Monday, April 21, 2025

The Sales Introduction and First Impressions

April 9, 2018

Ken Corbin: MH Sales Process — Manufactured housing industry sales consultant Ken Corbin.

Selling Homes Starts with a Great Introduction

“People don’t ask for facts in making up their minds. They would rather have one good, soul-satisfying emotion than a dozen facts.”

— Robert Keith Leavitt, author and educator

As we begin this series, let me stress the importance of being yourself. I’ll be giving numerous ideas you can use; but not all of them will work with your personality.

We’ll start with the initial introduction and, as you read, you will find unique and resourceful techniques to build on.

Selling homes starts with a great sales introduction. It’s the first impressions that professional salespeople want to give their customers, before the selling process begins.

The items we cover in this series will give you the training that leads to success. Think of this guide (and how you can add it to your sales role) so you can increase your income and develop your professional housing career.

Here’s a proven sales tip on how to move homes: Make sure you can present a confident introduction to start the sales meeting with a potential homeowner. You’ll find out how to build your stunning sales introduction for selling homes.

The Introduction Helps Sell Homes

Selling homes This stage of the sales process is the most important part of meeting with customers.

Learn how to do it well and you will close more home sales. As you grasp this training you’ll earn the most you can while enjoying a successful sales career in the manufactured and modular home industry.

I’ll share with you not only how to sell homes, but how to build relationships that lead to repeat business and referrals from customers.

You’ll enjoy meeting new customers as you start the sales process with a great introduction. There’s nothing more satisfying than selling more homes and earning more money in a market that rewards the very best.

It takes time for a customer to make decisions about buying a home; although they’ll decide about you within the first minutes of your introduction. Never forget, this will be a two-way street. You’ll also be making your own judgments about the customer based on your first impressions.

This is an important skill to learn. Sales depends upon the customer having a positive first impression of you and your company. I’ll be offering ideas for you to build an effective introduction that can have a positive influence their first impressions.

The Craft of Introducing Yourself

Do you use your first name and sound informal? Are you Mr., Mrs., or Miss and keep the greeting formal? Neither are right or wrong.

It’s important to choose a way to identify yourself and not just use it by accident. I’ve had the pleasure of working in different countries and cultures where there are expected ways to introduce yourself, and though sometime more subtle, the same principle applies here.

So, it’s important that you consciously decided how you will introduce yourself.

Ken or Kenneth. Angela or Angie. Robert or Bob or Robbie. If you use your first name, do you shorten it? Again, there is no right or wrong. Just be aware that shortening your name is more informal. It implies familiarity, and that’s great as long as the customer goes along with it.

Make a choice for the right reason and project the image you want.

Here’s something important to remember… whatever name you use MUST be identical to your business card. If I’m going to introduce myself as Ken Corbin, my business card is not going to say Kenneth Corbin.

Some good questions you might ask yourself:

How formal should my greeting with customers to be?
Would a more friendly, informal relationship be more effective?
What do most of my customers expect?

The culture in the United States is rapidly changing with the influx of people from varying countries around the world; many of which are offended if you do not introduce yourself and treat them on a more formal basis. So, be aware of your customer, their age and how they approach you.

Constantly be listening with your ears and your eyes!

Selling Homes — Ken Corbin, left, is introduced by community owner Tammey Thomas for a sales presentation at The 2018 Tunica Show

Bringing Sales Introductions Into Conscious Focus

Think about the reaction you want from your prospective homeowner. In those first minutes, what do you want them to be feeling, thinking, and reacting to?

Consciously decide now what reactions you want. Ensure they are relaxed, comfortable, focused on you, and see the environment as professional. Of course, you are positive about modular and manufactured homes and your company.

Insert no sales pressure, exhibit a trust in your knowledge, a trust in you as a person, a confidence when you’re talking… and most of all, that they like you.

Take a few minutes and write down your own list if you’re serious about standing out as a housing sales professional. Highlight the rewards your prospective homeowner will receive by working with you.

As time goes on, continue adding to the list, remember it and put it into practice as part of every sales presentation. It’s something that few people do in our industry and, of course, you’re always trying to differentiate yourself from the competition.

If I’m working in a community, the lifestyle we’re offering is essential to your customer. What makes us different? Why should they not only invest in our home, but consider living in our neighborhood?

When it comes to a community, not only must you have it set to memory, but reinforced with every piece of marketing material and literature you provide to the prospect. There’s three decisions this customer is needing to make:

Do they want to buy?
Do they want to buy your home?
Do they want to live in your community?

Ken Corbin is an industry leader in helping communities & retailers sell more homes. He can be reached at ken@callkencorbin.com or (888) 823-4945. CallKenCorbin.com

Simple Social Media Management Tips!

Ellie Walker

April 6, 2018

Social Media continues to be a regular activity in many households and offices.

For this reason, companies have to maintain their presence on a multitude of different platforms.

“Fueled by intense competition between networks to capture advertising dollars, social media tools and tactics will continue to evolve at a breakneck pace in the year ahead.”

-Ryan Holmes, Contributor to Forbes “2018’s Biggest Social Media Trends For Business”

A few tips to start your Social Media presence:

Know Your Audience

If your company has one primary audience for its service then this is a pretty simple step. Your audience will remain the same across all of the platforms. However, if you offer products or services to both industry professionals and general consumers, that’s a different story. In this case, you want to be sure you know who you are talking to on each social media platform. Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are geared toward individuals or general consumers. The reason being, they offer them other options like sharing their personal photos, stories and connecting socially with family/friends. Websites like LinkedIn are specifically geared toward social interaction between professionals. (We have a great article to expand on the importance of knowing your audience in general Here!)

Spread The Content

Once you have established your audience, it will dictate which social media platforms you want your company to participate within. A presence on two or three social media platforms is ideal.

Clean Content

It’s important to be sure you are presenting your customers on social media clean and clear content. Filter all of your posts and “shares” through the lens of how it interacts or is associated with your company and its vision. Avoid posting, sharing or commenting on topics that are personal or unrelated to your business. You also want to be certain any links or outside websites you reference are accurate and efficient.

Branding

Here’s something I often see. A company has several social media platforms in addition to their website, and then they get a new logo or change their sales slogan but don’t update all of the different pages. This is a super important detail that truly needs to be top priority. It’s so important that your company is represented accurately and consistently across all of the different avenues a customer might find you.

Your Company Website

Since most of your posting will direct customers to your website you want to be sure your primary space represents you, your company and its service/products as well as possible. This means, accurate and up-to-date information, clear and easy contact information, recent and relevant content that supports the professional you want.

Know The Language

Before you start posting on social media, you want to be sure you are familiar with the expected language and communication on each one.

Start by doing a little research on a personal account.

This way you can shop some of your favorite companies and services or even your own competition first. Additionally, pay attention to which platforms are made for photos specifically and which are more geared towards text. For instance, Instagram and Pinterest are specifically designed for high quality images to be shared. So be sure you are only posting images that match this standard. Facebook and Twitter tend to have text and video links consumed and shared.

Social Media Management/Follow-Through

Keep every page updated. This is important, but there are other elements of management too. You also need to manage responses, comments and lead generation. A note sent via Facebook messaging or a direct message on Twitter is still a lead. Theses forms of contact should be treated and responded to like every other lead.

(Pro Tip: There are quite a few social media management websites that will combine all of the platforms on one dashboard to assist with this step. My favorite is: Hootsuite.)

Hopefully, this breakdown of the basics gives you a great place to start your endeavor into social media marketing.

Look for MHVillage on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn!

Does Ownership of a Related Finance Company Make Sense for a Retailer?

Ken Rishel

April 6, 2018

There Are Many Questions to be Answered in Deciding on Ownership of a Related Finance Company

By Ken Rishel, Managing Partner at Rishel Consulting Group

Should I start my own related finance company? This question is asked often all over the country by independent retailers.

Unfortunately, there is no easy answer, because a variety of factors ultimately will decide.

There are many questions to answer if you want want ownership of a related finance company. So, let’s get started!

Where Do You Want to Set Up Ownership of a Related Finance Company?

What state or states is the retailer considering for the related or captive finance operation? Some states have very complex and expensive licensing requirements while other states are relatively easy and inexpensive. The more difficult the state requirements, the more loans the retailer must plan to make to justify licensure.

What type of loan the retailer is contemplating? Will these be all chattel loans, or will some or all of them be mortgage loans? Some of the same states that are relatively easy on licensure for chattel lending are more difficult when it comes to mortgages. In some states, the unfortunate lender may need two licenses, one for chattel and one for mortgage loans.

To reach an accurate answer, factor together loan type, states of operation, and the number of loans expected. These factors will determine economic sensibility in operating a company to finance homes the retail operation sells.

Whether to Start a Related Finance Company Depends on Sales Volume

The next question is about personnel who can be trained to run the operation. They also will need to obtain MLO licensure for themselves and potentially others. If existing personnel can be used, time away from existing duties must be available. The staff person you choose must first learn what they need to know. This all comes before they actually handle the operational side of the lending organization.

A related or captive finance operation will need to set up a compliance management system to deal with the 20-plus federal laws, rules and regulations in play. This is in advance of the first loan, and in addition to licensing. The added investment in outside expert assistance and time on the part of employees assigned to the lending operation is essential.

In addition, a separate entity must be set up to handle the lending operations. Necessary personnel can either be hired or shared with the retail operation. A licensed MLO must be found, or current retail personnel must be diverted and go through the process. The new entity must secure licensure in the state or states in which they intend to operate.

Equipment and forms, software, and legal documents must be secured. You must create a a written lending policy and credit matrix. In all, there will be considerable work and money expended in getting a lending operation up and running.

So, why would a retailer even consider starting a related or captive finance company in the first place?

That’s a simple answer. The increased sales volume and the stable income increase from the resultant loans is dramatic and can easily triple the profits generated by the current retail operation.

This happens because the normal “outside” lenders only buy about a third of the customers that could be sold and financed. Many retailers make empty sales with a customer willing to buy but lacking a lender willing to finance the purchase. Historically, many of those customers can be successfully financed by a related or captive finance operation, thus resulting in many more sales.

The question becomes, “Why isn’t every retailer doing it already?” A number of retailers are doing it. However, it is not the right thing for all retailers. The rest of the retailers may not even think it is possible. And, they may be missing out on the best thing they could add to their operation.

If a retail operation is not currently selling at least 12 homes a year already, then the operation is likely too small to successfully start and operate a related or captive finance company. There are other solutions they should be pursuing. In difficult states to license and operate in they may need a volume of over 30 loans a year just to break even on the lending operation, even though the retail operation would be making more money.

Retailers Can Find Success With Related Finance Operations

However, even in those difficult states there are retailers successfully and profitably running related finance operations. California, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania and North Carolina have highly successful operations in place for over 10 years. There are at least five retailers that have loan portfolios in excess of $20 million. There are many others with loan portfolios valued at $5 million or better.

Obviously, independent retailers should consider what a related finance company could do for them as well as considering if they would have enough volume to justify doing so. The increase potential profits are too great to ignore.

One recent startup lending operation began because the owner realized he couldn’t find the set up help he needed to exceed 200 new homes a year. But, he could find the white collar help he needed. And this would allow him to run a lending operation, bringing him to the conclusion he could increase profits by financing many of the sales. Another long-term retailer has increased his sales to three times what they had been in the late 1990s through the addition of his lending operation.

Is starting and running a related or captive finance operation the intelligent solution for every retailer? No, but every retailer that doesn’t seriously consider it is limiting their own ability to control their destiny and their ability to prosper.

Community Owner Toolbox: Fill Vacant Sites to Increase Cash Flow & Property Value

George Allen, CPM Emeritus, MHM Master

April 6, 2018

Fill vacant sites, upgrade community with new homes

By George Allen, CPM, MHM and Spencer Roane, MHM

Speaking to community owners about why they should fill vacant sites is like preaching to the choir.

Community owners understand that the move to fill vacant sites steadies profitability. The purchase of a new home to fill a vacant site means one fewer homesite that needs to sustained by revenue from the occupied sites.

Besides the increase in revenue associated with site rent, there also are savings associated with the avoidance of site maintenance like lawn care and trash removal on an unoccupied site. These are two of many good reasons to fill vacant sites.

What is the Need to Fill Vacant Sites?

The best estimate pegs more than 250,000 vacant sites in the approximately 50,000 communities nationwide. Furthermore, another 250,000 old homes in these communities could be in need of replacement. Doing so with today’s attractive, energy-efficient, feature-packed new Community Series Homes goes a long way toward improving the image of a tired old “trailer park”.

Besides the advantages to owners, there are obvious advantages to the manufactured housing industry. Currently, annual production of manufactured homes is about 95,000, with at least 40 percent going to communities.

And, finally, there are advantages to consumers. Barely a week goes by that we don’t read or hear of the critical need for more “affordable housing”. There is no other form of attractive, energy efficient, feature-packed housing that consumers can buy for about $500 per month, with loan terms as short as 12 years.

So, the timely and strategic question is “How can community owners fill vacant sites?” Here are a few salient thoughts on the topic.

Lease-option

The S.A.F.E. Act of 2008 prohibited traditional seller-financing (originating a mortgage, interest rate, promissory note, collateral, amortization schedule) without S.A.F.E. Act licenses (Mortgage Loan Originator and Mortgage Broker or Mortgage Lender). The sale of manufactured homes in communities, via lease-with-option-to-purchase (L-O), is an attractive alternative to direct financing in many states, eliminating the need for S.A.F.E. Act licenses.

What might a typical L-O transaction look like, with a $5,000 option payment, $500 per month lease payment, and option to purchase the home for $10,000 at the end of the 10-year lease? For more info, see www.LeaseOptionMHSales.com.

What are the disadvantages of L-O?

Community owners would rather not be in the “finance” business. They want to fill vacant sites, but don’t want to process the paperwork and explain the intricacies of a document that leads to purchase. Community owners would rather not form a separate company to handle “financing” of homes, or collect payments other than site rent. Finally, they would rather not report payment information to credit bureaus.

Also, residents may prefer the tax deductibility of mortgage interest payments.

Better Underwriting

Whether community owners only rent sites or sell homes via the lease-with-option-to-purchase program, one thing they can do to minimize the likelihood of an undesirable outcome with a new homebuyer/site lessee is to thoroughly qualify them. Down payment, employment history, income, rental history and criminal history are critical to a new resident’s ability to pay. Acceptable debt-to-income ratios are absolutely essential.

All too often we see applicants able to afford front end site rent and house payments, but can become so overloaded with debt (that expensive truck payment, child support, or personal loans) they fail the back-end ratio.

Finally, there’s the applicant’s credit score. Generally, community owners consider it least important. This is because medical bills and the simple absence of credit characteristics so often can depress an otherwise reasonable credit score.

How to handle this screening efficiently and accurately? There is a pre-qualification worksheet that involves eight basic questions. This allows for requisite debt-to-income calculations. Often this analysis can help prospective residents recognize they should not buy such an expensive home, or, sometimes, they might be able to afford higher payments than they thought.

When to administer the pre-qualification worksheet? Recognizing that community managers have many tasks besides showing homes, the best practice is to conduct the pre-qualification before showing any homes. Doing so helps the applicant zero in on a home in their budget and avoids unnecessarily wasting managerial time.

New vs. Pre-Owned Homes to Fill Vacant Sites

Default rates on pre-owned manufactured homes sold in communities via L-O are about four times higher than those on new manufactured homes. Experience reflects a likelihood of default on new manufactured homes of less than 4 percent the first year, 3 percent in year two and three, 1 percent in year four and nearly zero thereafter. This all averages to less than 1.5 percent per year. Another interesting fact involves comparison of new single-section homes to multi-section homes. Our experiences suggest the latter sell quicker, are considered to have less wasted floor area and have far fewer defaults.

New Hybrid Chattel Financing

Any lender knows that the historic downfall of chattel loans was the product of default rates and default costs. Default rates can be minimized through better qualification of prospective residents and sale of new homes, particularly multi-section homes. Default costs can be minimized by selling repossessed homes in the community where they are sited – where no moving/relocation costs are incurred, and where they can be secured, efficiently rehabilitated, and quickly resold. To accomplish those objectives, a symbiotic relationship must be established between the community owner and the lender.

One way to accomplish that relationship is for the community owner to guarantee the loan made by a conventional lender to the buyer of the home. The community owner would be concerned with the buyer’s qualifications and would significantly mitigate the lender’s risk by paying off or assuming the loan if the buyer defaults.

Hybrid chattel loans might include the following characteristics to satisfy lenders, buyers, the GSE secondary market and community owners:

Characteristics of Hybrid Chattel Loans

Attractive and functional Community Series Homes
Guaranteed by community owner (possibly released after five years when likelihood of default is very low)
Qualified buyer (down payment, income, employment, rental, criminal, DTI, credit), but lower qualifications than required by traditional chattel loans
Reasonable/no gross sales profit on homes by community owners
10%+ down payment
Low interest (commensurate with risk associated with community owner guarantee, lower pmts. reduce likelihood of default)
Short term (12-15 years)
Close quickly (community owner will already have applicants’ financial information for lot rent)
Qualified community owner (experience, credit, etc.)
Qualified community (e.g. – ABC or Woodall 5-star rating system)
Long-term lot/site lease with reasonable escalation
Motivated community owner – either by penalty and/or reward

Summary on Options to Help Fill Vacant Sites

For the first time in a long time, the “stars” are aligning to facilitate community owners who want to fill vacant sites and upgrading communities. Attractive, functional, lower-priced Community Series Homes are being manufactured with our residents in mind. Rental properties are overflowing with tenants who are well aware of the disadvantages of renting, and are anxious to become homeowners — and are qualified to do so.

Politicians and city planners everywhere are talking about the need for affordable housing. None is better than manufactured housing. The hybrid chattel loan is a WIN for all parties involved. This includes the lender, the secondary market, the home buyer, “affordable housing”, the community owner and the manufactured housing industry.

Author Bios
George Allen is the administrator of COBA7, a division of GFA Management, Inc., dba PMN Publishing. George owned & fee-managed land lease communities since 1978. He’s authored all the “books in print” relative to manufactured housing and its unique realty asset class. Honored by MHI as Industry Person of the Year, George is also a member of the prestigious RV/MH Hall of Fame. Furthermore, he’s been designated a Certified Property Manager – Emeritus, and Manufactured Housing Manger – Master. Finally, George is a retired lieutenant colonel of U.S. Marines, having served a combat tour in the Republic of Vietnam, with active duty service during Operation Desert Storm. George & Carolyn have two adult children, six grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Contact him at (317) 346-7156 and gfa7156@aol.com.

Spencer Roane is president of Pentagon Properties, Inc., and Boyd Roane, Inc., Atlanta, Ga. His firms own and manage four land lease communities in Georgia and Texas, and have acquired, sold, and seller-financed 350 new and previously-owned manufactured homes. Spencer’s 35-year career in the manufactured housing industry includes membership in the Georgia Manufactured Housing Association, founding member of the Southeast Community Owners (SECO) annual conference, and induction into the RV/MH Hall of Fame. He holds Mortgage Loan Originator and Mortgage Broker licenses, and promotes all forms of chattel financing of manufactured homes in communities, including use of Lease-Option contracts. Contact him at spencer@roane.com and (678) 428-0212.

Back to Marketing Basics in a Digital World

Darren Krolewski

April 3, 2018

Adapt to Mobile for Best Organic Search Results

Identify Simple Missteps, Make Them an Action Checklist to Improve Your Visibility Online

A dozen or more years ago, before I joined MHVillage, I was a partner in a consulting firm that was active in the manufactured housing industry. Among our clients, we worked on behalf of several manufacturers to coach their retailers and communities on successful marketing techniques.

In those days, we were doing several hundred consultations a year throughout the country. Many of the companies we visited already were very successful. They just were in need of some optimization in a few key areas. Others had more significant marketing challenges to overcome. But no matter where we traveled, my partners and I began to see a lot of the same mistakes. There was inadequate signage, poor business image, ineffective advertising, lack of prospect follow up… you get the idea.

The process of identifying these marketing missteps became a checklist that we would run through when we consulted with a new client.

Now I’ll be the first to admit that many of these things I’ve mentioned so far may seem pretty obvious. But that’s the point. We learned that even the best marketers often lose sight of the basics, and need a friendly reminder every now and then. Use these tips to improve your organic search results.

As it has been more than a few years since my consulting days, and it got me thinking. What would that list of marketing basics look like today?

We’re in a world dominated by the internet, mobile devices and social media. What are the things you should be focusing on in today’s environment of ever-changing technology?

Let’s take a look at a few marketing basics, updated for the digital age.

Is Your Website Mobile Friendly?

Have you ever noticed how websites look great whether you view them on your laptop, tablet or smartphone? That’s called responsive design, and it’s what enables a website to dynamically resize to provide the best possible user experience regardless of the device on which it is viewed.

In the old days, we would talk about the importance of having a good website. Now, the emphasis is on making sure your website is functional for the way customer will view it. In other words, from a mobile device.

According to the most recent data from Google, mobile searches make up more than 60 percent of internet searches. And that number is continuing to grow.

The concept of responsive design seems simple enough. But the solution is more than just updating your website with the latest WordPress theme. Are the fonts readable on a tiny 4.7-inch smartphone screen as well as on that giant tablet-sized phone? Is the navigation intuitive? Can the consumer easily fill out your contact form or application from a mobile device? According to research cited by web app developer, Mobify, 30 percent of mobile browsers will never return to a website if the experience is not optimized for mobile.

If you’d like to get some insights on how search engines view your website, Google “mobile friendly test” and you’ll find a link to a tool where you can enter your web address and get an analysis of your mobile readiness. It’s a great way to benchmark how search engines like Google are seeing your site.

Can Customers Find You Online?

Pretty much everyone, across every age group, uses the internet during a home search. Indeed, the latest statistics from Google show that internet usage is well over 90 percent among home potential homebuyers, and more than 60 percent of these searches are made from mobile devices.

In the early days of search engine optimization, it was relatively easy to show up in a top position. You’d stuff a web page with the keywords you’d want to target, like “mobile homes in Tuscaloosa”. If you were to repeat the phrase in the header and domain name, like magic you’d own the space. Well, the search engines got wise to that technique a long time ago. Now if you want to have a top position you need relevant content. Or open your wallet to search engine advertising. Most of the time, you have to do a little of both.

You may have noticed that when you search for something from your mobile device, a lot more comes up on your screen than ever. There are paid ads, local business listings, videos and social media pages, just to name a few items. In the past, your company may have been at the top of page one in Google with your organic search results. These were non-paid listings that show up when anyone does an internet search. If you’re fortunate enough to maintain that position, you’re still halfway down the page after everything Google puts in. And if you already were half way down the page, now you’re on page two or three where views drop exponentially.

Don’t worry, though. All is not lost.

Improve Your Visibility Online by Updating Those Important Listings

If you can’t beat them, join them. It may seem like the simple solution to do paid search advertising and buy your way to the top. But that can be an expensive proposition. Online advertising is becoming more competitive and costs are going up. This is especially true when a growing number of companies outside our industry are discovering that manufactured home keywords are great at driving traffic to their industries, too.

A better solution is to start by making sure you have an up-to-date and complete Google My Business listing for all of your locations. It’s a simple process. These local listings regularly appear ahead of organic search listings, most noticeably on mobile. They are particularly valuable when consumers do “near me” searches, which have grown by more than 140 percent on average, year over year.

Search engines place a lot of emphasis on these directory listings, as you can see by the priority Google places Google My Business listings, and other directory sites like Yelp, the Better Business Bureau and MHVillage. In many instances, a community or retailer listing on MHVillage is one of the first things that will show up in the organic search results.

Another reason to maintain your listing is because of the rise of digital assistants like Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa and Google’s Assistant. These assistants, whether on a mobile phone or a smart home device, use directories and information sources such as Yelp and Wikipedia to provide answers to consumer queries.

How’s Your Online Reputation?

Of course, visibility online is sometimes a double-edged sword. As you may have noticed, search engines like Google also put ratings and reviews next to search engine results. Not paying attention to your reputation online can be very costly.

We know that more than 75 percent of consumers base their purchase decisions on ratings and reviews. And, of course, people are far more likely to share a bad experience than a good one. There are many web-based software tools to help monitor reputation. Though, one of the best solutions is to simply put a program in place to encourage positive reviews.

Ask for Reviews and Testimonials to Improve Your Visibility Online

For example, if you look at the MHVillage professional blog landing page, you can see an example of this invitation to leave a review in the right sidebar. This tool guides the website visitor through the process of leaving a review for us on Google, Facebook and a bunch of other sites that are relevant to our business.

Of course another way to build your reputation online is simply to ask your customers.

As an MHVillage advertiser, you notice we ask for testimonials when homes are marked as sold. Responding promptly to the occasional negative review and proactively asking customers for reviews is a great way to stack the deck in your favor. And, this diminishes the impact negative reviews have when they do occur.

Even when it comes to the basics, attempting to keep up with technology can be a daunting task. However, the good news is that the marketing mix will continue to evolve. And our objectives will remain the same. That is, make it easy for your best prospects to find you. Earn their confidence and make them want to do business with you.

President of CIS Home Loans Has a Love for Manufactured Housing

Patrick Revere

March 26, 2018

Lender Celebrates Homegrown Success in Hamilton, Ala.

Paula Reeves, president and co-owner of CIS Home Loans, has been in banking and lending for decades, but when she talks about “her industry” she’s talking about manufactured housing.

It’s where her heart lies.

CIS Home Loans award-winning lender — Paula Reeves and Keith Knight of CIS Home Loans receive a state award from Mike Long, president of MMHA, for their work in manufactured housing.

“I try to be an ambassador for our industry,” Reeves said. “The information and education that’s needed, I’ve lived it. I’ve been in the trenches, and all of us in the manufactured housing industry, have to understand that things will not get better until we all are on board to make the necessary changes. It doesn’t matter if you’re a lender, a builder, a retailer or installer. We all have to share the responsibility.

“The more we educate, the greater chance we have of making a difference. It’s really about the consumer. It’s about providing a viable housing option” she said.

In her career, Reeves has gone from a bank teller earning less than $4 per hour to an industry leader in residential lending with an organization that provided more than $500 million in loans to the secondary market in 2017. CIS Home Loans, also known as CIS Financial, currently holds nearly $2 billion in home loans.

CIS Home Loans in Hamilton, Ala.

CIS is based in Hamilton, Ala. With fewer than 7,000 residents, there are 80 in-state cities larger in population than Hamilton. CIS employs 122 people, and is hiring. The company has opened a seventh location, in Tuscaloosa, and recently announced a new chattel finance program that adds to the mix of loans available for manufactured homes.

“To have an organization of this size in Alabama, and particularly in a small rural town in Alabama, is very rare,” Reeves said. “We are very proud of that.”

Credit Where Credit is Due with CIS Home Loans

Reeves spent 13 and took on many roles with SouthTrust in Hamilton. It was 1991 when she was approached by Jerry Wilson, founder and owner of Cavalier Homes. He recruited Reeves to start a captive finance company for the Cavalier dealer network.

The name of the lender was Cavalier Acceptance Corporation, or CAC.

“There were few options at that time for finance in terms of chattel lending. Jerry’s son Jay Wilson and I were originally housed in the Buccaneer Homes building,” Reeves said. “We had $2 million and served seven retailers.”

Reeves gives credit to Wilson, for his vision and thoughtfulness. Wilson shaped a young banker’s life in ways that were difficult to understand at the time, but are fully appreciated today.

“His vision into the future was something I’ve seen from few others,” she said. “He passed away in 1996. What he was able to do with his businesses and in helping those around him continues to inspire me every day.”

Character, Integrity, Service Gives CIS Home Loans its Name

Ten years in, with changes in lending for manufactured homes and all home types, the company opted to change its name to CIS, denoting the chief attributes of the organization – Character, Integrity, Service.

The CIS acronym is a daily reminder, Reeves said, that she and her team are more than a mortgage lender.

“It matters who you are. Character matters,” Reeves said. “One doesn’t suddenly change when they walk through the door at work. It is our goal to provide high standards of service to our customers, our employees and the community.

“Working here is not just a job,” she said. “Ask anyone.”

CIS offers its employees the resources and tools to help them professionally and personally. Our goal is to be a successful mortgage bank and we invest in our employees to help them be successful in their personal life too.

CIS Expresses ‘Love for Others’

“Whether it’s teaching them how to navigate and understand pivot tables in excel or teaching them how to use Powerpoint for personal club presentations,” Reeves said. “We hope our employees are happier because we invest in them. We challenge them to be the best professional and person they can be.”

An employee led committee called “Love for Others” has raised over $40,000 to give to local charities and organizations. Some are for area foster students to have backpacks and the supplies they need for classroom learning. CIS pays employees during the holiday season to ring bells and collect money for the Salvation Army. They raise funds with bake sales. The employees sponsor families who may not otherwise have a holiday meal or toys on Christmas. They participate in blood drives.

“We have helped individual families that have faced catastrophic events. There was a family that almost lost their father. He was critically injured and in the burn unit for several weeks. He was a single parent, and two of his kids died in a fire at their home,” Reeves said. “We raised over $6,000 that helped to pay funeral expenses and other bills.”

When Reeves went to the hospital to drop off the check, the father asked that she be ushered in to intensive care burn unit. The man could barely talk.

“He mouthed ‘I don’t know how to thank you, I don’t even know who you are’,” Reeves said. “He survived and we are good friends today. We attend the same church.”

Character. Integrity. Service.

More Industry Change

It’s been said that the only constant is change. This has been true during the last 20 years in lending, particularly if you have sufficient interest in manufactured housing.

So, CIS started in captive finance, helping keep dealers flush with new homes to sell. CIS was a correspondent to a large national bank, and sold chattel loan portfolios to Conseco and Green Tree. The company was successful and growing.

But, inevitably, change.

Jay Wilson left the company to serve as chief information officer for Cavalier. And the markets began to constrict in the late 1990s. Underperforming loans nationwide invoked added regulatory oversight and created a chilling effect for the secondary markets. CIS began to gear itself toward mortgage lending.

When chattel was all but off the table, Reeves applied for seller servicer license with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae and FHA to provide land-home financing.

CIS Home Loans Evolves

CIS gained traction with a more diversified portfolio of loan products, and had dramatically increased its holdings. Larger lenders began to notice. Cavalier Homes was pondering a move with CIS because of the changes in chattel, and Reeves mentioned the possibility of a purchase to a fellow MHI board member, Don Glisson Jr. of Triad Financial.

Triad made the purchase from Cavalier in February 2009, creating a wholly-owned subsidiary of Triad that continued to operate under its own same name. The business stayed in Hamilton, same address and phone numbers. And the leadership stayed consistent.

All along, Reeves continued on in service of manufactured housing, working with MHI, state and regional associations and boards.

In 2012, Triad sold CIS to Sonny Jeung, a banker and investor in San Francisco, and as part of the deal Reeves became minority owner of the business.

From teller to bank president, and owner.

homes at tunica cis home loans — New model homes on display at The Tunica Show in 2018

Changing Minds, Changing Lives

CIS is a direct, retail and wholesale lender with more than 10,000 accounts, 80 percent of which are for site-built homes.

“Manufactured housing is about 20 percent of our business today, and we’d like to see that more at about 50 percent,” Reeves said. “And I’m not talking about just originating loans, we want to be in every venue including wholesale, retail and varying forms of correspondent relationships.

“Affordable housing has always remained in my heart,” she said. “During times when we had to do other things to survive, my mind was always on manufactured housing.”

In recent months, Reeves has played host to Paul Barretto and his team from Fannie Mae, helping them gain a better understanding of the importance of manufactured housing. She hosted tours of communities – from upscale retirement properties to no-frills parks for affordable housing. Reeves has participated in many calls and meetings, including in D.C., helping to expand the idea of what home construction is, whether in a residential neighborhood or on the factory floor.

“What impresses me the most about Paula Reeves is how her efforts to transform the manufactured housing industry are equally matched by her desire to see the staff at CIS develop in their careers to be the future leaders of the industry.”

— Paul Barretto
Former Senior Manager at Fannie Mae

New Programs for Manufactured Housing

One result at the start of 2018 was the agreement to offer and provide a Fannie Mae construction loan program for manufactured homes.

“There’s was not a week to go by that a customer would ask for a loan we couldn’t provide,” Reeves said. “And that’s started to change, with secured loans where the first draw allows the customer to buy land for a new home that comes from a factory. That feels good.

“And we’ve just started the new chattel lending program, so things can change,” she added.

Reeves advocates for getting involved with real face-to-face conversation and shared experience, not just through phone calls or email.

“It makes a big difference to be able to show someone what is needed or happening rather than just saying it,” she said. “We can talk to Washington all day on the phone, but an hour of time on the ground showing and educating them is most effective.”

“Duty to Serve” For an Industry In Need

Paul Barretto, senior manager for single-family product management and development at Fannie Mae, said as Fannie Mae executes its Manufactured Housing Underserved Market Plan, Paula Reeves has made evident she is one of the industry leaders to watch, recognized by many for her accomplishments in manufactured housing and affordable lending.

“As the president of CIS Home Loans, her company demonstrates the character and integrity that makes them a valued Fannie Mae customer who knows how to leverage our offering to effectively serve their borrowers while maintaining a high quality book of business. Her strong compliance background, ability to adopt new technology to improve the customer experience, and strategic vision for the market is what will make her company a market leader.”

Progress is Evident

The multi-year process of “Duty to Serve”, the mandate toward Fannie and Freddie to explore finance options that can open the door to manufactured housing for more Americans, has created a certain amount of skepticism in some circles. Reeves said she is no part of that.

“They’ve been working really hard for the past two years, and I don’t think some people realize that,” she said.

Reeves said she sees the progress and is confident more will come.

“Before January 1, if I wanted to build a home I could close a construction loan through Fannie Mae. But I couldn’t do that buying a really nice HUD Code home to put on land that I wanted to purchase,” she said. “Now I can.

“Things are starting to move and I couldn’t be happier about it. Manufactured housing is a viable solution for so many people, and it’s a great product. Our manufactured home portfolios at CIS perform just as well if not better than site built, and you can’t argue with the numbers.”

Paula Watts Reeves Short Bio

CIS Home Loans President Paula Reeves.

President/Minority Owner of CIS Home Loans, Hamilton, Ala.
Bachelors Degree in Administrative Science/Business Administration from the University of Alabama – 2004
Membership and board service for more than 20 state, regional and national housing and lender organizations

CIS Home Loans Overview

Mortgage lender licensed in 27 states
Loan servicer in 50 states and Puerto Rico
Licensed insurance provider in 43 states
New construction and chattel lender for manufactured housing
Primarily engaged in Southeast, with 40 percent of business in other regions

“People in our industry are like extended family members to us. We have not just survived, but we’ve prevailed and thrived. I’m really proud of that, and I’m proud of our managers who have been with this organization for 20-plus years, and they’re all dedicated to manufactured housing.”

— Paula Reeves
President CIS Home Loans

Tunica Wrap-Up: 2018 Success

Patrick Revere

March 22, 2018

The 2018 Tunica Manufactured Housing Show Fields Great Traffic, Much Learning, and Many Sales

Daniel McClure sells Athens Park Model RVs, often purchased for communities and lakeside properties. He and his colleagues attended the 2018 Tunica Show, and they’re glad they did.

“This is a record year for park models at Tunica,” he said. “It’s been a really good year. We have this new Model 520, which is a higher end product, and we brought the APX 150 that is a smaller and lower price point that addresses a lot of the industry demand.

“We are marketing both sides of the terrain, so people are getting what they need,” he said. “We’re appealing to both sides. I’m going to guess we’ve signed 20 orders for these park models, which is great. That’s three, four weeks of work for us at our factory.”

Athens is a division of Champion Homes, which was celebrating at Tunica 50 years of manufacturing homes in Tennessee.

Dave Mingus, managing director for Regional Home Sales in Bryan, Texas, said he purchased a high-end Athens model and plans to buy more.

“I sell more Champion than anything,” Mingus said. “These are really good homes.”

A Good Show for Sunshine Homes

Sunshine Homes had seven models at the show, four multi-section and three singles. Customers know Sunshine Homes are well built, and are catching on to some of the finishing touches too. Sunshine Homes’ Gary Dobbs credits his sister, Sunshine VP Lindsey Bostick, for much of that success.

“We’ve kind of put a millennial flash to our homes,” Dobbs said. “Everyone loves the color schemes, and window treatments, surface materials. People walk in and see the attention we pay to these details and that helps us out.

“Tuesday was the day,” he said. “We really hit the ground running and sold several homes. We are enthused, the industry has really picked up and everyone is in a good mood.”

From left, Lisa Meadors and Denise McNeil.

Tunica Wrap-Up: Attendance Increases by 5 percent

Inside the exhibit hall at the Hollywood Resort and Casino, industry product and service providers reported similar success. Attendance was up 4.5 percent compared with the 2017 show, with 2,147 total attendees, including 1,131 builders, installers, community managers and retailers.

Denise McNeil, a design consultant for Jaime’s Interiors, said she’s attended the show for more than a decade. New customers, she said, were coming to the booth after seeing some of her work inside Fleetwood and Platinum model homes on display.

“I’ve had a lot more traffic this year, as far as new customers,” she said. “It’s people who have seen our work in the homes, heard about us by word of mouth.

“We’ve had a lot of people come to our booth and sit and talk. It’s bright and comfortable, and people like to spend some time here,” she said.

Jose Tavarez is an origination manager for eLend, with offices in Parsippany, N.J. and Charlotte, N.C. This year was his first at The show and had plenty to report for the Tunica wrap-up.

“I’ve learned a lot,” Tavarez said. “It’s great to see the actual finished product when you’re really used to seeing the specification sheets and floorplans, which is largely what you deal with in lending. The quality of these homes and for such a great price point, it’s really impressive.

“I want to go back and put together a team building day where we’ll find a nearby factory and do a tour and learn more about the process and the homes,” he said. “It’s very valuable to have that first-hand knowledge.”

State Director Energetic About Industry Direction at Tunica Wrap-Up

Jennifer Hall, Director of the Mississippi Manufactured Housing Association and co-organizer of the Tunica event, said reports have been positive in 2018, and should mean good things for the months and years to come.

“I love coming to the show and learning about all these great ideas,” Hall said.

“You can really see that manufacturers are listening to their customers and providing them with more of what they want. You’re seeing a lot of features in single-sections that traditionally have been in multi-section homes, things like the metro hood above the range, a farm sink, utility rooms and barn doors.”

For Michael Koczwara, an outside sales representative with Oliver Technologies, it was his first time at the annual Tunica Show.

“Traffic has been pretty good really. It took some time to get going on Tuesday, but Wednesday we were all really busy,” he said. “We come here to showcase our product, build awareness, have some time to spend time with the customer and forge that relationship. We sell to the set-up crews. So, this is not really our true customer, but the people we meet here are the end user. It’s important for them to know what we do, how it influences the quality set-up of the home. And to learn from that customer is very valuable.”

Take a Look at Tunica 2018

Patrick Revere

March 21, 2018

Thousands of Manufactured Housing Professionals View Product, Talk Shop at The 2018 Tunica Show

The 2018 Tunica Manufactured Housing Show happening now is a testament to the health and growth of the industry, with about 2,000 manufactured home professionals in this Northwest Mississippi town thirsty for the latest and greatest MH pros can provide.

Take a Look at Tunica Supplier Exhibitors

Rows of exhibitors selling products and services at The Tunica Show have been catering to the industry this week. MH professionals have come to the southeast show from as far off as California and New York.

We with MHVillage/Datacomp are among those supplier and service providers, greeting existing and new customers with the latest products and industry ideas.

Sticking with the resort casino theme of the venue, we provided attendees the chance to spin the wheel for a fun prize and the chance for an MHVillage advertising perk — like $50 or a month free.

Take A Look at Tunica Seminars

Industry voices like Paul Barretto from Fannie Mae were on hand to share information with packed rooms of MH Pros looking for the latest news on the secondary markets, and how they’re working to provide opportunity for MH professionals and potential homeowners.

MHVillage’s Darren Krolewski spoke to a packed room on the importance of social media engagement. With seminars starting at 8 a.m. on opening day, the enthusiasm was at an all-time high.

Take A Look at Tunica Manufacturers

Finally, Tunica manufacturer exhibitors saw the skies clear and the crowds flow outside to get a peek at the latest product. There was plenty to see from dozens of manufacturers who have fine-tuned their product for the Spring selling season.

Ken Corbin Speaks to Full Room at Tunica Show

Patrick Revere

March 20, 2018

seminar why people buy homes — Industry sales consultant Ken Corbin talks to attendees about why people buy homes.

Tunica Manufactured Housing Show Attendees Pack the Hall for Morning Seminars

Ken Corbin, an industry veteran who specializes in business management and sales, told an audience of about 300 attendees at the 2018 Tunica Manufactured Housing Show to prepare themselves for an industry boom.

The industry professional’s goal was to communicate to the audience why people buy homes, and how to sell them.

“The next 10 years, the boom is coming,” Corbin said during his talk at the Hollywood Resorts & Casino.

Corbin sites research that shows retirees downsizing and millennials on the verge of starting families will be primary drivers for an industry poised to ease the pain of a housing crisis.

“We’re going to have 27 million new people in the U.S.,” Corbin said, referring to domestic birth and death rates that will lead to population growth. “It an unbelievable opportunity we have.”

Corbin addressed community owners, service providers, home builders, and retailers in his comments, asking that manufactured housing professionals take their time with customers, sell on emotion and provide quality follow-up.

“Your customers want comfort, they want value and they want to know about the benefits of owning your home,” he said.

Information provided by a study from Marshall University and Cal State Fullerton, he said, points to why people buy homes. In order of importance, respondents indicated they valued:

Why People Buy Homes

Initial impression/curb appeal
Exterior display/home siting
A thorough home tour/Customer service
Explanation of home features
Being given time
Witnessing family members being engaged
Being brought to understand finance options

Calling people by the first name and creating an inviting and friendly atmosphere for shopping and learning is a must, he said. If you sell homes, organized and information-filled open houses or virtual open houses, now, are important parts of the sales process.

“This is a very easy business,” Corbin said. “It’s a people business. You’re going to work with families, take your time and show the customer what they want.”

Manufactured Housing in Line for Dodd-Frank Relief with SB 2155

Patrick Revere

March 16, 2018

SB 2155 Continues Trend of Anticipated Regulatory Relief for Manufactured Housing

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday passed to the House bipartisan legislation in Senate Bill 2155 that looks to peel back some of the “Truth in Lending” restrictions enacted in 2010, and includes amended language that would aid in the finance of manufactured homes.

Language in section 107 of Senate Bill 2155 would redefine what a loan originator is. The change would free up retailers, including community sales operations, to work with clients on some tactical aspects loan qualification without being in violation of regulatory measures.

Senate Bill 2155 Details

Senators from both sides of the aisle voted 67-31 for the bill sponsored by Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho. The bill would re-tune portions of Dodd-Frank legislation and would leave in place a large majority of its protections.

Most significant, the new language would lower the regulatory reporting burden that many have said unnecessarily hinders smaller to midsize local and regional lenders.

Currently, any lender with holdings greater than $50 billion gets the added attention of Dodd-Frank with the Federal Reserve. The change, if it passes the House and is signed by the president, would raise that level five-fold to $250 billion. It also would allow financial institutions with holdings of less than $10 billion to shake loose from the Volcker Rule that bars federally insured banks from trading with depositors’ money.

However, the Fed would retain the right for 18 months following enactment of new legislation to re-institute these same consumer protections for banks with holdings between the $100 billion and $250 billion mark.

“The bill provides much-needed relief from the Dodd-Frank Act for thousands of community banks and credit unions, and will spur lending and economic growth without creating risks to the financial system,” the White House said in an issued statement following Wednesday’s vote.

What Manufactured Housing Gets from SB 2155

sb 2155 manufactured homes — A home from Fairmont.

The Manufactured Housing Institute, the trade group representing manufactured housing on a national level, worked with Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., and other legislators to include the proposed language that will provide greater financing options for this vital class of housing.

Exempted banks would avoid the annual hurdle that ensures an institution has the coffers to endure a moderate range of economic disruption. The change also would eliminate the exempted banks from the requirement to register a dissolution and liquidation plan in the instance that the organization were to founder.

Other features of the bill would exempt some banks and credit unions from the need to report some mortgage loan data. This would change reporting on loan applicant age and credit score, as well as interest rate and loan costs.

Grassroots Lobby Efforts Push 2155

On section 107, MHI’s government affairs team put in significant time working directly with legislators, as well as organizing an information campaign to its membership and beyond, encouraging communication on the issued directed at Capitol Hill. The grassroots effort resulted in more than 3,000 phone calls, email and letters lobbying toward regulatory relief.

Different legislation, H.R. 1699, the Preserving Access to Manufactured House Act, gained House approval in December. It contains similar language to that approved in the Senate Bill 2155, which will need to be reconciled against each other as both chambers progress.

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EVENTS

Selling Homes Starts with a Great Introduction

“People don’t ask for facts in making up their minds. They would rather have one good, soul-satisfying emotion than a dozen facts.”

The Introduction Helps Sell Homes

The Craft of Introducing Yourself

Some good questions you might ask yourself:

Bringing Sales Introductions Into Conscious Focus

Social Media continues to be a regular activity in many households and offices.

For this reason, companies have to maintain their presence on a multitude of different platforms.

“Fueled by intense competition between networks to capture advertising dollars, social media tools and tactics will continue to evolve at a breakneck pace in the year ahead.”

A few tips to start your Social Media presence:

Know Your Audience

Spread The Content

Clean Content

Branding

Your Company Website

Know The Language

Social Media Management/Follow-Through

There Are Many Questions to be Answered in Deciding on Ownership of a Related Finance Company

Where Do You Want to Set Up Ownership of a Related Finance Company?

Whether to Start a Related Finance Company Depends on Sales Volume

So, why would a retailer even consider starting a related or captive finance company in the first place?

Retailers Can Find Success With Related Finance Operations

Fill vacant sites, upgrade community with new homes

What is the Need to Fill Vacant Sites?

Lease-option

What are the disadvantages of L-O?

Better Underwriting

New vs. Pre-Owned Homes to Fill Vacant Sites

New Hybrid Chattel Financing

Characteristics of Hybrid Chattel Loans

Summary on Options to Help Fill Vacant Sites

Identify Simple Missteps, Make Them an Action Checklist to Improve Your Visibility Online

Is Your Website Mobile Friendly?

Can Customers Find You Online?

Improve Your Visibility Online by Updating Those Important Listings

How’s Your Online Reputation?

Ask for Reviews and Testimonials to Improve Your Visibility Online

Lender Celebrates Homegrown Success in Hamilton, Ala.

CIS Home Loans in Hamilton, Ala.

Credit Where Credit is Due with CIS Home Loans

Character, Integrity, Service Gives CIS Home Loans its Name

CIS Expresses ‘Love for Others’

More Industry Change

CIS Home Loans Evolves

Changing Minds, Changing Lives

New Programs for Manufactured Housing

Progress is Evident

Paula Watts Reeves Short Bio

CIS Home Loans Overview

The 2018 Tunica Manufactured Housing Show Fields Great Traffic, Much Learning, and Many Sales

A Good Show for Sunshine Homes

Tunica Wrap-Up: Attendance Increases by 5 percent

State Director Energetic About Industry Direction at Tunica Wrap-Up

Thousands of Manufactured Housing Professionals View Product, Talk Shop at The 2018 Tunica Show

Take a Look at Tunica Supplier Exhibitors

Take A Look at Tunica Seminars

Take A Look at Tunica Manufacturers

Tunica Manufactured Housing Show Attendees Pack the Hall for Morning Seminars

Why People Buy Homes

SB 2155 Continues Trend of Anticipated Regulatory Relief for Manufactured Housing

Senate Bill 2155 Details

What Manufactured Housing Gets from SB 2155

Grassroots Lobby Efforts Push 2155

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