Mark Bowersox, president of MHI, address attendees at the NCC Fall Leadership Forum in 2021.
Manufactured home community owners and operators, as well as other industry professionals, are meeting Wednesday through Friday in downtown Chicago for the annual NCC Fall Leadership Forum. The event for community owners and operators is hosted annually by the Manufactured Housing Institute, the national advocate for the industry, to discuss the top challenges and opportunities for industry professionals involved in the land-lease business.
NCC is being held at the Westin on Michigan Avenue and is set up for manufactured housing professionals to make new business contacts among the more than 450 industry leaders in attendance.
The NCC Fall Leadership Forum is the Manufactured Housing Institute’s major annual executive-level strategy meeting for members. Manufactured housing industry professionals in attendance will include:
Community owners
Community managers
Home manufacturers
Industry service providers
Brokers
Lenders
Consultants
The forum offers new ideas, examines new trends, and provides perspective for manufactured housing industry professionals doing business with communities. Organizers have put together two nights and 1-1/2 days of programming geared toward executives who need a limited time from the office and a high-impact meeting agenda.
Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in engaging education sessions, including the keynote address from demographer Kenneth Gronbach who will discuss changing household trends and the opportunity for the manufactured housing industry to continue growing.
The event will begin in the afternoon on Wednesday, with onsite registration at 4:30 and a welcome mixer at 6 p.m. The event kicks off in earnest Thursday morning with a networking breakfast, the keynote, and welcome and industry update from MHI, and then panels from industry experts on topics ranging from local and regional trends to expanding and upgrading communities, and keeping up on regulatory topics. Friday morning moves toward information on storm preparation, resident support, and community recovery, as well as conversations on the community rental business, and fair housing practices.
Sea Air, in Rehoboth Beach, Del., is a property owned by Sun Communities.
Proposed Rule Seeks Methodology for Adjusting Loan Limits Each Year for Manufactured Homes Titled as Personal Property
The Federal Housing Administration has published a proposed rule in the Federal Register to increase and index the loan limits for its Title I Manufactured Home Loan Program that insures loans for manufactured homes titled as personal property, otherwise known as chattel loans.
It seeks public comment on a data-driven methodology to calculate loan limits for the program on an annual basis. The publication is the latest step in FHA’s efforts to promote manufactured homes, an important component of the Biden-Harris Administration’s May 2022 Housing Supply Action Plan.
“Adjusting loan limits to current market conditions will make Title I a much more useful source of affordable loan financing for manufactured homes,” Federal Housing Commissioner Julia Gordon said. “This proposal is the next step in FHA’s ongoing work to support manufactured housing as an affordable and attractive option in a challenging housing market.”
Loan limits for the Title I Manufactured Home Loan Program were last updated by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. The proposed methodology will be used to establish indexes that annually calculate and adjust loan limits using sale prices, the number of sections of the manufactured home, and property data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau. FHA’s proposal includes separate indexes for single-section manufactured homes and multi-section manufactured homes for the three loan categories covered under the Title I Manufactured Home Loan Program:
Manufactured home loans used for the purchase or refinance of manufactured home only;
Manufactured home lot loans used for the purchase or refinance of the land where the home will be installed; and
Manufactured home and lot combination loans used for the purchase or refinance of both the home and the land on which the home will be installed.
In November 2021, FHA published revised and enhanced Title I Manufactured Home Loan Program policies in its “Single Family Housing Policy Handbook” section 4000.1. These changes made it easier for lenders to understand and use the program while providing expanded eligibility requirements for loan financing that are consistent with the criteria for income and property valuations used in real-estate mortgage financing.
A new Clayton CrossMod home. Photo courtesy of Clayton.
Kevin Clayton, CEO of Clayton, invited guests to the new Hawthorne home design on display at the RV/MH Hall of Fame in Elkhart, Ind., an example of the latest CrossMod product, and what the manufactured housing industry can do to provide more much-needed affordable homes.
Following the opening of the home and new Manufactured Housing Museum in mid-August , Clayton attended the 50th Anniversary celebration at the RV/MH Hall of Fame, during which 10 new inductees were honored and Kevin and Jim Clayton, his father and founder of the company, accepted the Darryl Searer Spirit Award.
While touring, mingling, and showing his appreciation for the more than 500 manufactured housing professionals in attendance, Clayton took some time to chat with MHInsider on new developments with the CrossMod product, and thoughts on the direction of the industry.
A CrossMod home is a HUD Code manufactured home with attributes such as a permanent foundation, 5/12 roof pitch, dormers, a porch or garage, as well as interior features such as increased insulation, drywall, and hardwood cabinets. The home is designed to be permanently placed in nearly any residential neighborhood and can be financed with a conventional mortgage backed by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae. The home is built in a factory, transported, and finished on-site.
MHInsider: What are the latest developments on the CrossMod front?
Kevin Clayton, CEO of Clayton
Kevin Clayton: CrossMod homes offer an affordable manufactured housing solution that can appraise to site-built comps and qualify for conventional financing and zoning. Currently, FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac say CrossMod homes “may” be appraised against site-built but many have defaulted to other manufactured homes, which is not an accurate comparison.
With the simple change expected in a few months of it saying it “must” be compared to CrossMod or site-built, in five years you could double the supply of new homes below $300,000.
In that case, the lenders can be financing through FHA Title II. It will be right where we’ve wanted these homes to be considered all along.
We also recently highlighted two other CrossMod home innovations: the single-section CrossMod and the net-zero energy home.
The unique layout of the single-section CrossMod home makes it an ideal size and shape for many city lots or established neighborhoods. We estimate the single section CrossMod would typically cost under $200,000 including land and set up of the home. This price point would help even more families and individuals achieve homeownership.
At the 2022 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders meeting, we also unveiled our first net-zero CrossMod home. This home showcased energy-efficient features currently available, as well as new, future technologies Clayton is considering, such as solar.
The net-zero home demonstrates Clayton’s dedication to building homes that uphold our commitment to affordability, sustainability, and design innovation.
The new CrossMod home from Clayton on display at the RV/MH Hall of Fame in Elkhart, Ind.
There was some early skepticism on how CrossMod might take hold, what’s your feeling on the pace now?
You’re seeing a much more intense effort to get these finance issues solved and solved quickly. The focus is to prioritize needs in the industry and work with HUD and the Enterprises to get them addressed, so we can better serve families searching for affordable housing.
What does bringing this product to market do for the industry?
It is a big boost in doubling our industry’s historical 9-10 percent of home starts. I am extremely confident that within the next 10 years, if not the next five, we will be able to double the size and productivity of our industry.
Every area in the country is in absolute need of more affordable housing.
The average sale price of a home in the U.S. last year was nearing $500,000, whereas a CrossMod home on land, like the Hawthorne from Clayton, is below $300,000 in most markets, a price point more families can afford.
Beyond design and financing, what has Clayton been doing to prepare for a ramp up in CrossMod home sales?
Building relationships with site builders and developers. CrossMod allows us to help developers add a housing tool to their toolbelt. With a CrossMod home, we build the house, relieving some of a developer’s labor pressure. In addition, CrossMod homes are primarily sold by developers through realtors. Educating realtors about CrossMod homes and available financing options is important in increasing access.
Our industry is also working closely with municipalities across the country to educate community leaders and the public on CrossMod to ensure zoning accommodates CrossMod homes.
Retail locations are increasingly interested in stocking CrossMod homes. This will gain traction as the appraisal language updates happen later this year.
MortgageFlex knows that the best way to make your customer happy is to be first, be flexible, and be responsive.
It’s a suite of loan and originating software solutions that brings the relationship between lender, dealer, and customer to a new place, far beyond long-held approaches that reach back to fax machines and call lists.
“Everything is tied in together and everything is bi-lingual and mobile,” MortgageFlex’s John McCrae said. “The way to get to that potential borrower is to react quicker. That customer’s cell phone is going off within 10 minutes to offer them a conversation in Spanish or English.”
The company has about 40 employees and is based in Jacksonville, Fla., though its employees work remotely from many different locations. The offering is 100 percent Microsoft hosted and is used by 40 regular customers as well as about 35 credit union service organizations.
Competitive Analysis
Ice, formerly Ellie Mae, bought Black Night, which merged the two main competitors in the loan origination and servicing technology space
Mortgage Flex had been working with Credit Human at the time it realized the opportunity for its services in manufactured housing.
“We spent almost a year working with them on use cases just to figure out how they operate, and then we spent about eight months developing the product,” McCrae said. “We thought it was going to be a one-off and come to learn there are not a lot of active players with lending and servicing technology like this in the manufactured housing space.”
Eliminate Clunky, Duplicative Systems
In any form of lending, McCrae said, origination is the easier place to gain a foothold, but servicing is where you gain loyalty and grow your business. These are conversations that apply to all forms of products in the marketplace, including in technology.
“We set it up to where the user only sees what they need,” McCrae said. “If a client is only doing chattel loans, then they’re not going to have to look at any of the rules associated solely with conventional loans.
Integrations are made simple. For instance, Docuprep is a document provider that can seamlessly identify property and loan type, and will automatically grab and share a complete document package that aligns with state standards for the transaction.
“If you can assure the home seller that you will keep them informed, and provide transparent views into the pipeline… And we’re putting those tools into the hands of lenders, too, to put them on the same playing field.”
The product was designed for conventional mortgage lending, and that remains a major part of the business. The company has dipped into commercial lending, and handles the chattel process easily, even when dealers and in-community lenders are keeping those loans on the books.
“Servicing of chattel loans is pretty easy comparatively,” McCrae said. “Escrows are minimal and we’ve gained expertise in the whole customer service side, letting people do everything online.”
MortgageFlex continues to develop is set of services, including through artificial intelligence and optical character recognition, a tool to scan and digitize whole text for immediate be readability for machine editing, computing, and analysis.
Overlooking homes and vendors at The Louisville Show in 2018
Tour Dozens of Manufactured Home Models at 2023’s First Major Industry Event
The Louisville Manufactured Housing Show, which takes place January 18 – 20, 2023 at the Kentucky Exposition Center, has announced today that attendee registration is now open for industry professionals.
Hosted in Louisville for over 61 years, The Louisville Show will showcase the latest lineup of new homes, products and services for manufactured housing professionals looking for the greatest innovations the industry has to offer. The event is hosted in partnership with the Midwest Manufactured Housing Federation.
“The Louisville Show is the year’s first major event for manufactured housing, and we’re excited to start registering attendees for an event that’s been three years in the making,” Eric Oaks, MMHF Chairman, said. “When it comes to touring the newest model homes and industry innovations, not to mention creating new business partnerships, this is a can’t-miss event for anyone that works in the manufactured housing industry.”
Industry professionals can register to attend the event and sign up for event updates at thelouisvilleshow.com.
The event will once again take place at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, Kentucky, where attendees can view dozens of the latest model homes – more than any other indoor event in the U.S. – from the top manufacturers in the industry.
Exhibitor Space is More Than 50 Percent Sold Out For 2023 Louisville Show
There’s still time to register as an exhibitor for the 2023 Louisville Show!
Whether you’re a manufacturer, retailer, supplier, community owner/operator, or any other kind of industry professional, The Louisville Show is your chance to directly reach thousands of manufactured housing professionals and prospective customers ahead of the spring and summer buying seasons.
Join over one hundred exhibitors at The Louisville Show, book your exhibit space today by visiting thelouisvilleshow.com or calling (770) 587-3350. Exhibit space is limited, so potential exhibitors are encouraged to contact Trisha Ragoopath-Le as soon as possible at the phone number above.
The Louisville Show is an industry trade event not open to the general public. For more information about the event, visit thelouisvilleshow.com.
Show Produced and Managed by: Show Ways Unlimited Trisha Ragoopath-Le, Show Coordinator (770) 587-3350
The Midwest Manufactured Housing Federation
The Midwest Manufactured Housing Federation is a trade-association dedicated to the promotion and advancement of the manufactured housing industry throughout Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio. The Federation holds the Louisville Manufactured Housing Show annually in Louisville, Kentucky.
NOVI, Mich. – The Michigan Manufactured Housing Association (MMHA) Annual Conference will take place on Thursday, October 6, the organization announced today. ƒ
MMHA members from across the state are invited to the Suburban Collection Showplace at 46100 Grand River Avenue in Novi, Mich. to discuss industry updates and hear from a number of industry professionals.
“We’re just a couple of days away from the conference, and I can’t stress enough just how important this meeting is for the Michigan manufactured housing industry,” MMHA President and CEO John Lindley said. “If you haven’t registered yet for the annual MMHA Conference, now’s the time!”
Industry professionals who are interested in attending the conference should contact MMHA at (517) 349-3300.
The Conference will take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. A Special VIP Event will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. where industry members along with legislative and government officials are invited to tour six manufactured homes before they’re open to the public beginning Friday, October 7.
Industry professionals are encouraged to RSVP for the Special VIP Event by emailing Lauri Brantley at lbrantley@mmhrvca.org or by calling (517) 999-6879 before Tuesday, October 4.
This year’s manufactured homes on display are a part of the MMHA Manufactured Housing Showcase at the Novi Home Show and will feature half a dozen model homes from Skyline Champion and Clayton Homes.
“Our manufacturing partners are crucial in demonstrating the value of manufactured housing to the general public,” Lindley said. “We’re excited for our fellow industry professionals and legislative and government officials to see the newest in manufactured housing developments for themselves.”
About the Michigan Manufactured Housing Association
Michigan Manufactured Housing Association (MMHA) is a nonprofit trade association representing the manufactured and modular housing industry in Michigan. MMHA works to improve the image of manufactured housing by educating consumers, media and government about the quality, affordability, design and beauty of the homes. It also works to protect the interests of the industry and the owners of manufactured homes. For more information, please visit www.michhome.org.
Homes arrive late last week for set up at the SECO Conference for Community Owners
Manufactured housing professionals nationwide are arriving in Atlanta to begin the week, with Manager Monday and Tuesday through Thursday programming of the SECO Conference for Community Owners underway.
In addition to content specifically for community managers, SECO is hosting its first ever industry golf tournament.
Speakers for the duration of the four days include:
Mark Yost, CEO of Champion Homes, our Keynote Speaker!
Judge Louis Levenson, “Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow: Legal Considerations in Evictions”
Commercial Real Estate Economist and Futurist KC Conway, CCIM, CRE, MAI
Ed. O Bridgman, President and CEO, EOB Consulting “The Next Frontier: Expanding Your Portfolio with RV Parks”
Ken Corbin, CallKenCorbin.com, “Communicating With Today’s Resident”
Darren Krolewski, Co-President, Chief Business Development Officer, MHVillage/Datacomp, “Back to the Basics: Can’t-Miss Marketing Fundamentals to Promote Your Community and Sell/Rent More Homes”
Kevin Thrash, Executive Vice President, American Commerce Bank, “Fly on the Wall Discussion of a Real Loan Committee”
Homes have arrived and are set up awaiting attendees. Six manufacturers are showing homes — set up in a village-style arrangement in the parking lot at the Atlanta Evergreen Lakeside Resort at Stone Mountain.
“The homes looks amazing, and we are extremely enthusiastic about seeing conference attendees in person again for the first time in three years,” SECO co-founder Spencer Roane said.
‘Homebuyers need a hero, and the hero is us’
Mark Yost, the keynote speaker at SECO, came on stage wearing a blazer and a Superman shirt.
“Right now the next customer sees us as Clark Kent,” the Skyline Champion Corporation president said. “Once they see us as Superman, they’re never going to be able to look at Clark Kent the same way.”
The need for the right home in the right place at the right price is essential for multiple audiences, from first-time homebuyers to retirees.
“Right now we need 26 million homes to be retrofitted or built new for older Americans,” he said.
Only 5 million homes are suited for aging in place, with single floor living and wider hallways, lower counters, and wider doors.
“Who here has renovated their home recently?” Yost asked.
One person among hundreds raised her hand and said she was still working on it.
“It’s hard to find the workers,” she said.
That’s where manufactured homes come into play.
“Do you think it’s going to be easier to renovate — to move the bedroom downstairs and widen the halls and doors — or easier to buy a new manufactured home?”
Interest rates are increasing, high-priced homes in particular more expensive yet. The rental market is high because, again, there is high demand and limited supply.
“We have 70 percent of the country who can’t afford a house, and 60 million adults living with their parents.”
Just a few years ago that 70 percent was the number applied to those who COULD afford a house.
“It’s flipped,” Yost said.
Traditionally, the average person couldn’t care less about zoning, but with 70 percent of people unable to afford a home, zoning now matters to the majority.
“You will see more changes to zoning in the next five years than we’ve seen in the last 50 years combined,” Yost said.
People right now have no where to go, he said, and once they figure out what we do, that expands all of the industry’s markets 10 to 20 percent.
“It’s a huge opportunity. But we have to do what we’re going to say,” Yost said. “All of us have to work together to take care of the customer.”
MHInsider will report live from SECO through the day, so check back to the go-to resource for manufactured housing news, a product of MHVillage.
Dozens of Manufactured Home Models Expected to Display at 2023’s First Major Industry Event
Save the date for The Louisville Manufactured Housing Show, which this year will take place from January 18 – 20, 2023 at the Kentucky Exposition Center.
The Louisville Show, known for being the nation’s largest indoor event for manufactured homes, also announced today that exhibitor applications are open.
Hosted in Louisville for over 61 years, The Louisville Show will showcase the latest lineup of new homes, products and services for manufactured housing professionals looking for the greatest innovations the industry has to offer. The event is hosted in partnership with the Midwest Manufactured Housing Federation.
“It’s been a long time coming; we’re excited to welcome manufactured housing professionals back to Louisville for the first time in three years to view the newest model homes and industry innovations,” Eric Oaks, MMHF Chairman, said. “This show is the year’s first major opportunity to browse these homes before the spring buying season fully starts, and we’re proud to be a part of it.”
The event will once again take place at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, Kentucky, where industry professionals can view dozens of the latest model homes from the top manufacturers in the industry. Attendees at The Louisville Show can view more factory-built homes than any other indoor event in the U.S.
Industry professionals interested in attending The Louisville Show can visit thelouisvilleshow.com to sign up for event updates and be the first to know when attendee registration opens.
Exhibitor Applications Now Open For 2023 Louisville Show
The Louisville Manufactured Housing Show will host dozens of exhibitors from across the entire manufactured housing industry. Exhibitors at the event range from manufacturers, retailers, suppliers, community owners/operators and other industry professionals all showing off their latest products, services, and announcements.
Exhibitors at The Louisville Show directly reach thousands of manufactured housing professionals and prospective customers ahead of the spring and summer buying seasons.
Manufactured housing professionals can book their exhibit space today by visiting thelouisvilleshow.com or calling (770) 587-3350.
“Because this is the first in-person Louisville Show in three years, we expect our exhibit spaces to fill up quickly due to extremely high demand,” Show Coordinator Trisha Ragoopath-Le said. “January is the perfect time to get in front of thousands of industry professionals, so we’re asking our manufacturer and supplier partners to book their exhibit spaces as soon as possible.”
The Louisville Show is an industry trade event not open to the general public. For more information about the event, visit thelouisvilleshow.com.
AboutThe Midwest Manufactured Housing Federation
The Midwest Manufactured Housing Federation is a trade-association dedicated to the promotion and advancement of the manufactured housing industry throughout Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio. The Federation holds the Louisville Manufactured Housing Show annually in Louisville, Kentucky.
A U.S District Court in Arizona has approved a $1.5 million settlement of the Securities and Exchange Commission action against Cavco Industries.
The SEC claim was related to 2017 trading directed by former CEO Joseph Stegmayer that resulted in “an unrealized gain of approximately $265,000 for the company”.
In a release from Cavco, the company stated the settlement comes without admitting or denying the findings of the consent judgment. Cavco agrees to an injunction against future violations of the antifraud and internal accounting control provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as well as the $1.5 million penalty.
“The settlement resolves all claims in the action against the company. Daniel Urness, its former chief financial officer, is the only remaining defendant in the ongoing action,” the release stated. “Mr. Stegmayer settled the SEC claims against him last year.”
Bill Boor is the president and CEO of Cavco
“After working to resolve this matter for an extended period of time, we are very happy to have reached a settlement on reasonable terms,” Boor said.
Information on featured speakers and the schedule of events for SECO22 are now available.
Registration Remains Open for Community Owners, Managers to Experience Four Days of Programming, Networking
The SECO National Conference of Community Owners announced today its lineup of speakers for SECO22, along with the schedule of events for this year’s programming.
This year’s conference, which will take place at Stone Mountain Park in Atlanta, Ga., at the Atlanta Evergreen Lakeside Resort Oct. 3-6, 2022, will offer four days of sessions, panels, and roundtables from the industry’s top leaders and experts in all things manufactured housing.
“SECO has always been about making personal connections and fostering education with small to mid-size community owners and managers,” SECO Co-Founder and organizer Spencer Roane said. “We are thrilled to be back in Atlanta this year to continue the tradition in-person and share industry knowledge among fellow professionals.”
SECO22 Announces Speakers, Schedule of Events
SECO is proud to announce its speakers and sessions for the 2022 event, including:
Mark Yost, CEO of Champion Homes, our Keynote Speaker!
Judge Louis Levenson, “Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow: Legal Considerations in Evictions”
Commercial Real Estate Economist and Futurist KC Conway, CCIM, CRE, MAI
Ed. O Bridgman, President and CEO, EOB Consulting “The Next Frontier: Expanding Your Portfolio with RV Parks”
Ken Corbin, CallKenCorbin.com, “Communicating With Today’s Resident”
Darren Krolewski, Co-President, Chief Business Development Officer, MHVillage/Datacomp, “Back to the Basics: Can’t-Miss Marketing Fundamentals to Promote Your Community and Sell/Rent More Homes”
Kevin Thrash, Executive Vice President, American Commerce Bank, “Fly on the Wall Discussion of a Real Loan Committee”
Download the Whova App to Stay Connected at SECO22
Like in past years, SECO22 will make use of Whova to allow attendees to take full advantage of SECO22’s networking opportunities.
Attendees at the event can use Whova to network with other attendees, speakers, and sponsors, find a mentor, supplier, or business partner, plan social activities, post job openings tailored to event attendees, receive event updates, and stay in touch with connections after the event.
Attendees can find more information and download and register for Whova at secoconference.com.
After downloading, attendees should use their attendee email address when signing up in the app and choose a strong password, or sign up using a social media account. Once signed up, they will be taken directly to the event.
If asked for an event invitation code when accessing the event, attendees should check their email as the event invitation code will be emailed to all attendees prior to SECO22.
Those who have attended SECO in the past can log in using their existing credentials if they have used Whova during past SECO events.
What’s New at SECO22?
By attending SECO22, you’ll get to take part in networking roundtables, attend three receptions for entertainment and networking, experience SECO’s first-ever live music at the event, and attend all-time favorite SECO educational sessions to further your industry knowledge.
For the first time in five years, you’ll also have the chance to tour 16 on-site, display manufactured homes to see the latest developments in industry manufacturing. Manufacturers displaying homes at this year’s conference include Cavco, Clayton, Legacy Housing, Live Oak Homes, ScotBilt Homes, and Skyline Champion.
This year’s event is expected to draw hundreds of industry professionals from all over the country.
“We’re just a few days away from SECO22, so if you haven’t already registered for the event and booked your transportation and lodging, now is the time to act,” Roane said. “The room block at the Atlanta Evergreen Lakeside Resort is now sold out, and we’re now booking rooms at our secondary lodging location, the Inn at Stone Mountain Park. We recommend registering for SECO22 TODAY so that you can plan out your SECO week and take advantage of the top event for community owners and managers.”
Now in its 12th year, SECO has been a landmark conference “for community owners, by community owners,” providing the opportunity to learn, interact, network, and shop the latest manufactured housing offerings as well as building symbiotic relationships between community owners and street retailers. For more information on SECO22 and to register for the event, visit secoconference.com. SECO22 is an industry conference for manufactured housing professionals and is not open to the general public.
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