200th Blog Posting; ’18 New Pioneers’, & C.A.S.H. Program for YOU!
Perspective. ‘Landlease communities, a.k.a. manufactured home communities, & before that ‘mobile home parks’, are the real estate component of manufactured housing.’ GFA
I.
200 Consecutive Weekly Blog Postings & Going Strong!
Manufactured housing industry’s first blog posting occurred 27 August 2008, nearly four years ago, as an adjunct to now defunct Manufactured Home Merchandiser magazine. Today, this 200th blog posting, by the same blogger, will be read by 1,000 manufactured housing industry leaders and landlease community owners/operators! So, what was ‘industry and realty asset class news’ as reported in blog # 1 back then?
An account of ‘leaders’ LEAVING, via retirement and otherwise (though some returned), our ‘double dual industry’ (i.e. housing production/distribution & realty development/investment), e.g. Barry McCabe; Brian Fannon, CPM® (returned); John Diffendal, analyst at BB&T; Michael O’Brien, CAE® at MHI’s National Communities Council; Peter Scherer (returned);Alan Goss, analyst at Bond Street Capital; Franz Fisher; Andy Pecqueur; and, Allen Crittenden mothballing his MH newsletter, again.
And a few returnees, to MHIndustry & LLCommunity leadership positions, some temporarily, others still around today. James Ayotte now exec at FMHA in Florida; Jim Grange of ROC & Chateau renown, now with YES! Communities; Craig White, ACM® realty brokering in KS; John Rogosich, CPM® back with Choice for awhile (Since then however, taking over leadership helm at MHPI in Chicago); and a wholly new face, Mary McBrady, MHM® leading the Massachusetts MHAssociation.
Plans were being laid at the time, for a second National State of the Asset Class (‘NSAC’) caucus, to build on what had been accomplished earlier, on 2/27/2008 in Tampa, FL. This time around, however, on 2/27/2009 (then, still six months into the future), the NSAC caucus would become a summit meeting involving 100 HUD Code home manufacturers and landlease community owners/operators, convening at the new RV/MH Heritage Foundation museum, library and Hall of Fame facility in Elkhart, IN.. At that venue, the concepts of specially – designed Community Series Homes (‘CSH’) and specialty Business Development Managers, selling into landlease communities, would be birthed!
Blog # 1 also announced the debut of the book HOUSING AFFORDOGRAPHY, ‘Study of Affordable Housing Formulae & Measures of Housing Affordability’, released by PMN Publishing two months earlier, in June 2008. Destined to be ‘sold out’ before the end of 2008 – and not reprinted to date, the legacy of this book would be the popular – but – strangely – named, ‘Ah Ha! & Uh Oh! Worksheet’ it spawned! The worksheet features simple methodology, using starting points of AGI or Annual Gross Income (of a prospective homebuyer or family) and AMI or Annual Median Income, for a local housing market defined by postal zip code, to estimate maximum recommended ‘affordable’ & ‘risky’ purchase prices (i.e. Price Points) for new and resale, privately – owned homes of any type, sited on realty owned fee simple along with said home; or on leased ground, as in a landlease community! *1
Well, there’ve been 199 weekly blog postings since then! During the past (nearly) four years, targeted readership has grown, following the demise of aforementioned Merchandiser magazine (during 2009), to 1,000 specific MHIndustry leaders and LLCommunity owners/operators!
II.
Response to Meeting of ’18 New Pioneers’ Continues…
“I really believe George, if your function (‘comprehensive resource servicing’ for landlease communities nationwide) is absorbed by one or another national (trade body), it will disappear.” RH *2
“When are you ‘post production’ (a.k.a. ‘aftermarket’) folk going to finally understand that you’ll only realize effective advocacy in Washington, DC., when you’ve a trade association dedicated to your unique (Presumably realty and chattel finance. GFA) business needs, and not be distracted by the often different agenda, issues and priorities of home manufacturers?”
III.
Here it is! 21st Mortgage Corporation’s C.A.S.H. Program!!!!!!!!
Are YOU familiar with 21st Mortgage Corporation’s C.A.S.H. in – community home finance program? Here’re some highlights from a handout prepared by Spencer Roane, MHM® of Pentagon Properties, that he shared at the aforementioned ’18 New Pioneers’ meeting:
• Designed to be a symbiotic relationship between the chattel finance lender and qualified landlease community owner/operators
• 21st Mortgage Corporation is the buyer and assists the landlease community owner/operator as ‘seller’ of the new manufactured home (only homes from the Clayton family of brands, at this point in time), as well as the lender originating the mortgage with the actual home buyer
• LLCommunity owner/operator is NOT required to hold S.A.F.E. Act licenses
• NO up – front cash outlay by the LLCommunity owner/operator (21st Mortgage Corporation pays for the home and all installation contractors)
• LLCommunity owner/operator pays part of the site rent collected from the new homebuyer, during the first five years. This amount is credited as additional principal payments on the home buyer’s mortgage
• Under this 10 percent/year program (lower interest rate possible with larger down payment and better credit score), the 15 year home mortgage is paid off in less than 10 years
• LLCommunity owner agrees to buy the home, for the amount of the mortgage balance, or assume mortgage, if home buyer defaults.
Sound too good to be true? Well, it’s not, as far as I can tell. SO, if you’re interested in filling vacant rental homesites, with New Homes, in your landlease community(ies), and your monthly rental homesite rent is at least $150.00, and you’re willing to participate in helping your home buyer/homesite resident pay off his/her mortgage five years sooner, you might want to contact Lance Hull at 21st Mortgage Corporation, via phone at (800) 955-0021 X 1218 or via email at lancehull@21stmortgage.com. *3
This is not a blanket endorsement of the C.A.S.H. Program; rather, simply letting you know of what appears to be the most creative and helpful chattel finance program to support our industry and asset class in many years.
IV.
21st annual NETWORKING ROUNDTABLE on the horizon!
Not a day passes anymore, that at least one completed registration form, for this year’s International Networking Roundtable, doesn’t arrive at our offices by U.S. mail, fax, email, even delivered ‘in person’. We’re already 25% of the way to our ‘maximum number of participants’ cutoff total; so, if you haven’t yet registered, Do Not Delay Doing So. Either Open and Print off the Roundtable brochure attached to the BEBA (Blast Email Blog Alert) memo that brought this 200th blog anniversary posting to your attention, or phone the MHIndustry HOTLINE and request one (See end note # 1 following).
This year’s Roundtable is being held, once again, at the beautiful Hilton Hotel Resort & Spa on Mission Bay, just North of downtown San Diego, CA., just minutes from the airport. Frankly, I can’t think of a more information – packed, even exciting agenda of manufactured housing and landlease community – related topics offered anywhere, anytime. Can you? There’re at least 21 ‘features’ at this year’s gala event! Not only superb presenters and interesting panels, this year, but a Modular Lifestyle Home on display, and widely known author and humorist Richard Lederer, on hand, to ‘educate & entertain us’ during one luncheon – and maybe even hanging around that evening to teach some of the finer points of poker.
Given the remote chance you’re reading this blog posting, and don’t know what the International Networking Roundtable is all about, let me ‘splain’. From the beginning (1991), this has been the Only National Venue designed exclusively to serve the education, interpersonal networking, and deal – making needs of (then) manufactured home community and (now) landlease community owners/operators nationwide! It’s also the sole national venue where most of the active realty lenders and mortgage brokers rub shoulders with property owners likely in need of acquisition financing and refinancing of existing real estate mortgages. And frankly, as is pointed out year – after – year, ‘anyone who’s anybody, in the landlease community real estate asset class, is present at the Roundtable’. SO, if that describes you, get your registration in today, and travel to San Diego, 12 – 14 September, prepared to learn, network, and negotiate with the very best in the business!
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End Notes.
1. For a FREE ‘Ah Ha! & Uh Oh! Worksheet, simply phone the MHIndustry HOTLINE: (877) MFD-HSNG or 633-4764.
2. What ‘comprehensive resource servicing’ are we talking about here? In part, the annual ALLEN REPORT (a.k.a. ‘Who’s Who Among Landlease Community Portfolio Owners/operators Throughout North America!’); two subscriber – supported monthly business newsletters; the Manufactured Housing Manager® or MHM® professional property management training & certification program; annual International Networking Roundtable and periodic FOCUS Group meetings; books, forms, and directory sales; and a dozen Signature Series Resource Documents (e.g. annual National Registry of Lenders, ‘Who Ya Gonna Call in 2012?’ list of freelance MHIndustry & LLCommunity consultants, and ten more titles.
3. For a copy of the four page handout, from which this material was extracted, phone Spencer Roane, MHM® via (678) 428-0212 or me, via the MHIndustry HOTLINE cited in end note # 1.
George Allen, CPM®Emeritus, MHM®Master, Box # 47024, Indpls, IN. 46247