The basics of manufactured housing – its meat and potatoes – would be the selling, siting, supplying and servicing of more new and existing HUD Code homes.
When large and growing numbers of new homes are sold, the industry prospers.
When you ask someone whose been in the industry for more than a few months what it takes to sell more new homes, a common answer is more and easier financing. Let’s see just how true that is…
Back in the pre-1998 boom era of manufactured housing sales, that is precisely what existed. More lenders, easier lending, and a raft of new MH home sales.
The problem was, that flood of easy money end up in a flood of repossessions. Repossesed homes competed against new homes, and new home shipments fell. The same happened in the site built world too. Bad loans aren’t the basis for any long term sustainable industry. Good loans and successful homebuyers are.
A veteran state executive, with experience in many aspects of the industry, once observed “We’ve built our industry on the backs of many who are fundamentally not financeable.” Clearly, credit worthy MH buyers exist – that’s the meat and potatoes of Triad Financial, San Antonio Credit Union and their subsidiary MH Lenders.
Site built homes cost far more and are outselling manufactured housing by a wide margin – combine new and existing home sales, and the margin of MH sales to other housing is roughly 99 to 1. What has to take place for more new MH sales to occur?
The obvious answer is that more credit worthy and cash buyers have to be attracted to the sales centers and community offices.
That more cash and good credit customers can be attracted ought to be without question. Here is an example of a client of our marketing and sales consulting operation that has done just that – attracted more cash and credit worthy buyers.
Their results?
While the Fath family and their team still selling new VOG ‘entry level’ manufactured homes, their finish taped-and-texture sales have leaped past the entry level product.
They’ve sold more new homes in the last 6 months, than the prior 4 years. If you do the math, that’s 800% growth.
They’re attracting a qualify of customer they have not seen in some time.
They are not the only one, just one of the most recent. Our marketing and consulting department provided coaching and a plan, they did the work, so they get and deserve the gold and the glory!
Not knocking rentals – which certainly are working for a number of operations – but these folks created more new home sales, by getting more cash or third party financeable customers.
The point is, they improved their image of their business in their market. It was a local campaign, local marketing, a new vision, a renewed zest and new policies and procedures at the property that changed their results.
The meat and pototatoes of most industries are selling more of their product and services and having more satisfied customers. MH ought to be no exception. And while we’re selling more new homes than 6 years ago, its still a drop in the bucket compared to our industry’s potential.
So if locations like the Fath family has – an hour or so from Chicago, experiencing growth in a mostly rural area, odds are good that your location(s) can increase sales too.
We’ll look more at this meat and potatoes topic in the rapidly approaching new July issue of MHProNews.com. To learn more, reach out via the contacts below. ##
Consultant and service provider to the MH industry.
Managing Member of LifeStyle Factory Homes, LLC.
Publisher of MHLivingNews.com, MHProNews.com and
Inside MH storytelling video series.
MHI member, elected MHI Suppliers Division board member.
Office 863-213-4090.
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