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

October 25, 2014

MHOmbudsman (press) & YOU; & much more…

Filed under: Uncategorized — George Allen @ 4:39 am

COBA7® @ community-investor.com Blog # 320 Copyright @ 26 October 2014

Perspective. ‘Land-lease-lifestyle communities, a.k.a. manufactured home communities and ‘mobile home parks’, comprise the real estate component of manufactured housing.’

This blog posting ‘is a national advocacy voice, ombudsman press*, statistical research reporter, & online communications resource for all LLLCommunities in North America!’

To input this blog &/or affiliate with Community Owners (7 Part) Business Alliance®, a.k.a. COBA7®, use Official MHIndustry HOTLINE: (877) MFD-HSNG or 633-4764.

* Ombudsman press. ‘Manufactured housing’s ronin, fielding inquiries, complaints, etc.’

Introduction to this week’s COBA7® blog posting at community-investor.com website

I.

‘Official Ombudsman to the MHIndustry.’ Two-story HUD Code homes, Lease-Option, and more, on the agenda of COBA7® in behalf of affiliates (‘MHInsiders’) nationwide!

II.

‘First National Advocacy Body Bows Out of National Strategic Planning Meeting Plans’
No surprise here, just disappointment. Perhaps Land-lease-lifestyle community owners should teach manufactured housing industry folk something about CONSOLIDATION.

III.

‘Entrepreneurism Stymied by Stockholm Syndrome’. You think? Bold commentary by faithful blog flogger makes one stop and think about current and future business models.

I.

Official Ombudsman to the MHIndustry

Stream of inquiries & complaints continue, as COBA7® fulfills its’ important & timely role as Official Ombudsman (press) to the manufactured housing industry & land-lease-lifestyle community real estate asset class!

Two story HUD-Code homes, a popular concept but rare in application, have been around more than a decade, with prototype multifamily projects in southern California and in Maryland. Renewed interest is evident today, as at least one private parties struggle to bring ‘new floor plans, with a WOW! Factors’ to fruition; and at least one HUD-Code home manufacturer plans to run a new (two story) floor plan through its production line in November. Your official MHIndustry ombudsman (press), COBA7®, is ‘right in there’ helping make this happen! And if YOU want ‘in’ on this project, let me know directly, and COBA7® will add you to the MHInsider information distribution list.

Lease-option. Seems everyone’s heard about it, but few understand the concept, practice and appropriate application. That might be about to change! How so? The MHIndustry’s leading advocate for lease-option practice on-site in LLLCommunities, is working with at least one independent finance company and industry consultants, conducting state-by-state research. Near term goal is to take a generic lease-option program public! If you have helpful and definitive information, regarding this timely, and possibly industry-saving deal-making technique, and are willing to share it, let me know via the Official MHIndustry HOTLINE: (877) MFD-HSG or 633-4764.

Those are but two of several ombudsman (press) projects ‘in the works’ at COBA7®. And no, we’re not looking for more to do at this time – unless there’s legitimate immediacy involved. Just want YOU, as COBA7® MHinsiders, to know how your affiliation fees are used for the good of the MHIndustry & LLLCommunities.

II.

First National Advocacy Body Bows Out of National Strategic Planning Meeting Plans.

OK, this will be a ‘short take’ on the subject. As faithful readers of this blog posting know, two National Public Forums occurred 9/11/2014, at the 23rd annual International Networking Roundtable, in Peachtree City, GA. They were designed to lay the groundwork, via an Official WHITE PAPER, for a National Strategic Planning Meeting planned and hosted this Winter. The hope has been to have said gathering facilitated by the two national advocacy bodies claiming to represent the manufactured housing industry, along with the Community Owners (7 Part) Business Alliance; and, to have it OPEN to anyone in the industry and realty asset class, small business and large, willing to pay their own way to participate.

Well, the Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform, a.k.a. MHARR, has made it clear they are not interested in participating in this potentially industry-rejuvenating effort. That leaves just one national advocacy body in play, along with COBA7®.

What does this mean? Well, as they say, ‘It’s in the eye of the beholder.’ Frankly, we’ve found no one who feels the National Strategic Planning Meeting is anything but a timely and potentially industry-saving initiative that should have occurred a year or more ago! But to date, there’s been no communication, of any sort, from the remaining national advocacy body, regarding this matter.

What happens if both manufactured housing national advocacy bodies decide to ‘sit this out’ and not participate in a National Strategic Planning Meeting initiative to return our industry to its’ prosperity of the mid-1970s, and prior to the turn of this century? What do you think? There certainly will be a clear defeatist message there worth pondering – and remembering, during the months and year (2015) ahead.

III.

Entrepreneurism Stymied by Stockholm Syndrome?!

To understand the following commentary from a faithful blog flogger (reader), scroll back thru blog archives at communnity-investor.com (website) and reread blog posting # 312, and Part III of posting # 313; reading in part:

“’Manufactured Housing Industry Likely Suffers from Stockholm Syndrome’ or
captive-bonding, ‘..a psychological phenomenon in which a hostage (i.e. manufactured housing) expresses empathy and sympathy, and has positive feelings toward their captor (i.e. their HUD regulator), to the point of defending and identifying with or perpetuating them (i.e. Accepting a ‘165% inspection/labeling fee increase’ without complaint).” Recall this passage shortly.

Just last week, in blog posting # 319, Part III title posed this question on another subject altogether: ‘Next Big Story’ OR ‘Much Noise About Nothing’? – describing the…

“Ongoing fracas (‘noisy fight’) among manufactured housing and recreational vehicle national advocacy bodies, plus HUD” – about alleged HUD change in definition, regarding ‘overhangs’ and park model RVs.

Now you’re ready for the aforementioned commentary from a faithful blog flogger:

“HUD is lost and has no clue – good grief! Relative to RV/MH, I’ll be your curmudgeon George. I say leave it alone (i.e. the ‘overhang’ issue) and join in creating (housing) products customers want, that are not regulated, and throw HUD out the window. What the RV guys are doing is creating new profitable business (products), and we should see it that way, not as a threat (to manufactured housing). Any reason we can’t join in? This is FREE ENTERPRISE at work. It’s time to understand all HUD has done, and can do, is hold us back. Fire them.” NB

Pretty strong words, I agree. But it’s important they see the light of day, as they articulate one point of view, in my opinion, not heard frequently enough in national manufactured housing leadership circles.

Sure I understand, as should you. In the first instance (re Stockholm Syndrome), how the MHIndustry since 1976, has turned the HUD ‘regulatory lemon into lemonade’, thanks in large part, to the federal preemptive nature of this sole national building code. Today, housing manufacturers don’t want to lose this distinct marketing advantage, even at the expense of no longer being true FREE ENTERPRISE practitioners.

And in the second instance (i.e. Whether porch overhang square footage is included in, or kept separate from, the 400’ limit for manufactured home applicability); ‘the jury is still out’, and will be, until RV & MH industries come together in agreement; lobby for legislation to protect their respective but related industries(*); or, put themselves entirely at the ‘mercy’ of HUD.

What difference does it make? Simply this; whether FREE ENTERPRISE or Stockholm Syndrome prevails; or the latter, once again, stymies the former.

End Note. (*) Recreational Vehicle Alliance for Camping & Travel is already rallying support for H.R. 5658, The Recreational Vehicle Certainty Act of 2014. ‘This bill makes clear, recreational vehicles are not houses, and HUD has no regulatory jurisdiction.’

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