by George Allen

My Take on the Matter…

Earlier this month I was asked, by a consulting client, to summarize circumstances I believe deleveraged the manufactured housing industry en-route to the miserable shape it's in today; and, what land-lease  community owners may have done, in my opinion, to screw up their own business model. I'll begin with the (edited) paragraphs I penned, in response to that request; then conclude with a column paragraph published here in July issue – followed by commentary.

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Tim Connor, CSP

In the last sixty years we have been through four recessions that have had a tremendous impact on consumers buying habits, trends and style.  The question every salesperson needs to ask themselves is – How has the economy affected how I prospect, present, close and handle price resistance?

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♪ Summer Time – And the Manufactured Home Community Living is Easy… ♫

by Nadeen Green

Well, the living may be easy, but managing a manufactured housing community never is, no matter the season.  Every summer we fair housing legal folks are asked about the clothing that residents or guests may wish to wear as they dip their toes or other/all parts of their anatomy in the pool.

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by Derrick Hachey

Manufactured Home dealers and community operators have an arsenal of tools at their disposal to help them capture and engage prospective manufactured home buyers or renters, but are faced with a potentially overwhelming array of options.

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by Mark Hunter "The Sales Hunter"

So you now own an iPad or other type of tablet and you're wondering if you should use it on a sales call.  
Here are 6 quick rules to consider:

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by Chrissy Jackson

Complaints.  From time to time, we get them.  How should the Community Manager handle them?  Should they be written? Is there a box to deposit them into? Should they be brought to the office during office hours? Should they (or could they) be mailed? What address would be used? Is a signature required? Is there a Complaint Form that must be used?

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by Tracey C. Jones

Fred Smith—business expert, millionaire, and author of the classic business book You and Your Network—wrote in this book about the importance of maintaining adequate savings when trying to create personal wealth.  He wrote:

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by L. A. 'Tony' Kovach

The manufactured housing industry's has had – does have – and will for the foreseeable future continue to be plagued by a variety of issues.  

There is a principle that needs to be identified and put to use, if we are going to move past our plague and move back to good health.

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by Steve Lefler

The history of active adult communities is fairly short. It began in Phoenix, Arizona, by developer Del Webb in the 1960s. His plan included social clubhouses, golf course and other recreational amenities. As retirees and couples no longer needing a large home where they could raise their families, they sought other communities that offered social programs and housing that required less care and maintenance.

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by Mike Moore

The "new economy" will require new attitudes, skills and actions and the first is stop watching the scoreboard and start coaching or playing the game to the best of your ability! It will require all our best efforts.  You won't be able to just wait for the market to come back or go back to basics. In fact, anything with back in it is probably the wrong strategy this time around.

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by George Porter

Do you know what the formula is for ventilation under a home? First of all it is what ever the factory manual says it is. If you don't have the factory manual as in the case of a used home or some other reason, then you can be safe with the recommendations of the ANSI Code A. 225.1. This code says that there has to be one square foot of free vented area for every one hundred fifty square feet enclosed beneath the home.

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by Dan Rinzema

Editor's note: This is Part 1 of a 2-part series.

The idea for a Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for our industry, or greater participation in the other housing Industry's residential MLS, has been discussed recently in several articles, blogs and social media outlets.  Neither MLS alternative is a new idea, nor has either alternative gotten much traction.  Truth be told, we've been talking about it and not doing anything about it for many, many years.  Perhaps, despite all the talk, we really don't want to participate in any MLS.  Or maybe our industry has now shrunk to the size where neither alternative is feasible.  Or perhaps there's a third alternative that we haven't discussed yet.

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by Ken Rishel

S eller financing of one form or another is beginning to become the norm in the manufactured housing industry. While that is great news, those not fully familiar and knowledgeable about setting up and operating a captive finance company often have several problems, not the least of which is setting up their structure and operation to finance brand new homes. Most of the rent to own, lease to own and lease option operations are sloppy and unprofessional operations that are on a par with Lonnie Deals and depend on used homes bought for far less than they are sold for in order to actually work.

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by Erin Schmotzer

It's a struggle.  You know the benefits of advertising.  But do you know if your ads actually bring customers in the door? Are you advertising in all the area newspapers because you think you have to, or do you know that each paper actually brings in customers?

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by Dave Shanklin

1. Never let Buyers go by themselves for the Interview with the Park Manager.

Most park managers require personal interviews with prospective buyers/tenants.  As an agent for the buyer, you should always accompany your buyer when they are interviewed.  Sometimes misunderstandings pop up resulting in the buyer canceling or the park management declining the application.

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by Joanne M. Stevens, CCIM

Despite increased vacancies in parks and communities of all sizes and geography, there are buyers, and banks are slowly starting to lend again.  

What buyers are looking for?

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by Zig Ziglar

Many years ago as a young, aspiring speaker, I heard an older speaker who was quite philosophical say that you are where you are because that's exactly where you want to be. I thought about his statement, decided it was the "wisdom of the ages" and verbalized it in my own presentations. Over a period of time, a series of events took place that convinced me that his statement was not true in my case. I was broke, in debt and down in the dumps. I wanted to be prosperous and excited about my future.

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