by George F. Allen

A Sense of Personal Legacy… doesn't usually blossom overnight, unless you expect to die tomorrow.

And, one's sense of corporate legacy is another matter altogether….

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by Michael F.B. Barnabas

Every Industry is made up of companies. Companies are made up of people. You may be in a company of 1, 100 or 1000. Regardless of size, it is the performance of people, individuals like yourself, that make or break a company. So it is individuals like yourself who create and fuel the growth of a company. When enough companies grow, so does an Industry. There is no secret to industry growth; the key is to help people improve, to motivate and empower them to improve bottom line performance. What we are talking about is information, education and inspiration.

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by Chad Carr

The first step in any marketing program is to let people know you exist. You can't build a relationship with a potential buyer until they first know about you and your company. Traditionally retailers would use advertising such as Television, Radio and Newspapers to reach out to the consumer with a message about their homes. Once people knew about you, those who were interested in your homes could call or visit your sales center.

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by Tim Connor, CSP

Is 2011 going to be a repeat of 2010 or have you learned some lessons so that you can create different outcomes in 2011? Why do I ask this simple question as the year comes to a close?

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by Tim Connor, CSP

One of the common mistakes of organizations that struggle each year is the failure to spend adequate time in analysis, review or just simple introspection about attitudes, behaviors or outcomes. Well, there are only two weeks left before we begin another year. For you–will it be same outcomes, just a different year? Or, will your

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by Maria Cucchiara

You've probably heard by now that your business needs a Facebook page. With more than 500 million active users, Facebook is the number-one-ranked social media website in the world. As a social media outlet, it is where your company's consumers go when they are socializing with their friends on the web.

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by Suzanne Felber, LifeStylist®

The Home Idea Factory does more than do just interior design and show houses - we also work with manufacturers on new product design. People either love us or hate us for introducing Home Depot to our industry, but by offering products in our homes that were "residential" instead of just for our industry, we were able to attract a new buyer.

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by Nadeen Green

It is the holiday season and people of many faiths and cultures will be giving gifts. So in the spirit of the season, here is my gift to the readers at MHMSM.com. A word search giving you some interesting tidbits on fair housing, but only if you are willing to look for them. The clues are below, so learn and enjoy. And if you become stuck or frustrated, I am only an email away with the answers: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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by Edward 'Eddie' Hicks

Whether you refer to it as a trailer park, mobile home park, manufactured home park or LLCommunity, today's manufactured housing land lease community is widely sought after by sophisticated real estate income property investors. However, in today's market, their pricing guidelines can often be less than seller's expectations. And, it may be difficult to sell communities that are not "investment grade," or those that are large enough with sufficient income to provide for expensive full-time on-site management, maintenance reserves, and external management fees; all of which are typical underwriting requirements by many lenders. http://youtu.be/S1V6xJ3x_dM As a result, community owners are finding that their pricing can be substantially higher than these investment-oriented income property firms are willing to sell.

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by Mike Hourigan, CSP

"He's an old hippie and he don't know what to do - should he hang on to the old or grab on to the new?" This verse is from the popular song Old Hippie by the Bellamy Brothers. The song goes on to describe how an old hippy turns 39 and starts to realize the world may have passed him by. He was so cool in the 60's - he knew the hip lingo, wore all the cool clothes, and trusted no one over 30. Now he seems irrelevant and he is questioning his whole existence and wondering what he should do about it.

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by Chrissy Jackson

Now, just for review–why upgrade? Why voluntarily spend all this money and put yourself through the headaches, and your residents through all the inconveniences? Is it really worth it? Does it really increase the value of your community? Would you be better off not doing it? Let's look at some cold, hard facts to determine the answers to those questions and more.

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by L.A. 'Tony Kovach

Not too long ago, a corporate owner/executive called me. We had a fascinating conversation about the future of America. I say 'conversation' in quotes, as I did more listening than speaking. This affluent and successful person stated his belief that within 10-15 years, the middle class in the U.S. would essentially be wiped out. He stated his reasons for thinking this. There would be the rich and the poor. He told me that we must all choose which group that we would want to be in.

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by Greg McClanahan

The character trait of 'Generosity' claims our attention during the Christmas holiday season. Today's message teaches us that quiet generosity can be found in the most unlikely places. As you read, I encourage you to think of the quiet ways you can make a difference in the lives of your family, colleagues, customers and those you see who are in need.

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by George Porter

This entire industry is powered by the wants of the consumers, not necessarily their needs. The consumers may want something and, therefore, feel they need it. On the other hand, if the consumers don't want something, then they probably feel they don't need it. If this seems a little confusing, then bear with me for a few minutes and I will explain.

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by Kenneth Rishel

It is always a surprise when an experienced operator starts talking of repossession rates that near 25%. It is never a surprise to find out that same operator rarely has a mathematically modeled credit matrix from which the underwriters make their credit granting decisions. While a credit matrix is the first line of defense against repossession, many owner-assisted finance operations seem to lack one because they fail to understand just how important this tool is to them.

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by Dave Shanklin

In a time when we're all grasping to understand new legislation, one of our industry's lenders delivers a Christmas present: an announcement that they've dropped their rates for short-term loans to a record-low 4.99%.

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by Joanne M. Stevens, CCIM

Sandra Kulli (www.sandrakulli.com) spoke at The Urban Land Institute annual meeting in San Francisco last November. She is a specialist in the business of creating memorable living places. I wanted to hear what Sandra had to say to see if there might be something to learn and apply to Manufactured Home Communities. As a presenter, she is visionary but pragmatic, high energy and inspiring to listen to. A plus about Sandra is that while she has some experience with manufactured homes (she consulted for Fleetwood during the 1990's) and communities,

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by Bob Stovall

We all know what it looks like. A house that has been severely neglected - the bane of the banking industry when it comes to the surge of foreclosure properties they need to repair before reselling. It's often easier to just take a bigger haircut and get on with it.

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by Don Westphal

Let's continue our previous discussion with the next renewal level:

Level III Renewal

As mentioned at the outset of this series, each succeeding level of renewal is more involved than the previous one. Level III renewal communities have all the problems and opportunities of the previous two and in addition require some level of improvement of roads, infrastructure and possibly some adjustment of homesite layout. These operations could result in a reduction in density.

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by Zig Ziglar

I'm seated in the Tampa airport on Pearl Harbor Day, December 7. A gentleman recognized me and approached me saying, "Greater love hath no man for his wife than to always open her car door." That's something of a takeoff on what I've been talking about for many years, that it's the little things husbands and wives do for each other on a regular basis, not the big things once or twice a year, that breed long-term, successful marriages and lots of honeymoons instead of just anniversaries.

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