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

November 24, 2021

DANNY D. GHORBANI

Filed under: Uncategorized — George Allen @ 7:22 am

Blog Posting # 666 @ 24 November 2021: 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, asset class historian, data researcher, education resource & communication media for all land lease communities throughout North America!

To input this blog and or affiliate with EducateMHC, telephone Official MHIndustry HOTLINE: (877) MFD-HSNG or 633-4764. Also email: gfa7156@aol.com & visit www.educatemhc.com

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! Attend MHM class!

INTRODUCTION: History, Conundrum, and Books are topics of Parts I, II & III in this weekly blog posting. Bet you didn’t know this about the early days of MHI (when it was MHMA). Or that HUD-Code housing manufacturers appear to be thriving during these difficult mid-pandemic times. And Part III can help you with your holiday gift giving during December.

I.

DANNY D. GHORBANI

During fall 1967, Danny was contacted by a ‘head hunter’ who wanted to talk to him about the possibility of a position with an organization representing the mobile home industry. His initial reaction? Danny “… didn’t know the Mobile Oil Company was involved with housing.” He was that naïve about the industry that came to appreciate him as their ‘Watchdog of manufactured housing’ in Washington, DC. And there’s more to that story.

In ‘The History of the (Iowa) Manufactured Housing Association 50th anniversary book’ of memories, Danny goes on to describe how the manufactured housing’ industry was booming at the time and attempting to shed its’ mobile home image. Specifically,

“Production had grown from more than 90,000 homes in 1961 to almost a quarter million homes in 1967. The industry’s only marketing firm (i.e. Elrick & Lavidge, Inc.) predicted the growth would continue at a rapid rate, reaching 600,000 homes per year by the early 70s. They were right on target. Growth reached 560,000 homes in 1973.” P.36 The actual total was 579,940 new ‘mobile homes’ shipped.

Danny, in the article titled ‘Industry Veteran Looks at the Early Years’, goes on to tell us:

“The industry’s unprecedented, if not almost unbelievable growth, was brought about, in large part, by a succession of industry giants such as F.L. Cappaert, James Redman, Edward Hussey, Sr., and Arthur J. Decio, (the latter) took the helm as chairman of MHMA (Mobile Homes Manufacturers Association).” P.36. FYI: Cappaert was inducted into the RV/MH Hall of Fame in 1975, James Redman in 1991, Ed Hussey, Sr. in 1995, and Art Decio in 1975.

Furthermore, and due to architectural and engineering firms having little interest in land development projects, which to them, represented an extension of ‘the trailer industry’,

“…the national association created its’ own in-house team of professional engineers and architects to prepare a turnkey operation which included, among other things, site planning, zoning, market and feasibility studies, design and engineering packets, and related cost-estimates which were provided to potential developers…at cost. With MHMA providing this service, all the developer had to do now, if he/she so chose, was to hire his or her own contractor to build the community and a local engineer to supervise the work.” P. 37

Danny Ghorbani was…”hired to serve as the assistant to Herbert Behrend, who headed this operation at MHMA. With an in-house staff of 12 people and on-call group of more than 20 professional consultants, our operation quickly was utilized by developers for more than 200,000 (rental home) sites in four years. The operation became so successful that regular architectural and engineering firms began getting heavily involved with mobile home community development, thus enabling the MHMA, after it achieved its’ goal, to dissolve the operation in 1971.” P.37. Interestingly, Danny was not inducted into the RV/MH Hall of Fame until 2004; and the late Herbert Behrend, his boss at MHMA, continues to await selection and induction – showing our industry’s system of honoring its’ pioneers is not yet perfect!

In my opinion, this early segment is an important part of manufactured housing and land lease community history. However, and for the most part, it’s already been lost to businessmen and women who’ve come aboard the industry and realty asset class since the turn of this century! So yes, there was a time in our history when housing manufacturers realized, to grow their businesses, they had to help ensure plenty of locations (i.e. communities) in which to install their product. Hence the heyday of (then) mobile home park development across the U.S.

And this ‘begs the question’; ‘Is there more that HUD-Code housing manufacturers should be, could be, doing today (like they did during the 1960s & 70s), to encourage raw land development into land lease communities containing rental homesites?

II.

WHEN COST & PRICE INCREASES = HIGHER STOCK PRICES

According to EducateMHC’s ‘MHShipment Volume for September & Stock Market Report for 3 November 2021’, the manufactured housing & land lease community Composite Stock Index or CSI, hit a new record high of $812.23; up from $762.97 the month before.

Recent communiques from one or another of the Big 3-C HUD-Code housing manufacturers informs customers (i.e. land lease communities, independent – street – MHRetailers, & possibly, ‘company stores’), how lumber, resin-based goods, steel and other metals, and imported products (delayed by supply chain issues enroute),lead to “base prices will be increasing in the December pricing period.”

The aforementioned CSI is comprised of the following corporate stock prices on 3 November, and other factors.

Skyline Champion @ $72.42
Cavco Industries @ $258.89
Legacy Housing Corporation @ $18.88
Nobility Homes @ $32.38
Berkshire Hathaway
Equity Lifestyle (REIT) @ $85.24
Sun Communities (REIT) @ $196.26
UMH Properties (REIT) @ $24.26
Flagship Communities @ $20.65
Manufactured Housing Properties @ $3.25

So post production sectors of the manufactured housing industry are stuck in the middle of a conundrum (i.e. ‘hard question’); that is, having to pay more for product (e.g. new HUD-Code homes), suffer long delivery waiting times, but not participate in increased profitability evidently enjoyed by housing manufacturers.

III.

Looking for Christmas gifts for colleagues and or on-site property managers in land lease communities? Purchase and send them either SWAN SONG (‘History of LLCommunities & Official List of Annual Shipment Totals from 1955 to present day’) or my autobiography, ‘From SmittyAlpha6 to MHMaven’. Order via www.educatemhc.com

George Allen, CPM™Emeritus, MHM™Master
EducateMHC

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