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

February 3, 2013

Essence of TAC! – What MHExecs Read…

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

Blog # 231 Copyright 2013 3 February 2013

Perspective. ‘Land lease lifestyle communities, a.k.a. manufactured home communities, & earlier, ‘mobile home parks’, are the real estate component of manufactured housing.’

Have You Ever Wondered What You’re Missing, by Not Subscribing to the Allen CONFIDENTIAL! newsletter?

Here’s an inside look at two of 10 stories & four blog summaries, featured in the February issue of TAC!; the first, a dual focus commentary on the recently concluded, successful Louisville MHShow; the second, exciting FLASH NEWS, describing a rare educational and networking opportunity, in our nation’s capitol, for 20 land lease lifestyle community owners/operators who register…

I.

‘They simply don’t get it!
Who? HUD – Code home manufacturers & show organizers!’

Both cases in point were clearly evidenced at the recent ‘2013 Louisville Manufactured Housing Show’, formerly known as the Midwest Manufactured Housing Show, with 30+ new homes on display, and dozens of supplier booths.

• HUD – Code home manufacturers. It’s estimated there are approximately 250,000 vacant rental homesites in 50,000+/- land lease lifestyle communities (a.k.a. manufactured home communities) throughout the U.S. today! And at least half those quarter million vacant rental homesites are likely functionally obsolete, i.e. unable to site today’s typical ‘big box = big bucks’ developer series home(s), as said sites were developed when homes were half the size they are today. And most HUD – Code home manufacturers now include a line of Community Series Homes or CSH Model homes (i.e. singlesection and smaller multisection homes with durability – enhancing features) in their design and production capability. BUT, does one see CSH Model homes ‘identified and showcased as such’ at regional MHShow? NO! Last week at the Louisville MHShow I saw NO signs promoting Community Series Homes (though admittedly, I could have missed a sign or two), and I counted fewer than a half dozen homes, mostly singlesection, that ‘might have qualified’ as such. BOTTOM LINE? Land lease lifestyle community owners/operators, large and small, need Community Series Homes to fill vacant rental homesites in their properties, and at this point in time, ‘go begging’ for same, as HUD – Code manufacturers ballyhoo ‘Big Box = Big Bucks’ behemoth models at regional MHShows. Time for a change! (On a related not, the late Warren Huddleston: RV/MH Hall of Fame member, Illinois MHPioneer, and perennial KY MHShow Chairman, frequently complained of this same shortsightedness, on the part of HUD – Code manufacturers ‘for many years’ before his demise). Hence, ‘They, HUD – Code home manufacturers simply do NOT get it!’, and continue to drag along at a nadir of 50,000+/- new home shipments per year, now going on five years in a row. Go figure.

• Show organizers. OK; I know. In years past, when there were more than 4,000 independent ‘street’ MHRetailers & ‘company stores’ (formerly called ‘dealers’), and not the paltry 1,100 remaining today, it was anathema to do anything at a manufactured housing trade show that’d pull would be homebuyers (e.g. aforementioned MHRetailers) off the showroom floor! After all, the prevailing attitude was ‘They’re here to buy (homes),not learn anything!’ Well, times have changed. Not only are there far fewer MHRetailers ‘to buy new homes to sell’; land lease lifestyle community owners, by default (few to no nearby MHRetailers selling/moving homes into their properties anymore), have had to learn to sell repo, resale, and now new HUD – Code manufactured homes, to fill vacant rental homesites, as older homes deteriorate and disappear. Unfortunately – in this industry observer’s opinion – the variety and quality of off – the – showroom – floor educational sessions has NOT kept pace with the knowledge and HOW TO… demands of MHShow registrants. That sorry shortfall was convincingly demonstrated last week in Louisville, KY when 70 land lease lifestyle community owners/operators paid $50.00/person to leave the fairground, and go learn about lease – option and other chattel finance strategies; ‘How to Collect 100% of Their Site Rent 100% of the Time!’; and, where to go to learn ‘How to Be Compliant with Today’s Myriad of Financial Regulations’.

Yes, it’s past time for HUD – Code home manufacturers and MHShow program committees to Wake Up & Effectively Deliver, 1) the appropriate housing product, and 2) the ‘How To’ educational topics sorely needed by land lease lifestyle community owners/operators, who take the time and expend the resources, to attend regional trade shows!

Enough said, and hopefully, ‘you get this point’! Few other writers in the manufactured housing industry and land lease lifestyle community asset class, with two notable exceptions*1, routinely put their professional reputation and business credibility ‘on the line’ in your behalf, to communicate the truth! Regularly challenging long held traditions and marketing practices, that once spelled Success for this ‘double dual industry’*2, but today stymie us from being this nation’s preferred housing purveyors and shelter suppliers of choice, replete with a positive brand identity, and reputation for being ‘truly affordable housing’.

II.

FLASH NEWS: Announcing a half day Workshop for Land Lease Lifestyle Community Owners/operators in Arlington, VA., on Monday, 25 February.

Plans have been finalized that might be of interest to YOU! At the request of land lease lifestyle community owners/operators in the Washington, DC area (Think MD, VA, DE, & eastern PA), we’re hosting ‘A Workshop for LLLCommunity Owners/operators!’, Monday morning, 25 February 2013, from 8:00AM until Noon, followed by a networking luncheon at the event hotel. Capacity is limited to first 20 owners/operators who sign up!

Important Notice: This exciting Workshop has nothing to do with MHI’s
Legislative Conference being held the same day. It’s simply an educational,
networking alternative to there being no NCC division meeting this month.

Preliminary agenda includes a ‘meet & greet’ from 8 – 8:30AM; ‘State of the MHIndustry & LLLCommunity Asset Class’, from 8:30 – 9AM; ‘Maximizing Profitability of Land Lease Lifestyle Communities!’ from 9 – 9:45 AM; ‘ID New Chattel $$$ to Fill Vacant Rental Homesites!’, from 10 – 10:45AM; and, an ‘Open Discussion of Industry & Asset Class Issues, Trends, Resources, & More….from 11AM until Noon. Morning will end with a group ‘order from menu’ luncheon at the hotel restaurant. Cost? Only $75.00 per person, to cover meeting room and related expenses. Want to participate? Phone the MHIndustry HOTLINE: (877) MFD-HSNG or 633.-4764 or (317) 346-7156. Remember; ‘First Come, First Served!’ BONUS. If you’ve wanted to learn firsthand, about the lease – option, when used in LLLCommunities; be there!

III.

Well, there’s your taste of the nearly 14 year old limited circulation publication, the Allen CONFIDENTIAL! business newsletter. Yes, it’s expensive @ $950.00/year for 12 monthly issues. However, if a TAC! subscriber is also a subscriber to the Allen Letter professional journal (also a monthly trade publication, but only $134.95/year), then TAC! is only $750.00/year. So, taken altogether, the two newsletters and annual ALLEN REPORT, bought separately, cost $1,584.95/year. But when the two newsletters are subscribed to together, the total cost is reduced to $884.95, for an annual savings of $700.00. So interested in subscribing? Again, phone the MHIndustry HOTLINE: (877) MFD-HSNG or 633-4764, and ‘don’t risk being shown what you’re missing’, ever again! GFA

***

End Notes.

1. The exceptions? Danny Ghorbani, long time executive heading the Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform or MHARR; and, Ken Rishel of Rishel Consulting, with his two online finance – related publications. You can count on these long time MHIndustry executives, and yours truly, to communicate ABC3 (‘accurate; brief; clear, concise & complete’) trade – related information, that’s become increasingly difficult to find and read ‘in print & on line’ these days! And if Bruce Savage was still on board, in Arlington, VA., we’d quickly add him to this too small number of trade journalists, as well.

2. ‘double dual industry’ = ‘HUD – Code home manufacturing & distribution; land lease lifestyle community development and investment/management’.

***

George Allen, CPM®Emeritus, MHM®Master
Consultant to the Factory – built Housing Industry,
The Land Lease Lifestyle Community Asset Class &
Affordable Housing Purists & Enthusiasts Nationwide
Box 3 47024, Indianapolis, IN> 46247 (317) 346-7156

No Comments »

No comments yet.

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

Leave a comment

Powered by WordPress