The Masthead

Some inter-related topics today…

1

“Elephant in the room” is an English idiom for an obvious truth that is being ignored or goes unaddressed. The idiomatic expression also applies to an obvious problem or risk no one wants to discuss. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_in_the_room

If you have any connection professionally with Manufactured Housing, these Elephants in the Room impact your business and your firm’s bottom line.

A number of public comments have already been posted on the subject of Elephants in the Room, here at my previous Masthead blog post – see link below – and at the MHC Group on LinkedIn. Even more comments have come in privately, via phone or messaging. The original Elephants in the Room post is linked here.

The response has been strongly in favor of the importance of the topic.

That said, for accuracy and balance, I need to mention that one executive I respect cautioned me not to appear to be ‘stirring the pot’ on this issue. I assured him that is not our goal, that the original post stated quite the opposite: I am not criticizing anyone, simply raising a topic of general interest and concern.

What I failed to mention then, but will hasten to add now, is that we at MHMSM.com have declined stories that I felt would serve no purpose to the Industry or would simply embarrass someone. We are not muckrakers or a tabloid.

Our mission at MHMSM.com is to be pro-industry, period.

Being pro-industry means we want to see the Industry move ahead and grow. So at times, that means we will look at what may be seen by some as tough or sensitive subjects. We will invite feedback on ways we can deal with those challenges.

Financing is critical for our future, and so we all need to be objective about this subject.

Public comments can be seen on LinkedIn or posted on the blog above. A sampling of the private-to-me, and no-names-mentioned comments include:

• One manufactured housing lender who said that this very issue has been a trouble spot for their operation and kept it from growing. He thanked me for bringing it up for discussion.
• A chattel lender who suggested this is a key topic, one that needs to be addressed for the benefit of the industry and its customers. This gent was keen on hearing about the repo resale experiences discussed in my first post on the topic, linked above.
• I was also told that VMF and 21st would very much like to see this successfully addressed. No one ‘wants’ to wholesale so long as they have a better option. They have a significant stake in the game, and performance for them helps everyone in MH lending, directly or indirectly.
• A chattel finance exec shared an example of a specific repo reseller he knew that he asserts had 85%-90% recovery rates on repo’d manufactured home loan balances. Compared to the losses on homes being wholesaled, that was interesting and positive news!
• That person also noted that a savvy LLC operator who does self-financing should be able to recover 100% of their money on the outstanding loan balance at the time of repossession.
• More than one lender expressed interest in my prior experiences reselling/re-marketing manufactured home repossessions, which was mentioned in the post above. Time will tell where such discussions may go.
• Other comments have come from retailers (including a multi-location retail operator), some from community pros, and others involved in the Industry at various levels.

Based on this sampling, one may surmise the importance of this subject to the manufactured housing Industry, its lenders and customers.

Please read or re-read the post linked above; understand, discuss and share your views, concerns, comments and most important, your thoughts on solutions. The future of our Industry grows brighter once the pachyderms in the parlor are shown their way out.

Teeing up on INR

2.

George F. Allen has suggested that he will use the time previously slotted for the now scrubbed MHARR and MHI discussion at Phoenix during the upcoming International Networking Roundtable Sept 15-17, 2010 for an open forum on industry issues instead. Based on the initial feedback noted above in the need to improve the exit strategies for lenders and customers, this may be considered as a topic worthy of discussion at INR.

3.

Topic three, all inter-related: Enhanced Marketing, industry image building and increased sales.

Do you want to achieve record results for your operation? Do you want to grow you sales through increased marketing? Do you believe that there ‘ought to be a way’ for the industry to enhance the image and acceptance of manufactured housing?

Then come to INR in Phoenix. Listen to what Joe Adams has to say on this subject, I know I plan to hear his thoughts! Then, toss a coin and decide if you will sit in on my friend, Don Westphal’s important topic of the community series homes, or if you will sit in on my talk on how to generate 150 new calls a week at a single location. I wish I could hear Don’s presentation, but I can’t do two different things in two different rooms at the same time.

There is plenty of star power lined up for Phoenix, starting with Randy Rowe – of Greene Courte Partners fame, State of the Asset Class address, other top presenters, round table discussions and networking/deal making opportunities. Contact George F. Allen at Phone (317) 346-7156; FAX: 346-7158 or email: gfa7156@aol.com to reserve your spot. 200 max attendance. GFA tells me he is nearing the mark! # #

L.A. ‘Tony’ Kovach, MHM – publisher, editor and The Masthead blogger at
Manufactured Home Marketing Sales Management trade journal at
www.MHMarketingSalesManagement.com aka www.MHMSM.com
tony@mhmsm.com
847-730-3692

And remember! Tony also does contract marketing and coaching for industry clients. Marketing that doesn’t ‘cost;’ it pays off on your bottom line. Enough said! # #