By George Allen on 2017-05-20

Blog # 447; Copyright @ 21 May 2017; community-investor.com

Perspective. ‘Land lease communities’, previously manufactured home communities, & ‘mobile home parks’, comprise the real estate component of manufactured housing.’

This blog posting is the sole national advocate voice, official ombudsman, & Historian, research report, & online communication media for North American LLCommunities!

‘To input this blog &/or affiliate with Community Owners (7 Part) Business Alliance, a.k.a. COBA7, use Official MHIndustry HOTLINE: (877) MFD-HSNG or 633-4764

COBA7 Motto: ‘U Support US & We Serve U!’ Goal of its’ print/online media = to
‘Not only inform & opine, but transform & improve MHBusiness model performance!

______________________________________________________________________

INTRODUCTION: Wow! All sorts of developments breaking loose in the MHIndustry:
a ‘seller finance fly-in’ to Washington DC this Summer; ID of opportunities to make your views known on MH ‘issues & matters’; Clayton Bank merges with FirstBank; and, letter writing campaign to Dr. Ben Carson, Secretary of HUD, continues. Read on….

I.

Something Exciting On MH $ Agenda!

Willing to Fly into Washington, DC., on 18 & 19 July, to Lobby for Manufactured Housing Seller Finance Legislation?

YES!

Details forthcoming here, as well as in the Allen CONFIDENTIAL! business newsletter, and the Allen Letter professional journal – all COBA7 print and online media publications! If you’re not yet an affiliate of COBA7, do so today, using brochure attached to this blog, or phone the Official MHIndustry HOTLINE: (877) MFD-HSNG or 633-4764. What’s affiliation cost? Your choice; only $134.95/year for 12 monthly issues of the Allen Letter; $544.95/ year if you want to receive, in addition to the newsletter, the annual ALLEN REPORT, National Registry of ALL Lenders, and ten additional Signature Series Resource Documents.

Back to this Summer’s fly-in to Washington, DC. Actually, we’ve told you about the Seller Finance Coalition before, as COBA7 is, in our behalf as LLCommunity owners/operators, dues-paying member. How ’bout MHARR & MHI? In my opinion, they should be, but you’ll have to ask them yourself.

Anyway, for more information, continue to read this weekly blog at community-investor.com, or reach out directly to krepass@sellerfinancecoaliton.org
In any event, the 18 & 19 July fly-in is on my calendar as a Must Participate Opportunity, to promote federal legislation designed to make on-site, contract financing of new HUD-Code homes in land lease communities, easier than it is today. If you agree seller-financing of new HUDCode homes on-site, continues to be ‘a major challenge’ to the manufactured housing industry and our realty asset class – Plan Now to Attend!

II.

‘MHIndustry Issues & Matters Input Day’ = Success!

The Illinois Manufactured Housing Association (‘IMHA’) annual meeting was a success in several ways:

• Full day of intense ‘new home sales’ training by freelance consultant Ken Corbin
• Training in new manufactured housing installation, by Frank Bowman, MHM
• An afternoon of strategic planning (preparation) for the IMHA organization
• Fair Housing ‘like you’ve never heard it before’, & informative national legislative update; both by Rick Robinson, esquire, VP @ MHI.
• ‘State of the Manufactured Housing Industry & Land Lease Community real estate asset class’, by George Allen, CPM & MHM

A highlight of the day, as suggested by the above title, was the opportunity to identify and submit personal views on ‘issues & matters’ relative to the MHIndustry & LLCommunities. This input will be melded with like contributions from Think Tank & Networking Roundtable opportunities occurring during the next six months – then published en masse, in all print and online MH trade publications! It’s about time….

Next input opportunity? At MHAlive!, the informal Think Tank occurring, the morning (9-11AM) of 7 August, at RV/MH Hall of Fame,in the board room at that museum/library facility! For information about MHAlive! session, phone (317) 346-7156. To register for the RV/MH Hall of Fame induction banquet, later the same day, phone (574) 293-2344. Remember, three of this year’s inductees come directly from the LLCommunity segment of the MHIndustry; being: Michael Sullivan, CPM; Spencer Roane, MHM, & Christine Lindsey, MHM. How can you not want to be present to honor and fete these longtime leaders in our realty asset class? I certainly plan to attend. See you there!

And the next input opportunity? A month later, on 7 September, during the first morning session of the 26th Networking Roundtable, in Indianapolis, IN. For an information brochure and or to register, again, phone (317) 346-7156. Attendance, this year, limited to 200, so don’t be left out by registering late.

III.

Clayton Bank Merges with FirstBank

Here’s the way the Press Release reads: ‘Clayton Bank & American City Bank Announce Merger with FirstBank, a fully-owned subsidiary of FB Financial Corporation – the third largest TN-headquartered bank, with 45 full-service branches in TN, AL, & GA.

Where does this merger leave Jim Clayton? According to the Press Release, he’s ‘committed to the merger, functioning as chairman of East Tennessee & Clayton Specialty Finance.’ How ’bout Kevin Kimsey?

IV.

Have YOU Written to Dr. Ben Carson, Secretary of HUD yet?

In last week’s blog posting, COBA7 encouraged all manufactured housing professionals and land lease community owners/operators, to pen a letter to Dr. Ben Carson, Secretary of HUD, describing “…how we need ‘relief from onerous installation regulations”, on one hand (including dissolution of the unneeded Dispute Resolution program); and, for HUD – for the first time in ’40 years of industry oversight’, to publicly and enthusiastically promote manufactured housing as this nation’s best quality and form of affordable housing!”

Have you done so yet? If not, here’s the address to use:

The Honorable Dr. Ben Carson, Secretary
U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development
Suite # 10000
451 Seventh St., SW
Washington, DC. 201410

Need additional motivation to do what you should want to do? Know that both national advocates of manufactured housing, MHARR & MHI, met recently with senior staff at HUD, with the express purpose of identifying present day regulations that should be sunset ASAP – and to make recommendations to HUD, going forward.

Hey, no one can force you to do this. However, if you have ‘skin in the game’ (i.e. business ownership) of manufactured housing and or land lease communities, and you value your Free Enterprise future, present and future, you should want to be proactive for a change, and not passively reactive! If you’re the latter, you’ll have only yourself to blame if matters don’t improve markedly at HUD during the next six months.

Me? I’ve penned and mailed three such letters since the first of the year! Recommend you send yours by Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested. Sure, it’s more expensive than simple First Class, but an almost guarantee the letter will get to where you want it to go!

***

Leave a comment

Name .
.
Message .

Please note, comments must be approved before they are published