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

April 1, 2017

‘CAlling All Land Lease Community Owners!’ (&) Keep 7 September open on your calendar…

Filed under: Uncategorized — George Allen @ 4:36 am

Blog # 440 Copyright @ 5 March 2017; community-investor.com

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

This blog posting is the sole national advocate voice, official ombudsman & historian, research report, & online communication media for North American LLCommunities!

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

COBA7 Motto: ‘U Support US & WE Serve U!’ Goal of its’ print/online media = to ‘Not only inform & opine, but transform & improve MHBusiness model performance!’
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INTRODUCTION: This weekly blog posting probably needs no introduction. It’s clear from the first two lines in Part I, land lease community owners have some important decisions ahead. Part II. A mystery? You bet. Details to follow….

I.

Calling All Land Lease Community Owners!

As LLCommunity owners, we’re close to having to decide whether to ‘continue suffering perennial benign neglect toward our realty asset class’, by one or another of the national manufactured housing trade advocates,

OR

We take control of our collective free enterprise destiny, by demanding equal representation, helpful research, useful resources, regular print & online communication, networking & deal-making opportunities, and professional property management training & certification!

*****

OK, backing up a little, just what is ‘benign neglect’. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, it’s (Now read this carefully):

“…an attitude or policy of ignoring an often delicate or undesirable situation that one is held to be responsible for dealing.”

With that definition in mind, what contemporary manufactured housing national trade association, or advocacy arrangement, in Washington, DC., comes to mind? Specifically, what national body, or entities, actively and overtly, promote land lease communities (a.k.a. manufactured home communities) – i.e., the ‘delicate or undesirable situation’ of a ‘modern lifestyle featuring affordable housing’? Frankly, None Come to Mind! And therein lies ‘the rub’.

As land lease community owners, are you (we) prepared to continue on into manufactured housing’s future, subject to this attitude of benign neglect, or do you (we) want – even demand, much more?

You’re going to have to make such a decision, to that end, sooner than you realize.

Why?

Because the day is fast approaching, when and where the Community Owners (7 Part) Business Alliance, or COBA7, a division of GFA Management, Inc., dba PMN Publishing, will no longer be willing or able to shoulder the ‘seven part product & service’ agenda alone – those unique features so many LLCommunity owners/operators, in the U.S. and Canada, rely upon as matters of daily and weekly routine.

Some examples follow. After 28 years, if and when the annual ALLEN REPORT (a.k.a. ‘Who’s Who Among LLCommunity Portfolio Owners/operators Throughout North America!’),, is no longer researched, published and distributed among 500+/- property portfolio ‘players’, who will maintain that exclusive and confidential data base, to annually update our benchmark statistics? No One comes to Mind!

Today, more than a dozen Signature Series Resource Documents, or SSRDs, are updated ‘one-per-month throughout the year’: e.g. 19th annual National Registry of ALL Lenders; ‘Who Ya Gonna Call in 2017?’ directory of consultants; official MHIndustry lexicon; the Industry Briefing Sheet (official record of annual MH shipments going back to 1955); directory of factory-built housing manufacturing firms; and much more. Who will continue to trim and carry those torches to light the way for LLCommunity owners to come? No One Comes to Mind!

And communication. Not only has the manufactured housing industry taken a major hit in this area, during the past decade or so – but the LLCommunity realty asset class, frankly, has no regular news reporting and op/ed sharing than what occurs within the pages of the Allen Letter professional journal, the Allen CONFIDENTIAL! business newsletter, and this weekly blog posting at the community-investor.com web site. Who will pick up the slack in these three areas? No One Comes to Mind!

Networking and deal-making? This is the sole area where there’s a fair amount of activity and cross-pollination, via the annual Networking Roundtable, SECO Summit in the South, Super Symposium in the Northeast, the MHCongress in Las Vegas, and two NCC Leadership Forums.

Professional property management training and certification. This area is pathetic. Are you aware, of all the realty asset classes, LLCommunity ownership and management, has fewer Certified Property Managers (only 100+CPM members of the Institute of Real Estate Management) and 1,000+ Manufactured Housing Managers (‘MHM’s) via COBA7, than any other income-producing property type? There’s not even a viable Accredited Community Manager (‘ACM’) program at this time. Is it any wonder we continue to suffer an ongoing public image challenge? Who to champion this worthy cause? No One Comes to Mind!

*****

So, what’s in the wind?

COBA7 is routinely invited to state MH meetings (KY, IN, IL, NY, New England, GA, PA, TN, AZ, etc.) and various corporate venues, to teach MHM classes, share the ‘Official State of the MHIndustry & LLCommunity Asset Class’ lecture, and explain ‘How to Buy, Sell & Seller-finance New HUD-Code Homes On-site in LLCommunities!’ And that’s good.

However, COBA7 is NOT invited to share this knowledge and experience with attendees at the annual MHCongress in Las Vegas, or Leadership Forums, even after offers have been made to do so! Yet the annual Networking Roundtable showcases speakers from one or another of these national advocacy entities; and, until this year, has been a major means for collecting PAC $ Funds. What’s wrong with this picture? It’s obvious. Via benign neglect, the national advocates are not supporters of research, resources, communication, networking/deal-making, and professional property management training and certification provided by anyone but themselves – and their ‘offerings’ leave much to be desired.

My guess is, by year end 2017, COBA7 will undergo some major changes. Already, MHM classes are well taught by two MHMs. Several writers now assist with research and report/directory writing. But there’s still much to be shared. The question is, ‘Who will do it?’ No One Comes to Mind!

In the meantime, if a land lease community owner/operator, your affiliation with COBA7 is important and telling! We already rely on affiliate fees to underwrite the ‘seven areas of products and services’ provided to YOU. Your affiliation with COBA7 is nothing short of ‘telling’, to national trade advocates who presently do little in behalf of our realty asset class nationwide! So, affiliate today, if not already on board with COBA7!

And sure would appreciate your input on this timely and challenging matter(s). GFA

II.

7 September 2017

National Manufactured Housing Input Day?

Could be. Watch here Sunday mornings for details if/as they emerge.

After all, why patronize national meetings where your views on industry and realty asset class issues are not sought, implying they are worthless.

No, we’re planning a new and different venue for manufactured housing aficionados and land lease community owners/operators. Yes superb interpersonal networking and education will be on the agenda; but most important of all:

‘What is it YOU want to tell our national elected and salaried leaders?’

They will be individually invited to participate. Whether they attend or not, will tell YOU how much, or little, your input is valued. But no matter. If they don’t attend, your input will be featured in print and online trade media – publications that will also be invited to participate in the first National Manufactured Housing Input Day!

If you’re one of the aforementioned leaders or publications, and would like to volunteer to help plan and facilitate this first National Manufactured Housing Input Day, reach me via the Official MHIndustry HOTLINE: (87) MFD-HSNG or 633-4764.

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