Let’s look at something (1) national in scope that will be surprising to many, and then push on to (2) Manufactured Housing’s own “self-evident” truths.
1) Beginning with a quote:
QUESTION: Which President said the following? (HINT: It was during his Second Inaugural Address.)
“. . . each time we gather to inaugurate a president, we bear witness to the enduring strength of our Constitution.
“What makes us exceptional, what makes us America is our allegiance to an idea articulated in a declaration . . . We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, and among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
“The patriots of 1776 did not fight to replace the tyranny of a king with the privileges of a few, or the rule of a mob. They gave to us a republic, a government of, and by, and for the people. Entrusting each generation to keep safe our founding creed . . .”
Beautiful words, aren’t they? Who comes to mind: Abraham Lincoln? Teddy Roosevelt? Ronald Reagan?
Actually, it’s none of the above.
ANSWER: Barack Obama. (End of quoted section, italics and bold added. Source, RedState email).
This was too surprising to pass up! We will revisit the above another time. Now, let’s look at something equally surprising to many or most, even among those in our factory-built home industry.
It is time to open the eyes of millions to the realities and potential
of modern manufactured homes. Image credit: 123RF.
2) What are the Self-Evident Truths for Manufactured Housing?
Can we change the image? Yes! And the timing is good. With the U.S. (indeed, much of the globe…) in a growing need for quality affordable housing, in theory, our industry ought to be well positioned for the future.
Given the needs, our industry’s appeal could easily cross all party lines. Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians and Independents who have a clear picture of the issues should all favor the proper use of modern manufactured homes. Lobbying and zoning efforts would be enhanced with a better image/education too.
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MHEC (Manufactured Housing Executives Committee – made up of roughly 53 state/community MH associations)
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MHARR (Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform)
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MHI’s Supplier’s Division
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a number of businesses and professionals…
…have all expressed some level of stated interest in an industry public image/education campaign effort.
Listening to an industry leader on Monday, I heard this:
“Tony, 5 years ago, almost no one was talking about doing a campaign in manufactured housing to improve the image and educate potential home buyers to our advantages. Today, it is being discussed by professionals, companies and some associations, who want to see something happen in their market.”
We should also make the point that American Land Lease – which is in the process of being integrated into SUN Communities through a 1.3 billion dollar purchase agreement – is an example of a firm that made the investment in improving their image in the market place and with their residents. Don’t you think that may have helped increase occupancy – and the value – of their properties?
Image and Education are crucial for manufactured housing to reach its potential. This is self-evident. That it works and ‘pays’ is equally clear!
3) Frustrated?
Some are frustrated that we’ve not made more progress on such self-evident needs. As the poster below suggests, slow progress is still progress. We’ve seen previous naysayers now pick up the call to action too. There is a growing dialogue on such subjects, and that’s healthy.
Beyond words, action!
Speaking for our team, we made the decision over a year ago to provide a model for what the industry needs in image and education, based upon an understanding of what home shoppers are looking for, gleaned from years of work at the retail and community levels.
Real Comments from Real People who are seeing MH in a New Light
Can we successfully educate the public? Of course! Here are 4 recent comments – among thousands in the last 12 months – from readers and those watching videos on our public-focused website. Quotes are in brown.
1.
The info really opened my eyes about manufactured home.
The next three comments from pros/investor types researching the MH field:
2.
I (now) understand the value of manufactured homes for customers looking for an affordable solution to buying a home. I also understand the added value of a manufactured home over a traditional build… Educating the potential home buyer and personally showing the features, benefits and low maintenance I believe would be a huge factor in selling manufactured homes…
3.
I reviewed the video’s, the various websites…That being said, the more I’ve researched, the more excited I’ve became about the product (i.e…manufactured homes), and the relevance in the marketplace! As I previously mentioned, I owned 10+ investment properties, so I’m somewhat familiar with the housing industry, and I believe (like you) that in this economy; manufactured homes will become more & more popular because of the price point (from entry level to higher end), overall quality, and investment. I also believe this product will become very popular with the “baby boomers” too (like myself).
4.
After initial review of the “manufactured home industry”, and considering our economy, I absolutely believe that this “product” is relevant in the marketplace…
These comments are not from industry pros, but those outside of our industry!
They came after people who saw at least the 3 following linked articles and videos.
At least the first half of the video below:
…plus these two videos/articles as well.
Naturally, seeing or reading more helps. The fact that modern MH can appeal to millionaires helps shatter the ‘trailer’ stereotype in the sense that we must have a quality home if the rich and famous think our homes are “trendy.” Others suddenly sit up and take notice.
Ohio and IN association’s Community Page are among the corporations like UMH.com and a growing number of others use RSS feeds and links to our sites. Massachusetts’ Manufactured Housing Association recently added an RSS feed to MHProNews.
The above show that the start of image building and education are as easy as RSS! Make sure your team mates and members know these links and share them!
We can do (and discuss) more, later. ##
