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!
- 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