Industry Voices
- Getting Results
- Preserving Access to Manufactured Housing
- Re-assessing the Stabenow Amendment to Extend Energy Star Tax Credits
- Post 2012 Tunica Show Industry Perspective
- Community Owner to Community Owners and others in Manufactured Housing Business
- Ben Bernanke Addresses Members of The National Association of Home Builders
- Testimony of Ishbel Dickens, Executive Director, Manufactured Home Owners Association of America (MHOAA)
- What is the latest on SAFE ACT, DODD-FRANK, CFPB (Consumer Finance Protection Bureau) and as an MHC owner, should I care?
- Hall of Fame Announces 2012 Inductees
- Electrifying Event!
Words of Wisdom
- The Five Keys to Turning your Business Around in a Sluggish Economy
- Are you playing the wait and see Game?
- Assumptions, Misunderstanding & Mixed Messages
- What Defines You and Your Future
- Imagination - what's possible for you?
- Do you really think you are secure in any area of your life? - Motivation Booster from Tim
- Read any books lately that set you on fire?
- Expectations, Illusions and Outcomes
- Maintaining Balance in Life
- What Keeps the World Alive
Newsletter Archive
- Oh, the Pain. UMH CEO Sam Landy. MHI Staff Change. Pinterest. MHCC Suspended for non-payment. Committee re-examines Dodd-Frank. UMH adds Board Feet. May Feature Articles, more! - 5/21/2012
- Pinterest. The Case for Free Enterprise. Triad's Glisson Appointed. Getting Results. Housing Starts Edge Up in April. Are you playing the wait and see Game? House Committee Examining Dodd-Frank, New May Articles and More! - 5/17/2012
- Power of Moms. Getting Results. HUD Yields. Vanderbilt Offering. Elements for MH Breakthrough. UMH Announces Financials. Rent Control. Patience and Success. Terms of Engagement, New May Articles and More! - 05/14/2012
- Getting Results. Election Tea Leaves. Cavco, Deer Valley and Skyline gains. The View. Hall of Fame Hunting. Wood Import Law Needs Amendment. English MODs. Canadian MHC Reports Gains. FL Insurer Wants to Trim. Mobile Homes and Tornadoes. Terms of Engagement. New May Articles, much more! - 05/10/2012
- Another New Chattel Lender? The View. Another Industry Arrest. Making Education Richly Pay. Co-ops in DC. HUD Rehab funds. MH destroyed in AL Storms Low. Rising Star of Texas. Occupy Wall Street, the Tea Party and Manufactured Home Professionals. New May Feature Articles, Much more! - 05/07/2012
- Shopping Malls and Manufactured Housing. Rising Star of Texas. Making Manufactured Housing SAFE from Dodd-Frank. Deer Valley leaps up. MOD Scam. New May Issue Featured Articles! Augusta Lawsuit. Much more. - 05/03/2012
- Manufactured Housing's Oxygen Supply. Patrick Skyrockets. Sun Shines. Community Closed. Winning the War. MOD Shipments rising. Grocery Stores, Shopping Malls & Manufactured Housing. Read those April Feature articles now, May issue goes live soon! - 4/30/2012
- MHI's Dick Jennison update. Grant $ to replace mobiles. Preserving Access to MH. Romney on HUD. Class Action Settled. Rent Control vs. Decontrol. Wholesale MODs in ND. Congress on HUD. CFOs say revenues will rise. April Featured Articles, More! - 04/26/2012
- Manufactured Housing Rebirth. ReAssessing Energy Star Credits. MH-AP. MOD Plant ReOpens. UFPI a Buy. Record Mod Hospital. IRA as MH Lender. Marketing Game. Art & Science of Selling. Working too much? Ouch, that Burns! They’re Heeeerrrrrrree! April articles and more! - 04/23/2012
- MH-AP. The Road Ahead. UMH acquires MHCs. Student MODs. MultiFam firms buys MHCs. Cancer strikes Buffett. MHARR Lashes HUD. MH on rise Worldwide. Equal Opportunity TX Twisters. April feature articles, much more! - 04/19/2012
Latest Comments
Featured Articles and Reports for Vol. 3, No. 4, 2012
Alphabetically by Category
COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT & FAIR HOUSING (LEGAL)
• Do You Hear What I Hear? Do you see what I see?
by Nadeen Green
Aha! Now that Christmas carol is going to be an ear worm for those of you in manufactured home community management! Memory devices are great, and maybe this one will keep you and your land lease community staff out of trouble...
• A New Year's Possibilities
by Eddie Hicks
Starting the new year brings possibilities for land lease community (LLCommunity) refinance and development opportunities.
With all the site built home foreclosures, many families have turned to apartments, resulting in a relatively high occupancy rate in many markets, while at the same time, in those same areas, there may be many vacant LLCommunity homesites.
• Content Area of Guidelines for Living: Refuse Removal through Rights of Management
by Chrissy Jackson
Happy New year! In December's article on the guidelines for living in manufactured home land lease communities, we covered the topics of Number of Residents to Recreational Vehicles, we covered Guidelines for Living topics, Number of Residents to Recreational Vehicles. Let's get started with our new topics for January, 2012~
• What About Your Utility Systems?
by Kurt Kelly, JD
When purchasing a manufactured home community, experienced investors focus considerable pre-purchase due diligence on the community’s utility systems. This infrastructure is a large part of the value of most properties.
• Rent Control Out at Surf and Sand
by Eric Miller
Rent control isn't such a hot topic in California anymore, except when it comes to 'mobile home' and manufactured housing communities. That's because most communities in the state don't have vacancy control.
When an apartment turns over, rents revert to a market rate. Manufactured home communities are an exception.
FINANCING
• Financing more manufactured homes, getting inventory and community financing
by L. A. 'Tony' Kovach
One of the challenges of doing a trade journal is putting an article in a category that makes sense. Some articles could well be in more than one category, but we don't want readers who skim to think we just mistakenly duplicated something! Then there are the resources for getting more of the various types of financing, and that is what this brief article is about!
GENERAL MANUFACTURED HOUSING INDUSTRY TOPICS
• MLS…Multiple Listing Service for Manufactured Housing
by Boe Davis
For almost 30 years we ran what may have been the only true Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for manufactured home sales in communities. Initially called the Mobile Home Board, then as an association it was called the California Mobile Home Guardians and in its last version it was called MHMLS.org.
• What I Learned From Santa
by Suzanne Felber
The holidays this year were very special - I was able to do an early Christmas with my amazing new grandson in Florida. My son and his family live in the West Palm Beach area, so we were able to enjoy some beautiful weather, but it was a given there would be no snow in sight.
• The Texas Playbook
by D. J. Pendleton, J.D.
I had met Tony several times previously at various national events. However, it wasn’t until Tony was kind enough to attend the Texas Manufactured Housing Association's (TMHA’s) recent annual convention in September when I got a chance to talk substantively with him.
• You Can't Fix It Till You Know It's Broken
by George Porter
This month's topic can apply to a lot of things in the installation and repair of manufactured housing. The bottom line is you have to know what is correct before you can see that there is a need for change or repair.
• “It's Show Time” in Louisville!
by Ron Thomas, Sr.
It's show time in Louisville at the Kentucky Exhibition Center (KEC). The annual Louisville Manufactured Housing Show (Louisville MH Show) will run January 11-13th, and this year's line up is simple impressive.
• Model Homes or Not!
by Katy Weldon
For the past several decades Model Homes have been an important part of the housing industry, including manufactured and modular homes. A model home complex was considered a necessity and major selling tools for most retailers.
MANAGEMENT
• Improving Corporate Communications
by Tim Connor, CSP
Every corporate client I have worked with for over 40 years has had communication problems or challenges throughout their organization to a lesser or greater degree. Some have been critical issues that had cost them dearly off the bottom line, while others were nothing more than annoying inconveniences that got in the way of employee or department effectiveness.
MARKETING
• QR Codes—What are they and how can your business use them?
by Beth Monicatti Blank
You have probably seen Quick Response (QR) codes printed in an advertisement, on a product or even online. They are small black and white square boxes with smaller pixilated boxes inside. These QR codes are similar to the UPC barcodes used by retailers to track inventory and price products for scanning.
• Plan for Success in 2012
by Chris Nicely
The holidays always allow us time to reflect on what is important in our lives and can lead us to consider necessary changes. We consider those things that made us happy, satisfied and helped our business and those events that caused us to question. Each of us has a life centered around a business that is dependent upon a stagnant economy and possibly the worst housing market ever.
• Use Systems and Discipline for Successful Campaigns
by Jeff Templeton
I was speaking with a respected member of our industry the other day and he said something very obvious, but also very intuitive. What he said to me was, “It’s all about systems and discipline.” A system is a plan, formula or blue print for achieving results and discipline is needed to monitor, adjust and repeat the system to achieve the desired results again and again.
PERSONAL REFLECTIONS, MOTIVATION and INSPIRATION
• Get out of Auto-pilot
by Tim Connor, CSP
Are you going through your life in auto-pilot? Are you letting your responses and reactions to life’s circumstances and events be dictated by your previous values, attitudes and beliefs or are your responses a result of living in the present?
• Zig On The Next Hill to Climb
by Zig Ziglar
I recently received an interesting letter from one of our subscribers, quite complimentary. He pointed out that he particularly enjoyed anarticle having to do with success. Then he elaborated on the fact that he has achieved so many things--God has been really good to him--and his question was, "I guess it's like winning the World Series or the Super Bowl.
SALES
• What's Working in Manufactured Housing Retail
by Chad Carr
On November 13th – 15th, Rainmaker Consulting hosted what turned out to be one of the most exciting, positive and productive events of the year for the Manufactured Housing Industry – at least for those who were able to attend.
• Marketing & Sales – The Current State of Affairs and The Strategic Blending Process
by Tim Connor, CSP
If you are paying attention, the social media folks would have you believe that all you need to do to be successful in your business or career today is to be a social media guru with Facebook, LinkedIn etc.
I beg to differ.
by Tim Connor, CSP
Every corporate client I have worked with for over 40 years has had communication problems or challenges throughout their organization to a lesser or greater degree. Some have been critical issues that had cost them dearly off the bottom line, while others were nothing more than annoying inconveniences that got in the way of employee or department effectiveness.
by Eric Miller
Rent control isn't such a hot topic in California anymore, except when it comes to 'mobile home' and manufactured housing communities. That's because most communities in the state don't have vacancy control. When an apartment turns over, rents revert to a market rate. Manufactured home communities are an exception.
by L. A. 'Tony' Kovach
One of the challenges of doing a trade journal is putting an article in a category that makes sense. Some articles could well be in more than one category, but we don't want readers who skim to think we just mistakenly duplicated something! Then there are the resources for getting more of the various types of financing, and that is what this brief article is about!
by Kurt Kelly, JD
When purchasing a manufactured home community, experienced investors focus considerable pre-purchase due diligence on the community’s utility systems. This infrastructure is a large part of the value of most properties.
Daily Business News Briefs
New Homes Sales Rose in April
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
Read moreHousing Stocks Close Mixed, but Skyline Justifies its Name
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
Read moreKit Homes Takes Up where Sears Stopped
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
Read moreUFPI Surprises Zacks
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
Read moreNew MHC Proposed for Virginia
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
Read morePhiladelphia Airport Building Modular Housing
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
Read moreSale of Previously Occupied Homes Rise
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
Read moreImproved Housing Market Bolsters Many U.S. Stocks
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
Read moreHome Sales Rise in the Heartland
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
Read moreNew Modular Builder on the Block
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
Read moreMOD to House Mental Health Patients
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
Read moreLatest Daily Business News
- New Homes Sales Rose in April
- Housing Stocks Close Mixed, but Skyline Justifies its Name
- Kit Homes Takes Up where Sears Stopped
- UFPI Surprises Zacks
- New MHC Proposed for Virginia
- Philadelphia Airport Building Modular Housing
- Sale of Previously Occupied Homes Rise
- Improved Housing Market Bolsters Many U.S. Stocks
- Home Sales Rise in the Heartland
- New Modular Builder on the Block
- MOD to House Mental Health Patients
- New HARP Spurs Lending
- Clayton Homes Receives Honor
- Modular Hospital Replaces Tornado Damaged Facility
- Dow Bounces Back; Nobility gets Banged Up
- MHC Owners' Fees to Rise
- Manufactured Housing Dollars Double
Featured Articles and Reports - May 2012 Vol. 3 No. 8
Everything Old is New Again
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
Your Attention Please
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 May 2012
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
Creating a Budget
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)
“What’s in a Name?”
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)
Terms of Engagement
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
Promissory Notes How to take, buy or create a Note, then sell it for cash
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
While Waiting on The Supreme Court: What is happening to Health Care Cost…
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
Frames
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
“Mobile Homes” and Tornadoes
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
The Industry's Need to Profitably Communicate
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
Manufactured Housing Institute and National Communities Council 2012 Congr…
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
National Industry Awards Presented at 2012 National Congress & Expo
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
Manufactured Home Shows - Touring a Model Home at Tunica 2012
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
Do you know the single factor that determines; employee productivity, profi…
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
Is there Anything New under the Sun? Getting Bottom line Results for Manufa…
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
Fear, worry, and stress – are you a victim?
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
Zig On Doing Things Poorly
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
Patience – The secret tool for sales success
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
Sales Tips 101 – Objection Handling; Isolating the Objection
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
