Question: With
the high rate of foreclosures of site built homes, and the talk of recession,
shouldn’t there be more of a demand for new m/h land lease communities? Mark C.,
Answer:
Yes, with all the new homeowners being displaced from their homes,
apartment vacancies are beginning to fill up fast. We are beginning to see this in and
around cities with the highest number of foreclosures. So, in theory, the development of new
m/h land lease communities should be increasing. And, it is to some small degree, however
one major obstacle remains: the availability of viable chattels home financing
for homes installed on leased homesites.
You will recall, one of the reasons for the large number of defaults on
m/h loans was the abandonment of their m/h while rushing to take advantage of
low interest rates, and un-documented loan applications for new site built
homes. Many of these ex m/h
homeowners and now ex site built homeowners, are back in apartments, this time
with some serious credit blemishes.
For them to qualify for any kind of home financing is probably going to
take a long time, and a lot of credit repair and re-building. Although they have experience with
manufactured housing, they may not be good candidates for the purchase of new
homes in m/h land lease communities in the near future.
As many of us know, right now chattel mortgage financing rates, and terms
are somewhat egregious. This is
because the high rate of defaults on previous loans, caused some major defaults
in payback to their investors.
Investors have demanded stricter underwriting, and lenders without any
securitization, are relegated to keeping their portfolio of loans or selling
to private investor sources. Under the circumstances, both groups are
insisting on larger down payments, higher credit scores, and higher interest
rates. It is not unusual for
lenders to require 10% down payments or more, credit scores of 650 or higher,
limit loans to 20 year, and charge interest rates from 9.5% to 11.5% and
higher.
Who can or wants to purchase a home under those rates and
terms?
The current FHA Title I home financing options for m/h sited in land
lease communities, which only a few years ago accounted for a substantial
percentage of home loans, has been limited to $48,600 for many years, and
provides very poor guarantees to the lender in the event of default. As a result, there are only two lenders
who will make these loans nationwide.
Without reforms, no more lenders are expected to
participate.
These circumstances have all but killed the sales of m/h on leased
homesites. About the only sales
left are seller financed used/repo homes which are being marketed by community
owners. Although the yield is high,
it takes a lot of capital to finance these operations, and so they are limited
to communities where an outside source of capital can be
found.
One solution which is still on the horizon is the new FHA Title I reform
legislation which is a part of the new Housing Stimulus Act, HR 3221. Also referred to as the FHA Manufactured
Housing Loan Modernization Act of 2008 it is currently stalled in Congress. It provides for loans up to $69,678 with
indexing for increases in the CPI, a 1 ½ % down payment, and will guarantee the loan if defaulted
on, under the same terms and conditions as they provide for the FHA Title II
Programs (30 year land-home loans).
As with the other FHA home financing programs, credit approvals will not
be based on pure credit scoring, but will rely on other factors for
approval. These factors often will
qualify a borrower where it may have been more difficult to finance with a
conventional lender who uses pure credit scoring credit approval
systems.
Once the bill passed and
signed off by the President, it is not clear what loan amortization terms will
be or what interest rates will be, other than the fact that the lenders are
allowed to charge rates and terms based on the credit worthiness of the
borrower.
As of July 11th, 2008
the Senate disagreed to recent amendments of the House adding a new title and
inserting a new section to the amendment of the Senate to H.R. 3221 by Yea-Nay
Vote. 63 - 5. Record Vote Number: 173.
The President has said in essence:
without some significant changes in the bill which may have the effect of
rewarding investors and lenders who made bad loans putting us in this
predicament, he may not sign it into law.
Although HB 3221 has been passed by both the House and the Senate, the
bill will likely see several more changes to address current homeowners who may
be facing foreclosure. There are several other proposed plans which could be
meshed into the Foreclosure Prevention Act before it reaches the President for
signing.
You may read Sub-title B of HR 3221 which is entitled: Manufactured
Housing Loan Modernization
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?c110:4:./temp/~c110hQN2cy:e54194:
The bill may now proceed (as of July 13, 2008) to a conference committee
of senators and representatives to work out differences in the versions of the
bill each chamber approved. The bill then goes to the President for signing
before becoming law.
We will have to await the results of the conference committee to find out
what changes will be made, and if they will satisfy the President, and he signs
it into law.
You may watch it’s progress by going to: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-3221
If George Santayana was correct about reliving history, one thing is
important to remember in all this, assisting borrowers in obtaining home
financing for which they don’t really qualify for, just to sell a few more homes
is a dumb thing for anyone to do.
Edward “Eddie” Hicks has been active in the
manufactured housing industry since 1963. He is not only a Licensed Real-Estate
Broker but also a Licensed Mortgage Broker. These combined backgrounds have
contributed to his great success as a buyer's agent for investors seeking
Manufactured Home Community properties. Mr. Hicks is a member of the Development
Council of the Manufactured Housing Institute.
The new edition consists of 107 pages and includes
all information necessary for making an application (with a qualified mortgagee)
to HUD multi-family staff for FHA 207m m/h land lease community loans or FHA
221(d)4 apartment loans using HUD code home units.
Contains FHA regulations, and forms needed for an
application. Also includes construction cost estimator which is organized for
major cities, by lot sizes.
Includes forms, base costs, high cost percentages for many
areas of the US, MAP regulations, plus charts, graphs, & forms.
Published by Consultants Resource
Group, Inc.
Print Version Click
Here
Written by Frank Rolfe and Dave
Reynolds, MobileHomeParkStore.com, LLC
includes the 10/20 Investment
Method! |
The 10/20 Mobile Home
Park Investment System describes and
shows you the Proper way to make money and invest in Mobile Home
Parks. It is a simple system to follow and after reviewing the deals
that we have done, we know it is the only way to consistently profit in
the Mobile Home Park Business.
What you now get is
two books in one. The 10/20 System and our 70 Deal Book with a new
bonus of over 30 deals that we cancelled and why!
Inside the "Over 70 Mobile Home Park Deal and 30 Bad Deal Bonus
Book" you will see the good and bad things about all the mobile
home park deals we have done.
Fortunately for us, the profit number
was greater than the mistake number and after you read the book and apply
the concepts your profit number should be higher as well.
On each of the 70
deals we discuss the lessons learned. While
many lessons are the same time and time again, it will help you avoid
these costly mistakes!
| Ebook
$49.95 |
Paperback
$59.95 |
 |
 | |
Written by Dave Reynolds,
MobileHomeParkStore.com, LLC
December 21,
2006 |
Mobile Home Park
Investing
Here is a sample of what you will find
inside:
-
How I
Started in the Mobile Home Park Business
-
Why you
should invest in Mobile Home Parks
-
Over 15
strategies to find Mobile Home Parks to Purchase
-
Valuation of Mobile Home Parks (with or without park owned
homes)
-
A list
of over 50 Due Diligence items
-
Powerful ways to Increase the Value of your Mobile Home
Park
-
Financing, Insurance, Management, and much more!
Free Bonus: You will receive a copy of the
contract that I use to Buy Mobile Home Parks!
| Ebook
$49.95 |
Paperback
$59.95 |
 |
 | |
Written by Frank Rolfe, May 9,
2007
Available for Instant
Download or Paperback!
|
The Real
Business of Mobile Home Parks
Here is a sample of what you will find
inside:
- Removing Obstacles
- Focusing on the Goal
- Renting Mobile Home Lots
- Park Owned Homes - Renting, Selling, Buying,
and Carrying Notes
- All the forms needed to sell homes
- Collections and Late Notices
- Park Rules
- Park Maintenance
- Park Managers (new concepts that will get
you thinking)
- Park Management Agreement
- Accounts Payable
- Lawsuits
- Utility Failures
- City Hall and Media Problems
- Selling Your Mobile Home Park
Bonus
#1 - Stories from a Trailer Park (the craziest stories from Frank's
parks he has owned)
Bonus
#2 - Mobile Home Park Lease (Frank's)
Bonus
#3 - Mobile Home Park Lease (Dave's)
| Ebook
$49.95 |
Paperback
$59.95 |
 |
 | |
Written by Frank Rolfe and Dave
Reynolds
161 Pages
Revised December 15,
2007 |
Buying and Selling Used Mobile
Homes
Part 1 - For
Investors
-
The
Winning Approach to Buying Mobile Homes for Investors
-
Why NOT
to Buy and Sell Mobile Homes in Parks You Don't Own
-
Why You
SHOULD Buy and Sell/Rent Mobile Homes in Your Park
-
Calculating the Price on Homes to Bring into Your
Park
-
How to
Sell a Home
-
How to
Rent a Home
This book
will tell you why there is NO money in owning and reselling or renting
mobile homes. It will show you where the money is and how to
concentrate on the correct goals!
Part 2 - For Investors and
Homeowners
-
How and
Where to Find a Used Mobile Home to Buy
-
How to
Make the Offer
-
What
Paperwork is Needed
-
What
Deal Killers to Avoid
-
Transporting (Moving) a Mobile Home
-
Setup
and Tie Down of a Mobile Home
-
How to
Sell or Rent the Mobile Home
-
5 Good
and Bad Home Deals we have Done
-
Mobile
Home Buyer's Worksheet and explanation of each item
-
List of
Mobile Home Repo Companies
This part is for
those looking to buy their first mobile home to live in, rent, or sell for
a profit.
Audio
Bonus: In addition to the book you
will receive access to 2 hours of audio that compliment the book.
You can download them via mp3 or listen to them online.
Form
Bonuses: Promissory Note, Mobile Home
Purchase and Sale Agreement, Agreement to Provide Insurance, Bill of Sale,
Mobile Home Park Space Lease and Rules, Resident Information Sheet, Sample
10 Day Notice
| Ebook &
Audio $49.95 |
Paperback
& Audio $59.95 |
 |
 | |
|

|
30 Days
of Successful Due Diligence
by Frank
Rolfe and Dave Reynolds, MobileHomeParkStore.com
-
We have finally written the book (manual) on performing due
diligence on a mobile home park
-
Over 200 Pages
-
Covers the entire due diligence process from
writing the contract to the actual due diligence and final negotiations
with the seller.
-
This manual could save you hundreds of
thousands of dollars!
-
Includes an Excel Worksheet so you can fill
in all of the information and create your own mobile home park due
diligence report
-
And Much More!!!
If you are buying a mobile
home park, you owe it to your future sanity to get this manual before you
put it under contract!
| Electronic -
$159.00 |
Physical Manual -
$199.00 |
 |
 | |
|
|
Park Sidekick Mobile Home Park
Software - FREE TRIAL - the
easy and complete computer software solution for managing mobile
home communities! If you've been using pen and paper to manage your
mobile home park...Or if you're working with a complicated,
expensive software program that isn't tailored for your
business...
| |
committed to providing cutting edge technology and top-notch
technical support to property managers since 1997. Syrasoft currently
supports community operators nationwide . Easy to learn but powerful
system that meets even the most stringent demands of Manufactured Home
Communities... free download
|
|
The Complete Guide To Selling New Homes - by
Jerry Rouleau
The Complete Guide To Selling
New Homes is a step by step strategy that is guaranteed to
improve your sales process. Generate more traffic to model
homes while learning valuable information that will impact
your
business. Price:$60.00 Shipping
& Handling:$4.60 |
|
|
|
Increase results
Improve performance
Attend targeted seminars on New Home Sales
Achieve better productivity
Break out of the box
Get the name of your business in print through
public relations
Increase consumer recognition of your product
|
| |
$64.60

|
|
Selling New Homes the Easy Way - E-Book Edition -
by Jerry Rouleau
This Great E-book
covers 16 easy-to-read chapters that will help improve your
sales performance.
The Fun Way to Sell
| Special Offer! Purchase this
E-Book edition and save $13.30 over the cost and
shipping of the hardbound edition.
Note: This E-Book is viewable using Adobe
Acrobat. The file size is about 2 Megabytes. The
download time will vary depending on the speed of your
Internet connection. Once your credit card order has
been verified, click on the button to return for your
download link. Within a few minutes or less the book
will be saved to your computer's hard drive and you will
be reading it on your screen. Plus you are free to print
all or parts of the book for your personal use.
|
|
Price:$12.95 Shipping
& Handling: Included |
Chapter Index
1. Sales Success. It’s Not About
You, It’s About the Customer. 2. 10 Steps in
Creating a Sales & Marketing Blueprint. 3.
Recipes for Success, Five Ingredients for Cooking up
Extra Sales. 4. Looking for a Good Investment with
a Good Return – Try Model Merchandising. 5. Model
Home Operating Checklist that Will Improve
Sales. 6. Model Home Sales Tool Kit. 7. Creating
First Impressions to the 10th Power. 8. “Show and
Tell” is not Kindergarten Stuff. 9. Are You Wasting
a Lot of Time Withthe Wrong Customers? 10. “Good
Afternoon. ABC Homes.” 11. You’ve Been Shopped
…..How Would You Have Been Rated? 12. Get your
Customers to a “Fact Discovery Visit.” 13. Who is
This Home for, Anyway? 14. Developing a Public
Relations Campaign that will Increase Sales. 15.
Just Being at Home Shows, Doesn’t Mean You’ll Make
Sales. 16. Creating Your Business Billboard -
Maximizing Your
Website. | | |
|
|
|
Upgrading Your Community
-
E-Book Version - by Chrissy
Jackson
E-Book Format - You can now
receive this book for only $24.95. This is a great savings
over the print book . and best of all you can be reading your
e-books within seconds.
Price:$24.95 Shipping
& Handling: Included
|
Many communities are older and owners as well as
community managers and residents want a more �modern� place to
live. How to upgrade an older community? How can you analyze
an older community prior to purchase to be sure the financial
side of upgrading is possible and profitable? How do you
upgrade without plunging your budget into never-never land?
Are there real people out there who have done it? This
handbook looks at three very successful community owners who
purchased older communities for different reasons; upgraded
with different goals in mind; and approached decisions from
different angles. Learn from the experiences of those who have
been there and done that. Upgrades are not only for large
multi-property owners; they can be quite successful and
financially rewarding for the small owner as well. The �how
to� is here for you, and there are plenty of communities
available where you can make your fortune!
Order NOW, as soon as your credit card account is
verified click on the button to return for your download link.
| |
Ebook $24.95

|
|
|
Development, Marketing and
Operations of Manufactured Home Communities by George Allen, David
Alley & Edward Hicks
This is the first complete reference book
in twenty years to cover all aspects of development, operation and marketing of manufactured home
communities.
|
Land Development
Feasibility Studies
Business Plan Development
Engineering
Financing
Construction
Installation
Property Management
In-Fill |
Buy Now $83.00 ea includes
UPS ground shipping
|
|
How to Find, Buy Manage &
Sell a Manufactured Home Community
by George
Allen
A thorough review of the
entire real estate investment cycle...
|
|
Basics of Real Estate Investment
What to Look For in a Manufactured Home Community
How to Find and Buy a Manufactured Home Community
Estimating Value
Due Diligence & Preparing for Closing
Property Management
The Turnaround Challenge & Rejuvenating Older Communities
Selling the Manufactured Home
Community
The author begins the book with a clear
and complete description of the manufactured housing industry as a
whole and its many manufacturing, distribution and real estate-based
segments. Then he turns the reader's attention, with the able
assistance of a dozen contributor experts, to what it means to be a
real estate investor in general and a manufactured home community
owner and operator in particular.
Buy Now $83.00 ea includes
UPS ground shipping
ISBN 0-471-13587-9 508 pages
|
|
|
Promoting Your Community by Chrissy Jackson
When properly promoted, every community
should have a waiting list of qualified prospects and should
be receiving resident referrals on a regular basis. How do you
do this? Who should partner with you in an effective marketing
program? Price:$30.00 Shipping
& Handling: Included |
|
What areas are you not even aware of that send a
marketing message to your prospects? How can you create
programs to improve the perception your residents have of the
community? How can you show prospects (in one page) that your
community is heads above the competition? All of this plus
lots of marketing and promotional ideas are packed into this
handbook.
Foreword written by John Turzer, President of JLT &
Associates.
| |
$30.00
S&H
Included | |
|
The Manufactured Housing Book of Community
Management Formsby Stephen G.
Pappas
More than 25 years of experience
have gone into the development of these forms specifically
designed for the effective management of manufactured home
communities. Easy for
photocopying. Price:$49.95 Shipping
& Handling:$4.00 |
Rent Rolls
Resident Rosters
Utility Logs
Delinquency Reports
Purchasing and Finance Checklists
| | |
$45.95
S&H $4.00 |
|
|
How To Get
An FHA Guaranteed Loan For Acquisition and Rehabilitation or
Development of a MH Community E-Book
Version by Edward Hicks
The only source for all the information, forms,
analysis, you will need to get a non-recourse, 40 year, fixed rate
loan for land lease community development, or an apartment project
using HUD Code or Modular units. Includes forms, base costs, high
cost percentages for many areas of the US, MAP regulations, etc.
Monograph 60 pages plus charts, graphs, & forms.
Published by Consultants
Resource Group, Inc. |
E-Book Immediate Download!
$29.95
Print Version $39.95
|
|
 | |
The Grissim Ratings Guide to
Manufactured Homes
The
essential buyer’s resource, listing every builder in the U.S., their
histories, products, price ranges, construction ratings, need-to-know
information and much more
At last, the first consumer ratings guide
to every manufactured home builder ever published. This eagerly awaited
book, certain to become a standard reference, provides at-a-glance
listings with key information home shoppers need to make an informed
buying decision.
|
$29.95 + $5.95
S&H

|
The Grissim Buyer’s Guide to
Manufactured Homes & Land
How
to find a reputable dealer and negotiate a fair price on the best-kept
secret in American housing
New!
From Rainshadow Publications, the second edition of #1 bestselling
consumer guide in America on manufactured homes, written by veteran
journalist, author and consumer advocate John Grissim, himself a
manufactured home owner. This new edition contains many revisions,
up-dates and new material that make this invaluable resource even more
useful to home shoppers. |
$29.95 + $5.95 S&H

|
|
The Manual for Manufactured Home Repair &
Upgrade
"Every winter my roof leaked... We even had a couple manufactured
home repairmen out to seal it. Nothing worked and this went on
for 5 years," said Maureen of Elko,
Nevada. "Then last summer I ordered
The
Manual and it suggested I use neoprene to seal the leak.
Since then I've had no
leaks at all!"
Maureen is referring to The
Manual for Manufactured/Mobile Home Repair and Upgrade by Mark
Bower. Most just dub
it The
Manual. Bower
owns and operates Aberdeen Mobile Home Repair in
Aberdeen, South
Dakota.
Maureen isn't alone. Hundreds of others have written to
Bower sharing similar stories of how The Manual has solved their
problems. Esther of
St. Louis, Missouri, writes, "We had squeaky floors in
the living room and without The
Manual, I would have had my husband tear out the floors and put in
new ones. What a
lifesaver!"
Bower enjoys the letters he receives regarding his manual. "I
wrote this manual from experience," says Bower. "I'm not just some
guy with his feet up on the desk - I'm out in the field every day doing
what I write. "
Tom of Lansing, Michigan, followed the simple instructions on
installing a shut-off valve and saved $75 on a service call. Mary of Churdan, Iowa, writes to say she uses the manual to
keep the repair guys she hires honest, "When I had my home releveled, I sent two different contractors packing
because I knew they weren't doing the job right. This manual has literally saved me
hundreds of dollars!"
Bower has updated his manual for 2004. More information was added
regarding additions and porches. "We added details on attaching
porches so they don't leak even if they shift with the seasons. "
says Bower. With high
energy prices now upon us, Bower says he's also included a section on
building a solar heating panel. "Find an old sliding glass door
and you can build one for under $100," says Bower who built two panels for
his own 1800 square foot manufactured home. "You'd be surprised at how much
heat they create when the sun is shining. "
David of Lake McConaughy, Nebraska, says
The
Manual should be called, The Mobile Home Bible. Dave
writes, "I wish I had your manual when we had our 1965 Star. It would have saved me WEEKS of
work!"
Vicki of Ocala, Florida, bought Bower's manual because it had
instructions for installing a metal roofover.
"My son and husband
had the roof up in 2 days from start to finish," says Vicki. "The 4
inch overhang is awesome - no more water running down the siding.
Great roof, great instructions, I love it!"
The
Manual also helped Pam from
Duluth,
Minnesota, replace her skirting and
repair her underbelly. "It gave me the courage to tackle these
projects," writes Pam. " I saved a lot of
money by being able to do it myself. "
Bower says many manufactured home owners are do-it-yourselfers, and
he's glad to be able to provide them a tool, The
Manual, to help them do more.
|