February is drawing to a fast close and there is so much to consider! For example, imagine, there has been over a million pages viewed this month already on MHProNews by pros like yourself. That's like reading over 31,250 copies of all the pages in a 32 page trade journal cover to cover!
The hottest topics being read by your peers and industry colleagues include the fast approaching 2014 Tunica Show, the Nathan Smith video interview, the Louisville Show recap videos and the Manufactured Home Sales Pros Guide to the LO Comp Rule in our Industry in Focus Report supplied by Andy Gallagher, Executive Director of the West Virginia Manufactured Housing Association.
We have some exceptional articles coming up for March. Finance, legal, marketing, sales, management, motivational, you name it! We'll have the biggest mix and run the gamut of professional topics.
We will also have new interview videos to showcase with key industry pros for your enjoyment and insight.
Toss into the mix a strong call by a manufactured housing CEO for an industry image campaign, and you've got plenty to chew on when the new issue goes live by Saturday night, March 1st.
The Colonial Heights story is hot and MHI's popular annual Congress and Expo are also rising in readership ranks. Visit the home page to see more.
There's a New Sheriff
We will be bringing you a news story in our Daily Business News that will answer the question, how aggressive will the CFPB likely be? Ken Harney at Inman News, writes:
“It’s going to be hardball.”
“Any doubt about that evaporated recently when the agency filed suit in federal district court against a prominent Louisville law firm, Borders & Borders. The CFPB is seeking a return of not only the fees paid to the firm for conducting settlements for consumers referred by affiliates over a five-year period, but also all profits the firm collected through its operation of nine joint ventures with real estate and mortgage partners during that time.”
Ladies and gents, we as an industry have to get it together NOW.
Goalies, Free Throws and Manufactured Housing Advancement.
If you asked me to be a wide receiver, a pitcher, to shoot free throws or play a goalie professionally, I'd have to decline and suggest you look elsewhere.
By a similar token, Danny Ghorbani's career as president and CEO of the Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR) has been focused on independent HUD Code builders. To think Danny is an expert in finance or manufactured home communities or other areas outside of his expertise is no cause for shame.
But what can be a shame is if someone who is NOT an expert or knowledgeable about such issues, inserts himself into an arena with little or inadequate understanding. Problems may arise when that happens. Let's look at some examples.
Here's what others say
Besides industry pros, among our readers are federal and state officials. One emailed in a comment, that read in part as follows: “I hate to think how much damage Danny has done to MH’s reputation in DC.”
An executive emailed me to comment about how often said pro hears about “all the b-tching about Danny” by other industry professionals.
As if to underscore the point made by Tim Williams at 21st Mortgage, a state exec previously said that there were times when a congressional rep or staffer would ask, “Who am I supposed to listen to? MHI or MHARR?”
These are just some examples that should showcase that the issue of mixed messages can be serious.
MH Communities and Danny
Isn't it problematic when Danny turns to Ishbel Dickens and her so-called National Manufactured Home Owners Association (NMHOA) for support? Community owner/operators would know better, because many of them know that Dickens has reportedly called them 'the enemy.' So why didn't Danny call Jenny Hodge at MHI's National Communities Council (NCC), who would know the score and could advise him to take a different tactic? Or why not call Shiela Dey, who certainly deals with the effects of Dicken's group on a routine basis?
Danny may not be aware that we have a pro-industry home owners association, under the aegis of SACU, the Factory Built Owners of America. Why not turn to them, instead of Dicken's and NMHOA?
But Danny defends his action of calling on Ishbel for support, so please, show me where Dicken's is providing any notice of change from her positions regarding our industry's MHC business owners?
MH Lending and Danny
Isn't the same true in the highly sensitive realms of finance? Does Danny really think he can jump into that arena, and hold meetings with key DC people, without years of experience and expert knowledge?
When MHI goes into those finance related meetings with veteran lenders, even those seasoned experts take their legal counsel!
And don't these and other recent moves by MHARR's CEO all contradict the 'production' and 'post production' model Ghorbani has espoused for years? Or did it finally dawn on Danny that the rest of the industry's producers were not about to join him?
There are industry voices who say that when Danny separated from MHI many years ago, he never got over it. If that's so, does the past taint his.jpg)
actions? Does it drive them?
Spotlight for the Cure
One can respectfully disagree with Danny, critique his published missives and still respect MHARR members.
MHARR members need MHI members to finance their homes, supply their builders and sell their products. MHI members want those MHARR members as customers. MHI and MHARR members work side by side at Tunica or Louisville. The board members of MHARR and MHI have shown they can get along just fine.
As a number of MHARR members know, I make it a point to personally make it clear it is not them or their association that concerns us. We get along just fine with them and with anyone else who wants to get along and who desires to see our industry advance.
MHARR clearly has the right to have whomever it wants as their CEO. As a trade publisher, we are asking the questions, such as, is the man at the helm of MHARR doing you good or harm?
2 Years of Listening…
For a couple of years, after we launched what we now call MHProNews.com, Danny Ghorbani would call many times a month. I listened for hours every month to his philosophy and world view. I took notes extensively, saved the documents he sent me, saved those emails, etc.. We know Danny well.
During that time, Danny provided me with his world view in great detail. He thanked me many times privately – and once or twice, publicly – for showing MHARR news as well as MHI news.
Danny also pushed me to do critical, objective and 'independent' analysis of MH Issues. He told me that was necessary for our industry to advance. Okay, that was good advice.
Once we started to do so, when the analysis did not favor him, what did Danny do? Isn't it obvious that he turned hard? See the document download of his threat of a legal action – found at the end of this article:
Now think about the above for a few moments. If that is how Danny behaves with a person that is friendly to the industry, imagine how he might be with a regulator who may have his or her arms folded?
Then, go back to those comments above from a regulator, or how about this one:
“I too spent years trying to get Danny to cooperate with MHI on issues I assumed were in their mutual interest. This would usually result in a blistering MHARR circular accusing…all manner of illegal acts and MHI of “going along to get along.” The guy is just impossible.”
Even a friend of Danny's, said that during some MHCC meetings, he would at times be “screaming” at Danny.
Whether Danny cooperates with MHI – or not – or whether Danny accomplishes anything for the industry – or not – we will continue to follow the fruits of his labors as warranted. If Danny does something great, we'd be happy to show case it. But if all he does is gripe and moan about what others do or don't do…
…well, when pointing a finger at someone else, that means there are three pointing right back at you, right?
As a closing point, Danny does not respond to our invites to answer questions or show his list of recent accomplishments. That is true even when a prominent MHARR member refers us to Danny for comments. Does the president of MHARR not have to answer to his own members?
Your comments are welcome, on or off the record. They can be on this topic or others of industry interest. If you are submitting an OpEd or Letter to the Editor for publication, please make that clear in your subject line, thank you.
Here's to the days when we can learn to get along well enough internally so that we can all pull together better and thus grow our businesses anew. As two heads ups, HUD is said to be ready to appoint a program director and another U.S. Senator has signed onto S 1828. More in Congress will follow.
Please check out these recent reports, linked below. ##
L. A. 'Tony' Kovach
ManufacturedHomeLivingNews.com | MHProNews.com |
Business and Public Marketing & Ads: B2B | B2C
Websites, Contract Marketing & Sales Training, Consulting, Speaking:
MHC-MD.com | LATonyKovach.com | Office 863-213-4090
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