ‘To be the national advocacy voice, statistical research reporter, & communication resource for LLLCommunities, of all sizes, throughout North America!’
How to Input. Critical responses & helpful ideas Welcome for future blog coverage; via gfa7156@aol.com & Official MHIndustry HOTLINE: (877) MFD-HSNG or 633-4764
I.
‘By George, They’ve Got It! They Really Do!’
II.
Will I See YOU at the Louisville MHShow?
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I.
‘By George, They’ve Got It! They Really Do!’
Here’s How Land-lease-lifestyle Community Owners/operators Can Double the Value of Their $544.00+/- Corporate Investment in Realty Asset Class Knowledge & National Advocacy in 2014!
When the Community Owners (7 Part) Business Alliance, or COBA7, was launched during December, and now January 2014, there’d been – and remains, a strong desire to ‘clearly communicate the business alliance concept’ to a national target audience of land-lease-lifestyle community owners/operators of all sizes, AND all the product and service vendors servicing the property type’s information & consulting, real estate & chattel lending, property insurance, water sub metering & billing, valuation & brokerage needs! For awhile, there was even talk of a breakfast meeting on 22 January, in Louisville, KY., to ‘splain’ everything. Now that’s not even necessary. Why? Individual and corporate paid subscriptions re: Options I, II, or III*, in effect affiliating with COBA7, have been pouring into our offices. The concept has evidently been well-communicated and understood enough, to prompt this heavy flood of individual and corporate investment in realty asset class knowledge and national advocacy, during 2014 and beyond. So, you might say, ‘We’re off and running!’
A recent email from one portfolio owner/operator of LLLCommunities, not even listed in this year’s 25th Anniversary ALLEN REPORT – but signed up for an Option II subscription nonetheless, well summarizes the affiliation concept and its’ ‘double the value’ potential nicely:
“George. The way I look at it, I’m going to spend at least $500.00, one way or the other, in support of our properties nationwide. I can either ‘put all my eggs into one (national advocacy) basket’; OR, I can send nearly the same amount ($544.00) to affiliate our business with COBA7, then rely on membership in one or another state manufactured housing association, to represent us where national political and regulatory advocacy is concerned. AND, while ‘the state’ is doing my bidding, we’ll benefit from the seven function areas COBA7 administers. Now that’s what I call ‘doubling the value’ of the $500 or $544 I’ve invested in behalf of our LLLCommunities!” BBP
By way of clarification, those Seven Function Areas COBA7 are: 1) ongoing statistical research (e.g. ALLEN REPORT); 2) resource & directory distribution (e.g. a dozen Signature Series Resource Documents or SSRDs, issued monthly); 3) print & online communication (weekly & monthly); 4) peer networking events (Networking Roundtable & FOCUS Groups); 5) deal – making opportunities; 6) professional property management training & certification (e.g. Manufactured Housing Manger® or MHM® program); and, 7) supplement the national advocacy effort, when appropriate or needed.
Have YOU affiliated with COBA7 yet? January 2014 Allen Letters, and the 25th annual ALLEN REPORT go into the mail shortly. Only those individuals and firms having already opted for Option II or III will be receiving the ALLEN REPORT this year. Not too late to subscribe; just phone the Official MHIndustry HOTINE: (877) MFD-HSNG or 633-4764 and sign-up for Option II. All three options described in the following End Note below.
End Note.
Option I. $134.95 paid subscription (12 monthly issues) to the Allen Letter professional journal. No longer is the ALLEN REPORT or any of the dozen Signature Series Resource Documents, or SSRDs, enclosed with the monthly newsletter.
Option II. $544.95 paid subscription (12 monthly issues) to the Allen Letter professional journal, the 25th Anniversary ALLEN REPORT (Biggest & Best Edition in 25 years!), and 12 SSRDs during the course of the year, e.g. annual National Registry of Lenders, annual ‘Who Ya Gonna Call in 2014?’ list of freelance consultants, & 10 more SSRDs
Option III. $944.95 paid subscription (12 monthly issues) to the Allen Letter professional journal, the 25th Anniversary ALLEN REPORT, 12 SSRDs, and paid subscription (12 monthly issues) to the Allen CONFIDENTIAL! business newsletter for corporate presidents and chief executive officers. The industry news you’ll get nowhere else!
Again, to obtain your personal or corporate copy of the 25th Anniversary ALLEN REPORT (a.k.a. ‘Who’s Who Among Land-lease-lifestyle Community Owners/operators Throughout North America!’) this month (January 2014), select Option II or III, then phone the Official MHIndustry HOTLINE: (877) MFD-HSNG or 633-4764. During that conversation, assuming you’re already a paid subscriber to the Allen Letter professional journal, we’ll apply credit for your unused subscription months to the Option II or III $ amount; OR, adjust your ‘start date’, whichever you prefer. If not already a paid subscriber, we’ll start your Option I, II, or III subscription affiliation right away!
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II.
Will I See YOU at the Louisville MHShow?
There are many reasons YOU should make it a point to participate in this year’s Louisville MHShow! Here are just a few features to bear in mind:
• 21 January. The day before the Louisville MHShow begins! Rishel Consulting is facilitating a day long program at the nearby Crown Plaza Hotel for everyone concerned about ‘what to say’ & ‘what not to say’ when selling new and resale manufactured homes in today’s regulatory rich, consumer protection finance market! Already more than 100 signed-up. I’ll be there. Phone (217) 971-3968 and pay $95.00 to register. Added benefit? Superb networking opportunity for all.
• 22-24 January. Wander the show floor, visit and maybe buy some new homes, and talk with the exhibitors. The question on everyone’s mind this year: ‘How many of the HUD-Code homes are of the Community Series Homes, or CSH Model design, for placement within land-lease-lifestyle communities? The answer to that question will be a ‘leading indicator’ as to whether HUD-Code home manufacturers are paying attention to the fact that ‘their future = filling an estimated 250,000 vacant rental homesites in LLLCommunities around the U.S. Oh, and there’ll also be some show seminars to consider….
• Doing Lease-Option’ on-site in your land-lease-lifestyle community; or thinking to do so? Know that Spencer Roane, MHM®Master, will be in town from Atlanta, for this year’s MHShow. GA. Look for his name tag and ask his advice on this rich topic! More and more LLLCommunity owners are opting for on-site ‘rental units’, and use of the Lease-Option, if in states allowing its’ use.
• Freelance consultant Michael Power too will be around, with a full quiver of property management – related arrows, to help you improve the day to day operation of your land-lease-lifestyle community. Even has a Shared Equity Plan in hand, to fill vacant rental homesites on your property with new homes!
• And hey, if you’ve got questions about the Community Owners (7 Part) Business Alliance, a.k.a. COBA7, stop me on the show floor, and ‘Ask to see a copy of the 25th Anniversary ALLEN REPORT!’ Will sign you up, right there, if you wish, with a subscription to Option I, II, or III, affiliating your firm with COBA7. Will also be carrying around FREE copies of the popular new plastic wallet card: ‘5-RPs of Marketing & Selling New Homes, & Leasing Rental Homesites, Within LLLCommunities!’ Do YOU have yours yet? Almost everyone else does!
• Wondering why there’re so many itinerant MHIndustry & LLLCommunity freelance consultants and experts circulating at this year’s Louisville MHShow, but NOT on the formal program? Visit the MHShow office and ask the show director, Dennis Hill of Showways. By the way, I’m on the MHShow committee this year, and am open to your suggestions for improving the program in 2015. Want to be an exhibitor or presenter? Let me know! (317) 346-7156
• And finally. Since I canceled the previously announced COBA7 breakfast on 21 January, we still want to hear from you regarding two important 2014 plans: First, if you’re interested in being invited to the first national FOCUS Group meeting of LLLCommunity owners/operators this Spring, let me know at the MHShow – along with discussion topics you’d like to see considered for the agenda. AND, I’m looking for writers to input Lessons Learned in LLLCommunity Operations!, the new book planned for this year, with distribution at the 23rd annual International Networking Roundtable in September. If you miss me at the MHShow, but want to talk of these two matters, reach me via (317) 346-7156 the week before or after the Louisville MHShow.
Looking forward to seeing many of you, who read this weekly blog posting, at the 2014 Louisville MHShow. Registration is FREE to most folk in the MHBusiness. Just show up at the exhibit hall and complete appropriate paperwork at 10AM on 22, 23, & 24 January 2014. Have questions beforehand, give me a call at the Official MHIndustry HOTINE: (877) MFD-HSNG or 633-4764. Keep this number handy for everyday reference!