Featured Articles and Reports for Vol. 3, No. 5, 2012
Alphabetically by Category
COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT & FAIR HOUSING (LEGAL)
• Fair Housing 2012 – The Two Most Important Words!
by Nadeen Green

I thought about holding a contest to see who might be able to come up with what I believe may be the two most important words for fair housing in 2012. But being generous of heart and spirit, I am simply going to tell you the two words, and then - not so simply, but still understandably, I hope - I will explain my rationale.
• Where to Build
by Eddie Hicks
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To build or not to build. That's the question. To "take up arms against a sea of trouble." Perchance to "dream"? Is that the rub? Sorry, Bill. I had to take a little license with the gentle Bard's musings.
• Content Area of Guidelines for Living: Security and Protection through Storage
by Chrissy Jackson

In our last column, we covered Manufactured Home Community “Guidelines for Living” topics ranging from Refuse Removal through Rights of Management. This month, we will explore Security and Protection through Storage, so let's get started, shall we?
• Community Management: The $20,000 Dog
by Kurt Kelly, JD

It’s exciting. You just purchased a manufactured home community. It has fifty (50) sites, forty eight (48) of which are occupied by home owning tenants paying $300/month in rent. You were pleased to purchase it for $960,000, or $20,000 per site. And now that it’s time to begin managing the community, you discover three things.
FINANCING
• Manufactured Housing Financing Alert

With approaching half a year of increasing shipment levels, we are seeing what could be the start of an industry turn around. This is not the time that anyone wants to the lose momentum. We will take a quick snapshot of a real challenge, but also suggest some common sense steps that pro-active industry professionals should consider taking to mitigate the issue we will review.
• Six Ways to Make your Manufactured Home Loan a Smooth Transaction

Over the years, I have noted several helpful procedures that make our loan processing smoother. In the past I have written on this topic. Here are some new tips to help our industry.
GENERAL MANUFACTURED HOUSING INDUSTRY TOPICS
• Multiple Listing Service… It is all about the Listings
by Boe Davis

This is our second installment about how a Multiple Listing Service (MLS) functions and how it could help manufactured home sales throughout the country. In this article we will explore the type of listings which can be found on a MLS and their value to MLS participants.
• It's Show Time in Tulsa!
by Deanna Fields

March 1-2 will be here before you know it! Do you want access to more financing? Do you need new sources for inventory, services or just want to network with your peers? You can compare dozens of homes, products and services all indoors, all under one roof!
• When Emails Aren't Where They Should Be, Whitelist
by Joe Geller

Many of us have gone through the frustration of not receiving an email, even after we verify the sender has sent the email, and he or she has not received an email indicating the email was not delivered. Often, if the person who did not receive the email looks in their SPAM or JUNK folder, they will see the email in it, and are at a loss as to how it was diverted there.
• How Long Will an Anchor Last? Anchor Rust

Have you ever heard of anyone replacing anchors because they were worn out or not good anymore? I know I haven't and it worries me. Have you ever seen anchors and/or straps that were so rusty that you could not turn the slotted bolt or step on the strap without something coming apart?
MANAGEMENT
• It Is - What it Is

One of my daughter’s favorite lines is, it is what it is. Every time I hear that from her it makes me stop and think – why is she saying this to me again? What did I say that triggered her need to repeat this common phrase?
MARKETING
• The Tribe is Here
by Jeff Templeton

I try to listen and learn about marketing and business from as many experts as possible. I believe that their insights will make myself and those that I work with and for that much better. One of the best I heard lately, was a marketing professional that said, " what matters now are tribes."
• Model Homes…..or NOT Part 2
by Katy Weldon

Whether the term is model home or staged home, the definition is the same. It is the detailed and creative preparation of a house to be sold. If you missed the first article in this series, click here to read it now, so we can jump into this month's topic!
PERSONAL REFLECTIONS, MOTIVATION and INSPIRATION
• ZigOn Healthy Fear

In recent years, in manufactured housing and in other industries too, we've seen fear take a toll. There really is "healthy fear." For example, it's very healthy to fear drinking before you drive. However, fear should not be allowed to run rampant through our lives so that it becomes such a devastating factor that it produces failure.
SALES
• Sales Super Stars – Got any?
by Tim Connor, CSP

Creating a team of super-stars is manufactured housing – business to business or business to consumers – is not as difficult as many managers or trainers would have us believe. The reason - everyone wants to be successful and create a lifestyle of affluence, freedom and control over their destiny. So if your staff in general is not producing consistent stellar results, do you know why?
• What are you prepared to do?

As we have noted before, at the heart of any successful career or business, there are certain basics or fundamentals. Being on the Cutting Edge of marketing or sales begins with those fundamentals! You or I could have the smoothest marketing process, but if we are not prepared to do what it takes handle the marketing properly, we fail to tap the true potential of our investments.
by Nadeen Green
I thought about holding a contest to see who might be able to come up with what I believe may be the two most important words for fair housing in 2012. But being generous of heart and spirit, I am simply going to tell you the two words, and then - not so simply, but still understandably, I hope - I will explain my rationale.
by Eddie Hicks
To build or not to build. That's the question. To "take up arms against a sea of trouble." Perchance to "dream"? Is that the rub? Sorry, Bill. I had to take a little license with the gentle Bard's musings.
by Chrissy Jackson
In our last column, we covered Manufactured Home Community “Guidelines for Living” topics ranging from Refuse Removal through Rights of Management. This month, we will explore Security and Protection through Storage, so let's get started, shall we?
by Kurt D. Kelley, JD
It’s exciting. You just purchased a manufactured home community. It has fifty (50) sites, forty eight (48) of which are occupied by home owning tenants paying $300/month in rent. You were pleased to purchase it for $960,000, or $20,000 per site. And now that it’s time to begin managing the community, you discover three things.

OriginationNews says the Census Bureau reports new home sales rose 3.3 percent in April following a 7.3 percent drop in March. MHProNews.com has learned sales of new single-family homes rose to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 343,000 in April from a 332,000 mark in March, besting Wall Street analysts who had predicted 330,000 to [...]...
23 May 2012
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CNNMoney reports the Dow Jones Industrial Average, after brushing with 12,325.00 during the day, climbed back in the last half hour to close at 12,496.15, losing a mere 6.66 points, -0.05%. The weakness in tech stocks and fears of Greece leaving the Eurozone fueled investors’ fears. The Nasdaq gained +0.39 percent to 2,850.12, while the [...]...
23 May 2012
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In 1970, 30 years after Sears ceased offering prefabricated housing, Shelter-Kit of Tilton, New Hampshire began offering small homes and cabins that could be assembled by aspiring homeowners with no construction experience. MarketWatch tells MHProNews.com customers can choose from a wide variety of options in designing their home, including...
23 May 2012
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Forbes reports on the heels of Universal Forest Products, Inc. (UFPI) strong first quarter 2012 results, whereby Q1 2011 showed a loss of -0.19 per share to first quarter 2012 return of +0.21 per share, and the recent acquisition of MSR Forest Products LLC, Zacks issued a #1 Rank (Strong Buy) for the stock. Zacks [...]...
23 May 2012
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BellehavenPatch tells MHProNews.com Fairfax County, Virginia is considering developing the North Hill site in Hybla Valley into an MHC for 67 homes and a greenspace. Meanwhile, AHP Virginia LLC has a counter proposal that would involve building apartments on the site, housing 204 families, nine percent of which would be targeted to low-income...
23 May 2012
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DelcoNewsNetwork tells MHProNews.com Tinicum Township officials, as part of a $23 million efficiency upgrade at Philadelphia International Airport, approved a land waiver request to build a 791 square foot modular building near the UPS facility on Hog Island Road. The building would house UPS workers moving from a facility at Ridley Park. The...
23 May 2012
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The National Association of Realtors (NAR) says reports from across the country show existing home sales edged up 3.4 percent April over March, 2012 for every region of the country. While the increase is a positive sign, the seasonally-adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 4.62 million home sales, just below January’s pace of 4.63 million, remains...
23 May 2012
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CNNMoney reports the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit 12,575.00 during the day but settled down to 12,502.81, -0.01%, -1.67 points as the day’s trading ended. The rise of sales of existing homes boosted the market, but a downgrade of Japan and a weak global market tempered that news. The Nasdaq dropped -0.29 percent to 2,839.08, [...]...
22 May 2012
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The 13 county Indianapolis metropolitan area marked an 18 percent rise in existing home sales in April from one year ago. As the IndyStar tells MHProNews.com, the Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors (MIBOR) says 2,215 homes were sold in April, an increase over the 1,877 sold in April 2011. The median sales price rose to [...]...
22 May 2012
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The Chronicle tells us another modular player has entered the housing game in the oil boom of North Dakota. Colorado-based Confluence has already set the first of ten units of apartments called Confluence at Harvest Hills, as the initial 12 modules were sited May 15. Occupancy of the first unit is set for Aug. 1, [...]...
22 May 2012
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VTDigger says Tropical Storm Irene flooded portions of the Vermont State Hospital in Waterbury, Vermont, and since then some of the patients are being held in state prisons. Now the state is looking into a modular high-security unit in Waterbury to house mental patients being held under court order. Noting that it’s more expensive to [...]...
22 May 2012
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by Katy Weldon Something amazing is happening to older mobile and manufactured homes in certain areas of California. They are in demand! Mobile and manufactured homes built in the 1970’s and 1980’s... Read more
MARKETING

by Jeff Templeton A recent study found that the average American sees approximately 1600 advertisements a day. In a single day! Those ads are seen online, in newspapers, magazines, billboards, TV,... Read more
MARKETING

Featured Articles and Reports for Vol. 3, No. 8, 2012 Alphabetically by Category COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT & FAIR HOUSING (LEGAL) • “What’s in a Name?” by Nadeen Green, JD The fact that you are reading MHProNews.com to... Read more
index

by Chrissy Jackson Simply put, a budget is a tool. When effectively used, this tool can enable you to have a manufactured home land lease community that is financially sound. A... Read more
COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT & FAIR HOUSING (LEGAL)

by Nadeen Green, JD The fact that you are reading MHProNews.com to gain insight into the manufactured housing industry shows that you are engaged and embracing the world of online information... Read more
COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT & FAIR HOUSING (LEGAL)

by Andrew Peters It’s easy for professionals in the housing industry to forget just how extensive the language of mortgage lending can be. We’re often quickly reminded, however, when we try... Read more
FINANCING

by John Merchant, JD Many manufactured home communities and some MH retailers have – over the years – created their own notes. The following is an outline of the things and... Read more
FINANCING

by Kurt D. Kelley, J.D. For the last six months, I’ve served on The Woodlands, Texas Chamber of Commerce Health Care Program Committee. These efforts culminated on April 27th with a... Read more
GENERAL MANUFACTURED HOUSING INDUSTRY TOPICS

by George Porter A Manufactured Home is a more complicated piece of engineering than most other homes. Our building code makes us have a multi-purpose chassis. Strangely, we don’t move all... Read more
GENERAL MANUFACTURED HOUSING INDUSTRY TOPICS

by Margaret Clark (Editor's Intro: The following is a letter written by manufactured home community owner Margaret Clark to KWWL-TV reporter, Kera Mashek. Ms. Clark was writing in response to a... Read more
GENERAL MANUFACTURED HOUSING INDUSTRY TOPICS

by L. A. 'Tony' Kovach Trade media exists because there is a need to communicate facts and ideas relative to the industry being served. A robust online trade journal (e-zine) complements... Read more
GENERAL MANUFACTURED HOUSING INDUSTRY TOPICS

by L. A. 'Tony' Kovach If a picture is worth a thousand words, then there are tens of thousands of words captured in the photos that follow. The Manufactured Housing Institute... Read more
GENERAL MANUFACTURED HOUSING INDUSTRY TOPICS

Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas, NV - April 11, 2012. Members of the manufactured and modular housing industries gathered today at an awards luncheon to recognize individuals and companies for outstanding... Read more
GENERAL MANUFACTURED HOUSING INDUSTRY TOPICS

by L. A. 'Tony' Kovach Manufactured home trade shows are a wonderful way to bring products and professionals together in one place. The home shown in this photo gallery carousel below... Read more
GENERAL MANUFACTURED HOUSING INDUSTRY TOPICS

by Tim Connor OK, have you figured it out or are you just waiting for my take on this topic? Come on – give it some thought – it might prove... Read more
MANAGEMENT

by L. A. 'Tony' Kovach If you are holding a smartphone, an iPad or are looking at a laptop, etc. you already know the answer to this article's headline's question. But... Read more
MANAGEMENT

by Tim Connor, CSP If you are not aware of the simple fact that fear is the major contributor to stress, illness, failure, worry and a whole host of other negative... Read more
PERSONAL REFLECTIONS, MOTIVATION and INSPIRATION

by Zig Ziglar Several years ago I was teaching a Sunday school class at First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas.Recalling G. K. Chesterton's paradoxical “Anything worth doing is worth doing badly,”... Read more
PERSONAL REFLECTIONS, MOTIVATION and INSPIRATION

by Tim Connor I just finished reading for the fourth time - one of my favorite books, The Power of Patience by M. J. Ryan. As I was reading, it struck... Read more
SALES

by L. A. 'Tony' Kovach Let's begin a periodic series of articles on some classic – but often unused or overlooked – sales tips and strategies. We will begin with the... Read more
SALES