Skyline Champion Corporation Becomes Nation’s Largest Public Factory Home Builder
Skyline Corporation and Champion Enterprises Holdings, LLC, the parent company of Champion Home Builders, announced the closing of their previous operation to form Skyline Champion Corporation.
The combined company will operate as Skyline Champion Corporation and its common stock will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “SKY”. The ticker symbol is the same symbol under which Skyline previously traded.
Company headquarters will remain in Elkhart, Ind., where Skyline is based, with continued operation from Troy, Mich., where Champion has had central operations. The new company’s combined market share reaches 18 percent, with combined annual net sales exceeding $1.3 billion.
Skyline Champion gains an advantageous platform to support the production of manufactured and modular homes, park-model RVs and modular buildings for the multi-family, hospitality, senior and workforce housing sectors.
“We are very excited to close the transaction and look forward to operating as Skyline Champion Corporation,” said Keith Anderson, Skyline Champion’s chief executive officer. “Skyline Champion is now the largest independent publicly traded factory-built housing company in the United States with combined revenue of more than $1.3 billion. The increased size and scale, coupled with a strong balance sheet and significant cash flow generation capability, has us well positioned to execute our long term growth strategy.
“There is a tremendous opportunity for Skyline Champion to take advantage of the attractive market dynamics in the industry given our broader geographic footprint across North America and our enhanced product offering,” Anderson said. “We will remain committed to providing quality products and outstanding customer service as we focus on executing our strategy on our newly enhanced platform.”
What the Formation of Skyline Champion Corporation Will Do
Anderson said the new organization anticipates taking advantage of efficiencies that result from the merger, to the tune of about $10 to $15 million. These efficiencies primarily are driven by direct cost savings, reduced overhead costs and operational improvement opportunities. The company also will target synergies through cross-selling and distribution optimization through the combined company’s owned and independent dealer network.
“The complementary cultures and shared values of our legacy businesses are evident in the deep commitment to providing solutions to customers and delivering a broad range of quality products and value-added services,” Anderson said. “I am confident that this will translate into future success of Skyline Champion.”
In conjunction with the closing of the transaction, Skyline issued approximately 47.8 million shares to Champion, representing 84.5 percent of the common stock of the combined company on a fully-diluted basis.
Also, Skyline paid a special cash dividend on May 31 of $0.62381 per share on the company’s common stock to Skyline’s shareholders of record at the close of business on May 25, 2018.
Jefferies LLC served as financial advisor to Skyline. Barnes & Thornburg LLP acted as Skyline’s legal counsel. Ice Miller LLP acted as legal counsel to Skyline’s Special Committee of the Board. RBC Capital Markets, LLC served as financial advisor to Champion, and Ropes & Gray LLP acted as Champion’s legal counsel. Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP acted as Indiana legal counsel to Champion.
About Skyline Champion Corporation
Skyline Champion Corporation (NYSE: SKY) formed in June of 2018 as the result of the combination of Skyline Corporation and the operating assets of Champion Enterprises Holdings, LLC. The combined company employs more than 6,800 people and is the largest independent factory-built housing company in North America. With more than 65 years of homebuilding experience and 36 manufacturing facilities throughout the United States and western Canada, Skyline Champion is well positioned with a leading portfolio of manufactured and modular homes, park-models and modular buildings for the multi-family, hospitality, senior and workforce housing sectors.
In addition to its core home building business, Skyline Champion operates a factory-direct retail business, Titan Factory Direct, with 21 retail locations spanning the southern United States, and Star Fleet Trucking, providing transportation services to the manufactured housing and other industries from 10 dispatch locations across the United States.
Skyline Champion builds homes under some of the most well know brand names in the factory-built housing industry including Skyline Homes, Champion Home Builders, Athens Park Models, Dutch Housing, Excel Homes, Homes of Merit, New Era, Redman Homes, Shore Park, Silvercrest, Titan Homes in the U.S. and Moduline and SRI Homes in western Canada.
As spring turns to summer we are in the prime of Open House season. We have several articles covering different aspects of an open house that truly make a difference but here will put together a crash course on how you can gain the most exposure and successful open house possible!
Prep The Home
For an open house, not only do you want to be sure the home is clean and clutter free, a fresh coat of paint goes a long way too!
It’s also important to be sure the home is staged in a way that is inviting and shows off the home in it’s best light (Pro Tip: Here is a great article on Staging Your Home to Sell)
Don’t Forget The Yard
We all know it’s all about curb appeal. That first impression can make or a break a sale easily. Be sure the home’s exterior matches it’s interior with clean and fresh lines. Adding some coloring flowers can also spruce things up quite a bit!
Hospitality
Offering your guests some easy to eat snacks is never a bad idea. The fresh baked cookies trick is a good one. But if you want to step it up, bring in some catered veggie platters or sandwich trays. Also, offering bottled water is also a great idea since most of the time your guests are probably seeing more than one home that day, so a snack and some water will be appreciated!
Ambiance
Set the tone of the Open House with low volume music. This will give the space an energy and pulse and it also allows for the guests to roam the space on their own without feeling like their conversation is being overheard. Note: Try to stick to music choices that are accessible and up-beat. Jazz, Standards or 60’s Pop are typically your safest bet!
Your Home is Ready for Open House Season, Are You?
It’s super important to be sure you have all of the necessary paperwork and information printed and available at the open house. The more information you can provide a perspective buyer the better. The best option would be to print off any necessary information and assemble some packets that you can easily hand them to take home and review. Be sure to also include a printed flyer with the home’s information and photo too!
Advertise Your Open House on MHVillage
Not only will you want to advertise your open house on your own social media outlets and local activity spots, if you are listed on MHVillage we also offer a product to gain your open house some exposure.
The MHVillage Open House feature will give your home a bright red banner across the top of the ad with the Open House details.
It will also shoot your listing to the very top of the first page of homes in a general search. We recommend applying an Open House banner to your listing at least 7 days prior to the event.
To apply this feature simply select the “Add Open House” option to the right of your listing within your account.
Hopefully this article will give your the details you needed to elevate your open house game to a new level!
If you have any additional questions on how you advertise your open house on MHVillage please feel free to contact us at any time!
MHVillage has a database of over 43,000 communities across the country. This valuable information is now available for purchase in spreadsheet format. In addition to the names and addresses of the communities, you can choose additional information (phone numbers, site counts, age restrictions, etc.) to create a community market report customized for your needs.
Map on MHVillage.com to order a community report.
To generate your customized report of community information, simply select your state of interest. You will then have the opportunity to choose additional information to include in your report. Once you have placed your order, you should receive your report via email, in a spreadsheet attachment, within a few minutes!
JLT Community Market Reports are the industry standard for the manufactured housing and include the following detailed information:
Identification of communities by “All Ages” and “55+”
Homesite analysis
Occupancy rate
Community marketing programs and customer incentives
List of community amenities
Monthly rents by category/classification
Services, if any, included in rents and the value of each service
Latest rent increase date and amount
Type of water and sewer system and method of trash collection
Other data deemed appropriate for the community
Management reports ranking communities by number of homesites, occupancy % and highest to lowest rent for “All Ages” and “55+” communities
Management report comparing current year rents and occupancy to the prior year for “All Ages” and “55+” communities
Historical summary management report showing average rents and occupancy rates from since inception of the surveys to the most current year for “All Ages” and “55+” communities
Executive summary of survey findings and observations
A Historical Looks at the Development of Community Market Reports
JLT & Associates was founded by John Turzer in 1995 when he uncovered a need for Manufactured Home Community research. Since then, JLT and Associates has grown to become the industry standard for Market and Rent Survey research in the Manufactured Housing Community Industry. In 2014, to expand its markets and the scope of its market research and rent surveys, JLT & Associates merged its resources, skills, and market research expertise with two well known and respected industry leaders: Datacomp and MHVillage.
Datacomp, the industry’s oldest and largest national manufactured home appraisal company, has been appraising manufactured homes in communities since 1987. It has gathered substantial data about both home values and the amenities and features of the nation’s manufactured home communities. Datacomp also manages and operates MHI’s Community Attributes System (MHICAS), the industry’s most comprehensive database of community attributes and information.
MHVillage is the premier Internet advertising and marketing website for manufactured homes in Land Lease Communities. In 2017 it recorded nearly 25 million visits to MHVillage.com, and was responsible for about $3.5 billion in home sales.
MHVillage also collects and aggregates large amounts of market data about the homes that its customers are selling or renting and about the communities and markets where those homes are located.
Together JLT, MHVillage, and Datacomp now have the expertise and capability to provide community market reports and other market research and intelligence for manufactured home communities that up to now has simply not been possible.
Datacomp now continues to publish JLT Market Reports and expand coverage nationwide.
Photo courtesy of Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc.
Update on ‘Duty to Serve’ Plans from Freddie Mac
Mike Dawson, Freddie Mac
Manufactured housing has a crucial role in solving our nation’s affordable housing crisis. Millions of America’s families rely on manufactured housing – especially in rural areas. Today, more than 17 million Americans live in manufactured housing and the need is only expected to grow.
With this understanding, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) tasked Freddie Mac to develop a comprehensive plan – under Duty to Serve – to help solve the challenges of financing more manufactured housing and to support much needed affordable housing for families.
As we developed our Duty to Serve plan, Freddie Mac listened to industry feedback. This includes feedback from manufacturers and other stakeholders. Last year, we formed the Manufactured Housing Initiative Taskforce, which includes a diverse group of industry participants. Part of the objective of this task force is to address enhancements to Freddie Mac’s existing offerings. The offerings include flexible underwriting and product features that can be efficiently and effectively launched and adopted by the market, as well as socialization of features we plan to bring to market.
We value the expertise of our partners and will leverage their market-specific knowledge to address the needs of the manufactured housing market.
And we’re already making changes for the better
For example, our single-close construction loan process will be extended to borrowers of manufactured housing titled as real property. This allows the borrower to finance both the construction and the purchase of the home using one loan. Once the construction of the manufactured home is complete, the loan seamlessly converts into a permanent loan bearing a fixed or adjustable rate.
This will make approvals faster, reduce closing costs and eliminate unnecessary paperwork. And for lenders, it will mean less risk.
We will continue to do more. One concern that came across loud and clear from our conversations with stakeholders. That is that there’s a limited number of lenders that provide financing to manufactured home buyers. To solve for that, market participants encouraged us to expand liquidity, implement standardization measures and enhance consumer protections.
Over the next three years, Freddie Mac plans on doing the following for manufactured housing titled as real property:
Work with lenders to increase our purchases of loans in this important market segment,
Increase access to education and resources for future homebuyers,
Identify best practices and provide technical assistance to market participants, and
Develop additional loan features to meet the market’s needs.
For manufactured housing titled as personal property, or chattel, we plan to work with market participants to:
Promote a greater understanding of the market by conducting research and publishing the results,
Initiate a chattel pilot offering, and
Develop homebuyer education to support chattel financing.
Photo courtesy of Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc.
Taking a test and learn approach
Our partnership with Kentucky-based housing intermediary Next Step focuses on educating potential buyers of manufactured homes, with the ultimate goal of expanding responsible homeownership of energy-efficient manufactured homes. Next Step’s leadership in the field, range of relationships and passion make them the right partner for this effort. We’re encouraged by the results so far.
At Freddie Mac, we are reimagining the mortgage experience and leading the mortgage industry to look at housing issues in new ways, understanding the broader problems facing these markets and applying a new generation of solutions.
As we move forward, we will continue to engage with the industry, community organizations, all levels of government, and other dedicated organizations to take action and give lenders additional tools and resources to better serve the manufactured housing market.
We look forward to meeting more industry participants at the 2018 MHI Congress and Expo in Las Vegas, to listen to your ideas, and share ours, for this vitally important market.
Mike Dawson is vice president of Single-Family Affordable Lending Strategies & Initiatives at Freddie Mac. He leads affordable products and offerings, strategies, research, and regulatory and conservatorship activities associated with broadening access to credit. Among his previous roles, he oversaw Single-Family technology and data initiatives and managed Freddie Mac’s structured products issuance programs, including REMICs, Strips, and other structured securitizations.
Manufactured housing industry sales consultant Ken Corbin.
‘You never get a second chance to make a great first impression.’ – Will Rogers
As your customer enters your office, everything they see must give them an emotional feeling of trust and comfort.
In our hemisphere, everything we do is left to right and top to bottom. Think of coming up to a stop sign. You look left, look right, look left again and then proceed. If you’re reading a book, you look left to right and top to bottom. If you’re writing a letter, you again go left to right and top to bottom.
The same natural tendencies are with customers who enter your parking lot. Watch carefully where people park and you’ll see the majority will park to the left of an entrance to a building.
Regardless of where they park, make sure there are signs that clearly state “Please Register at the Information Center”.
Focus Walls
So if you can expect that a customer will naturally look left, then look right and then move forward into your office, even if you have a left swing door, this is still the natural way a customer will get that first serious impression of your operation. That being the case, the next time you enter your office, look carefully at your office and note everything your customer sees for the first time.
Employee and customer pictures, point-of-purchase materials, testimonials, letters of recommendation, live plants and round tables with chairs are essential.
Let’s start with pictures. First of all, remember that every picture in your office must be framed. Nothing is ever to be placed on a wall with scotch tape, thumb tacks or push pins. Make it a habit each day to walk through the office and ensure every wall hanging is evenly spaced and the taped-on back of the picture is held in place.
You’ll hear me frequently say, “Make doing business with you easy!”
Thus, the first pictures you’ll want your customer to see is pictures of every employee.
Remember, they’ll look left to right and since we also read top to bottom, put everyone involved in the sales process starting at the top left.
Prepping for First Visitors
If they are visiting your office for the first time, and had already spoke to someone, this is an easy way for them to remember who they talked to on the phone or via email. If they’ve previously visited your model home village, it’s another easy way for them to remember who they spoke to during their last visit.
Every picture should simply have the person’s name and title. Avoid turning the picture into a brochure.
You’ll note that as we go thru this program, I’ll be using the term “Model Home Village” and not “Lot” or “Sales Center.” We’ll be spending quite a bit of time on subliminal phrases as we go thru this series.
Success Breeds Success
Throughout the office, hang pictures of customers who have purchased homes from your company. I recommend putting four pictures to an 8 ½ x 11’’ standard size with the city the homeowner is from underneath the picture.
Don’t post their names. Why?
You want your customer to subconsciously see other people who are pleased doing business with you. It also will have them thinking about who those people might be; all the time absorbing friendly smiles from satisfied and happy customers. You want your new customer to, consciously or not, project themselves into the photo on the wall.
Because people who have their picture taken are apt to smile, I do recommend taking the photos in front of the home the customer is purchasing. It’s also great to have it taken with the sales consultant, if possible, to show everyone is happy and smiling.
In the beginning, start with customers who leave a deposit for the first time. This will give you a jump start on your pictures.
Thus, your new prospect is looking at all of the happy customers who have done business with you. So, success breeds success and you’ve begun the process of selling on emotion, feelings and trust. I guarantee this will be one of the more important areas of the business and will take down many of the initial barriers your prospect might have.
Coffee, Soda, Water
There are three primary drivers customers feel are important when making a housing decision. They are quality, service and price (or value). Your initial impressions have done a great job in letting the customer know you build dreams and make people happy.
One of the unique methods I’ve used to create an initial feeling of value is to have a 25 cent soda machine available to customers. To give away something is OK, but it doesn’t create value.
Many businesses offer free soda or bottled water, but the 25 cent machine has them contemplate why the drink is so inexpensive. It makes them look for quarter, ask for change and creates that subconscious thought of, “Wow, if their soft drinks are only 25 cents, their homes must be inexpensive as well.”
I don’t believe in charging for coffee or water. However, I do post a cute sign in the refreshments area that reads “Unattended children will be given an espresso and a free puppy!”
Everyone laughs when they read it, and it’s another subconscious way of taking down a barrier.
What we’re doing here is setting the foundation on the three premises: How do I want someone to remember me? How can I create the right first impression? How do I want to be perceived?
Ken Corbin is an industry leader in helping communities & retailers sell more homes. He can be reached at callkencorbin.com (888) 823-4945.
‘For far too long, far too many people in our country have struggled to make ends meet. They’ve struggled to buy a car; they’ve struggled to buy a home; they’ve struggled for their version of the American Dream. Why is this happening? Because Main Street banks and credit unions that Americans depend on have been stifled by the weight, load, volume, complexity and cost of heavy Washington bureaucratic red tape which has prevented them from serving their communities. But today, that changes.’ – House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas
A Redman Advantage Home at Michigan Manufactured Home Showcase
Manufactured Housing Industry Celebrates ‘Loan Originator’ Definition Change
Report compiled in cooperation with the Manufactured Housing Institute
Calling today a great day for America, American workers, and small businesses, President Trump signed into law SB 2155, the “Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act” that includes language on “Preserving Access to Manufactured Housing”.
S. 2155 includes a provision clarifying that a manufactured housing retailer or seller is not inappropriately considered a mortgage “loan originator” simply because they provide a customer with some assistance in the mortgage loan process. SB 2155 passed the House on Tuesday by a strong bipartisan vote of 258-159 and the U.S. Senate in March by a vote of 67 to 31.
Click here to see how your Representative voted on S. 2155 and here for how your Senators voted.
The Manufactured Housing Institute, the nation’s loan national trade organization for the industry, expressed its gratitude to Senate Banking Chairman Michael Crapo (R-ID), House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), and the authors of the manufactured housing provision in SB 2155, Senator Joe Donnelly (D-IN) and Representative Andy Barr (R-KY), for their persistent efforts to make this important change a reality.
A bipartisan group of champions in the House and Senate who originally sponsored the Preserving Access to Manufactured Housing Act (SB 1751/H.R. 1699), include: Senators Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Pat Toomey (R-PA), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Gary Peters (D-MI), and Tim Scott (R-SC); and Representatives Andy Barr (R-KY), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Bruce Poliquin (R-ME), Terri Sewell (D-AL), David Kustoff (R-TN), and Kathleen Rice (D-NY).
A Word from the Lawmakers on SB 2155 ‘Preserving Access to Manufactured Housing’
Builders at the Fairmont Homes factory in Nappanee, Ind. complete home floors on the line.
When SB 2155 was signed today, Senator Donnelly (D-IN) said, “Manufactured housing serves as a vital source of affordable housing for millions of hard-working Americans, particularly in rural and underserved communities. I’m pleased the President signed into law my bipartisan regulatory relief package, which includes a provision based on my Preserving Access to Manufactured Housing Act. This provision provides a common-sense exemption for manufactured home retailers to ensure consumers can receive general financing information.”
Representative Barr (R-KY) lauded the inclusion of the manufactured housing provision in SB 2155 saying: “Dodd-Frank’s one-size-fits-all ‘loan originator’ definition failed to account for the unique nature of the manufactured housing market. The result: hard-working, low and moderate-income Americans have lost access to affordable manufactured housing. The Preserving Access to Manufactured Housing Act, included in S. 2155, fixes this problem and enables more Americans to achieve the American Dream of homeownership.”
In celebrating the passage of SB 2155, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Crapo (R-ID) said: “This is a moment years in the making, and I thank my colleagues in the Senate and the House of Representatives for their partnership and contributions to this effort over the years. This step toward right-sizing regulation will allow local banks and credit unions to focus more on lending, in turn propelling economic growth and creating jobs on Main Street and in our communities. This is an important moment for small financial institutions, small businesses, and families across America.”
MHE’s Glenn Creek on display at The 2018 Louisville Show.
‘Most significant pro-growth financial regulatory reform in a generation’
Referring to SB 2155 as the most significant pro-growth financial regulatory reform in a generation, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Hensarling (R-TX) said, “For far too long, far too many people in our country have struggled to make ends meet. They’ve struggled to buy a car; they’ve struggled to buy a home; they’ve struggled for their version of the American Dream. Why is this happening? Because Main Street banks and credit unions that Americans depend on have been stifled by the weight, load, volume, complexity and cost of heavy Washington bureaucratic red tape which has prevented them from serving their communities. But today, that changes.”
SB 2155 becoming law is a result of MHI’s ongoing efforts to protect manufactured housing retailers and sellers from liability under federal consumer protection mortgage rules for the loan portion of a consumer transaction. MHI has continually argued that if a retailer or seller does not receive compensation or gain related to the loan, they should not be considered a loan originator simply because they help borrowers identify potential lenders or provide minimal assistance during the loan process.
MHI’s government affairs team worked closely with both Senate and House leadership and congressional champions of manufactured housing to secure passage of this important provision. The grassroots outreach from MHI members and state executive directors – totaling more than 20,000 calls and emails – was instrumental in helping members of Congress understand the importance of this provision to their constituents. MHI succeeded over the last few years in getting a similar provision included in several previous House-passed bills (H.R. 1699, H.R. 10, H.R. 650, H.R. 1779 and FY 2017 and 2018 appropriations bill), as well as a freestanding Senate manufactured housing bill (S. 1751 and S. 682).
Contact MHI’s Government Affairs Department with any questions at (703) 229-6208 or MHIgov@mfghome.org.
CHICAGO, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Green Courte Partners, LLC, a private equity real estate investment firm focused on building industry-leading companies within niche real estate sectors, announced today that its fourth investment fund, Green Courte Real Estate Partners IV, LLC and its affiliates, has acquired Conestoga, a 659-site all-age land-lease community located in Gardner, Kansas. The community will be managed by an affiliate of the fund, which plans to substantially upgrade the existing amenity package, address deferred maintenance, and invest significant capital in new home inventory to sell and to rent.
Conestoga is located approximately 26 miles southwest of Kansas City and 5 miles northeast of a 1,700-acre master-planned distribution and warehouse development with capacity for 17 million square feet of industrial and distribution space. The park is in a major employment center that is occupied by several Fortune 500 companies and will continue to generate a sizable number of new jobs.
Bill Glascott, Green Courte’s Deputy Chief Investment Officer, commented, “We are excited to expand our land-lease community portfolio with the acquisition of Conestoga. The community is well located in a growing market near a number of significant demand generators and offers a compelling value proposition for working families. We are eager to invest in a number of capital projects to further improve and reposition the community.”
Green Courte Partners, LLC is a Chicago-based private equity real estate investment firm focused on building industry-leading companies within niche real estate sectors, including land-lease communities, near-airport parking facilities, and active adult/independent senior living properties. The firm combines focused investment strategies with a disciplined approach to transaction execution, operations, and asset management. Green Courte’s goal is to invest in high-quality real estate assets that will generate attractive risk-adjusted returns over a long-term holding period. For additional information, please visit Green Courte’s website at www.GreenCourtePartners.com.
Passage of Senate Bill 2155 Eases Concerns of Retailers, Operators Who Want to Assist Customers in the Mortgage Loan Process
Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 2155, which contains language clarifying the role of “loan originator”.
The new language states a manufactured housing retailer or seller is not a “loan originator” simply because they provide assistance in the mortgage loan process.
This provision was included in Senate Bill 2155 — the “Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act”. The bill contains reforms intended to improve the national financial regulatory framework and promote economic growth.
White House Must Sign Senate Bill 2155 for Change to Take Place
House approval and passage of 2155 by the Senate in March means the legislation heads to the President’s desk for signature.
MHI contends a retailer or seller cannot fit the definition if there is no compensation or gain related to the loan.
The organization’s government affairs team works closely with both Congressional leadership on Capitol Hill and champions of manufactured housing to secure passage of this important provision. More than 15,000 calls and emails were made to Washington.
Grassroots outreach from MHI members and state executive directors were instrumental in helping Members of Congress understand the importance of this provision to their constituents.
Reaction to Passage of Senate Bill 2155
Upon passage of the bill, U.S. Representative Andy Barr (R-KY), long-time supporter of manufactured housing and author of the Preserving Access to Manufactured Housing Act (H.R. 1699), said, “Dodd-Frank’s one-size-fits-all ‘loan originator’ definition failed to account for the unique nature of the manufactured housing market. The result: hard-working, low and moderate income Americans have lost access to affordable manufactured housing.
The Preserving Access to Manufactured Housing Act, included in Senate Bill 2155, fixes this problem and enables more Americans to achieve the American Dream of homeownership.” View Representative Barr’s remarks here.
During House debate, Representative French Hill (R-AR) highlighted the manufactured housing provision contained in 2155, arguing that the provision, “will help hundreds of Arkansans – hardworking families who need access to credit for manufactured housing in rural parts of the state.”
This provision passed with strong bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate. On March 14th, the Senate passed Senate Bill 2155 by a vote of 67 to 31. Tuesday, the House passed this same bill today by a vote of 258 to 159.
Language in the larger regulatory reform bill was made possible by MHI’s extensive and successful efforts over the last few years in getting a similar provision included in three previous House-passed bills (H.R. 1699, H.R. 10, and an FY 2018 appropriations bill), as well as a freestanding Senate manufactured housing bill (S. 1751).
Please contact MHI’s Government Affairs Department with any questions at (703) 229-6208 or MHIgov@mfghome.org.
From left, Rich Rice, Keith Carnahan, Wally Comer, Jerry Winter and Susan Kasinger
Wally Comer’s Adventure Homes Aims to Close Its First Decade on a Strong Note
Adventure Homes is only nine years old, but you’d be forgiven if you felt the award-winning manufacturer has beenbuilding homes for as long as you can recall.
The industry’s national trade organization, Manufactured Housing Institute, in each of the last two years has pointed to Adventure Homes as manufacturer of the year for those with two plants or fewer.
And though the single-plant builder based in little Garrett, Ind. had a rather unconventional start, Adventure Homes President Wally Comer and his team have managed to quadruple revenues since the company’s first year.
Adventure Homes has added a 20,000 square-foot finishing plant, the team has grown to more than 200 employees on the production line, and the company has built a steady stream of high-quality, hand-crafted and well-priced homes – to the tune of 1,520 homes in 2017.
“The first 20 years of ups and downs has prepared me for the ride I am on now and it is a great ride,” Comer said.
The First 20 Years
“I came out of college in 1971 and ran into a young guy who was driving a brand-new Corvette. He was my age and had a Corvette not a Volkswagen.
“I said what in the world do you do? And he said he was a controller for a recreational vehicle plant in Riverside,” Comer recalls. “I told him that I couldn’t find anything that I wanted to do, but I was interested in what he was doing. I was working for a pharmaceutical company and hated it. He came to my apartment later and said he got me an interview. The HR guy told me to talk to one more person before he hired me, and that was Jess Maxcy. Jess hired me and has been a mentor for me my entire career.”
Jess is the current state association director in California, but at the time of Comer’s hire was the youngest VP in the Industry.
“He ran the entire recreational vehicle operation at Redman. And, he was arrogant,” Comer said. “He came into my office on the first day and introduced me to the sales manager, and the general manager, and left no doubt who was in charge. Jess has a strong, forceful personality, but Comer was not put off by Maxcy’s demeanor. He embraced it.
Wally Comer called on him for answers to the many questions someone new to the industry might ask.
“Every time I needed advice, I would call him. He is a very knowledgeable guy. I still call him,” Comer said.
Some of those calls, as it turns out, would be long-distance. The kid who grew up in Glendale, Calif., was shipped off to work in Silverton, Ore.
“It was a little bus stop town,” Comer said. “At the Silverton Hotel, you had to go down to the lobby and get the phone to bring it back to your room.”
Adventure Homes First Home
‘It was just nuts’
In the 1970s the manufactured housing industry was a wild ride always perhaps about to leave the tracks. The industry was rolling out about 550,000 homes each year.
“Fleetwood, Skyline and Redman were the big three,” Comer said. “And there were a whole lot of guys gaining ground on those three including Clayton and Champion.
“If you were talented at all, they were promoting you up because manufacturers had so many plants and were continuing to open more, he said.
Comer was in Oregon about a year when Bob Steins, the sales manager at Redman, mentioned a new sales manager opening to consider.
Turning heads, climbing the ranks
“I said ‘What? I have been a been a salesman here’ and for only a year,” Comer said. “But I got the job and was the sales manager.” It took no time at all for Comer to realize why he got the sales manager’s job.
His first step was to attend a sales training in Texas, where he encountered a couple of trainees from Georgia.
“Some of the salesman and trainees I encountered were not very good,They couldn’t sell anything,” Comer said. “When I asked about it they said they didn’t ever call anyone. They didn’t have to call anyone. Everyone just called them and they signed orders. My income tripled in 1972 as I started influencing other people to attain their goals.
“The industry you see today is nothing like it was. It was ‘Wild Wild West’. People were making so much money they didn’t even know how much they were making,” he said. But Comer was building the foundation of solid sales procedures and discipline that would prepare him and the people around him for what was looming.
Comer went to North Carolina for a job with Coburn Homes. He was there roughly two years when Bob Steins called again. This time he was in Florida and wanted to see if Comer was interested in a general managers’ training program. He saw this as another opportunity to gain experience, so at the age of 27 started to prepare himself for general management.
The work was for Zimmer Homes, out of Cordeal, Ga.
“Georgia was big mobile home country,” Wally Comer said. “It was a trip.”
It was a trip that lasted only four months. Comer said he had begun to doubt the industry, and had ideals about doing something in the world of finance. He left Zimmer and he left manufactured housing for 10 years.
The Hiatus
Comer left the industry but did not very far. He joined AMP, Inc. in Harrisburg, Pa. They were the largest manufacturer of electrical and electronic connectors in the world.
Comer said he spent those years messing around a lot, spending money, and eventually came to terms with the fact he had taken a misstep. He was thinking about his career, about manufactured housing again, and called Jess Maxcy to talk about it.
“I asked him what he thought about me coming back in the manufactured housing industry again? He said ‘Have you learned your lesson? Will you listen to me this time?’” Comer said.
A Return to Manufactured Housing
Lee Posey was president of Redman when Comer started in 1971, but went on his own to start Palm Harbor Homes in Dallas. Maxcy told him Palm Harbor had recently opened a plant in Ohio, and maybe Comer could be in sales.
Comer again kick-started his career in the manufactured housing industry, putting it on himself to develop the people who would help grow the business.
“I was there for a year and did extremely well, had a great year, but it was like the old cowboy industry again, and I questioned myself again,” he said. “It seemed I couldn’t find a lot of good, professional people to rely on.”
It was the mid-1990s. He was on the phone with a friend, a dealer in the industry who urged him to make a change.
Comer went on to talk with Terry Desio at the Skyline drywall plant in Sturgis, Mich., and met a general manager with Skyline named Gary Lambert.
“He was a great GM, and we took off,” Comer said.
A fresh start with some of the same old challenges
But as his roller coast career would have it, Lambert soon exited for Palm Harbor.
Regardless, it was at Skyline where Comer really got started.
The industry was noticing the success that Comer was bringing to Skyline, and Tom Lizzy with Holly Park wanted Comer to move over to run the Ohio territory.
“I loved Lizzy,” Comer said. “He said the territory was doing 500,000 per year, and when I was there our homes weren’t even listed in the top ten in the state.”
This was the first time that Comer could show what he could do on his own. It was a meteoric rise in that market. By building relationships with two of the largest dealers, Ace Elsea and Steve Schwartz, in Ohio he took the territory from 500,000 annually to more than 12 million in only six years. He learned the value of relationships both with customers and co-workers in building business.
He was pondering where the next step would be, with his new-found philosophy on people management versus money management, he decided he was ready to go on his own.
Lifetime Homes
“My partner was Paul Lytle. He had been a controller, and we got a bunch of investors. We ran Lifetime Homes for about three years,” Comer said. “We were experiencing a steady increase in production, but as the turn of the century was upon us so was a downturn in the industry.
“Our investors were not in the industry themselves and were not comfortable with their investment,” he said. “We were forced to sell off assets. This was not an indictment of our business plan as much as the ‘lack of fortitude’ of our investors.”
However, the situation couldn’t break Comer’s confidence in himself as an owner of a manufactured home company.
Fleetwood in Garrett, Ind.
It was 2003, and Comer said he felt as though he was starting again. He worked for a bit as general manager for Ritz-Craft Homes in Jonesville, Mich. Then he went to work with Chuck Wilkinson, someone he had worked with at Palm Harbor who had landed at Fleetwood.
Wally Comer was asked to run the infamous Fleetwood Garrett Indiana plant with the promise that he could move out to take over the Arizona territory after two years. Everyone warned him away from it, but Comer went anyhow. The Garrett facility had seen a half dozen GMs in just as many years. However, Wally Comer felt his presence was needed.
“I got there and we turned it around. We were surrounded with really great people, wonderful staff. I had friends in Ohio, called all the dealers I know and told them to come down, we were going to have a show,” he said. “We got some homes out there in the lot and had people through them.
“Dealers walked into a house and said ‘Wally, can we do white trim?’ I said yes, and they hugged me. They were so glad to have a salesman back in the plant, someone who understood service,” he said.
The attitude of the employees changed.
The attitude of the customers changed. And Comer was seen as the right guy at the right time. However, more dark clouds were on the horizon. In 2009, Fleetwood Enterprises closed doors and left the Garret facility with a great product, a great workforce and a great customer base without ownership.
“It’s the best thing that ever happened to me,” Comer said. “Liberated is a good word for it.”
That Same Little Plant in Garrett
Comer went home, talked with his wife. Many of the workers from the plant showed up and bluntly suggested he buy the place, run the plant himself.
Comer, of course, worried about financing and the level of energy it would require.
But all of those people? Their jobs. Their families?
“My wife Joanna, she is really the one who pushed me to have the courage to do it. She was willing to risk it all. She told me she was certain I could do this,” Comer said.
He sat with a banker and said he wanted to buy the plant. The banker said “I want to be taller.” The pair agreed that resources were less than sufficient for that kind of purchase. But the banker said a pair of investors he knows might have some interest.
“That was nine years ago, Aug. 5, 2009,” Comer said.
Walt Fuller and Jerry Henry put up the money, and Wally Comer showed up on the last Friday of operation for what was Fleetwood Homes Garrett Plant 55. On Monday it would be Adventure Homes Plant 1.
The New Headquarters
Adventure Homes couldn’t even hang a sign out front. There were no formal agreements for pay, or insurance or other benefits. But more than 100 people showed up to build homes. In no time, all of the details would work out. The first year, Adventure Homes sold $12 million in homes.
Last year, the company topped $50 million.
Because Fuller and Henry had confidence in Comer, they gave their full support. And the Adventure plan was simple; keep expenses low, and put all the resources they are able into the homes they build. Today, signs hang in the factory that say “Would You Buy the Home You Built Today?” and “Remember, The Next Inspector is The Customer” as well as “If We Don’t Do It Better – Our Competition Will”.
Comer reminds people that the homes Adventure builds cost a substantial amount of money, but the quality and care that goes into them is free.
They don’t really care about the numbers, not as much as about the house. They build what people want. The company is built on providing a home to be proud of at an affordable price. It’s “Luxury and Comfort for Less”.
“I’m not a mass producer,” Wally Comer said. “I’m sort of a quasi-custom builder, and we’ve been very successful.”
A Tough Time for a New Venture
Adventure’s General Manager Rich Rice said, in a strictly business sense, 2009 was not the best time in the industry to start a manufacturing facility. But the decision to launch Adventure Homes had little to do with strictly business logic, and more to do with the passion of the people here to succeed.
“We knew our people could do it better and continue to create a demand for our homes even up against larger, more financially stable competitors,” Rice said. “We could do it better and for less money.
“This was as pure as it could be in terms of one individual trying to save some jobs,” Rice said. “It was about Wally and his partners, and this town, and their intentions for it. We spent those first three years using what we had learned at Fleetwood, but it really was only an experimental start for us along the way to finding our niche.”
He said the leadership began to learn just how deeply talented the workforce is, and understood Adventure really could offer a custom home in a way no one else has, from the manufacturing line.
It was a brave assertion that Adventure Homes has made good on. It is an adventure that professionals industry wide, as well as homeowners in the Midwest, very much appreciate.
“We go to a show with a home that has all that ‘bling’ in it for a low price, and we started turning the conversation around so that it’s no longer a wonder that we are able to do this type of customization, but why others don’t,” Rice said. “That’s taken us a long way.”
And, Wally Comer’s roller coaster career has reached a height he aims to hold for a while.
“Joanna is the love of my life, and I’m incredibly happy. Both of my business partners are super good guys. They put the funds behind me and it’s just been, it’s been what I’ve always wanted,” Comer said.
“If I had to do it, I would not have changed much as everything that has happened in my career has led right here. Manufactured housing has been good to me and I’ve really love the friendships,” he said. “Only in this industry can you get by this way. You do not need fancy degrees or a boatload of talent, you just have to be willing to do the work. The industry is filled with opportunity.”
“Wally is one of those individuals who absolutely gives back to the people who got him here, and it’s really easy to work for someone like that.” – General Manager Rich Rice
Michigan Home to Nine of the Largest Manufactured Home Community Owners and Operators in the Nation
The manufactured housing industry is poised to have one of its best years in recent history and Michigan is responsible for a large percentage of the success, according to the Michigan Manufactured Housing Association, (MMHA).
“Michigan has always been a big proponent of manufactured homes, the communities and the people who reside in them, so it really isn’t unexpected that Michigan is home to many of the largest manufactured home community owners and operators,” said Bill Sheffer, executive director of MMHA.
According to the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) National Communities Council, nine of the country’s top 50 manufactured home community owners and operators are based in Michigan. Michigan-based community operators are responsible for 213,244 of the 693,000 national manufactured home sites; nearly 31 percent of all manufactured home sites in the county.
“It is an honor to be in the top 50 largest manufactured home community owners and operators in the country,” said Jeff Davidson, president of Meritus. Meritus Communities was 12th on the list. “This ranking is a reflection of the hard work and dedication the entire Meritus team has to the industry and the people who live in manufactured home communities.”
“The MMHA community as a whole should be extremely proud of this,” said Kim Scott, Director – Operations (Manufactured Housing Division), M. Shapiro Real Estate Group. “Everyone on that list, as well as everyone involved in MMHA, worked together through the leaner years to do what was best for the communities, their owner/operators, and their residents. Being recognized for our successes is a testimony to all those efforts over the years.”
MMHA is dedicated to educating the public about the benefits of manufactured and modular home living and connecting people interested in finding a community or home with its members. The Michigan Manufactured Housing Association (MMHA) is one of Michigan’s oldest trade associations, founded in 1941. MMHA is a nonprofit association representing the manufactured and modular home industry in Michigan. MMHA works to improve the image of manufactured and modular housing by educating consumers, media and government about the quality, affordability, design, and beauty of the homes.
For more information, visit the Michigan Manufactured Housing Association at www.michhome.org or contact MMHA, 2222 Association Drive, Okemos, MI 48864-5978; 517.349.3300.
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