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Featured Articles March 2012

Featured Articles and Reports for Vol. 3, No. 6, 2012

Alphabetically by Category

COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT & FAIR HOUSING (LEGAL)

• Oh, Poo(l)

by Nadeen Green

nadeen-green-50

I know that many of you in the manufactured housing industry do not have swimming pool in your land lease community, but for those of you who have taken that plunge, here is a quick head's up so that you can keep your head above water in the deep end of that swimming pool. And swimming pools are exactly the topic for this post. How does this relate to legal and fair housing? Read on, you'll see.

• Content Area of Guidelines for Living: Termination of Residency to Weather Shelters, and Creating Win-Wins

by Chrissy Jackson

chrissy-jackson-50

In our last column, we covered Manufactured Home Community “Guidelines for Living” topics ranging from Security and Protection through Storage. This month, we cover topics from Termination of Residency to Weather Shelters, and creating win-wins, so let's get started!

• Replacing Roundtables

by 'L. A.' Tony Kovach

tony-kovach-2-50

For over twenty years, the Roundtables have informed and made networking and deal making a reality. It is no secret that their founder is retiring. So the questions are many, like what's next? What direction(s) should MHC aficionados of the Roundtables go? Who will provide the community focused meeting and organizing service?

FINANCING

• What is the latest on SAFE ACT, DODD-FRANK, CFPB (Consumer Finance Protection Bureau) and as an MHC owner, should I care?

by Dick Ernst

dick-ernst-50

It has been over three years now since the passage of the SAFE Act federally which mandated that states pass similar legislation meeting the minimum standards outlined by the federal legislation. States were given one year to draft and pass their legislation. All states did pass legislation but several were notified by HUD (Housing and Urban Development) that their legislation did not meet the minimum standards or provided more latitude or exemptions than were provided in the federal law and as a result the states had to amend or change their laws accordingly. It is extremely important to note that the federal law established the minimum standards and a few states incorporated more stringent standards such as requiring lenders to have a physical presence in their states. Lenders and state regulators are still sorting out these issues.

• Major MH Lender Offering Refinancing For Its Own Customers Without Appraisal Requirement: A Sweet Deal

by Dave Shanklin

dave-shanklin-50

The “R” word. Refinancing. Something you don’t hear discussed very often in MH finance circles for many reasons.

GENERAL MANUFACTURED HOUSING INDUSTRY TOPICS

• Open Office or Not?

by Joe Geller

IT/WebTech for MHProNews.com

joe-geller-50

Having software on your desktop that allows you to prepare documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and optionally work with databases, is considered fundamental to achieve your goals in many areas of office, sales, marketing and advertising work.

• Really?!? You did That?!? Top 10 Dumb Management Ideas for Manufactured Home Retailers

by Kurt Kelly, JD

kurt kelly american insurance agency aia 50x50

For those who can't make it to the Great Southwest Home Show in Tulsa, this article will hit some highlights from one or the two live presentation I will be doing there on this business protecting theme.

• The Kodak Moment Fades

by 'L. A.' Tony Kovach

tony-kovach-2-50

Some of us held or used a Brownie or Kodak Instamatic camera. We remember that used to be high tech. Some today have a Kodak digital camera; but the adaptation of Kodak to the economic, competitive and regulatory landscape came too late. The Kodak moment has faded.

• Glowing Rectangles

by Jeff Templeton

jeff-templeton-50

My wife likes to say that I'm addicted to glowing rectangles. When I'm working, I'm staring at my computer screen, researching companies, sending emails, reading MHProNews; at home, I'm on my tablet checking email, reading the news, searching the web, or buying stuff online. When we're out I'm on my smartphone doing more of the same. Maybe she's right. Maybe I am addicted to glowing rectangles.

PERSONAL REFLECTIONS, MOTIVATION and INSPIRATION

• Life’s Vital Ingredients

by Tim Connor, CSP

tim-connor-50

Think about it – what’s really important in life to feel content, peaceful, fulfilled and valued?

• The Change Order

by Greg McClanahan

greg-mcclanahan-50

Some construction terms that are familiar to us as builders include words like site plan, foundation detail, utility drops, load points, lighting and ventilation calculations, etc. There is also one process during construction that must be carefully administered – the “Change Order.” During construction, it is common that a client will want to integrate a design feature that was not originally considered during the planning process. This change is handled through a Change Order which documents the details of the change and identifies any cost considerations.

• ZigOn Overcoming The Odds

by Zig Ziglar

zig-ziglar-50

His name is Gabriel Hjertstedt (YERT-stet) and he participated in the 1998 Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta, Georgia. His route to the Masters was one no Hollywood writer could have created. It's not that he's not a good golfer, because he won last year's B.C. Open, but what makes his story so unusual is that he's had difficulties very few people would be able to overcome.

SALES

• Successful selling - isn’t telling - but asking

by Tim Connor, CSP

tim-connor-50

Why is it that few salespeople get it? That effective selling isn’t about spewing out a plethora of information, personal opinions and prejudices and telling people what they need to buy and why and when and even how - from beginning to end.

• Successfully Advancing Manufactured Housing Sales: Systems, Discipline and the KYPs

by 'L. A. Tony Kovach'

tony-kovach-2-50

Successfully advancing results in any profession involves systems and discipline. Success is rarely an accident, it comes from having proven systems that are adapted over time and the discipline to follow them. There are systems for building a car, a computer or a cell phone.

Oh, Poo(l)

by Nadeen Green

nadeen-green-50 I know that many of you in the manufactured housing industry do not have swimming pool in your land lease community, but for those of you who have taken that plunge, here is a quick head's up so that you can keep your head above water in the deep end of that swimming pool. And swimming pools are exactly the topic for this post. How does this relate to legal and fair housing? Read on, you'll see.

Content Area of Guidelines for Living: Termination of Residency to Weather Shelters, and Creating Win-Wins

by Chrissy Jackson

chrissy-jackson-50 In our last column, we covered Manufactured Home Community “Guidelines for Living” topics ranging from Security and Protection through Storage. This month, we cover topics from Termination of Residency to Weather Shelters, and creating win-wins, so let's get started!

Replacing Roundtables

by L.A. 'Tony' Kovach

tony-kovach-2-50 For over twenty years, the Roundtables have informed and made networking and deal making a reality. It is no secret that their founder is retiring. So the questions are many, like what's next? What direction(s) should MHC aficionados of the Roundtables go? Who will provide the community focused meeting and organizing service?

What is the latest on SAFE ACT, DODD-FRANK, CFPB (Consumer Finance Protection Bureau) and as an MHC owner, should I care?

by Dick Ernst

dick-ernst-50 It has been over three years now since the passage of the SAFE Act federally which mandated that states pass similar legislation meeting the minimum standards outlined by the federal legislation. States were given one year to draft and pass their legislation. All states did pass legislation but several were notified by HUD (Housing and Urban Development) that their legislation did not meet the minimum standards or provided more latitude or exemptions than were provided in the federal law and as a result the states had to amend or change their laws accordingly. It is extremely important to note that the federal law established the minimum standards and a few states incorporated more stringent standards such as requiring lenders to have a physical presence in their states. Lenders and state regulators are still sorting out these issues.

Daily Business News Briefs

Housing Market Index Posts Largest Gain in over Ten Years

For the first time in seven years, builder confidence for newly-built single-family homes has surpassed the 50th percentile mark, which indicates builders see the market as good rather than poor. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) gained eight points to 52. Based on a survey the NAHB has been...

17 Jun 2013

Affordable Modular Homes Available; Applicants’ Credit Lacking

The North East Community Action Agency (NECAC) in Hannibal, MO has joined the Next Step Network which gives them the opportunity to buy modular homes from Clayton Homes at 10-15 percent below market price. The goal is to provide low cost housing for people of modest means. Carla Potts, NECAC’s deputy director for housing development, [...]...

17 Jun 2013

Universal Forest Products, Inc. Spikes; Three Major Indexes Gain

Even though investors are edgy about the possibility the Federal Reserve will announce Wednesday that it will begin to wind down its quantitative easing, the markets managed to advance for the day, with the Dow picking up over 100 points. CNNMoney reports the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained +0.73 percent, +109.67 points, to end the [...]...

17 Jun 2013

Home-building Spurring Gross Domestic Product

As of April 2013, home building employment totaled 2.1 million people, up nearly 100,000 in the last year, according to the labor department. Home building contributed 20 percent to the growth of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the last six quarters. Residential Fixed Investment (RFI), the home building component of the (GDP), measures...

17 Jun 2013

First State Manufactured Housing Association Awards Scholarships

Delaware’s First State Manufactured Housing Association has announced the two winners of its annual $1,500 Manufactured Housing Scholarship Award for 2013. Both graduates of Sussex Technical High School, Bradley Collins graduated in 2011 and is in his third year at the University of Delaware, studying finance. As MHProNews has learned from...

17 Jun 2013

Barclays: Home Prices will Rise Nearly Ten percent

MHProNews has learned from nationalmortgagenews that multinational banking and financial services company Barclays is predicting a 9.7 percent rise in U. S. home prices for 2013. According to the research report, the strong data for the first quarter, which exceeded expectations, indicates in 2014 house prices will rise another 7.2 percent....

17 Jun 2013

Affordable Housing Award goes to Minnesota State Legislator

According to what hibbingmn tells MHProNews, Minnesota State Representative Jason Metsa has been recognized by the Manufactured & Modular Home Association of Minnesota (MMHA) with its 2013 Friend of Affordable Housing Award for his efforts during this year’s legislative session. MMHA President Mark Brunner said, “Rep. Metsa was p...

17 Jun 2013

Williams, Allen and others give Thumbs Up

Manufactured housing professionals have long known that an image building campaign would benefit the industry in many ways. So it’s no surprise that First State Manufactured Housing Association’s Jennifer Allen, Tim Williams from the Ohio Manufactured Homes Association and a number of other industry executives and professionals have...

16 Jun 2013

Cavco Completes Acquisition of Fleetwood

Phoenix, AZ-based Cavco Industries, Inc., which owns 50 percent of Fleetwood Homes, Inc., has agreed to acquire the other 50 percent from Third Avenue Value Fund and an affiliate, according to nasdaq.com. Cavco will issue common stock to Third Avenue in consideration as per their original 2009 agreement in forming Fleetwood, which also includes...

14 Jun 2013

With concerns growing over when the Federal Reserve Bank will slow its quantitative easing and the subsequent effect on the economy, of 39 economists and investment advisors surveyed, nearly two-thirds do not think it will begin before Dec. 2013, and some not till 2014. As MHProNews has learned from CNNMoney, while the intent of the [...]...

14 Jun 2013

Three Major Indexes Tumble; Tracked Housing Stocks Close Mixed

Mixed economic reports and concern over when the Fed may taper the quantitative easing that is pumping $85 billion into the economy troubled the stock market today. CNNMoney reports the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell -0.70 percent, -105.90 points, to end the week at 15,070.18. The Nasdaq dropped -0.63 percent, -21.81 points, to end the [...]...

14 Jun 2013