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

October 24, 2019

Meet FMR (&) News From MHI & IREM

Filed under: Uncategorized — George Allen @ 10:57 am

@ 25 October 2019; www.educatemhc.com

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

This blog is the online national advocate, official ombudsman, asset class historian, researcher, education resource & communication media for land lease communities in North America!

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

Moto: ‘U Support US & WE Serve U!’ Goal: promote HUD-Code manufactured housing & land lease communities as U.S. source of affordable attainable housing! Call for next MHM class info

INTRODUCTION: I’m almost as pumped about the potential use of Fair Market Rents (‘FMR’), introduced in Part I of this blog posting, as I was when introducing the land lease community Industry Standard Chart of Accounts & Operation Expense Ratios (‘OERs’) in 1992; and the unexplainable but so useful New Rule of 72 formula for estimating capitalized income value of average communities. Let’s see if FMR ‘works’ for you! And then there’s the timely and interesting news about IREM and MHI.

I.

Fair Market Rents. A Tool or Red Herring?

This from a Press Release dated 19 September 2019. “HUD has published the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Fair Market Rents (FMRs), which are now released only on huduser.gov, under a provision of the Housing Opportunities Through Modernization Act of 2016 (HOTMA), enacted July 29, 2016.” Furthermore, “…the FMR for any (geographic) area is the ($) amount… needed to pay the gross rent (shelter rent plus utilities) of privately-owned, decent and safe rental housing of a modest (non-luxury) nature, with suitable amenities.”

The question in this industry observer’s mind is this: ‘Might FMR be the long sought tool to estimate and validate rental homesite rates in land lease communities throughout the U.S.? Or is FMR just another ‘red herring’ that misleads us off the trail to reasonable profitability? Let me walk you through the process, using one of our realty asset class’ Rules of Thumb, so you can make up your own mind. Here’s the drill:

1. Google or search Fair Market Rents 2020.
2. Once ‘there’, access the website subtitled HUD User & left click on Select Geography.
3. Once ‘there’, left click on Statewide FMRs
4. Once ‘there’, left click on city of choice

Now the fun begins.

For this blog posting I chose three MSAs (Metropolitan Statistical Areas): Atlanta, GA., Indianapolis, IN., and Los Angeles, CA. At each MSA, I selected the ‘three bedroom FMR’ – as being equivalent to a manufactured home, then divided by three, to apply the 3:1 Rent Ratio Rule of Thumb, for comparing land lease community site rent rates to conventional apartment 3BR2B unit rates. And then divided the original FMR by two, to see what land lease community site rent rates might be, as result of aggressive increases. Here’re the interesting results:

City FMR 3:1 Ratio 2:1 Ratio

Atlanta, GA. $1,489/unit $496/site $745/site

Indianapolis, IN. $1,256 $419 $628

Los Angeles, CA. $2,514 $871 $1307

How do these rental homesite rents compare to the 2018 JLT Market Report Summary for Institutional Investment Grade Land Lease Communities, published as an integral part of the 30th anniversary ALLEN REPORT? To secure a copy of this Resource Document, visit www.educatemhc.com

Atlanta, GA. $463/site among all-age communities

Indianapolis, IN. $380/site among 55+ communities

Los Angeles, CA. $759/site among 55+ communities

Remember now, these latter rental homesite rates, from the 30th ALLEN REPORT are from two years earlier, while the FMRs in the previous paragraph are estimates going into year 2020.

Obviously this methodology bears further scrutiny. But for the time being, this should be a valid and interesting exercise for you, to compare the rental homesite rents at your land lease communities with the FMRs for 2020 provided by HUD User.

A note of caution. Remember, in the cited Press Release, the HUD made it clear the FMRs, per geographic area, are dollar amounts needed to pay gross rent (shelter rent plus utilities) – not a practice generally characteristic of land lease community rental homesite rates. How to account for the difference? Research what homeowners/site lessees are paying for household utilities, on a monthly basis, and adjust FMRs accordingly – or not.

Also know the 31st ALLEN REPORT will be distributed during January 2020. To ensure you receive a copy, visit www.educatemhc.com

II.

News from IREM & MHI

Institute of Real Estate Management (‘IREM’) now stocks and sells the iconic professional property management text Community Management in the Manufactured Housing Industry. First published in 1988 as Mobile Home Park Management, the 250+ pages HOW TO book has gone through eight edition updates and four name changes during the past 40 years. It continues to be the only book in print, teaching what one needs to know about effectively managing land lease communities, large and small. It has also been the core text for the popular Manufactured Housing Manager class since its’ debut a dozen years ago. To date, nearly 1,500 MHMs own and operate land lease communities throughout North America.

To order the book, visit www.educatemhc.com or visit IREM.org. And while at the EducateMHC website, sign up for the next one day MHM class, at the Louisville MHShow in mid-January.

IREM also released its’ annual CPM Profile & Compensation Study (executive summary thereof).

“The average Certified Property Manager is 52 years old, with women comprising 54% of CPM members.” Furthermore, “CPM members (of IREM) earn a median total compensation of $126,000, which includes a base salary and additional real estate income from sales and leasing commissions.”

According to IREM’s membership directory, 147 CPMs claim an affinity for managing manufactured home communities. 14 of these CPMs have cultivated positive national reputations among their land lease community ownership/operations peers. And four of these CPMs have achieved Emeritus status with IREM, while three have been inducted into the prestigious RV/MH Hall of Fame in Elkhart, IN: George Allen, CPM; Brian Fannon, CPM; and Michael Sullivan, MHM.

&

The Manufactured Housing Institute (‘MHI’) continues to make lobbying headway, in behalf of manufactured housing, by dint of its’ political and regulatory agency relationships with the present administration, HUD, the FHFA, and both GSEs.

At the same time, MHI appears to be undergoing a seismic shift in volunteer and salaried leadership at the top of the organization. Everyone know Dick Jennison will be leaving at the end of this year, but to date, no official (just rumored) word of succession relative to CEO/president and COO positions. And at least two key staffers have left the institute during the past 90 days.

And inquiring minds are sensitive to the present (2020) reality of having four Berkshire-Hathaway corporate executives on MHI’s board going into the New Year, with no representation from Skyline Champion and Cavco Industries.

Maintaining lobbying balance in all this, we have MHARR representing smaller, regional HUD-Code housing manufacturers, and NAMHCO representing land lease communities nationwide.

***

October 17, 2019

31st ALLEN REPORT, ‘Green Jacket Policy’, & Meet PES!

Filed under: Uncategorized — George Allen @ 10:08 am

October 2019; Copyright 20190; www.educatemhc.com

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

This blog is the online national advocate, official ombudsman, asset class historian, researcher, education resource & communication media for land lease communities in North America!

To input this blog 7/or affiliate with EducateMHC, telephone Official MHIndustry HOTLINE: (877) MFD-HSNG or 633-4764. Also email: gfa7156@aol.cm & visit www.educatemhc.com

Motto: ‘U Support US & WE Serve U!’ Goal: promote HUD-Code manufactured housing & land lease communities as U.S. source of affordable attainable housing! Call for next MHM class info.

INTRODUCTION: Three pretty disparate topics this time around. First; your last opportunity to be written into the 31st annual ALLEN REPORT, due for distribution in early 2020. Second; look to see more ‘green jackets’, worn by RV/MH Hall of Fame inductees, at state and national MH & RV events. And third; a little known but valuable and timely service available to land lease community owners/operators intent on improving their property holdings’ occupancy, profitability, resident relations, value, and other functions.

I.

Will You be in the 31st ALLEN REPORT?

If you, as a sole proprietor, or your partnership, company, or REIT, owns and or fee-manages five or more land lease communities, or 500+ rental homesites in one community, you’re eligible to be listed in the 31st annual ALLEN REPORT as one of the 500 largest property portfolio firms in North America.

Here’s the drill. Request an ALLEN REPORT questionnaire from EducateMHC by phoning the Official MHIndustry HOTLINE: (877) MFD-HSNG or 633-4764, or request it via email from gfa7156@aol.com Complete the questionnaire right away and FAX it to (317) 346-7158 or email it to the same address just cited. We already have many completed questionnaires on hand, as a result of the mailing effected during September. But there’s still room for YOU!

During the month of November we’ll compile the information reported in the completed questionnaires, and begin penning the annual ALLEN REPORT. As you likely know, or maybe don’t, the annual ALLEN REPORT – for the past 30 years, has been and continues to be, the sole compendium of pertinent benchmark statistics (e.g. occupancy, OERs, average site rents & much more), as well as emerging trends, pertaining to land lease communities (i.e. and before that, manufactured home communities & ‘mobile home parks’).

During December we’ll finalize the 31st annual ALLEN REPORT, for printing and distribution to those who’ve paid for it. How so? At present, that means subscribing to the Allen CONFIDENTIAL! business newsletter (i.e. the ALLEN REPORT is but one of a dozen Resource Documents distributed monthly, with that newsletter, throughout the calendar year). To learn more, visit www.educatemhc.com or phone Erin via (317) 738-3434.

You might also be interested to know; the ALLEN REPORT is archived and will, upon my eventual retirement, become part of the libraries at the RV/MH Hall of Fame in Elkhart, IN., and the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. So, take steps now to ensure your property portfolio’s continuing legacy into the future. Questions? Phone me at (317) 346-7156. GFA

II.

RV/MH Hall of Fame’s Green Jacket Policy

What follows here pertains to a small, but growing, number of men and women in the manufactured housing industry and land lease community ownership/operations. It’s the recently suggested ‘when and where all RV/MH Hall of Fame inductees should wear their distinctive green jackets.’

Green sports jackets have long been integral to the formal recognition of individuals inducted into the prestigious RV/MH Hall of Fame in Elkhart, IN. And heretofore, green jackets have rarely been worn and seen at other than at one RV/MH Hall of Fame event, the annual Induction Banquet, during early August, at the facility.

Here’re the appropriate occasions when the RV/MH Hall of Fame green jackets may be worn:

• At the annual RV/MH Hall of Fame Induction Banquet

• At all state and national RV or MH annual industry functions

We’ve long encouraged RV/MH Hall of Fame inductees to wear their green jacket at the annual Networking Roundtable. Now it’s officially appropriate to wear it at MHI’s annual meeting, the manufactured housing congress, SECO Symposiums, Rent Manager’s annual soiree, as well as various state and provincial business and social functions.

Have you been in the manufactured housing (&/or recreational vehicle) business for 25 or more years, and know three individuals who’ll pen letters of recommendation describing your contributions to the industry and or realty asset class? Then visit the RV/MH Hall of Fame online, and download the application and instructions there, to be considered for induction. And if you want to recommend someone for induction, follow the same procedure. Ten individuals are inducted every August, five from MH and five from RV industries.

III.

Professional Community Evaluation (‘PCE’) Service Available!

EducateMHC announces its’ Professional Community Evaluation (‘PCE’) service is available for land lease communities nationwide.

During past decades, Mystery Shopping services have been offered by various firms, but no one ever ‘went the extra mile’ to observe, evaluate, and report on entire land lease community operations, to include:

• Telephone sales and leasing performance evaluation via grading and reporting

• On-site sales and leasing performance evaluation via grading and reporting.

• Curb appeal outside, and throughout the targeted land lease community, documented with photographs

• Comparison of operating statements with industry norms, highlighting differences, and suggestions for correction or improvement

• Documentation and evaluation of print and online marketing in light of product, place, price, promotion, people, and process

What does PCE service cost? Each assignment is quoted on an individual basis, considering size and location of the property, scope of evaluation services desired, number of properties to be evaluated, and more. PCE services are appropriate for new acquisitions, as well as mature property and portfolio holdings.

For more information, contact Erin Smith at EducateMHC via (317) 697-1717

October 11, 2019

There’s Only ONe HUD-Code HOusing Shipment # Each Month (&) ‘State of MHIndustry & LLCommunities!’

Filed under: Uncategorized — George Allen @ 10:45 am

October 2019; Copyright 2019; www.educatemhc.com

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

This blog is the online national advocate, official ombudsman, asset class historian, researcher, education resource & communication media for land lease communities in North America!

To input this blog &/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: promote HUD-Code manufactured housing & land lease communities as U.S. source of affordable attainable housing! Call for next MHM class!

INTRODUCTION: Time for a change! With new leaders coming on board at the Manufactured Housing Institute (‘MHI’), now is the ideal time to begin reporting monthly new HUD-Code housing shipments in the same manner as IBTS, MHARR, HUD, & EducateMHC! This reporting discrepancy was first reported, in the Allen Letter, during Summer of 2015. Let’s start year 2020 off right! And ‘State of the MHIndustry & LLCommunity Asset Class’? I share this message a dozen times each year. Suggest your state MHAssociation invite me to share it with you.

I.

Rely on EducateMHC’s Monthly ‘#s & $s’ Report Documenting New HUD-Code Housing Shipments!

Every month, the Institute for Building Technology & Safety (‘IBTS’), HUD’s contractor for researching and reporting manufactured housing shipments, distributes a statistical report to subscribers. For example, on or about 1 October, the IBTS reported 8,646 new HUD-Code singlesection and multisection homes shipped nationwide during the month of August 2019.

HUD reports the same total: 8,646
MHARR reports the same total: 8,646
NAMHCO reports the same total: 8,646
EducateMHC reports the same total: 8,646

MHI reports 8,631 new HUD-Code homes shipped

What’s wrong – and ‘why’, with this statistical reporting picture? If five out of six reporting entities agree on the monthly shipment volume, ‘why’ the outlier’s different total number?

Has to do with the ‘accounting or not’ of DESTINATION PENDING (‘DP’) units – new HUD-Code homes not scheduled for delivery, to any particular destination, at the time of reporting #s to the IBTS. MHI, for decades, has reduced IBTS’ monthly total (e.g. 8,646 units during August) by that month’s number of DP units (e.g. -24), then added back the number of DP units from the previous month (e.g. +9 from July), to arrive at its’ own reported volume of new HUD-Code homes shipped = 8,631. Rationale for this process? Likely, an attempt to account for eventual distribution of all DESTINATION PENDING units. The ‘problem’ with that thinking however, is IBTS has long known some DP units will almost never be distributed, i.e. unit accounting when a plant closes oft exposes DP units, months and years after their fabrication.

So, what’s the logical resolution to this reporting dilemma that only adds to the consternation, by federal legislators and regulators, over how one industry – the manufactured housing industry, appears to be incapable of agreeing on just how many new HUD-Code homes are shipped monthly throughout the U.S.? The answer, in this industry observer’s opinion, is for all six reporting entities to agree on monthly shipment volume, beginning with IBTS published totals.

So, where can one obtain a copy of the EducateMHC Monthly ‘#s & $s’ Report – showing how all six reporting entities report each month’s shipment volume? Visit www.educatemhc.com

II.

State of the MHIndustry & LLCommunities

This past week saw the 10th anniversary celebration of the SECO Symposium. Held at the Airport Hilton in Atlanta, GA., it was attended by nearly 500 manufactured housing and land lease community businessmen and women. The Big Three C: HUD-Code manufactured housing firms (Clayton Homes, Skyline Champion, & CAVCO Industries), and a hefty number of small to mid-sized land lease community owners/operators, many of whom are ‘new to the business’, characterized the group at large. The only national manufactured housing/land lease community advocate present was the National Association of Manufactured Housing Community Owners (‘NAMHCO’) – lobbyist for the real estate asset class in Washington, D.C.

Also interesting to note that all MH trade publications of note were present at SECO:
• MHInsider magazine, a product of MHVillage & DATACOMP in Michigan
• Manufactured Housing Review, a quarterly online publication
• Allen Letter and the Allen CONFIDENTIAL! Published by at www.educatemhc.com
As has been the case in years past, I was asked to deliver the ‘State of the Manufactured Housing & Land Lease Community Real Estate Asset Class’ address. But this time around, instead of focusing entirely on statistics and emerging trends, I shared highlights of the past year, in terms of performance and pressing concerns. Here goes:

• 96,555 new HUD-Code homes were shipped during year 2018. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, they were valued (retail) at $6.4billion, or $66,200/manufactured home (close to the $70,000/MH figure oft quoted within the MHIndustry). Production (wholesale) value of the year’s shipments, based on MHI’s research & 2013 baseline, pencils out to be $4.2 billion or $43,126/MH, leaving a $2.2 billion margin or 23,000 per new manufactured home. It’s time for an update to the year 2013 baseline $ factor.

• How many new HUD-Code homes will be shipped by year end 2019? Time will certainly tell, but it’ll likely NOT eclipse the 100,000 ‘goal’ of the past two years. Why? Continuing lack of reasonable access to chattel capital for new HUD-Code home sales transactions on-site in land lease communities! Here we’ve moved up from only 24% of new HUD-Code homes shipped into LLCommunities in 2009, to more than 40% by year end 2015 – and now likely stalled.

• During year 2019 we celebrated the 30th anniversary release of the ALLEN REPORT (a.k.a. ‘Who’s Who Among Land Lease Community Portfolio Owners/operators Throughout North America!’). Now, during October and November we’re researching the data needed for the 31st ALLEN REPORT, scheduled for distribution during January 2020. If you’re a property portfolio owner/operator and have not yet submitted the completed questionnaire used to compile said report, please let me know via gfa7156@aol.com and I’ll send you another blank one. And if you’ve not yet been listed among the ‘known 500 portfolio owners/operators’ – who own and or fee manage five or more communities, and or 500+ rental homesites – whether MH & RV or purely MH, get listed now! Also phone (317) 346-7156.

• Beware national rent control legislation making its’ way through Congress! It’s written to include anyone owning/operating two or more land lease communities. How to fight this? Belong to and support your state manufactured housing association, and encourage staff to keep you informed, and how you can help fight this national plague! How to know if your local housing market is guilty of bringing unwanted landlord/tenant legislation to our doorstep? Use the traditional 3:1 ratio. Market survey the 3BR2B conventional apartments in your area (e.g. $900/month), then divide by ‘3’ to estimate what land lease community rental homesite rent might be (e.g. $300/month). If site rates in your local housing market are at or above a 2:1 ratio (e.g. $450+/month), then it’s possible these rents are part of the focus creating this challenge.

And there was more, but you have the gist of the presentation here.

October 4, 2019

Be Aware & Beware of ‘Place to Prosper’ Act (&) GASLIGHTING

Filed under: Uncategorized — George Allen @ 12:18 pm

October 2019; Copyright 2019; www.educatemhc.com

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

This blog is sole online national advocate, official ombudsman, asset class historian, researcher, PM education resource & communication media for land lease communities in North America!

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

Moto: ‘U Support US & WE Serve U! Goal: promote HUD-Code manufactured housing & land lease communities as U.S. source of affordable attainable housing! Call for next MHM class.

INTRODUCTION: As an industry, we were ‘asleep at the switch’ when the S.A.F.E. Act was legislated a decade ago. Let’s not be guilty of similar inattention and inaction as national rent control makes its’ way through the halls of Congress! MHI/NCC. When will your ‘research’ translate into action? And, wouldn’t it be helpful to ‘really know’ the $ details about ‘home & land’ finance of manufactured homes, as well as for ‘home only’ loans? Perhaps 21st Mortgage Company will ‘take the lead’ here, and report $ facts and trends relative to the latter type MH lending. Finally; GASLIGHTING. This has been a trade news blemish awaiting attention for a while now. Manufactured housing and land lease community aficionados owe it to themselves, their employees, and customers, to rely solely on reliable trade news reporting of facts and trends, not salacious op/ed posturing by an outlier!

I.

Be Aware of, & Beware, the ‘Place to Prosper’ Act!

“The Place to Prosper Act calls for a cap of 3 percent or the Consumer Price Index (‘CPI’), whichever is greater, for housing markets nationwide. (The rule would apply specifically to landlords with five or more residential properties or TWO OR MORE MANUFACTURED HOUSING PARKS)…” (Emphasis added. GFA) Per AOC, Bernie Sanders, et. al. Will let you know more when we hear and learn more!

II.

INTERESTING MH $$$ NEWS – Revisited

CFPB’s recently-released HMDA Summary description of 99,200 ‘home & land’ mortgages and 51,000 ‘home only’ loans, according to some freelance manufactured housing consultants, understates the real total, given that an unspecified number of independent third party lenders allegedly don’t report this $ data to the CFPB. However, knowing the manufactured housing industry shipped 96,555 new HUD-Code homes during year 2018, the 150,200 total loans underwritten during that same period of time, appears logical when including resale homes in the mix.

III.

GASLIGHTING

…is a psychological tactic, in writing and speaking, used to (attempt to) gain power over someone – or a group, causing them question their perception, reality, sanity, even memory, of how they believe things are and should be. And I suppose, at times, all of us are guilty of this practice, to some degree, as we deign to influence individuals we interact with during business and social intercourse. However, when I (sometimes) read a particular manufactured housing trade publication (Not MHInsider or Manufactured Housing Review), it appears their op/ed penmen go out of their way to gaslight a particular national advocacy entity – one they should be supporting, and various targeted individuals. Point? Be discerning as to what you read, and who you listen to, in today’s fractious world of politics, business, and certainly, manufactured housing. In truth, you’re better off not reading some news tripe, but concentrate on good and uplifting news about the industry and realty asset class we embrace as businessmen and women.

Is there an acid test to discern gaslighting masquerading as journalism? Yes, three principles of journalism posed as questions:

• Is what you read or hear, the reporting of facts – or just the source’s opinion?

• Check writer/speaker’s resources – or is it past commentary used out of context?

• Is read or spoken word easily understood, by dint of plain style communication?

So, next time you read any of the nearly half dozen manufactured housing trade publications afoot these days, ask those three questions as you read, to learn which ones are worth the time and effort, going forward, and which is not. It’s as simple as that. So, ‘Just Do It!’

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