Skyline Champion Corporation has aquired ScotBilt Homes, a company that last year shipped more than 1,600 homes from a pair of manufacturing facilities in Georgia to markets in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
Prior to the acquisition, ScotBilt had been owned by SHI Group Holdings.
“We are excited to welcome ScotBilt Homes and its almost 400 employees to the Skyline Champion family,” Skyline Champion President and CEO Mark Yost said. “We believe ScotBilt is an excellent fit given our compatible company cultures and shared values. While working with founder Sam Scott and his team during this transaction, we learned that their work ethic mirrors our core operating principles. Sam Scott has been a pioneer in the manufactured housing industry for more than 50 years and we are fortunate to benefit from the high quality and unique home designs for which ScotBilt is known.”
“Their efficient manufacturing facilities produce a streamlined product offering,” Yost said. “We expect this transaction to generate solid returns with meaningful shareholder value creation from day one, supported by ScotBilt’s attractive client base, and margin profile.”
Scott said he and his family feel they have found the right partner in carrying on the ScotBilt tradition.
“We wanted a partner who we could trust would operate the company in a manner consistent with how we’ve done business since our founding in 2004,” Scott said. “The customers who value the reputation of our brand will continue to receive the high-quality products they have grown to expect. I am confident that we have aligned with a great company that will leverage the culture and brand integrity that has set us apart from our competitors.”
There’s a fresh idea emerging in manufactured housing.
It’s one that can provide community owners with an influx of cash, lighten management requirements, and provide an easy avenue to operating a pure land-lease property.
GoFresh Homes CEO Jim Davis had been in banking for 28 years and was contemplating a next career when his desire for a mission-driven business plan brought him to affordable housing.
“It wasn’t difficult to see the opportunity once I began to study the sector,” Davis said. “The consistent cash flows and strong occupancy rates of manufactured home communities make it a compelling story to share with investors.”
Partners and operating investors Howard Lieber, Chris Murray, Scott Pomeroy, and John Rich joined the effort and in less than four years the Evergreen, Colo.-based company has acquired and is managing 83 homes in four states with another 300 to 400 homes in its line of sight.
“Even though we are interested in talking to all sizes of operators, when we have these discussions with larger operators, they’re interested because having cash tied up into rental homes is sometimes deemed inefficient use of their capital,” Chris Murray said.
“In our world, we want partnerships where we can come in and provide cash alongside them as they seek to own more parks or put more homes on their lots for land-lease revenue,” Murray said.
GoFresh takes ownership of park-owned homes, becoming the tenant for a monthly land-lease payment to the manufactured home community owner. They also can assume management responsibilities through their full-service property management company.
“Aspirationally, we’re seeking to own 10,000 homes in the next five years,” Murray said. “And we are flexible, we can work in multiple ways with community owners and managers. We are completely set up to manage but we also are fine coming to an agreement on owning the homes and letting them manage.”
From Niche to National Provider
Davis and Murray went to school and played football together at Cherry Creek High School in Denver. Murray’s early career emphasis was in talent management and representation, which he continues today exclusively for National Football League players.
“I had known John since about 2010 and I had heard him talking on the radio about growing up in a manufactured home,” Murray said. “I called him and asked if he wanted to be involved because his story is genuine, based on personal experience.
“He really wanted to get into the industry and has a lot of love for hard-working Americans who seek to have a home of their own,” Murray said.
Invest in the New Rental Ownership Model
GoFresh provides investment opportunities in the manufactured housing industry by allowing passive investors to put funds into a portfolio of park-owned homes with anticipation of favorable returns.
“We’re creating a new asset class, doing this at large scale,” Murray said, similar to special purpose vehicles, or SPV investments, in other parts of the multifamily offering. “We’re looking at five-to-seven year runways on these investment vehicles. The first one closed in 2016, a relatively small one at $2 million, and the second one of about $30 million is still in flight. We probably have another four-year run on the second fund.
“The approach provides a wide array of exit strategies for our investors,” Murray said.
Countryside Estates in Muncie, Ind., a UMH community. Photo courtesy of UMH Properties.
The Development of Patriot Village
In addition to being a partner in GoFresh, Rich is a high-profile advocate for the industry, and recently began to form plans for a swath of land outside Nashville, where the “Big & Rich” entertainer resides.
“He wants to put his money where his mouth is,” Murray said of the community GoFresh and Rich are calling Patriot Village.
“The memories I have growing up in a double-wide in Amarillo, Texas, from 1980 through 1988 are some of the best in my lifetime,” Rich said. “I love being part of GoFresh, working within the industry to help foster its growth, and listening to heart-felt stories from our residents that remind me of my own story.”
The GoFresh team is developing the small property from the ground up in Ashland, Tenn., and is looking for partners to supply homes, with a commitment to provide affordable housing for veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces.
“One of the objectives is to give a home to a family of a fallen veteran through Folds of Honor, which is a charity that is very close to John’s heart,” Murray said.
As the nation emerges from the unprecedented economic and social upheavals in 2020, the need for more affordable homeownership options will continue to be a critical priority for policymakers in Washington. With a new Administration, a slimmer House Democratic majority, and a Senate with the Democratic party in narrow control, the affordable housing crisis is one area where cooperation is possible.
MHI is continuing its work to ensure the manufactured housing industry is well-positioned to be a part of federal considerations about addressing our nation’s housing challenges. As the industry’s voice in Washington, and through our constant and influential advocacy with policymakers in both political parties, we have been able to elevate the industry’s priorities.
Our access to Washington policymakers is as strong as ever, and the direct engagement from MHI members to their elected representatives also helps keep our issues at the forefront. MHI has secured bipartisan champions across government, many of whom are returning to Washington, so that federal rules and regulations support the industry’s efforts to provide quality homes at affordable prices. In addition, we are meeting the new members of Congress and working with President-elect Biden’s transition teams so that manufactured housing is considered as their housing agendas are developed.
We are building upon our momentum from 2020, where we had an active year due to the needs of the industry through the pandemic. By working closely with Congress and the new Administration to ensure the interests of the manufactured housing industry were considered, we solidified and strengthened our relationships with policymakers.
Further, we secured rental assistance funding in COVID-relief bills and federal funding support for businesses through programs such as the Paycheck Protection Program. In addition, we were able to secure the first-ever industry-wide alternative construction letter for our home builders to overcome supply chain shortages caused by the crisis.
In addition to our work to support the industry through COVID, we also continued to pursue our advocacy work to grow the market. We secured an extension of the Energy-Efficient New Home Tax Credit (45L Tax Credit) through 2021. We also were successful in having HUD propose the first comprehensive updates to the HUD Code in over a decade. With respect to financing, FHA program requirements were updated to accommodate the financing of CrossMod™ homes, and Congress directed HUD to make changes to the FHA Title I and Title II programs to better support manufactured housing.
The interior of a new model home by Sunshine Homes.
MHI will keep this forward progress going in 2021. We are focused on four main areas:
Improving financing for the purchase of manufactured homes
Ensuring HUD Code regulations encourage innovation and are cost effective
Addressing local zoning and land planning issues
Successful representation in Washington on issues that impact the industry
Improving Financing for the Purchase of Manufactured Homes
One of MHI’s top priorities continues to be bolstering the availability of financing for manufactured housing. The economic fallout from the COVID-19 crisis makes access to FHA financing programs more critical than ever. As such, MHI continues to work with FHA to update both its Title I (personal property) and Title II (land-home) programs, which have been needed for some time. MHI is also advocating for secondary market support for manufactured housing lending through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and working to ensure they continue to fulfill their Duty to Serve obligations. Further, MHI is working with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to better support the availability of financing for consumers interested in purchasing a manufactured home.
Ensuring HUD Code Regulations Encourage Innovation and are Cost Effective
In 2021, MHI continued to strongly advocate that HUD move forward with finalizing updates to the HUD Code that have been approved by the Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee but are still pending HUD action and for future revisions to be implemented regularly. Further, MHI is pushing for a streamlined process for updating the HUD Code. As a part of the transition, MHI is arguing for the elevation of the Office of Manufactured Housing Programs (OMHP) to ensure that manufactured housing is an integral part of the Department’s affordable housing initiatives.
Addressing Local Zoning and Land Planning Issues
Addressing local zoning and land planning ordinances that discriminate against manufactured housing remains a top priority for MHI in 2021. MHI’s leadership has formed a zoning task force to develop strategies to support the placement of manufactured housing in localities across the country. The task force will approach this issue from all levels of government. At the national level, with increased attention by Congress on affordable housing, MHI is calling on HUD to exercise its preemption authority and use its funding influence when local building standards and zoning policies adversely impact manufactured housing and the supply of affordable housing. We will continue to bring to the incoming Administration’s and Congress’ attention examples of state and local zoning, planning, and development restrictions that either severely limit or outright prohibit the placement of manufactured homes. We will also continue to support our state associations as they address these issues.
Successful Representation in Washington
Across the federal government, MHI is the industry’s eyes and voice. Our strong bipartisan, and bi-cameral relationships and our effective advocacy strategy will help to ensure that federal actions support the industry’s momentum in supplying quality, affordable housing to consumers. MHI will work closely with the incoming Congress and Administration officials to ensure the interests of the manufactured housing industry continue to be considered across the range of issues that impact us, including federal actions with respect to economic stimulus and the pandemic. We will keep monitoring and addressing supply shortages in the industry, work with the 117th Congress and the new Administration on their energy efficiency and transportation initiatives and look for opportunities to tout manufactured housing at hearings and convenings of Congress and the Administration. Further, MHI will continue to advocate the benefits of land-lease communities and ensure that any federal legislative or regulatory actions support this popular homeownership option.
Access to safe and affordable housing is not a partisan issue and manufactured housing provides the largest form of unsubsidized affordable housing in the country. MHI will continue its effective approach to federal advocacy so that manufactured housing continues to be a part of the affordable housing dialogue in Washington. While 2021 will pose unique challenges and opportunities, MHI will ensure policymakers support the manufactured housing industry’s work to supply quality, affordable housing across the country.
Louisville Area Community Autumn Leaf Estates Doubles Number of Homesites
Autumn Leaf Estates south of Louisville in Shepherdsville, Ky., last year doubled in size and is selling homes in a high-demand area to buyers who are overjoyed to move their family into a new home of their own.
Brothers Tony and Brad Wilcox own Autumn Leaf, as well as the neighboring community, Hickory Acres, with a third partner, Mike Whobrey.
“Autumn Leaf was originally approved as a 231-lot community,” Tony Wilcox said. “The original developer in 2000 only developed the front half of the property and stopped.”
When the Wilcox brothers were able to acquire the community in 2016, they took a two staged approach. First, they needed to make several hundred thousand dollars in improvements to the developed portion of the property. The manufactured home community was stabilized and brought to 100% occupancy. Next, they set out to complete the development in 2019.
In addition to doubling the number of homesites, new sewer lines, waterlines, power, roads, and 115 driveways need to be completed.
The second section developed in 2019 is about 40% occupied.
“It wasn’t planned as a phase one and phase two, but it just worked out that way,” Brad Wilcox said. “We figured there would be about a three- to five-year absorption rate, and we now think it will be closer to three years than five.”
‘There is active management and support in ensuring that everything looks great and everyone is safe and proud to be here’
New Homes for Sale
Autumn Leaf Estates primarily sells Fleetwood and Clayton Maynardville but also sells Champion Homes out of Kentucky and Tennessee as well as Hamilton from Alabama. Autumn Leaf has overflow parking and will get a pair of upgraded bus stop facilities for the school children, as well as a community park that will include a playground, picnic tables, grills and open spaces.
Kristee Fuhrman is the general manager for both of the Wilcox’s properties. She said landscape design has been top of mind through the expansion.
“We really want to provide the view our residents and prospects want to see,” Fuhrman said. “By far the biggest compliment we receive is that we are the nicest community in the area. We are constantly upgrading and improving the community.”
Selling Homes During the Pandemic
Demand for affordable housing is at an all-time high, yet the pandemic and COVID-19 protocols and restrictions continue to make home availability a challenge. The office takes appointments now rather than allowing walk-ins, for instance.
Autumn Leaf Estates, Shepherdsville, Ky.
“We spent a lot more time uploading photos and sharing website links with customers to reduce the foot traffic,” Fuhrman said. “We have relied more on virtual tours and using those MHVillage home sales leads.
“It hasn’t slowed down in terms of home sales, we’ve stayed very steady,” she said.
Fuhrman said residents in both communities have been able to deal admirably with the challenges of 2020.
While rent must be collected, we have been extra conscious about working with and helping people, especially residents who communicate and make a plan with us. There has been very little turnover during this difficult time which is somewhat unique.
Brad Wilcox said he and his brother, along with Fuhrman and two full time maintenance professionals, consistently walk the properties to look for and address issues as well as opportunities to improve the resident experience.
“There is a constant eye on the properties as we have employees who live with their families in each of our communities,” Brad Wilcox said. “There is active management and support in ensuring that everything looks great and everyone is safe and proud to be here.”
‘A Great Place to Be’
Jessica True and her family have lived at Autumn Leaf for about three years.
The entry lane to Autumn Leaf Estates. Photos courtesy of Autumn Leaf.
“The community is a great place to be and our neighbors are all great people,” True said. “Everyone helps each other out. Our neighbor across the street from us mowed our yard because my husband and I have been working crazy hours.
“Whenever we have any issues with our home or anything of that matter, Kristee has been helpful and gets it all taken care of in a quick amount of time. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else,” she said.
The MHInsider blog for Manufactured Housing Professionals strongly encourages readers to follow guidelines provided by local, state, and national authorities (including the CDC) regarding COVID-19 safety procedures.
Virtual Tours on the Rise for Home Sellers, Homebuyers
But the fight against the spread of COVID-19, including restrictions on group gatherings and other social and economic norms, puts virtual tours in the real estate spotlight like never before.
One big reason: they help prospective manufactured home buyers practice shelter-in-place and social distancing practices espoused by health experts. The National Association of Realtors reports that the average home buyer visits 10 homes over 10 weeks before a purchase, and those numbers seem untenable in today’s climate. However, accessing a listing directly from a desktop or laptop computer practically eliminates risk from the home shopping equation.
If you, your brokerage, or your community is considering a virtual tour — a digital simulation of a property that leverages video, photos, and imagery — here are five virtual tour best practices to consider.
Review Your Software
When it comes to real estate virtual tour software, there are many from which to choose. The particular use-case will help determine which one you select:
Is a comprehensive, all-in-one solution necessary?
Will collecting the various digital assets to compose a virtual tour be an issue?
At what resolution will prospective buyers view the virtual tour?
If photographing model homes — and COVID-19 best practices allow for it — consider professional photographers who offer Matterport Virtual Tour services or a similar service.
Set the Stage
Just as with an in-person tour, the property must look its best. That means:
Cleaning, decluttering and removing personal items from all rooms
Lighting the space well, with natural and artificial light as necessary
To extend the theater metaphor just a bit further, rehearse a walk-through before the cameras roll. This includes capturing video, still images, or 3D virtual tour/360-degree virtual tour display.
If the virtual tour is for a model home, put away any marketing materials such as flyers, posters, and table tents.
A tip: Creating a list of each room and its most attractive qualities will help ensure that all footage necessary to create an effective virtual tour is captured.
Look at Live Tours
Several popular online destinations now incorporate live video into their platforms, including:
Facebook
YouTube
Instagram
Add device-focused Skype from Microsoft and FaceTime from Apple and home sellers today can host their own broadcasts and make the home listing the star of the show.
In the right circumstances — perhaps a currently unoccupied listing cleaned beforehand to the CDC’s recommendations — arranging a live video walkthrough for a prospective manufactured home buyer is a relatively straightforward process.
One caveat: Reliable network connectivity is a must. Fortunately, there are several tools to help gauge connection speeds. One of the simplest ways to check internet speed is to do a Google search for “internet speed test”, then click the blue “Run Speed Test” button on the top search result.
Schalamar Creek, Lakeland, Fla.
Offer a Different Perspective
There are few real estate offerings as attractive as a manufactured home nestled within a great land-lease community. Yet, highlighting those offerings can be a challenge in a crowded market.
To play up any especially distinctive features of a listing, consider drone footage of the property and surrounding area. Proximity to a community center, pool, play area, or beautiful natural splendor may add distinction to a virtual tour.
Get Up Close and Personal
A new home from Fairmont, on display at The Louisville Show in 2020.
Even the best virtual tours cannot completely replicate the experience of being on-site … but they can come closer if you implement these virtual tour best practices and offer buyers a thorough sense of a home’s condition.
That’s because manufactured home buyers aren’t just interested in the general characteristics of a home. They want to know whether the carpet is worn, whether there’s any water damage near the windows, what sort of shape the roof is in, and other similar detail.
It’s easy to share this information. Increase the frequency and scope of close-ups at a listing during live video or more traditional virtual tour offerings.
Read More from the MHInsider blog for Manufactured Housing Professionals
MHInsider will continue tracking COVID-19 developments and their impact on the manufactured housing market, so bookmark our site now
Manufactured housing covers a diverse range of business interests, stretching from home builders and installers to lenders and community operators, plus everyone in between. This diversity is one of the industry’s greatest strengths. However, when lenders are unfamiliar with how homes are built and manufacturers have limited understanding of community operations, that strength can also be a weakness—especially when the industry struggles to work together.
Jeffrey Barringer, McGlinchey Stafford
Hopefully, this new column will help every corner of manufactured housing better understand how these component parts, as well as the underlying regulatory requirements, fit together.
Each issue, this space will highlight recent legal developments at the federal and state levels that affect manufactured housing. Sprinkled throughout will be high-level “explainers” of various topics, including the HUD Code, federal preemption, transportation requirements, home titling and financing, code enforcement, and manufactured home community regulations. While the information provided here will never be an all-inclusive answer—you should always consult independent legal counsel for help with your specific legal question—it will help clear the cloud of confusion.
Of course, last year was another busy year for manufactured housing, with the industry witnessing several updates that have reshaped — and continue to reshape — the manufactured housing industry regulatory landscape as we begin a new year.
At the federal level, HUD published final rules concerning Streamlining and Aligning the Formaldehyde Emission Control Standards (published January 31, 2020) and Minimum Payments to the State Administrative Agencies (published November 12, 2020). Together, these rules are the first revisions to the HUD Code in roughly two years. HUD also published multiple emergency actions to help home builders navigate supply chain challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and even managed to host several teleconference meetings of the Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee.
Manufactured Housing Industry State Regulatory Changes
Not to be outdone, there was also significant activity at the state level. Highlighting a few priority updates, in March, West Virginia adopted Senate Bill 651 (2020), which amended the state’s definition of “mortgage loan originator,” clarifying the term with respect to retail sellers of manufactured and modular homes. A few months later in May, the Maryland Legislature enacted Senate Bill 155 (2020), which amended its definition of “mortgage loan originator” and introduced additional consumer protections, including an obligation of good faith and fair dealing when retail sellers provide financing information to prospective manufactured home borrowers and a requirement that lenders serve written notice on a borrower at least 30 days before repossession of a home. (West Virginia and Maryland are the most recent states to align their respective state requirements with federal revisions to the Truth in Lending Act following passage of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act of 2018.) Most recently, in October, HUD officially assumed responsibility for the installation of new manufactured homes in Pennsylvania, a program change the state’s Department of Community and Economic Development first announced in 2019. This brings to 15 the number of states that do not administer their own manufactured home installation program.
Photo courtesy of Tharakan Consulting.
Perhaps last year’s most significant development, which will go into effect on March 15, 2021, occurred last January when HUD published its proposed rule to amend the HUD Code. One year later, HUD recently published its long-awaited final rule—the most substantial update to the HUD Code in approximately a decade. Naturally, this will spur activity at the state level, as the states amend their respective requirements to incorporate (or at least accommodate) the federal changes.
Needless to say, the regulatory environment for manufactured housing is constantly changing, and this year will be no different. From a comprehensive federal building code—the Construction and Safety Standards—that is further complicated by state oversight of installation standards to detailed state and federal requirements regarding how to title and finance a home, staying current with all these rules demands special attention. We will be here, keeping you up to speed.
Cheers to a healthy and prosperous New Year.
Attorneys Jeffrey Barringer and co-author Devin Leary-Hanebrink practice with McGlinchey Stafford PLLC. They help clients navigate the alphabet soup of state and federal agencies that regulate a wide range of industries, including banking, consumer financial services, housing, and construction. McGlinchey Stafford PLLC is a multi-service law firm with a national presence serving clients from offices in Alabama, California, Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, and Washington, D.C.
Datacomp, publisher of JLT Market Reports and the nation’s #1 provider of market data for the manufactured housing industry, announces the publication of its February 2021 mobile home rent comps, occupancy, and other vital data on Michigan manufactured home communities.
Recognized as the industry standard for manufactured home community market analysis for more than 20 years, JLT Market Reports provide detailed research and information on manufactured home communities located in 186 primary housing markets throughout the United States. This includes the latest rent trends and statistics, marketing programs and a variety of other useful management insights.
Datacomp’s manufactured housing market data published in the February 2021 JLT Market Reports includes information on investment-grade “all ages” and “55+” manufactured home communities. Altogether, the Michigan reports include data representations for 122,701 homesites.
Midwest Trends in Manufactured Housing Community Rent, Occupancy
Midwest region manufactured home communities show a year-over-year 2.9% increase in adjusted rent
Midwest region manufactured home communities show a year-over-year 2.3% increase in occupancy
“Adjusted rent throughout Michigan increased an average of 2.9%, with only one market showing a decrease in adjusted rent,” Datacomp Co-President and Chief Business Development Officer Darren Krolewski said. “Occupancy also increased in all but one market in the state.”
What’s in JLT Market Reports?
Each JLT manufactured home community rent and occupancy report from Datacomp has detailed information about investment grade communities in the major markets. The detailed information includes:
Number of homesites
Occupancy rates
Average community rents, and increases
Community amenities
Vacant lots
Repossessed and inventory homes, and much more
Established reports show trends in each market with a comparison of February 2021 rents and occupancy rates to February 2020. In addition, JLT Markt Reports include a historical recap of rents and occupancy from 1996 to present date in most markets.
The February 2021 JLT Market Reports for 17 markets in Michigan are available for purchase and immediate download online at the Datacomp JLT Market Report, or they may be ordered by phone in electronic or printed editions at (800) 588-5426.
Each fully updated report for mobile home communities is a comprehensive look at investment grade properties within a market, enabling owners and managers, lenders, appraisers, brokers and other organizations to effectively benchmark those communities and make informed decisions.
Nexus Commercial Realty, a Denver, CO-based commercial multi-family investment sales firm, announces it is joining forces with Charlotte, N.C.-based Capstone Companies, the country’s largest privately owned multi-family investment sales brokerage.
Capstone Companies and Nexus Commercial Realty have combined forces to enhance the coverage and services provided by the country’s largest privately-owned multi-family investment sales brokerage.
Charlotte, N.C.-based Capstone operates in eight states, and in 2020 sold more than 21,000 units and opened three new offices, one in Georgia, and a pair in Oklahoma.
“Capstone is always focused on how we can grow and improve our firm for the benefit of our clients and our existing team, and we are certain this partnership is meeting both of those goals,” Capstone Co-Founder & Managing Partner Brian Ford said. “The Nexus team has achieved tremendous success in our industry to date, and we only see upside in our future together.
Founded in Denver in 2017 by Adam Riddle and Jason Koch, Nexus specializes in multi-housing investment sales brokerage and advisory services through the middle and upper plains.
“This expansion will add significant value for our loyal clients, further helping them grow into multiple new markets across the country and extending additional servicing capabilities, such as larger institutional assets, land sales, manufactured housing, and equity solutions,” Riddle said.
Established in 2008, Capstone Companies has completed transactions in 35 states, with over 80,000 units sold. The brokerage provides advisory services for clients across the private, public, institutional, and non-profit sectors with expertise in various types of multi-housing, including conventional apartments, student housing, affordable housing, manufactured housing, multi-housing development sites, and capital placement.
MHInsider is a publication of MHVillage and is the premier source of manufactured housing news with a national audience of manufactured housing professionals dedicated to producing and delivering high quality, affordable, off-site built housing.
Ninety miles southwest of downtown Chicago, Heritage Harbor is anchored by a 32-acre harbor, made from a former shale quarry opened to the Illinois River, protected by a resplendent stone seawall.
Bruce Thompson, URBANEER
For the boaters of the world, this is the first stop on the Great Loop out of Chicago. Boaters can navigate Lake Michigan and access the great Mississippi, the Saint Lawrence Seaway and the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, as well as points south to the Gulf of Mexico.
As you approach the resort, the hills of the river valley provide a beautiful backdrop to the homes and commercial structures that surround the marina. Just minutes from Ottawa, a town of 20,000 residents, the resort is adjacent a canal system once responsible for transportation of vital cargo from Chicago south. While the canal is long gone, the tow path remains part of a 60-mile walking trail.
Heritage Harbor is the vision of Tom Heimsoth, a former tech executive who sold his company and chose to develop this special master-planned resort community. His passion is evident in both the scale of the project and the work that he has done in the area to promote tourism.
As a former tech innovator, I appreciate the tangibility of developing the built environment versus software. Lines of code can be overwritten in seconds but moving dirt somewhat resembles permanence.
A Rich Housing Mix at Heritage Harbor
Touring the property, among the initial observations was the indistinguishability between the 130 homes, from site-built to factory-built. Forty-five of the homes were made by one of two modular builders, Homeway and Ritzcraft, and the other 85 were constructed on-site. Tom and the development team, led by Kevin Donovan, understand that building off-site is the future. They are working hard to secure a supply chain that can help complete the additional 550 homes that have been approved by the municipality.
The benefits of producing manufactured and modular homes off site centers on predictability — timing, cost, and quality. As their sales waiting list grows it is important to deliver units that can be quickly occupied by owners, or as part of a growing rental business managed by the resort. Offsite manufacturing also offers an opportunity to pre-engineer interiors to provide a higher level of quality and ultimately a better occupant experience.
Tom and his team have anticipated the changing demographics of potential residents and visitors. Households today represent bookends: One in five households now living solo and one in five are multi-generational. The master plan for Heritage Harbor calls for a mix of units ranging in size from 400 square feet to large custom homesites to accommodate these trends.
The housing types under development will appeal to both boaters and Chicago residents who are looking for a quick escape. In addition, there are plans for an active adult community to be operated by a third-party management team.
Lifestyle Drives Demand at Heritage Harbor
With 10,000 people turning 65 each day in the U.S., Baby Boomer Chicagoans and others are looking to downsize from their large suburban homes. Heritage Harbor’s location provides a destination that is a world away yet still accessible to big city healthcare and other amenities.
Nearby, Ottawa is a year-round community with a great food and brewery scene and local businesses that represent a level of authenticity that is appealing to many visitors. Located just off I-80 it is easy to access, but at the same time feels removed from the hustle of Chicagoland.
As COVID0-19 continues to transform how we live, how we work and play, Heritage Harbor stands to gain more attention, and new residents.
More than 14 million people relocated by mid-2020 due to the increased ability to learn and work remotely, according to USPS data. While some behaviors will revert back, it is evident that new patterns will endure and transform the real estate market.
Heritage Harbor, in its way, is the convergence of the past and future.
The canal system that took 30 years to build operated for 30 more years before rail transportation provided the more efficient way. It is a good reminder that even innovation in the built environment can be fleeting. Today, Heritage Harbor is a node on a new network that supports remote work, learning, and telehealth — a way to both connect and disconnect — with a front seat view for the evolution of construction.
Lawmakers at the California State Capitol overwhelmingly approved of California Senate Bill 91.
If signed and enacted, the recently approved California Senate Bill 91 will route to property owners a planned $2.6 billion in funding to cover missed rent and utility payment in the state during the elongated eviction moratorium related to coronavirus safety measures and business disruptions.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on the same day signed the bill, which won wide support in Sacramento from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
“We continue to have concerns about how repayment to property owners will be administered, but the passage of SB 91 enacts a reasonable stop-gap to protect both tenants and property owners affected by the COVID-19 crisis,” Western Manufactured Housing Industry Association Executive Director Sheila Dey said is a prepared statement. “We look forward to working with the Legislature and the Administration to ensure manufactured housing communities remain a viable option for hundreds of thousands of California families.”
California Senate Bill 91
The Tenancy: Federal Rental Assistance Bill passed 72-1 on the state assembly floor Jan. 28, 2021.
“We are extending the eviction moratorium to June 30 and distributing the federal stimulus funds quickly and equitably across the state,” Senate President Pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins, D-San Diego. “We are also providing additional safeguards to protect Californians from landlords and creditors acting in bad faith. This agreement, which is the strongest in the nation, works within the framework required by federal law regarding eligibility, prioritizing rent payments past due, and providing a timeframe in which the funds must be used.
“Today’s actions to protect tenants and small landlords does not mean our work is over,” she said. “We are actively pursuing early budget actions that will address the most pressing needs caused by the pandemic, and the decisions we make are being viewed through the lens of how they can make life better for those among us struggling the most.”
In August, the RV/MH Hall of Fame will celebrate the 2025 class of inductees, five from each industry.
“Our selection committees held meetings to review...
Just as with an in-person tour, the property must look its best. That means:
