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March 2011, Vol. 1, No. 6

What MHAssociations LACK

by George F. Allen

George Allen photo 'Why I Belong', but am frustrated with most MHAssociations!

2011 promises to be a year of survival for some and end of the road for others.
Know this; your fate is in, good but not complete measure, your hands - so make the very most of every

To Be, or Not to Be: Die, Survive or Thrive & Manufactured Housing

by Michael Barnabas

The klaxon-like warnings are all around us. Another plant closure. A municipality or county that seeks to prevent or close 'another mobile home park.' In areas where there were once 25 retailers, there are now six, or four or… Associations whose cash flows are so low that they, too, may face extinction.

Associations and the Value Proposition

by Amy Bliss

Amy Bliss photo There has been a great deal of banter lately about whether manufactured housing industry members should belong to their state or national association. Without question, the answer is yes. In 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt said:

Association Membership: A Member's Perspective

by Paul Bradley

Paul Bradley photo As a LinkedIn member, I saw the question L.A. 'Tony' Kovach posed there:

MH Associations: are you a member? If not, why not? If so, why?

Here's my reply:

Defying conventional wisdom, and winning to write about it!

by Paul Bradley

Paul Bradley photo "By its nature, the conventional wisdom resists assaults by words or argument… There's a tendency to suppress doubts, dismiss inconvenient inconsistencies, or deny contradictory evidence. What changes people's minds is irrefutable and sometimes harsh experience. Then the conventional wisdom usually falls. But it's not sweet reason that wields the ax. "
~ Robert Samuelson, Untruth: Why the Conventional Wisdom is (almost always) Wrong

By the Numbers - Part 1

by Chad Carr

Chad Carr photo Editor's Note: Please notice the generous free offer for MHMSM.com readers.

A wonderful thing has started happening over the last couple of months: Manufactured Housing Retailers have started calling us asking for information about our accounting systems.

Getting to the Decision Makers

by Tim Connor

Tim Connor photo One of the biggest time wasters is when salespeople fail to get to the real decision makers and present their products and/or services to people who cannot say 'yes' or 'no,' but only 'no' or 'maybe.' Since many organizations and individuals are undergoing dramatic

Mixed Top-Down Messages

by Tim Connor

Tim Connor photo There is a great deal of confusion among employees in many of today's companies due to the mixed signals that are being sent top-down in those organizations. Let me give you an example. The president and executives spend three days hammering out a

Bringing it Home: Using What We Learn at Shows in Our Own Sales Centers

by Suzanne S. Felber, Lifestylist®

Suzanne Felber photo It's show time! The Louisville show was a huge success, and in just a few weeks, it will be time for Tunica, MHI Congress and the Great Southwest Home Show. How will you use the new ideas and trends you see at these shows? Now is the perfect time to

Why Belong to an Association?

by Deanna Fields

Deanna Fields photo The Manufactured Housing Association of Oklahoma (MHAO) is a small trade association (less than 300 members) representing all segments of the manufactured housing industry in Oklahoma. MHAO is also a member driven organization. We depend on our Board of Directors who are volunteers, who have the task to set the policies/procedures for the association and allow staff to administer those procedures to make the policy a reality.

Eeeewww, That Smells...

by Nadeen Green

Nadeen Green photo In most of my full-length fair housing classes, I include discussion on national origin. Often I will get what I have now come to call "The Curry Question" based on the differences in various ethnic cooking. Part A of that question is usually along the lines of, "It smells bad

Who Says There Are No More Profitable Investments in Land Lease Communities?

by Edward 'Eddie' Hicks

With the on-going change of land use for older communities, and the dearth of new developments, there continues to be reduction in the number of "investment" grade communities, all across the USA. And those left continue to sell at prices that are the envy of

Will the Guidelines be Widely Accepted?

by Chrissy Jackson

Chrissy Jackson photo Again, look closely at the lifestyle that will be created when the Guidelines come off the drawing board and become practical issues. There is a difference in being widely accepted and being legally acceptable.

Make the Most of an Existing Asset

by Susan Knowles

The fifth of the month. Residents make their way into your offices dropping off rent checks with a big surge of people walking in as you're trying to close the office for the night. The next morning, you take the checks to the bank, leaving happily, when you happen to look at your receipt and realize only half of

Rodin, Art and Advancing Manufactured Housing

by L. A. 'Tony' Kovach

L.A. 'Tony' Kovach photo In our living room, we have a miniature of August Rodin's famous statue, The Thinker. Everyone will notice immediately that the Thinker is nude. Why? The art lover might opine that thinking should be about a search for truth, and the truth is naked. If as business professionals we could get the facts - the naked facts - how much better off we could we be?

An Amazing Person

by Greg McClanahan

Greg McClanahan photo This month's message will take you back in time to memories of your first telephone (at least for those of us born by the 1960's). There are many lessons to be learned about life, business and sales success through this story. As you will see, even through brief encounters with those around you, you can make a meaningful impression on others. Don't underestimate your incredible value.

How Level is Level?

by George Porter

George Porter How can you tell when a home is out of level? There are some regulators who say that you have to be within an inch all over the home and there are others who say that if everything is working, doors, windows, etc., then it's level enough. There should be a way to absolutely say when the home is too bent on the frame or in the roof. How about when the tail ends of the

The Importance of a Written Loan Policy

by Ken Rishel

COMPLYING WITH THE LAW AND MAKING THE RIGHT LOANS ISN'T ALWAYS EASY.

The biggest surprise to audit teams when dealing with large existing loan portfolios is the lack of any written loan policy and procedure manuals. It is always expected to be MIA with small or new operators, but it always leaves a team wondering how any consistent lending policy can be followed in the larger organizations. What is never a surprise is

Are Industry Associations Worthy of Active Support?

by Ken Rishel

Two months ago, an article ran in the Captive Finance Newsletter, written by a veteran community owner that asked to remain anonymous. Based on who was making the request, and the fact that MHMSN.com and the Allen Newsletter have chosen to run articles by other anonymous writers, I agreed to run the article pretty much as written without the writer's name.

The New Economy Workforce Challenge

by Tracy Saville

Tracy Saville photo In business, there are three rules:

1) Know the rules of the game you are trying to win (or survive in our present case);
2) Accept that all the rules of yesterday no longer apply for what will work today and tomorrow; and
3) People who are able to thrive in chaotic, transformative environments, will be the last men and women standing, holding the profit and the opportunities of the future firmly in their hands. Never is this a truer reality than in the worlds of housing, construction, and all the industries that serve these giants.

Top Ten Signs that You Have Stopped Thinking of Your Manufactured Home Community as an Investment

by Joanne M. Stevens, CCIM

Joanne Stevens photo 10. You fail to train your manager to enforce the rules (covenants, guidelines, etc.). Empty beer cans, pop cans, papers strewn are overlooked. You and/or the manager have more pressing matters to attend to. Hint: If every resident had one empty beer can on their homesite lawn, what kind of a community would you have? Try asking yourself this question when deciding to give a notice to a resident. How your park/community looks matters. Sadly, it does not take long for a few messy residents to "train" you.

What's Around Your MH Community? People Want to Know

by Bob Stovall

Bob Stovall photo One mistake I see community owners make time and again in their marketing (especially online) is to not make clear to potential residents what conveniences are located around the community.

Participation in State and National Organizations: Manufactured Housing Associations by the Number

by Don Westphal

Don Westphal photo My first contact with the manufactured housing industry occurred in the spring of 1964 when I took a trip on the Illinois Central from Urbana to 20 North Wacker Drive in Chicago to do some research for a term paper for a graduate school class. I lived in a 36 x 8 mobile home in a small trailer park at the time and thought that

Community Upgrades: Part IV - Level IV Renewal

by Don Westphal

Don Westphal photo The Level IV renewal process is the most complex and disruptive. It involves the complete reconfiguration of an older community that is functionally obsolete in every way or the complete reconfiguration of a similarly affected portion of a larger community. All the research described for the previous levels of renewal

ZigOn... Integrity Leadership

by Zig Ziglar

Zig Ziglar photo It is true that integrity alone won't make you a leader, but without integrity you will never be one. A classic example involving integrity is one displayed by Steuben, the manufacturers of crystal. For generations they've had a policy of breaking every imperfect piece of crystal, no matter how small the flaw. Needless to say, this is a potent

ZigOn... Teamwork

by Zig Ziglar

Zig Ziglar photo I suspect that all of us in the world of business, athletics, music, etc., recognize the importance of teamwork. Old clichés come to mind, like, "Individuals score points, but teams win games."

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

Housing 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

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

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

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

Philadelphia 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

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

Improved 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

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

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

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

Featured Articles and Reports - May 2012 Vol. 3 No. 8

Prev Next Page:

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