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

Blog Posting # 705. Copyright 9 September 2022. EducateMHC

Perspective. ‘Land lease communities, previously manufactured home communities, and earlier, ‘mobile home parks’, comprise the real estate component of manufactured housing! EducateMHC is the online national advocate, realty asset class historian, trend spotter, education resource, textbook supplier for land lease communities throughout North America! To input this blog and or connect with EducateMHC, telephone (317) 881-3815 and or visit www.educatemhc.com
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We get letters! Nary a week goes by that we don’t receive one or more reactions to blog content, along with ideas on how to solve various manufactured housing industry challenges.
Well, this past week, after we talked – once again – about the extravagant sales prices of land lease communities, along with consequential exorbitant rental homesite rate increases, we received the following heart-tugging letter from a conscientious fee management firm exec.

“I managed a 75 rental homesite community in Indiana for 14 years, taking it from rundown chaos to beautiful, well-managed property. We had people banging on our door wanting to move-in. And we couldn’t rehab manufactured homes fast enough to meet the need.

Well, it sold three months ago for an astronomical price. The new owner claimed to be unable to afford professional property management – so our services were terminated. Now I receive text messages from residents desperate for help – reporting their leases not being honored, drastic rent increases, yards overgrown with weeds, little on-site management; and what there is, having a nasty attitude.

It grieves my heart, but there’s nothing I can do legally, to help these people. They were cared about and nurtured under our management, but now they are being ‘raped & pillaged’, as you described in your blog last week. You and I have been around the manufactured housing industry for several decades. I now see the value of these communities about to plummet, as some folk who can afford to do so, move their homes elsewhere; others will abandon their homes; and those leasing or renting will walk away when their leases expire. Word gets around when a community becomes an undesirable place to live!

It grieves people like me, who have lived and breathed manufactured housing, and have it ‘in our blood’, to see short-lived, opportunistic (new) owners raping our resident base and giving our industry a ‘trashy’, ‘shyster’ type reputation. Many of us have worked hard to change the negative perspective of our industry, only to have our reputation shoved back several notches by those who give little attention to the operation of these properties, and only care about the bottom line.” (Lightly edited.)

And yet another epistle chastises me for “…bringing up the fact buyers are overpaying for our asset class – which in turn, drives up rental rates….” But the writer goes on to say, “I like the idea of pegging site rent to the cost of a three bedroom apartment” in the same local housing market as a land lease community.

And this writer ends his commentary with this salient observation: “I can’t tell you how many times I hear municipalities begging for someone to build affordable housing. Just do not mention manufactured housing or you will lose their attention quickly.” (Also lightly edited. GFA)

Well, some of us – hopefully many of us, will soon be packing our bags and making the trek to Stone Mountain, GA., for the 11th annual SECO Conference. For more information, google SECO. I make few manufactured housing-related business trips anymore, since retiring during August 2021. For me to spend personal funds (I’ve liquidated all our business entities) for travel and lodging, an event had better be pretty good and worthwhile. I feel SECO meets this requirement. Hope to see you there too.

The week before SECO will find Carolyn and I in Woodbridge, VA., attending the first reunion of USMC officers I trained with during late 1967 & early 1968. It will be a bittersweet experience. Many of the young lieutenants I trained with that year wound up being Killed in Action in Vietnam. While I’ll be happy to renew old friendships, after 55 years, we’re already reminiscing about friends we lost back then but, to date, have not had an opportunity to honor. Sure, their names are engraved on The Wall in Washington, DC., and many of us have made ‘rubbings’ thereof, but not said a proper ‘Good-bye’ to them or the few spouses and children they left behind, e.g. Marcus Fiebelkorn and his wife and now grown child. In my case I’ll see John Dietz, who I entered the USMC officer program with in 1964; Chris Ray who was a fellow platoon commander – but not Dick Brooks, a USNA grad, who was a platoon commander in the same company, but has since died. One of our group is an astronaut who’s been inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame. Yes, I’m looking forward to the event, but wary of emotional consequences.

If you’re going to be in Indianapolis on the 15th of September, plan to swing by Capitol Supply between 11Am & 3PM to participate in their Open House. Anyone ask you why you’re there, tell them ‘George sent me!’ I will be there too. GFA

George Allen, CPM, MHM
EducateMHC

Blog Posting # 704. Copyright 2 September 2022. EducateMHC

Perspective. ‘Land lease communities, previously manufactured home communities, and earlier, ‘mobile home parks’, comprise the real estate component of manufactured housing!
EducateMHC is the online national advocate, realty asset class historian, trend spotter, education resource, textbook supplier for land lease communities throughout North America!
To input this blog and or connect with EducateMHC, telephone (317) 881-3815 and or visit www.educatemhc.com
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As often happens here at EducateMHC, we received a pithy and thought-provoking paragraph penned by a veteran multi-land lease community owner who’s as frustrated with the predatory purchasing and operation of this unique income-producing property type as we are. This time around however, his/her (You ‘woke’ folk out there like that? I don’t) comments stimulated some deep thinking on property prosperity-to-failure cycles that have occurred since the mid-1970s when I got into this business. First comes the pithy paragraph, then an historic timeline that should interest every one of you.

“Who me?”, “Screw you!”, and “A wing and a prayer!” are colliding throughout the land lease community asset class these days! One can argue, ‘sellers’ shouldn’t be criticized for selling their land lease community at dumb-high prices, e.g. ‘If someone wants to buy your 10 year old Timex for $1,000, sell it with ‘buyer-beware’ innocence.’ The fallacy here, within our property type, means having to justify ultra-high prices by firing existing employees (Who made the property what it is) and raise rents 50-100 percent. On the other side of the equation are investors who think homeowners/lessees have no choice but to pay higher rents. Wrong. They move out, leaving community owners with abandoned homes, vacant rental homesites, increased ‘common area maintenance’ costs, density that prohibits move-in of new homes, and frankly, prospective homebuyers/site lessees reluctant to move into the community because of the ‘rape & pillage’ attitude of the property owner. Meanwhile, state regulators, legislators, and lenders are now questioning the efficacy of ‘affordable housing’ in land lease communities! (lightly edited. GFA)

Please reread that paragraph before proceeding. Why? You’re about to learn how history repeats itself in the manufactured housing industry and among land lease communities.

My history in this ‘double dual industry’*1 goes back to 1978, two years after the infamous HUD-Code was implemented, in effect, driving annual new ‘mobile home’ production from a record high of 579,940 units down to 274,901+/-*2 in 1978! The fallout? Thousands of newly developed ‘mobile home parks’, nationwide, built to handle the 500,000 new homes per year volume – went begging, for move-ins that never materialized.

Well, during the late 1970s, investment real estate syndicators arrived on the (then) mobile home community scene. Syndicators oft sold ‘tax loss’ positions to wealthy investors who’d use them to offset high incomes from professions, etc., (e.g. doctors, lawyers, etc.). All this came to an end in 1985-6 when the federal income tax laws changed, pretty much outlawing use of tax losses in underperforming properties. Many syndicators stopped their deal-making at that point, and some early portfolio owners/operators went out of business, e.g. Ellenburg Capital.

Another casualty of this tax law change was the widespread failure of S&Ls (savings & loan associations) across the U.S. In 1989 the RTC (Resolution Trust Corporation), a federal agency, launched – to sell off bad loans and investment realty accumulated by the S&Ls. For a while there were many low-priced acquisition opportunities for interested investors. And, for a while, the (now) manufactured home community property type rebounded as an opportunistic investment.

Then, in 1994-5, four portfolio owners/operators, of this property type, went public as real estate investment trusts (‘REITs’); those being ELS, Inc., (formerly MHC, Inc.), Chateau Communities (merged with ROC in 1997, acquired CWS in 2001 & Hometown America in 2003), Sun Communities, and UMH Properties. There have been two other REITs: the original ARC in 2004 & 2005; followed, from 1998 thru 2008, by American Land Lease, until it was acquired by Green Courte Partners. And today, there’re two additional REITs: Flagship Communities (Formerly SSK Communities, and traded on the Canadian stock exchange) and MHPC, Inc. (Manufactured Housing Properties, Inc.)

Now, since the turn of the century, we’ve seen continued consolidation of the realty asset class (a.k.a. land lease community portfolio count now at 500 sole proprietors, corporations, REITs, ROCs, and more), via equity deals (Think Green Courte Partners), hedge funds (from outside the manufactured housing industry) – too numerous to name here. But therein lies the perennial question: ‘When, and among whom, will the next great shakeout occur?’ Why is a ‘shakeout’ almost inevitable?

During the past decade, first among larger institutional investment grade land lease communities, but now – it seems – among all-sized such properties, traditional valuation of investment real estate has been ‘thrown out the window’ and exorbitant prices are being paid, i.e. 10% ‘average’ cap rate deals now sell for 7 & 8%; and top grade properties, previously sold at 7 or 8% now go for 5% or less income capitalization rates. But that’s only half the story.

Once the transaction deal has been consummated or ‘closed’; in order to cover very high mortgage payments on the newly acquired land lease community, operating expenses are trimmed, and rental homesite rates are increased far greater than CPI (Consumer Price Index), and new fees introduced (e.g. water and sewer fees, etc.). Decades ago, discouraged homeowners/site lessees could relocate their manufactured homes across town at reasonable moving fees. Not today. Homes, especially multisection homes, are far too large to move, and given generally high occupancy elsewhere, there’s nowhere to go. So, discontent and frustration reign. That’s why we see efforts ‘everywhere’ it seems, to introduce and pass various forms of landlord-tenant legislation.

So, what’s next? Time will tell. But we’ve kinda been here before. On one hand manufactured housing is ballyhooed as being our nation’s answer to ‘affordable housing’; but at the same time, a relatively few predatory income-producing property owners sour the barrel for everyone.

What do I see? Perhaps state and national advocates for manufactured housing will implement some of my past advice in this arena, i.e.

• Voluntarily peg rental homesite rates in sync with other forms of multifamily rentals in the same local housing market. How’s that done? Simple. Via market survey, ascertain the average 3BR2B rent rate among conventional apartment communities (not subsidized); then divide by ‘3’ for a suggested base rental homesite rate rate among land lease communities, e.g. $1,200/month for apartment rent, then $400/month for rental homesites.

• Voluntarily implement long term rental homesite leases that extend beyond the mortgage term of a homeowner/site lessee’s residence.

• Voluntarily promote professional property management training and certification among on-site personnel, along with implementation of positive resident relations measures.

And Yes, there’s even more that can be, should be done, to improve today’s questionable, sometimes discouraging environments among land lease communities nationwide. What ideas and suggestions do you have? Please let me know via gfa7156@aol.com

Don’t you find it strange that no one else, anywhere, in the manufactured housing industry seeks your input on such critical matters as this? Well, here’re two suggestions to make that happen.

First off. If you haven’t already registered to do so, plan now to be present at the 11th annual SECO Conference in Atlanta, GA., on 3-5 October 2020. I’ll be there; and I believe, timely matters such as what’s covered in this blog posting, will be addressed in panel discussions. Google SECO for more information.

And those of you who’re MHI/NCC devotees, particularly the latter, do you find it strange that my services have never been retained, as an industry/asset class resource, to lead a discussion of this matter at any of their meetings? What is everyone afraid of?

End Notes:




1. ‘double dual industry’. A term I coined decades ago to describe how our overall ‘industry’ is comprised of four parts: housing manufacturers and independent (street) MHRetailers; and, land lease community owners/operators and property management operations (to now include on-site home sales and seller-financing)

2. These MH production statistics are quoted from the only deeply-resourced and published history of said information (from 1955 to present day): SWAN SONG, George Allen, PMN Publishing, 2017, updated 2018. The (+/-) designation cautions readers that there are parallel presentations of this key data; that provided by IBTS, HUD, MHARR, & EducateMHC, and that adjusted by MHI.

George Allen, CPM, MHM
EducateMHC

Blog Posting # 703. Copyright 26 August 2022. EducateMHC

Perspective. ‘Land lease communities, previously manufactured home communities, and earlier, ‘mobile home parks’, comprise the real estate component of manufactured housing! EducateMHC is the online national advocate, realty asset class historian, trend spotter, education resource, textbook supplier for land lease communities throughout North America! To input this blog and or connect with EducateMHC, telephone (317) 881-3815 and or visit www.educatemhc.com
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SECO 2022. Have you registered to participate this year? The dates are 3-5 October 2022, in Atlanta, GA. Google SECO for more information. When you see me there, ask for a FREE 3”X5” plastic wallet card containing ‘Four Steps to Selling & Financing New Homes Within Land Lease Communities’, & the ‘Six Right Ps for Marketing New Homes Within LLCommunities’.


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MH FACTOURY Summit 2022. Too late, you missed it! This was the annual two day program of ‘New home sales within land lease communities’ seminars and guided tours of five manufactured home plants in northern Indiana. Debuting in 2016, the IMHA/RVIC of Indiana hosts this annual event at the RV/MH Hall of Fame in Elkhart, IN. It’s the only such program in the U.S. today, mating the HOW TOs of knowing what homes to buy, how to buy and finance them, and how to market and sell them to prospective homebuyers/site lessees. For more information, phone (317) 247-6258. Frankly, every state should host a program like this!

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Raw land for development ‘for sale’. While at the Hall of Fame induction banquet on 15th of August, I renewed my acquaintance with Don Gedert, long time (since 1967) land lease community developer, owner, and independent (street) MHRetailer in western Indiana. He shared the following ditty on the verso side of his business card:
• “I am fully aware my youth has been spent, my ‘get up & go’ has ‘got up & went’.
• But I really don’t mind when I think, with a grin, of all the places my ‘get up’ has been.
• When I was young, it was wine, women & song; now it’s beer, Medicare & ‘what else can go wrong’?”
Don owns five parcels of raw land ready for development, near Cloverdale, IN., he wants to sell. For more information contact Sam Karozos via (317) 371-0128.

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‘GIVE & GET’. Ever heard of it? Well, if ever tapped to be a board member of a charitable organization you will. It’s a policy most boards consider and oft make part of their bylaws. Goes like this: ‘…Give & Get refers to how much $ board members are expected to ‘give’ as a part of their service on the board; the ‘get’ part refers to how much $ they’re expected to help raise!’ Now you know.

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Regular readers of this weekly blog posting know I’m spending most of 2022, and first half of 2023, transcribing more than 400 letters I sent home to Carolyn from Vietnam, back in 1968 & 69. I recently shared a paragraph describing little known but critical actions Marines take at night, when manning defensive positions around their base camp, out in enemy territory. Well, here’s a similar paragraph, this time describing how Marines ‘gear up’ when moving from secure environs into unknown territory.

“Ever wonder what I carry when I gear-up for possible combat? I’ll give you a quick rundown. My helmet, liner and camouflage cover together, have a bottle of insect repellant, an ammo charging guide, and Chap stick attached to it with a rubber strap. My flak jacket has a K-Bar (12” fighting knife), three full ammo mags (magazines), with gas mask and case attached to it. Then my web belt has six full ammo mags, a first aid pack, lensatic compass, two full canteens, rifle cleaning gear, bayonet, 25 cal. automatic backup pistol, along with three fragmentation hand grenades, a tear gas grenade, an area map, platoon commander’s notebook, two more full ammo mags, personal ID, a photo of you and Susie, two small tins of peanut butter (for quick energy), and two full bandoleers of ammunition ( 280 rounds), and my rifle with one magazine in the well. Ammunition wise, all this comes to at least 496 rounds of M-16 ammo and 100 rounds of pistol ammo. Would you believe, I have a reputation for traveling ‘light’? I do, as I carry fewer frag grenades than anyone else, and a little less ammo. All told, I figure I weigh about 210 pounds when I go out ‘loaded for bear’. And then there’s my large field pack….”

Of course I have one dog tag laced onto one boot, and a second tag around my neck on a chain. Also on that chain is a P38 (a.k.a. John Wayne can opener), the small gold signet ring you gave me shortly after we met, and a steel-jacketed 7.6mm rifle round salvaged after a firefight.

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Looking for a new book to read, by someone in the manufactured housing industry? Well, that might well be Rick Jebb’s Mexican Sunset memoir. Here goes….

Anyone who’s lived a life of adventures, successes or historical note should pen their memoirs (‘short stories’); better yet, their autobiography (i.e. collection of memoirs) for posterity, family, friends, and interested parties.

As the late writer William Zinsser reminds us, “one…of the deepest impulses is to leave a record of what we did and what we thought and felt on our journey.” (P. 74 in the Writer Who Stayed)
Well, up to a point, that’s what commercial real estate broker Rick Jebb does in his collection of memoirs, subtitled, ‘The Vision Quest of a Modern Day Explorer’. Therein, Rick describes his early life in Florida and then Illinois, onto his adventures as a teenage canoeist and student at colleges in Mexico, Arizona, Florida, and Illinois.

“In the wilderness, my life was more than just childhood bliss. It had been the place where trial and challenge required me to make sacrifices and face my pain.” P.9 (&) “I recalled so many splendid nights I had slept beneath the stars, two hundred campfires I had known in the last eight years.” P. 217. Rick’s personal and home life was far from being settled; he faced father abandonment at an early age, relocation from FL to IL, untimely death of his stepfather, and dealt with a learning disability only by incentivizing himself to focus on mattes at hand.

During his first 20 or so years, author Jebb struggled with”…the fear of not living up to the standards of my family and my community….” (&) “…picking a path in life. That was the real challenge. There were so many options, and the more I saw, the more I learned, the range of possibilities kept expanding.” P.157. Fortunately, Rick had friends along the way, access to money, and a spirit of adventure.

Describing life experiences in terms of education, family, drugs, girls, booze, and travel, consumes the bulk of this narrative. In latter pages however, Rick focuses on his inner journey, subconscious, periods of euphoria, and indecision. “…my innocence had been lost beyond my understanding of any prior experience. Now, an awareness resided within me of some deeper truth that tainted every geography, each time and place where I had experienced aspects of the world for the first time, revealing a collision of dimishment’s (sic) when the remaining sweetness of my childhood seemed to have been scrubbed off me, along with my skin. This feeling only added to my exaggerated discomfort.” P.269.

The good news, in this reviewer’s opinion, is how Rick concludes this collection of teenage and young adult memoirs, believing his variegated life experiences were finally “…leading me towards God’s will and away from mine….” P.277.

On a personal note, I disagree with Rick Jebb’s characterization of the Viet Nam war as one “…we had never won.” P.244. As a combat veteran of that conflict, I agree with the prevailing view of peers who served there and then, that ‘We were winning when I/we left!’ It was only the politicians in Washington, D.C. who lost this war.

Mexican Sunset is available from Amazon.com

George Allen
EducateMHC

Blog Posting # 702. Copyright 19 August 2022. EducateMHC

Perspective. ‘Land lease communities, previously manufactured home communities, and earlier, ‘mobile home parks’, comprise the real estate component of manufactured housing! EducateMHC is the online national advocate, realty asset class historian, trend spotter, education resource, textbook supplier for land lease communities throughout North America! To input this blog and or connect with EducateMHC, telephone (317) 881-3815 and or visit www.educatemhc.com

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SHUT UP! Yep; that’s the sad conclusion to the past six months or so of squabbling about, whether or not, to launch a new national advocacy entity focused on all post-production sectors of the HUD-Code manufactured housing industry! We’ve certainly ‘heard enough’ about this need (some real, others less so) for improved representation and advocacy before legislators and regulators in Washington, DC.  Said proposal emanating from an online MH newsletter, MHARR, and other interested parties. Well, since NO ONE was willing to step forward to press this issue, I publicly set a deadline of 15 August 2022 (Date of this year’s RV/MH Hall of Fame induction banquet in Elkhart, IN.) for these parties to PUT UP! or SHUT UP! After all, what better time and place to come together, in behalf of the entire MH industry, than when 500 businessmen and women (mostly corporate leaders) are gathered in the sole legacy location in the U.S. with room to handle several large meeting events simultaneously? But ‘it’ didn’t happen, not even a whisper of an attempt to do so. Hence, to those parties: ‘SHUT UP!’ Shut up, once & for all, til ready to bring organizing structure and effort to this perennial need!

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Speaking of this year’s RV/MH Hall of Fame ‘Class of 2022’, one member in particular, Eugene Landy, founder (1968) and chairman of the board at UMH Properties, delivered the following heartfelt message and challenge to the manufactured housing industry.  

“How should I respond to this distinguished honor in such an important industry? I think the appropriate way to respond, is to say ‘I could do more!’ Now, to my wonderful team of people who actually do all the work today, they’re hearing they too have to do more – as we need more housing, and it is a critical matter.”

“The affordable housing crisis is real. The shortage of workforce housing is interfering with our national economy. The size of it is overwhelming, and our industry cannot solve it alone, but we can certainly participate! And the goal we should set, as an industry, is to build 500 new land lease communities a year with 200 homes apiece, or 100,000 additional homes in all! That means, as an industry, we must produce 200,000 homes a year and I think it can be done. It’s not going to be easy, but I believe manufacturers can get the material and manpower, and the demand is certainly there.”

“At UMH Properties, we have waiting lists everywhere, and we want to build more housing! That’s our ambition, that’s our goal, but it’s not the easiest task to accomplish. It’d be easy now, with waiting lists and good financial performance, to rest on our laurels, but we want to build our little company (Well, it’s not so little anymore, with 500 employees and 25,000 rental homesites nationwide), but we do want to build two or three thousand new sites per year. Today, that’s $100,000 to build a rental homesite, and $100,000 to put a new manufactured home on it. That’s millions of dollars per year we have to raise, but it’s something that has to be done!”

“You can’t have a society with no housing. You can’t have a society where employers can’t hire people. So this is something we all must work hard to do, and we’re doing it!”

“What a wonderful team we have at UMH Properties. Just today we toured local land lease communities we acquired five, ten, 20 years ago. When we buy a community, we make it a better community! And we try to be fair with everyone. ‘Good faith and fair dealing’ is our corporate motto; and we practice this with our customers, suppliers, and residents.”

“What a strange company we are, as we don’t try to charge the highest rent possible. Rather, we try to charge rent that’s lower than everybody else, and at the same time, produce a better product (home and community). And you want to know something? If you do that, you are going to be a tremendous business success! So, we’re working very hard now to build new communities, and at my age, it’s not easy – but it’s something we really have to do! So, the proper response to being honored, as an RV/MH Hall of Fame inductee, is to do more! Thank You for this honor!” (Lightly edited. GFA)

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  Have you heard? Candace Holcomb, formerly with Newport Pacific Capital (35 Years) is now the VP of Operations, in the MH division, or the Watt Company in southern California.

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Speaking of southern California, I recently received an email message from a longtime friend in our business, informing me that, at the Lido Peninsula land lease community (26 homes/acre) in Newport Beach, CA., a new 1400 sq. ft. HUD-Code home (small footprint) sold for $1,275,000, with monthly rent at $5,747 on a CPI lease that ends in 2026.

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By now you’ve heard of the impending changes to DOE (Department of Energy) regs. But have you heard how, if and when implemented on 18 May 2023, they’ll likely add $7,000 to the price of every new HUD-Code manufactured home? We all have a ‘dog in this fight’, so contact the two national advocacy organizations, MHI & MHARR, for more information.

Blog Posting # 701. Copyright 12 August 2022. EducateMHC

Perspective. ‘Land lease communities, previously manufactured home communities, and earlier, ‘mobile home parks’, comprise the real estate component of manufactured housing! EducateMHC is the online national advocate, realty asset class historian, trend spotter, education resource, textbook supplier for land lease communities throughout North America! To input this blog and or connect with EducateMHC, telephone (317) 881-3815 and or visit www.educatemhc.com

Remember Troy & Cheryl Brost, developers and past owners of Songbrook land lease community in Eugene, OR? Well, they sold that property several years ago and ‘retired’ to Cheryl’s native Hawaii. Their two children are in college now, and Cheryl – for a few years, has been competing in the Cross Fit World Games. Well, just recently she finished high enough in the standings to be rated the 4th fittest 50-54 year old female in the entire world! (You’ve likely seen her on the televised games but had no idea she was ‘one of our own’.) Now for some backstory. A decade ago, the Brosts hosted a one day Manufactured Housing Manager class on-site at Songbrook; hence they’re MHMs. And their popular business cards featured, on the verso side, a photograph of the landscape between parallel back rows of HUD-Code manufactured homes, featuring walking paths with water features and park benches for use by community residents. Congratulations on your outstanding achievement Cheryl! GFA

And another manufactured housing pro has a new book available for purchase from Amazon.com Rick Jebb, perennial marketer of land lease communities in Bloomington, IL., has authored Mexican Sunset, subtitled: ‘The Vision Quest of a Modern Day Explorer’. Haven’t read it yet – though I have it in my possession – but will publish a ‘review’ here during weeks to come. This from the book’s back cover: “Seriously writing since 2011, Rick has sought a voice to speak hopefulness and adaptation into the midst of uncertain times. His writing includes poetry, essay and existential spiritual memoir focused on facing the challenges of life’s transitions and adaptations.” Rick joins Ted Boers (Think DATACOMP & MHVillage), Rick Robinson (Think manufacturedhomes.com), and Charles Irion (male adventure & mystery writer), among others from the manufactured housing industry, who’ve authored non-fiction and fiction books in various sub-genres. Know of other such books? Let me know via gfa7156@aol.com

Do you know the new home office address for Newport Pacific Capital Company? It’s 1201 Dove St., Ste. # 300, Newport Beach, CA. 92660. That’s where you’ll find Mike Sullivan, CPM, and Maria Horton, MHM.

Now, call this a ‘flashback’ if you will. But since April, I’ve been transcribing (from handwritten to typed) the first fifty of more than 400 letters I mailed home to Carolyn, in 1968 & 69, from the Republic of Vietnam. It’s been quite an experience (again), like it was then – refreshing old memories long suppressed (Haven’t been in combat yet, so they’re manageable recollections), and experiencing new emotions – mostly in tears, as I read how much of our daughter Susan’s early years (She was 16 months old when I left) I missed, but am now experiencing them in person via our youngest great granddaughter Emerson, who’s 14 months old, and with us two days each week. Emerson is Susan’s youngest grandchild. I penned the preceding to introduce one of the more interesting paragraphs I’ve transcribed to date; penned during early June 1968:

“When we bed down for the night up here, we take individual precautions, like placing our flak jacket and helmet between ourselves and the barbed wire to our front – to stop rifle rounds when they come. And we keep our K-Bar (12” jungle knife) very close at hand (i.e. stuck in the ground next to where our hand normally lies as we sleep), and we have our rifles ‘locked and loaded’ by our side, in such a position that, as we roll onto to our stomach, the weapon falls naturally to our grip. All this is sound preparation, because on occasion we have intrusions along our defensive lines; and, as the ‘watch’ Marine, awake and on guard at the time, fires his two rapid signal shots, and pops a parachute flare, every one at that post, rolls to their stomach, digs our feet in, grabs rifles and K-Bars; and by the time (two seconds) the flare has popped, we’re ‘on line’ and ready to repel a possible assault. All this is very serious business these days, as we know for certain there are several hundred NVA enemy troops surrounding our base here at Landing Zone Stud, just east of Khe Sanh combat base.” (Lightly edited. GFA)

Unlike my autobiography, From SmittyAlpha6 to MHMaven, and our co-authored George & Carolyn collection of memoirs, it’s unlikely these 400+ letters will be published in bound book form. Already, four months of typing (three months of RVN letters) have filled 150 pages of typing paper; so 13 months will likely total more than 600 such pages. No, I’ll be satisfied leaving copies of these letters with our adult children, Susan and Adam, to share with future generations of the Allen and McCarty families. However, if you’d like to purchase a copy of SmittyAlpha6 to MHMaven, simply visit educatemhc.com

George Allen, CPM, MHM
EducateMHC

Blog Posting # 700. Copyright @ 9 August 2022. EducateMHC

Perspective. ‘Land lease communities, previously manufactured home communities, and earlier, ‘mobile home parks’, comprise the real estate component of manufactured housing!’

EducateMHC is the online national advocate, realty asset class historian, trend spotter, education resource, textbook supplier for land lease communities throughout North America. To input this blog and or connect with EducateMHC, telephone (317) 881-3815, email gfa7156@aol.com and or visit www.edcatemhc.com

INTRODUCTION:

This is my 700^th consecutive blog posting via GFA Management dba PMN Publishing, now via EducateMHC. That’s 14 years of empirical and op/ed writing for the manufactured housing industry and land lease communities nationwide.

Have you purchased your ticket for the 50^th anniversary RV/MH Hall of Fame Induction Banquet occurring on 15 August 2022? If not, do so soon via (574) 293-2344. In a recent email to industry leaders I shared how this will be a unique opportunity to rub shoulders with notables as Jim Clayton, Spencer Roane, Kevin Clayton, Tim Williams (21^st Mortgage), et. al. Also, this is our first opportunity to visit the new huge MH exhibit hall at the Hall of Fame!

Last week we reviewed parts of MHARR’s comprehensive White Paper having to do with the ‘Exploitation of Federal Housing Finance & Mortgage Funding Assistance Programs & Potential Solutions’ thereto. Won’t rehash the commentary here but suffice it to say, this was the latest volley in the ‘PUT UP or SHUT UP’ challenge relative to forming a new national advocacy entity for post-production sectors of the manufactured housing industry. Now we wait to see if MHARR, an online MH newsletter, and like-minded individuals, take steps, on or before 15 August 2022, to bring this about. After all, 600+/- industry folk will be on hand in Elkhart for the just described festivities on the 15^th.  And if you’d like a personal copy of the White Paper, contact MHARR via (202) 783-4075.

By the way, we did receive responses and reactions to the aforementioned commentary on MHARR’s White Paper. “Regarding two items. First, zoning, where we’ve earned what we have received. Zoning is a local matter and changing the mindset of locals is a prejudice thing. Changing that is coming slowly and the need for affordable homes is making MH a more acceptable option. Top down edicts from feds and states don’t work well. Education, like MHI is doing, is a slow but sure way to make this (change) happen. And, the number of units produced per year is a production thing. Demand is high, and it is very difficult to match the previous numbers, given current capacity and difficulty increasing plants and finding workers. Homes today can’t be banged out like in the past when the cheapo ugly 12 wides were knocked out by the hundred thousands. What we need today is more cooperation, not another voice, and certainly less of the competition between MHI & MHARR.” (lightly edited. GFA)

A couple weeks ago, in an earlier blog posting, we told you how Clayton Homes was reducing unit prices on some models of their HUD-Code manufactured homes. Well, we’ve just received notice that Fleetwood Homes and ScotBilt are doing likewise – in the latter case, ranging in price from $1055 to $2225 per home, effective 1 August 2022.  Now that’s GOOD NEWS!

“Ginnie Mae has now issued a Request for Input (‘RFI’) seeking comments from interested parties (No reason that couldn’t be you!) with respect to the revitalization of the Title I program, and changes to ‘issuer eligibility requirement’ (i.e. their nefarious 10-10 criteria.” (Lightly edited. GFA) Comment deadline is 26 September 2022. This quoted from MHARR correspondence dated 1 August 2022.

Have you read the URBAN Institute’s (July 2022) research report titled, ‘The Role of Manufactured Housing In Increasing the Supply of Affordable Housing.’? You should. It’s chock full of solid statistics relative to manufactured housing. And if you do obtain a copy, know every time they mention ‘community’, they’re talking about land lease communities. Space limits what I can review here, but a few gems:

• US housing supply shortage has five causes: local & state zoning restrictions, stringent building codes,, chronic labor shortages, high costs of building materials, and financing difficulties for affordable options, such as manufactured homes, ADUs, etc.

• “…smaller cities, towns, and rural areas have experienced rapid home price increases and dwindling inventory levels because of out-migration from large cities.” P.3 IMHO, think crime waves especially in blue cities and states.

• “…manufactured home shipments as a share of new single-family production remains low. This share ranged from 15 percent to 27 percent between 1977 and 1995, but has averaged only about 9 percent in the past decade.” P.4

• Did you know? The Big 3-C HUD-Code manufacturers command 78.3 percent of the new housing market share nationally?  47.3% @ Clayton Homes; 17% @ Skyline/Champion; and 14% @ Cavco Industries. P.5.

• Here’s one place I believe the author of this report got it wrong, by not spotting a now decade old trend: “Sometimes, communities will buy homes directly from manufacturers and sell to borrowers for habitation in that community.” P.13 Last I checked, close to 40 percent of all new HUD-Code homes have been going directly into land lease communities as leased or sold homes, with property owner often providing the home-only financing.

There’s much more to this report; most of it good and helpful, though with a few questionable observations like the one just cited.

FYI – or someone you know. “The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline launched on 16 July, enabling callers to dial three digits to reach a trained crisis counselor. 988 is easier to remember than the 10 digit-number, 1-800-273-8255 – and the Federal Communications Commission predicts calls to the hotline will double in the year following (this) 988 transition.” Quoted from Journalists Resource.

That’s all for this week. Remember; you can always let me know your reactions to what I pen here. Also send me information you’d like shared among our peers in the business. Do this via gfa7156@aol.com

George Allen, CPM, MHM

EducateMHC

P.S.

If you don’t already have a copy of my autobiography, From SmittyAlpha6 to MHMaven, visit educatemhc.com to purchase one. It’s been a year this month since it was released at the final Networking Roundtable in Nashville, TN., and to date, more than 200 copies are in the hands of friends and associates throughout the manufactured housing industry and land lease communities.

Blog Posting # 699. Copyright @ 27 July 2022. EducateMHC

Perspective. ‘Land lease communities, previously manufactured home communities, and earlier, ‘mobile home parks’, comprise the real estate component of manufactured housing! EducateMHC is the online national advocate, realty asset class historian, trend spotter, education resource, textbook supplier for land lease communities throughout North America!To input this blog and or connect with EducateMHC, telephone (317) 881-3815,email gfa7156@aol.com and or visit www.educatemhc.com

INTRODUCTION: What follows is a ramble (or as they say in Australia, a ‘walkabout’) beginning with the months long ‘PUT UP or SHUT UP’ challenge per establishment of a national post-production trade advocate; then transitions into a loose review of the recently released (i.e. 7/26/2022) MHARR White Paper which touches on the same subject. And if we’re ‘lucky’, the ramble will end with a succinct statement as to why production and sale of new HUD-Code manufactured homes continues to lag at 300,000 & 500,000 levels of 50 and 24 years ago.

OK, here goes. The Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (‘MHARR’) recently released a 16 pages White Paper titled, ‘The Exploitation of Federal Housing Finance & Mortgage Funding Assistance Programs and Potential Solutions’, presumably authored by Mark Weiss (his name does not appear anywhere within said document). To obtain a copy, phone MHARR via (202) 783-4075.

After reading the White Paper through, from start to finish, I thought: “This is almost a PUT UP response to the aforementioned PUT UP or SHUT UP challenge. Why ‘almost’? Because the timely topic of birthing a new national post-production trade entity while presented and justified, NO mention is made of meeting to organize and move forward with this idea!

So the industry challenge stands: PUT UP or SHUT UP! on or before 15 August 2022, at the RV/MH Hall of Fame in Elkhart, IN. Which will it wind up being?

Let’s begin with the purpose of this White Paper report. “…to expose and explain the disconnect and disparity between claims (and the exploitation of such claims) on the one hand, and actual results on the other, which continues to deprive manufactured housing and its largely moderate and lower-income consumers of all the benefits that could – and rightly should – be derived from such federal housing, finance and mortgage assistance programs.” P.3 Yes, I know, this is about as clear as mud; but the report does, in the final analysis, expose and explain, from MHARR’s perspective, what’s holding manufactured housing back from success.

In my opinion, the White Paper does not ‘hit its’ stride’ until almost halfway through, on page 6, where the writer identifies Federal Program Implementation Failures. And while he does a yeoman’s job doing so throughout the text, the absence of footnotes and end notes makes it difficult to follow his line of thought, e.g. “…specific integration of federal manufactured housing into all such programs….” What programs?

The author’s summary of “…negative impacts…concerning the U.S. Department of Energy’s (‘DOE’) proposed (and now final) manufactured housing energy standards.” P.7 was particularly informative and thought-provoking. You should make it a point to read this ASAP!

The two most compelling parts of this White Paper, for this reader, were as follows:

DISCRIMINATORY & EXCLUSIONARY STATE AND LOCAL ZONING LAWS, PP.8 & 10

DISCRIMINATORY AND EXCLUSIONARY CONSUMER FINANCE REGULATIONS, PP.9 & 11

It is without exaggeration that I state: Every businessman and woman in manufactured housing, and owning land lease communities, should read those two parts of the White Paper. I’m not commenting on their content, as I far prefer you to read and do so – directly to MHI & MHARR.

My epiphany.*1 During the reading of pages #7 thru 11 it hit me as to ‘why’ our industry and unique income-producing property type, have so darn much difficulty getting local and federal legislators and regulators to ‘play ball’, so to speak, with us. Now, nothing new here, just – for me anyway – an epiphany after working 40+ years in this ‘double dual industry’.*2

So here goes. Everyone, it seems, knows HUD-Code manufactured housing is, by far, the most affordable of all housing types in the U.S. today, priced at half – or less, than average cost of new site-built homes. But, at the same time, we are the only housing producer, to date, that routinely fights installation regulations, to properly and (Gasp!) permanently, attach our product to underlying realty. It’s like we want the cake (market popularity) and eat it too (but with shortcuts). No one knows how many, but a large number of new homes, for example, especially those sited within land lease communities, are installed at ground level with not even a nod to ‘best practice’ procedures, like Frost Free Foundations. No wonder banks don’t want to finance our housing product. And this is just the tip of the ongoing discriminatory, exclusionary state and local zoning laws albatross we bear.*3

Next there’s the confusing and complicated world of consumer finance. This White Paper does an excellent job, in my opinion, spelling out where the skeletons lie, e.g. “…unavailability of market-competitive consumer financing for such homes, as a result of failure and refusal of federal mortgage giants, Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac, to support manufactured housing personal property loans (comprising nearly 80% of the entire HUD-Code market….”P.9. And there’s this gem again, quoted from a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (‘CFPB’) report: “…the ‘top five’ lenders in manufactured housing market made nearly 75% of all chattel loans, and an estimated 50 percent of MH chattel loan applications were denied, while ‘only 7 percent of site-built applications (are) denied”.” Doesn’t anyone else see what is being described here?

Back to my epiphany. As an industry, we continue to ‘cornfuse’ potential lenders who do not fully understand manufactured housing – and how the very same new home, on one hand going onto a scattered building site owned fee simple can qualify for a conventional real estate mortgage. And at the same time, its’ ‘twin’, so to speak, going into a land lease community (a.k.a. manufactured home community) on a rental homesite, is eligible only for a chattel or personal property loan (a.k.a. ‘home only loan’) featuring higher interest rates and shorter loan terms. Solution to this perennial dilemma? Well, at least we’re talking about it here today. What’s your solution? Mine?

As a longtime, but now former, land lease community owner/operator, I’d have been willing, given the opportunity, to finance new HUD-Code home on-site with conventional real estate mortgages (not chattel or personal property loans) if required to do the following:

• Agree to long term rental homesite leases, extending beyond the mortgage term limit.

• Keep my rental homesite rent rate in sync with other forms of multifamily rental communities (e.g. conventional apartments) in the same local housing market. How’s this done? Read end note # 4.

A particularly interesting part of this White Paper had to do with identification of those within and outside our industry, who benefit from Discriminatory & Exclusionary State & Local Zoning Laws, and Discriminatory & Exclusionary Consumer Finance Regulations. Here goes: “…extra-industry beneficiaries (include) on-site homebuilders, the real estate industry, the rental housing industry, and other types of homebuilders, site-built lenders….”; “…intra-industry beneficiaries (include) a small number of vertically-integrated industry-dominant producers…captive finance companies owned by those manufacturers, and large, corporate manufactured housing communities.” P.12 *5 Once again, it’d be so helpful to have these identities footnoted, so as not to continue the confusion that exists about such important matters.

Solutions to our industry’s challenges? This White Paper identifies two:

• “Creation of an independent national post-production manufactured housing Association.”P.14 But no definitive steps (i.e. meeting planning) taken to do so soon.

• “Legal challenges and congressional hearings to establish accountability for implementation of enabling laws.”p.14

This blog posting does not cover the subject White Paper in detail. For example, it does not explore what’s termed, the “Misuse of Public Relations to Make Baseless Claims of Success and to Cover Failures.” P. 7. Just one more reason for you to obtain a copy of the White Paper for perusal and inspiration.

As usual, your reaction to, and opinions regarding, this blog posting are welcome via gfa7156@aol.com And tell you what; if concerned enough about the aforementioned industry matters and desirous to discuss them, I’ll be pleased to meet with you personally, or in a group, at the RV/MH Hall of Fame library on 15 August 2022. Just let me know your wishes ASAP.

End Notes.

1. Epiphany. “a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into reality, or the essential meaning of something.” Random House Webster’s Dictionary.

2. Double Dual Industry. A term I’ve long used to demonstrate how, as an industry and realty asset class, we’re really four types of business models rolled into one: housing manufacturing & marketing/sales – and – land lease community homesite leasing and housing sales/finance.

3. Reference made here to Silas Marner and the albatross hung about his neck in the epic poem: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1797.

4. Use the traditional 1:3 Rule; where land lease community rental homesite rate is roughly one third the monthly rent for a 3BR2B apartment or townhouse, e.g. Apartment rent = $1200/month, divided by 3 = $400/month rate per rental homesite. Note: Important to treat utility charges (e.g. water, sewer, electric) in similar fashion.

5. Vertically-integrated industry-dominant producers? Guessing here, but maybe the Big 3-C firms? And large corporate manufactured housing communities? Guessing again, but maybe some of the largest property portfolio owners/operators? This is why it’d be so helpful to have End Notes or footnotes throughout this White Paper.

***
George Allen, CPM, MHM
EducateMHC

Blog Posting # 698. Copyright @ 19 July 2022. EducateMHC

Perspective. ‘Land lease communities, previously manufactured home communities, and earlier, ‘mobile home parks’, comprise the real estate component of manufactured housing!
EducateMHC is the online national advocate, realty asset class historian, trend spotter, education resource, textbook supplier for land lease communities throughout North America!
To input this blog and or connect with EducateMHC, telephone (317) 881-3815, email gfa7156@aol.com and or visit www.educatemhc.com

INTRODUCTION: This time around, a veritable potpourri of important MH-related topics.

First and foremost, of most newsworthy and greatest importance, is the public announcement, on 18 July 2022, in Clayton Built News; that the firm is adjusting their base pricing DOWN mid-month July, so as to “pass these savings on to our customers.” The key question now is, who among the other HUD-Code housing manufacturers will follow suit and reduce their base pricing yet this month? They all know what’s happening at Clayton Home Building Group. So, let’s watch and see what the other two of the Big 3-C firms do, along with everyone else!

Next topic. I’ve waited more than 45 years for this to happen – and now it has! What? Soft-opening of the new, huge manufactured housing (‘MH’) exhibit hall at the RV/MH Hall of Fame in Elkhart, IN. Was in Elkhart last week (12-14 July) as part of a 16 person ‘working committee’ tasked with recommending final adjustments to this long-awaited showcase of our product and its’ 70+ year history! Won’t tell you the details here – you need to travel to Elkhart to see it firsthand. But I’ll tell you this much; the static displays are more impressive than the much vaunted ones in the RV exhibit hall. Seriously. And, the icing on the cake, so to speak, is the emphasis on importance of land lease communities (a.k.a. manufactured home communities, and earlier, ‘mobile home parks’) on the history of our industry and realty asset class. First official day open to the public? 15 August 2022.

Speaking of 15 August 2022. You should already be well aware this is the date of the induction of the Class of 2022 into the prestigious RV/MH Hall of Fame! Hosts are already expecting in excess of 600 industry pioneers, leaders, executives, and family members. To purchase a ticket, simply phone (574) 293-2344 or visit the website: rvmhhalloffame.org If you’ve never been to the RV/MH Hall of Fame, this year is the ideal time to go. Why? The facility has never looked better. It is HUGE, considering recent addition of the new free-standing RV meeting facility, mega parking lot, and of course the new MH exhibit hall. And if you have hopes of being recommended and selected for induction into the Hall of Fame, go ahead of time, to ‘get the lay of the land’ and meet folk you need to know! Also, while there, visit the upstairs library to see the addition of the George Allen library (largest collection of land lease community texts available anywhere in the world). And buy books in the downstairs bookstore.

Seems to me we have a donnybrook (‘free-for-all, public altercation’) occurring between MHI and MHARR, though most of the diatribe (‘bitter & abusive denunciation’) is coming from the latter industry advocate.*1 This appears to be in regards to “…MHI’s recent proposal and plan of action…opposing the U.S. Department of Energy’s (‘DOE’) final manufactured housing energy rule.”*2 Danny Ghorbani, former president & CEO of MHARR, in a recent question & answer piece, tells us, “The DOE final manufactured housing energy rule…published on 31 May 2022, and enforced on 31 May 2023, is a very complex energy regulation resulting from the manufactured housing energy provisions of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (‘EISA’).” Possible consequence? “That DOE rule… (will) potentially wipe-out nearly 80% (of the) production of our industry’s most affordable models.”*3 In the meantime, MHI has called on its’ members (700+ have responded to date) to contact their House Representatives to cosponsor H.R. 7651, ‘The Manufactured Housing Affordability and Energy Efficiency Act’ (Alluded to earlier). So, what’s the donnybrook? MHARR appears to feel the Act is, ‘too little too late’, hence ineffective. Only time and effort will tell. But in the meantime, it’d help matters if MHARR would stop criticizing what they view as MHI’s past “…mistakes during the rulemaking process….”(*2), and focus on stopping the rule’s proponents and DOE allies from putting “…their collective foot in the door (of) their larger targets (i.e. THE GREATER HOUSING & BUILDIING INDUSTRIES).” (*2) (Emphasis added. GFA). Are they on board with passage of H.R. 7651? Bottom line. Stop the damn bickering and work together, as you did during the late 1990s, to effect passage of The Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 2000.

End Notes.
1. MHARR & MHI. Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform & Manufactured Housing Institute.
2. Quoted from MHPRONEWS dated 27 June 2022.
3. No statistical evidence or calculations to this end are provided.

George Allen, CPM, MHM
EducateMHC

Blog Posting # 697. Copyright @ 8 July 2022. EducateMHC

Perspective. ‘Land lease communities, previously manufactured home communities, and earlier, ‘mobile home parks’, comprise the real estate component of manufactured housing!

EducateMHC is the online national advocate, realty asset class historian, trend spotter, education resource, textbook supplier for land lease communities throughout North America!

To input this blog and or connect with EducateMHC, telephone (317) 881-3815, email gfa7156@aol.com and or visit www.educatemhc.com Previous phone #s no longer connected.

Motto: ‘U Support US & WE Serve U!’ Goal: to promote HUD-Code manufactured housing and land lease communities as U.S. # 1 source of affordable, attainable housing! Be MHM certified!

INTRODUCTION: I am grateful that, as an industry, we have MHInsider magazine to keep us informed; even more grateful for Kurt Kelley’s online Manufactured Housing Review for publishing writers we’d never read otherwise. Which brings me to wonder, who and how many MH industry folk, and land lease community owners/operators, appreciate the specialized information I bring to you, via this blog posting, each week? It stuns me to realize, what I pen monthly, about the ‘accurate’ MH shipment total, along with stock market performances among our ten public companies, is available nowhere else!


I.

WHAT NO ONE ELSE IN ‘MH’ WILL TELL YOU

Yes, it’s that time of month again, when we 1) look back to see how many new manufactured homes were shipped during the month of May 2022 (This is not as simple as it sounds!); and, 2) what the stock market prices were for ten public ‘MH’ companies on 5 July 2022. (No one else tells you this!)

In the first instance, the Institute for Building Technology & Safety (‘IBTS’ = HUD’s official scorekeeper for the ‘MH’ industry), reported 10,451 new homes shipped nationwide during May, this ‘up’ from 10,165 new homes shipped during April, and ‘way up’ from 8,606 new homes shipped during May 2021, a year earlier!

What does this translate into ‘year to date’ (‘YTD’) shipments? That’s 50,286 for the first five months of this year; up 5,957 new homes from the YTD May 2021 level! So, we’re on track, at the present time, to surpass the 105,772 new homes shipped during all of year 2021.

How ‘bout value? Well, since we continue to use MHI’s Dr. Stephen C. Cooke’s production value factor from a decade ago, it pencils out this way: At $43,126 ‘production value’ per new MH, X 10,451 new homes shipped during May 2022, that total production value is $450,000,000. And the YTD ‘production value’ total is approximately $2,169,000,000. Keep in mind, however, the wholesale and retail values of these homes is considerably higher than the $43,126 just cited. No question about it, we need an updated ‘production value’ factor now! Anyone at MHI paying attention?

In the second instance, among ten public MH and land lease community portfolio firms, all their stock prices on 5 July 2022 have declined from the month before, 3 June 2022. That’s pretty much in line with stock market negative performance of late. Specifically,

Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. (including Clayton Homes) is approximately $410,000 per share.
Skyline Champion Corporation is at $51.12; down from $54.38 the month before
Cavco Industries, Inc. is at $206.30; down from $221 the month before
Legacy Housing Corporation is at $13.29; down from $16 the month before
Nobility Homes is at $28.00; down from $30.50 the month before
Equity Lifestyle, #1 on the last ALLEN REPORT, is at $70.97; down from $78.00 the month before
Sun Communities, #2 on last ALLEN REPORT, is at $159.34; down from $167 the month before
UMH Properties, # 6 on last ALLEN RPEORT, is at $17.96; down from $20.05 the month before
Flagship Communities, #23 on ALLEN REPORT, is at $15.21; down from $17.30 month before
MHPC, Inc., #28 on last ALLEN REPORT, is at $1.85; down from $2.60 the month before

And did you know there’s a measurement known as the MH/land lease community Composite Stock Index or CSI? Well, there is, and it dropped to $664.04 on 5 July, down from the previous month (3 June) at $703.83

Now, amidst all this, there’s a serious conundrum (‘a riddle; a hard question’) afoot in the manufactured housing industry today, and it goes like this:

How can the sole national trade entity, claiming to represent all sectors of the manufactured housing industry, continue to be guilty of the following:

• Routinely publishing, to members and others, a monthly HUD-Code housing shipment level different from total published by IBTS – and reported similarly (in the latter instance) by HUD, MHARR, and EducateMHC. This clearly belies a divided industry, one incapable of simple unity, even where basic performance statistics are concerned! Why does this happen? My guess is the three dominant manufacturers demand it this way.

• NOT publishing monthly stock market prices among ten public firms, five as HUD-Code housing manufacturers, and five as land lease community portfolio owners/operators. It only makes sense, that folk ‘within & outside’ the industry and realty asset class, should rely on this national trade entity for this information as well. Why does this not happen? Again, my guess is the three dominant manufacturers are not anxious for us to see….

• Severely under-represent an estimated 50,000 land lease communities nationwide, especially during this time of turmoil, effected by irresponsible investors who over-pay for property acquisitions, and soon thereafter, raise rents and add new tenant fees. There are simple ways to address this matter but leadership appears reluctant to do so. Why? Here to, self-interest may well play a role in not rocking the business boat.

These are just three perennial shortfalls that continue to hobble the manufactured housing industry overall, amidst ongoing criticism from several corners. The most recent quasi-public effort to right these wrongs (i.e. under-representation and weak advocacy) has called for the formation of a new national trade entity to truly represent the needs of all sectors of the manufactured housing industry – with exception of HUD-Code manufacturers who’re already in control. Status of that effort to date? These critics (an association, online press, & others) have been publicly challenged to PUT UP or SHUT UP by 15 August 2022. Specifically, PUT UP an effort to form said new national entity by then; or, once and for all, SHUT UP about the matter until a capable, experienced, motivated organizer steps forward to lead the industry and asset class to unity and renewed prosperity!

The significance of 15 August? First off; that day, more than 500 leaders and executives of the RV & MH industries will gather at the RV/MH Heritage Foundation, in Elkhart, IN., for its’ annual induction banquet, welcoming ten individuals into the prestigious Hall of Fame. Second; what better place or time (the day before or after) to begin planning a new era for manufactured housing and land lease communities, than at the very location where previous national challenges have been met and resolved (e.g. On 2/27/2009 more than 100 MH execs met and agreed to design a Community Series Home or CSH, for siting within land lease communities). Point? There’ve been NO attempts to date, to getting a post-production organization off the ground. So, expect on or about 15 August, heretofore critics and naysayers will be again challenged to SHUT UP!

So, what happens after 15 August, if there’s no challenge to the present national status quo? Your guess is as good as mine. I wonder….

George Allen, CPM, MHM
EducateMH

Blog Posting # 696. Copyright @ 1 July 2022. EducateMHC

Perspective. ‘Land lease communities, previously manufactured home communities, and earlier, ‘mobile home parks’, comprise the real estate component of manufactured housing!’

EducateMHC is the online national advocate, realty asset class historian, trend spotter, education resource, textbook supplier for land lease communities throughout North America

To input this blog and or connect with EducateMHC, telephone (317) 881-3815, email gfa7156@aol.com and or visit www.educaemhc.com Previous phone #s no longer connected.

Motto: ‘U Support US & WE Serve U!’ Goal: to promote HUD-Code manufactured housing and land lease communities as U.S. # 1 source of affordable, attainable housing! Me MHM certified!

INTRODUCTION: This is my 4th of July patriotic gift to you; a personal recollection of spending the 4th of July in a combat zone 54 years ago. Please save and share this story with friends, family members, and acquaintances. GFA

FOURTHS OF JULY, 50 & 200 YEARS AGO

On the fourth of July, 1968, my combat engineer platoon worked and lived at landing zone Stud, later renamed Vandegrift forward combat base. Stud was located a few miles east of the infamous, only recently vacated Khe Sanh combat base of Vietnam lore.

The day was like any other, for a combat engineer platoon. During daylight hours we cleared roads of landmines, built command bunkers, strengthened the perimeter defense, and helped wherever needed. All hot, dirty work, but what we were there to do.

That night also began like any other. At first, all was quiet and dark, no moon. Above ground light, even candlelight, was prohibited, lest it draw sniper fire from enemy troops in the hills surrounding our position. But around 3300 hours (10PM), someone popped a bright white star cluster pyrotechnic high into the black sky.

Usually, star cluster pyros are launched from hand-held devices – hollow aluminum tubes 2” in diameter X 12” long, to show helicopter pilots where one’s position is in darkness, identify medical evacuation pickup points, or where to drop needed supplies.

Well, that first star cluster burst was immediately followed by a whole bunch more of varied colors, accompanied by a host of M16 assault rifles fired on full automatic – adding combat sound effects to the cacophony, along with the distinct odor of burning cordite. Also launched skyward, a couple illumination flares, dangling from mini-parachutes, drifted high above the base, and out over suspected enemy positions. This continued for a few minutes, then stopped as abruptly as it had begun.

In military parlance, this chain of events is known as a ‘mad moment’, usually occurring gin training scenarios to familiarize Marines with the sights, sounds, and smells of combat. And ‘mad moments’ do occasionally occur in combat environs like these, to celebrate a holiday.

Yes, one might view ‘mad moments’ as a waste of ammunition and signaling resources, also compromising one’s position, but know what?

During that ‘mad moment’ on the fourth of July 1968, at LZ Stud, I envisioned standing next to Francis Scott Key, in 1818, watching the bombardment of Ft. McHenry, and him penning the poem which would later become our nation’s hallowed anthem, The Star Spangled Banner.

And today, 200 years later, 50+ for me since 1968, nary a 4th of July holiday occurs, without fondly, sometimes tearfully – but always gratefully, recalling being right there during a very special ‘mad moment’ in my life and that of our nation. God Bless America!

Lt. Col. George Allen, USMC, retired.