Every week, thousands of manufactured housing professionals scan their news to see if there is any hope for the return of outside chattel lending for the manufactured housing industry.
I received this message the other day from a senior VP for a manufactured housing financing operation. What this person supplied – for your reading enjoyment below – were actual quotations from manufactured housing community operators, managers and their staff.
The first sentence is lightly edited; the rest are exactly as he sent it:
A financed manufactured home has its owner as the customer of the park, that is, until it becomes a repo, then the bank becomes the customer of the park.
Actual quotes:
We want you to put a dormer on this home. We like dormers and won’t allow a sale until your home has one.
Oh, Mr. Bank, your customer is 11 months past due on lot rent owed us – Please send a check now. As an accommodation we will waive the late charges.
What do you mean, Mr. Bank – $240.00 a month is not too much to mow the yard around your repo. We do it weekly for you. (Yard was about 25 square feet)
Mr. Bank, we just spent $10,000 having this home removed. We are willing to split the bill with you. Please let us know when we can expect a check. (We had a loan balance of $17,000.)
So, Mr. Bank. I know we have had this repo for sale for almost 2 years. It needs about $3500.00 if fix up and repairs before we can get a decent price.
Mr. Bank, I am aware that we guaranteed $10,000 on this loan because you over advanced. Since you owe us $12,000 in lot rent and some other expenses, we believe this is negated. Oh and by the way, we offered the new buyer 6 months free lot rent so you owe us and additional $3600. (Bank will lose over $25,000 on a flawless home.)
Mr. Bank, just to help you out, we will buy this repo for $1000.00. (Home was worth at least $9,000.)
I don’t understand, Mr. Bank; of course there was a $15,000 down payment. We gave you a copy of their personal check. The fact the borrower said they paid nothing down and the check never cleared the bank is irrelevant.
Mr. Bank, we had a serious buyer on your repo. Do you realize there are no light bulbs in the chandelier? The buyer has moved on.
Mr. Bank, we closed the sale of your home yesterday. It was discovered that the number 3 (the address on the side of the home) of the home’s address has lost its reflectiveness. This must be fixed right away.
Ok, Mr. Bank, your guys are here to remove your repo that we have been trying to sell for over a year. You are 7 days past due for lot rent. We are stopping the move until it’s paid.
Mr. Bank, the steps to this repo are too steep. I know we sold it that way, but we want it corrected before we re-sell it.
Bank: Your bill of sale indicates this home had central air. Park: What air conditioning? Too bad. I guess it didn’t. We thought it did.
Bank talking to park: I notice we never get a credit for the one month of lot rent that you collect up front from your residents. If you are wanting us to pay lot rent, wouldn’t it only be fair to give us credit for it. Park: Dunno – Er, ah, administrative fees.
End of quotes.
We have news items, blog posts, interviews and articles that tell the story of why chattel financing has become tougher in the years since the Conseco meltdown. These quotations are certainly not the only issues that relate to the challenges that manufactured housing financing has, notably chattel financing for manufactured homes.
But these quotes above do tell a story, don’t they?
Let’s put that Native American fable quote to work, and walk a mile in the other person’s moccasins for a few minutes. Think about your being the banker, or the investor, and you’re hearing those stories told to you.
As an industry, we have to be able to work successfully with other industry segments. If you are looking for news about the return of manufactured housing chattel financing to communities, then manufactured housing communities have to be able to see past the immediate repossession. They have to see things through the eyes of that lender.
We can’t change what has happened in the past. But if we want to change our future, we better start treating customers, lenders and all segments of the manufactured housing industry fairly. If we want to get past the ‘trailer guy’ image, and see our ‘mobile home parks’ be thought of as manufactured housing communities, or simply as communities, developments and subdivisions, then we have to think of the big picture.
We have to think, how can we work in a way that let’s everyone win?
If we begin with the end in mind and we think ‘win-win,’ then the industry will begin to grow and develop again.
By the way, when you read news stories about any issue, odds are you can read it right here at www.MHMarketingSalesManagement.com also known as www.MHMSM.com. Be it our daily News at Noon, or special reports exclusively from our Industry In Focus reporter Eric Miller, be it podcast or written, you will find it here. Thank you for reading and also for listening! # #
PLUS
Congressional Hearing on Federal Role in Housing Finance – Report And Analysis
Finance Delays Continue as Consumers and Industry Suffer
Regulators Show They Are Insensitive and Out of Touch
Congressional Hearing On FHA-Insured Loans
Congressional Hearing on Federal Role in Housing Finance – Report And Analysis
An MHMSM.com INdustry in Focus Exclusive Interview Report with industry consultant and once interim-president of MHI, DICK ERNST, Part Two
