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

April 15, 2022

PUT UP OR SHUT UP!

Filed under: Uncategorized — George Allen @ 7:56 am

Blog Posting # 685. Copyright @ 15 April 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 lese communities as U.S. # 1 source of affordable, attainable housing! Be MHM certified!

INTRODUCTION. Every once in a while, usually after a time of editorial or political posturing, one wishes the trumpeting party would ‘Put up or shut up!’ We seem to be entering into one of those times now – maybe for good reason. Read Parts I & IV, to see where you are on the matter described. And Parts II & II feature, in the first instance, a timely $ reference that should be in every land lease community; and in the latter instance, some sad and surprising news.

I.
PUT UP OR SHUT UP!

You may or may not have recently received and read a lengthy diatribe (‘bitter & abusive denunciation’) of the Manufactured Housing Institute (‘MHI’) by the publisher of an online newsletter. I don’t usually respond to these periodic communiques, but felt compelled to do so this time around. Here’s why and what I penned….

During my 44 year career in manufactured housing, and as a land lease community owner,

“I’ve vacillated from being an enthusiastic supporter of the way the institute does things – or doesn’t do what I think they should. So I understand the frustration that’s ‘out there’ today, especially with our industry shipping only 105,772 new HUD-Code homes during year 2021. And this in the midst of our nation’s affordable housing crisis. We should be shipping many more new homes nationwide.”

“A perennial ‘whipping boy’ has been criticism that MHI does not truly and fully advocate for the entire manufactured housing industry, particularly its’ post-production segments (e.g. communities, finance, state associations, service firms, suppliers, etc.) And, in a sense, that’s understandable – if true, since the majority of the institute’s operating funds come from the manufacturers division of MHI. And today, the majority of those funds presumably come from just three companies, i.e. The Big Three Cs: Clayton, Cavco, & Skyline/Champion. How’s the bromide go? ‘Follow the money!”

“So, what to do about this uncertain advocacy matter? In my opinion, if this online publisher, MHARR, and others of like mind, really and truly believe lack of representation is pervasive and self-defeating, then plan and convene a national gathering for everyone interested in improving advocacy for the post-production segments of the manufactured housing industry! Seriously. And here’s a practical suggestion. Convene a national meeting on the 16th of August 2022, at or near the RV/MH Hall of Fame in Elkhart, IN. After all, the day before, on the 15th, we’ll see ten RV & MH pioneers/notable executives inducted into the prestigious Hall of Fame at that location. Simply stay overnight and convene the next morning. I’ll be the first person to sign-up. And I can think of several others that will as well.”

“There’s precedent for this bold suggestion. On 31 August 1993, 19 portfolio owners/operators of (then) manufactured home communities met at a hotel in Indianapolis, IN., to strategically plan how to ensure effective representation for the realty asset class in the years ahead. (This meeting occurred one year before the first ‘community REIT’ was launched). And up until that time, representation of 50,000+/- communities nationwide, was handled by a committee of volunteers at MHI meetings. Eventual result? On 1 January 1996, under the leadership of MHI executive Jim Ayotte, CAE, the National Communities Council (later designated as NCC division of MHI) began its’ work. Has it lived up to expectations? Originally yes, but that’s a worthy subject for a future critique.”

“Bottom line, for online publisher and MHARR? If you and others truly believe the post-production segments of the manufactured housing industry need better representation and advocacy, than is presently the case, plan soon how to resolve the matter and get started this year! In a word: ‘Put Up or shut up!”

I sent this email communique out early Saturday afternoon. Literally, within minutes, I started receiving replies. Here’s the first one, from a HUD-Code housing manufacturer.

“Thank You for stating that. I am obsessed and committed to help this industry break out of the 9-10% of new single-family housing starts. That is where we are now and have always been – except when easy financing existed, and that turned around (to) set the industry back. As you indicated, we need specific suggestions as to what can help us break out of the 10% restraint, and action plans to achieve more! That is what we are working on at MHI.” (Lightly edited, GFA)


II.
MANUFACTURED HOME COMMUNITY FINANCING HANDBOOK

Do you have this valuable resource in hand? If not, then email eerik.edwards@wellsfargo.com and request a free copy. If you’re a land lease community owner/operator, you want to have this comprehensive document in your personal or corporate library. This is the 16th edition and besides the usual background and HOW TO information, it also includes a copy of the last published edition of the ALLEN REPORT (i.e. annual compendium of community operating statistics, market trends, and list of top 100 or so of the 500 known portfolio owners/operators in North America today.

III.

DID YOU KNOW?

WMA executive director Sheila Dey has retired after nearly three decades of service to land lease community owners/operators in the state of California? Doug Johnson, WMA’s senior regional representative has been tapped to serve as WMA’s new executive director. He’s been with WMA for 28 years. Source of this and following information: March/April 2022 edition of MHInsider magazine.

What a shock – to me anyway. Wally Moreland, long long time business partner with the likes of Gary McDaniel, Jim Grange, and others at ROC Properties, nee Chateau Communities, a REIT; and YES! Communities, died during January 2022. I’m sure there are many of you ‘out there’ who remember the comical skits his company put on during the MHCongress in its’ early years.

IV.

THE FOLLY OF POST-PRODUCTION ADVOCACY!

What? It was only in Part I of this blog posting that someone credible suggested the timely need for separate representation of the post-production segments of the manufactured housing industry! And here, already, the efficacy of that idea is being contested? Well, it’s true. Among the many responses to the communique described in Part I above, were some pretty heady, sobering observations about the present state of national and state advocacy, and why a ‘new player’ on the scene might well have little to no positive effect on manufactured housing matters. I’ll present and explore those reasonings in next week’s blog posting (# 686).

Until then, if you’d like to add your opinion on this heady topic to the mix, just let me know via gfa7156@aol.com

George Allen, CPM, MHM
EducateMHC


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