The Masthead

The human body needs oxygen. Cut oxygen off, and the body suffers, then dies.

Imagine for a few moments how you would respond if the local city or county were to come to your businesses location. An official has a legal notice in hand and serves it to you. They are shutting your location down, due to a change in the law. If that happened, you would likely react vigorously! You might organize your:

• Suppliers
• Employees and contractors
• Customers
• Family, friends and associates

asking each to stand and support you in having the shut down notice lifted. You would argue your case to the powers that be. You might call your association, or hire an attorney for support. You may try to make the case to some of your business associates and customers as to why this is in their best interests that your manufactured home business location not be shut down.

Our manufactured home shipments are thankfully rising nationally, so why am I talking about a shut down? To dramatize a point, that the time to organize and act on a time sensitive issue is now! Because the threat to your enterprise may be almost as harmful as the example above. Here's why.

The 'oxygen' supply for many businesses is financing. Cut it off, and it many may as well pad lock the business. But what if you just cut financing off by 1/3, 1/2 or a little more? Wouldn't it be a slow, oxygen deprived death for many businesses if it happened that way?

I know, I know how weary people are about even hearing the names of Dodd-Frank and the SAFE Act. But we finally have a piece of legislation in HR 3849 that could make a difference in making Dodd-Frank and SAFE livable for the industry lenders – especially chattel lenders – who make the loans! HR 3849 will also make it easier for manufactured home retailers and communities too.

If you are a manufactured home retailer or community operator you can't afford NOT to engage your U.S. Congressman and Senators on this vital issue!

And like the shut down notice example above, you should line up the support of those who you know that can help you in this effort.

Contact your business peers who are not politically engaged, and let them know how important this issue is for them. Talk to your employees, and show them how easy it is to call or email their U.S. Congressman and Senators (find yours at the link to the left).

Get your family, friends customers and associates to sound off too!

Let me close on the note of manufactured home retail or MH Community "customers."

Imagine for a moment that you sold someone a home in the last year or two. You know that Dodd-Frank and SAFE – if un-amended – will harm their homes value, or even their ability to access financing. If you were the customer, wouldn't you want to know so you could act by calling and/or writing your Congressman and Senators? Of course! And isn't it possible that some would be miffed if they were not told?

Use this following link to a separate webpage on a manufactured home owner oriented website to advise your residents and customers that they need to act. Take five, and get familiar with that MH home owners webpage, and then share it with your customers. A simple email with a link to 'check this out, because it is important to you' might be just the ticket to getting numbers of home owners engaged on this subject.

Don't look back and say, coulda, woulda, shoulda.

Under the Alerts and Resources link on our MHProNews.com home page, here is your contact list for Congress and the Senate and other elected officials. For your own sake, please pick up the phone, or send an email with this link on HR 3849. Do it today, now if you can. By getting HR 3849 passed, the business or job that you save may be your own. Financing is the Industry's oxygen supply. Please, work to protect it.

As a footnote, Mississippi and Oklahoma have their entire congressional delegations on board! If they can do it, you can too.Kudos to those who made that happen, and to all who have their Congressman as a co-sponsor to HR 3849. You get yours done. I have mine done. Together, we can do this. ##

Post by
L. A. 'Tony' Kovach
www.MHProNews.com
www.MHMarketingSalesManagement.com or www.MHMSM.com
Innovation – Information – Inspiration for Industry Professionals

Office – 815-270-0500
latonyk@gmail.com or tony@mhmsm.com

http://LATonyKovach.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/latonykovach

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Whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you're right. – Henry Ford

One of the great parts about last week's Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) 2012 Congress and Expo or the Louisville, Tulsa and other manufactured housing shows and events this year has been the upbeat mood among most attendees and exhibitors. I'm seeing a group of 'young lions' as well as seasoned veterans that are ready to take their businesses to the next level. They know the problems, and are turning lemons into lemonade. Many know that problems are opportunities in disguise. Sometimes I hear the term 'survival of the fittest' at such meetings too.

In short, these meetings are routinely attended by professionals who are focused on growing their business and profits.

In the last year of the now sadly defunct Manufactured Home Merchandiser magazine, Marty Lavin and I had 'dueling columns' (FYI, Marty and I get along fine! We see somethings similarly, others differently, and that's what makes the world go round). Marty brilliantly spelling out why the industry was doomed in his column, and I replied with 'Two Words' as to why the Industry was going to survive and then prosper. We need a healthy discussion on key industry issues, and written perspectives that agree, disagree or do both from what you read here are welcome for our Industry Voices Guest Column.

What I will say today is that the future – the Road Ahead – is entirely in our hands. That means YOUR hands and that of your staff, team, colleague and peers.

We've made it very easy for Industry pros to contact their Congressman and Senators regarding the technical fixes needed for SAFE and Dodd-Frank to not be a job and a business killer for manufactured housing. I take my own medicine. I went to my Congressman's office, and did the follow up with staff. My Congressman is on board, how about yours? Go to the home page, put your mouse over the Alerts and Resources tab and under Alerts go to HR 3849. We made it as easy as possible. Send the document or email the link. Put your cover note with it. Follow up. One gent I know has dug in, lent his time and their entire state's congressional representatives are committed to being on board, Rs and Ds alike!

This type of personal advocacy can and will make a difference. Then see the new resource described in the Cutting Edge blog post today, and please set that wheel in motion too. All together, this can work.

New Manufactured Home Shipments are rising at double digits nationally. Some are saying we could hit 60,000 to 65,000 shipments this year. When we use Ron Thomas' idea of 50,000 shipments being our Industry's 'new base line,' we can see that we are moving in a better direction! But with 60% of all sales new MH sales being chattel, we need to be pro-active and protect chattel financing with HR 3849.

I'm working on my Senators to do a Senate version of the bill, please do the same. FYI, word has it that there are some Democratic Senators in play in favor of the bill. There are also Republican Senators who have said, get a Democrat to sign on, and we will too. Help others see the point.

The Road Ahead is in our hands.

The demographic numbers crunchers tell us that with lower incomes, growing population and a host of other factors, the Manufactured Housing Industry is well poised for the future. The rising shipment numbers suggest the same. I truly believe our Industry's best days can lay ahead of us! But we have to do the common sense things, even if they aren't the most fun. Just Do It. The revisions are good for manufactured home owners, home owners, good for businesses, it is a win-win. The effort will be worth it. # #

Post by
L. A. 'Tony' Kovach
www.MHProNews.com
www.MHMarketingSalesManagement.com or www.MHMSM.com
Innovation – Information – Inspiration for Industry Professionals

Office – 815-270-0500
latonyk@gmail.com or tony@mhmsm.com

http://LATonyKovach.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/latonykovach

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Whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you're right. – Henry Ford

David Booth's lengthy tenure at the head of Clayton Homes retail division came to an official close at the 2012 Tunica Manufactured Housing Show. David demurred a photo op, and simply expressed looking forward to a well earned retirement. Kevin Clayton has personally taken over those duties. For those who wonder how that is possible – given all of Kevin's other hats – one must look to the structure of Clayton's retail division. With seasoned, capable leaders in key leadership roles in retail, Kevin has an enviable advantage.

It is said that Warren Buffett personally gave the nod to this new arrangement regarding Kevin Clayton's retail responsibilities. Buffett's belief in Kevin is well known, but what is also behind this is a tip of the hat to those executives in key retail roles that now report directly to Mr. Clayton.

Some state executives mention the fact that the corporate culture of Clayton Homes is important to their state's association. Clayton Homes has a policy of support and positive engagement in association activities. The significance of this policy is vital to many. A key reason why follows.

Clayton does not require that their manufactured home retail locations stock only homes produced by one of the Berkshire-Hathaway owned HUD Code or modular factories. In fact, a Clayton retail general manager is encouraged to look at and buy inventory from other manufacturers that he (or she) thinks best for their store's market. The reasons for this policy are numerous, and perhaps we will look at it in another column. Suffice it to say for now to say that the net result is that in some states, 45-70% of all HUD label fees paid to a given state association come from homes sold by a Berkshire-Hathaway owned factory, or by another manufacturer through a Clayton Homes retail center.

Associations of necessity must work with members of both the Democrat and Republican parties. Bi-partisan engagement is a by word at national, state, communities and manufacturing associations alike. You may be a member of one party or the other, or perhaps like myself, you are an independent. You may completely favor one party's platforms and agendas over another, the 'straight ticket' type of approach. But as noted, associations must be able to work with both major parties in order to get their work done on our Industry's behalf at the state and/or national level.

Warren Buffett is a rather public supporter and buddy of President Barack Obama. Buffett's Berkshire-Hathaway owns Clayton and a number of other manufacturing, lending, retail and supply elements of manufactured and modular homes. So does Buffett ever ask for help from the president and his party on an issue like "Preserving Access to Manufactured Housing" - HR 3849, which would favorably amend portions of the SAFE Act and Dodd-Frank – or not?

Interesting question, isn't it?

But the Buffett-Obama-HR 3849 issue may not be as cut and dried as one might think at first glance.

The presidential re-election campaign's fund-raising is not yet at levels that were expected. So the campaign advised Democrats in Congress not to count on it for their re-election efforts. President Obama's 3.6 trillion dollar 2013 budget was unanimously defeated – 414 – 0 – in a stunningly bi-partisan way in the House of Representatives last month. Imagine, not even Nancy Pelosi voted for the Obama budget! Do you think there is any chance that no money for their own campaigns had anything to do with total lack of Democratic support in the House for the president's budget? How would that type of reality and the triangulation based upon it impact the timing of a possible Buffett-Obama-HR 3849 request?

Sometimes what we are left with are facts and questions.

What we do know is that we have to do our personal part in contacting our Congressman and U.S. Senators to get HR 3849 supported and passed. After contacts in DC and later, my Congressman is on board. How about yours?

Segueing back to Clayton, what we know is that their company offers us many important lessons and potential insights. Often when I greet a Clayton team member, asking how things are going, I hear the upbeat reply "Living the Dream!"

The Clayton culture seems to cultivate a winning esprit de corps, a positive 'can do' attitude and as noted above, a pro-association involvement. That the company has been profitable in spite of macro-economic challenges is another factor we should note as worthy of emulation.

Depending on when you read this blog post, the Manufactured Housing Institute's (MHI) 2012 Congress at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas will be looming, underway or over. If tradition holds, some from the Berkshire-Hathaway manufacturing, finance and other elements will be there. Manufactured housing communities will be strongly represented at Congress, as the National Communities Council (NCC) will be meeting there as well. Other suppliers, insurers, retailers, lenders and vendors as well as association executives from coast to coast will be there too. I plan to be there, and may well share a thought or two or any industry news of note after the event in an upcoming blog post. ##

Alert! NOTICE! If YOU and YOUR associates have not yet contacted your U.S. Congressional Representative and Senators in support of HR 3849, please go to this link.

If you have customers who own manufactured homes, do them and yourself a favor: provide them with this link, so that they can contact their Congressional representatives too. ##

As I write this, after returning home via Amtrack's "City of New Orleans", the 2012 Tunica Manufactured Housing Show is now history. 1178 attendees, 331 suppliers and 460 manufacturers came; including owners, executives, managers and staff attended, as of 9:54 AM on Friday March 30, 2012. Manufactured housing state executives, retailers, community operators, installers, transporters, lenders, insurance and other professionals came.

Get a snap shot of what brought them into Harrah's Convention Center in the pages that follow. The homes were displayed outdoors with over 80 homes from some 23 builders, and you will see them all soon in part two of this exciting double-feature.

The new April 2012 Feature Articles are ready, and here is this month's line up for professionals!