Noting that nobody wins if an MH has to be repossessed, Hill said Clayton sold over 34,000 homes last year, resulting in revenue of $3.58 billion, producing a pre-tax profit of $706 million.
He also said one-third of Clayton’s borrowers are Millennials, mostly renters and those with lower credit scores. The next largest percentage are retirees looking to downsize. The prices for the MH start below $50,000, but Hill said the “vast majority sell for under $150,000.”
Speaking at the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholder’s meeting, Berkshire Chairman Warren Buffett, who had praised CEO Kevin Clayton in Feb. during the firestorm of criticism, said only 2.64 percent of Clayton’s MH loans went into default last year, although the company did lose $157 million on 8,444 foreclosures. What percentage of these originated by other lenders was not disclosed.
As MHProNews reported April 29, 2016, Clayton expanded its reach into the site-built home building market by acquiring middle-Tennessee builder Goodall Homes, its second such acquisition following last year’s $50 million purchase of Chafin Communities of Georgia, as reported here Nov. 2, 2015. ##
(Editor’s Note: for a related story on Warren Buffett, click here.)
(Photo credit: knoxnews/Shelley Kimel)
