Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/283550
APRIL 2014 21 THE JOURNAL An MHWC Warranty makes all the difference! Tifanee McCall 800-247-1812 ext. 2132 www.mhwconline.com Written Insured Warranties General Liability Insurance 30+ Years of Experience D D D Its Never Been Easier to Join MHWC New Home Warranties No. 11 on Get It Quick Page financing for manufactured homes, more financ- ing choices and more competition in the market. And the necessary "foun- dation" elements for reform are pres- ent, including: (1) the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 2000 taking root to provide consumers with the best manufactured homes ever; (2) the willingness of consumers to enter the housing market – where manufactured homes are their best and most affordable housing choice; (3) Obama Administration housing and home finance policies that prioritize government assistance for middle and working-class families; and (4) the elimination with the advent of Dodd-Frank reg- ulation, of the prior negative perception of some aspects of manufactured home consumer financ- ing among decision-makers in Washington, D.C. The question now is, where are the in- dustry leaders to step forward and move this com- prehensive consumer financing reform effort past the goal-line – like their counterparts did in 1998 for the federal law? MHARR has already done the heavy lifting and paved the way by, among other things, meeting with representatives of the nation's more than 18 million manufactured homeowners -- through the National Manufactured Home Owners' Associa- tion (NMHOA) – to demonstrate that funda- mental reform to end financing discrimination is essential and needs to be remedied once and for all, as well as preparing and submitting legislative language for a comprehensive resolution of this persistent problem. Most of the industry, how- ever – and particularly the post-production seg- ment -- has been absent on this subject, while pursuing a Band-Aid approach that would help only a few companies, but is being portrayed as "the" solution for all. Indeed, with no inde- pendent national post-production representation to work with, the misinformation emanating from Washington, D.C. on this matter and the in- dustry's consumer financing-related priorities in the nation's capital has been so intense that MHARR has taken out issue advertisements to cut through the fog and reach the industry's grass- roots directly. What the industry needs now, is for real leadership within the industry and real leaders to step forward and genuinely join the effort to make certain that a comprehensive solution to the industry's consumer financing problems is ad- dressed once and for all. In MHARR's view, with the inclusion of MHARR's comprehensive consumer financing language in the first draft of the Senate's bi-par- tisan GSE reform bill, meaningful consumer fi- nancing relief is within reach, but it will require a genuine concerted effort to take on and finally end the discrimination that has crippled the in- dustry's consumer financing for so long. Danny D. Ghorbani is President & CEO of the Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform. MHARR is a Wash- ington, DC-based national trade association representing the views and interests of independent producers of federally-regulated manu- factured housing. Danny can be reached at 202-783-4087. lower cap rates. Dodd-Frank tends to bounce off Let's face it, under Dodd-Frank, the single-family real estate sector is doomed. Blame that one on the millions of folks that voted for Obama, and our current Congress, in the last election. Without the repeal of Dodd- Frank, getting a mortgage in the U.S. will grow continually more impossible, and the American Dream will be lost to millions of Americans. Al- ready, the number of homeowners in the U.S. has declined significantly. And these folks all end up as renters, of which manufactured home com- munities and apartments are one of the biggest beneficiaries. Of course, those that manufacture and sell manufactured homes will take a big hit. But community owners seldom dwell in the homes, and therefore escape the wrath. All of the U.S. megatrends are in our favor The scorecard for manufactured home commu- nities is pretty amazing. In each and every mega- trend gripping the U.S. right now, we are one of the biggest winners. Take the Baby Boom, for ex- ample. There's 10,000 baby boomers per day re- tiring into social security checks that average only $1,200 per month – the strong suit of our niche. I know it looks unfair – like we cheated and stacked the deck, or maybe paid off somebody to make this happen. But the truth is that we're just in the right place at the right time. Conclusion Nobody ever said that life is fair. So, given it's unfair, I'd rather be on the winning side of that inequality. For those who gripe that we're part of an unfair business model, I'd only suggest that they, rather than be bitter about it, drop what they're doing and buy a manufactured home com- munity. Frank Rolfe has been a manufactured home community owner for almost two decades, and currently ranks as part of the 15th largest community owner in the United States, with more than 10,000 lots in 17 states in the Great Plains and Midwest. His books and courses on community acquisitions and management are the top-selling ones in the industry. To learn more about Frank's views on the manufactured home community industry visit www.MobileHomeUniversity.com. \ 15 T J T J \ 18