True Lies. Stated, Unstated and Obscured Agendas. David Finney–Bild Media and ex-21st Mortgage Corp plus RHP Properties-Dylon Olson Follow Ups; with Sunday Weekly MHVille Headlines Review
In a post that is dated 8.19.2021 – almost exactly 3 years ago – Jim Ayotte of the Florida Manufactured Housing Association aptly said that: “It’s not rocket science.” “The FMHA press release was issued to elevate Florida’s worsening housing affordability problem, to make the case that factory-built housing needs to be part of the solution…” Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) FMHA affiliate executive Ayotte admitted that things are getting worse. As thousands of MHVille pros may agree, manufactured homes should be part of the solution to the affordable housing crisis. But the fact that things were deteriorating instead of improving are akin to prior statements by Ayotte’s fellow Manufactured Housing Executives Committee (MHEC) members and MHI affiliate association executives Amy Bliss and Mary Gaiski similarly made. That FMHA release which upstaged the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) that Ayotte referenced is linked here. Why is it that others in MHVille trade media missed these obvious statements, related facts, and implications? It may be summed up in the headline remark of stated, unstated, and obscured agendas.
Google’s Gemini defined True Lies in part like this:
Deceiving someone by telling the truth
This is also known as paltering and is considered the same as intentional lying.”
This problematic method of deception occurs all too often in politics, but per researchers, it is apparently true in business and other aspects of living too. Someone misleads, or attempts to misled, their audience by making a factually accurate remark that may divert attention from unstated but significant realities. The pitch of those using these tactics often involves something that sounds good to the listener, but which is unlikely to actually be honored. The intention, says the America Psychological Association (APA) of a true lie is to deceive. Quoting the APA:
True Lies: People Who Lie Via Telling Truth Viewed Harshly, Study Finds”
The ability to deceive someone by telling the truth is not only possible, it has a name — paltering — it’s common in negotiations and those who palter can do serious harm to their reputations, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.
“To date, research has primarily focused on two types of deception: Lying by commission — the active use of false statements — and lying by omission — the passive act of misleading by failing to disclose relevant information,” said lead author Todd Rogers, PhD, of Harvard University. “In this study, we make a novel contribution to the deception literature by identifying a third, and common, form of deception. Rather than misstating facts or failing to provide information, paltering involves actively making truthful statements to create a mistaken impression.”
In order to properly navigate our society today, the case can be made that adults and mature teens should be keenly aware of true lies, paltering, deception and misdirection as some of the ways that people try to manipulate others.
Part I
1) Among the reports in the headlines for the week in review in Part II is one that includes David Finney of Bild Media. Finney laid out some fascinating statements about manufactured home lending and lenders. The specifics are in the report below for Friday 8.16.2024. As a part of a stated and announced follow up in that article, the following email was sent to Finney.
from:
L. A. Tony Kovach for MHProNews
to:
David Finney @bildmedia
date:
Aug 16, 2024, 1:14 PM
subject:
David Finney, media outreach
David,
As you may know, MHProNews is the largest known and most read trade media serving the manufactured home industry. Your marketing item on manufactured homes was brought to my attention. There are some areas of concern. We’ve done a report, linked below.
MHProNews is hereby offering you an opportunity to respond. If you agree to provide an on the record response, we will send you a list of questions that will flesh out the issues that are raised in the report.
You can reply to this message, and put DBN in the headline to help me spot your response. Thanks.
L. A. “Tony”
…
L. A. “Tony” Kovach
Managing Member
LifeStyle Factory Homes, LLC
See Part III (the traditional Sunday Postscript) for more related to that message and Finney.
2) With respect to RHP Properties, MHI, and the issues raised by resident-organizer Dylan Olson, MHProNews received a follow up from Olson and another party involved. They are reportedly planning an effort to get public officials involved. Stay tuned for more, but the initial messages exchanged between those protesting RHP Property residents and MHProNews/MHLivingNews is potentially significant.
3) Several of the reports that follow involve what could be deemed to include “true lies,” paltering, deception and misdirection expressed by others. These vexing practices need to be reported by media, because it is part of the well-researched realities of the 21st century.
4) For those who expose true lies, paltering, deception and misdirection it is no surprise that those so exposed and their cronies may want to dis on the messenger(s). But for centuries, people have used such methods to misled others, particularly the trusting and those who may bring some benefit to those who attempt to misled or deceive.
Not only is manufactured housing underperforming during an affordable housing crisis, but America itself is arguably underperforming too. The vast majority of Americans believe that the nation is on the wrong track. According to Real Clear Politics (RCP) on 8.17.2024.
That would normally be a death-knell data point for essentially an incumbent’s running mate taking over her party’s nomination about 80 days out from November 5, 2024, and the early voting that occurs in some states as soon as September. But as some pundits have observed, there are large numbers of people who vote habitually for a party instead of a person. Some people vote on impressions, on things like “hope” and “change” without digging more deeply into the information behind the claims that could reveal a person’s, parties’, or organization’s claim to be little more than an insincere and untrustworthy sales pitch.
Not many would think it wise to make an arsonist the community fire chief. By analogy, no one should think that a key proverbial economic and political arsonist of America should be made the national fire chief.
To learn more about Finney, as well as others in MHVille linked to Clayton-world and Clayton- and insider-dominated MHI, see Part III.
With no further adieu, here are the headlines for the week that was from 8.11 to 8.18.2024.
According to the Wisdom Center at the University of Chicago: “Socrates is considered a paragon of wisdom to this day, even though he didn’t consider himself wise. When the Pythia at the Oracle of Delphi said that no one was wiser than Socrates, it only motivated him to engage even more in philosophical debate. This consciousness of his own ignorance propelled him to test the word of the Oracle.” Being willing to learn is useful.
1) As promised above, Finney’s LinkedIn profile says the following. “David Finney is the owner and founder of Bild Media, a digital ad agency for the manufactured home industry.” It also says: “Prior to founding Bild Media, David spent ten years at 21st Mortgage in servicing, marketing, and business development.”
2) That was not obviously disclosed in his emailed report on manufactured home loans, linked above. Others who have had directly ties to Clayton Homes, 21st Mortgage Corp, or the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) often end up in positions of apparent influence where some may be unaware of their previous role. Those individuals at Clayton/21st, for instance, are taught Warren Buffett’s moat methods. Who says? Kevin Clayton and Warren Buffett, among others.
3) Consider these ex-Berkshire owned brands in MHVille personalities.
Chris Nicely, previously with Clayton, then with Clayton supported Next Step, and now with MHI ‘award-winner’ ManufacturedHomes.com. It is fair to say that MHI does not hand out awards to those known to critique their organization. From Nicely’s LinkedIn profile on 8.17.2024 are these remarks, usually authored by the person who is profiled: “Chris Nicely, president of ManufacturedHomes.com and ModularHomes.com…”
Nicely’s profile also says: “Previously as CEO of Next Step Homes…”
Also about Nicely: “In 2011, Chris began an active practice as a consultant for companies like Shaw Flooring, Clayton Homes, ARC, Protomet, Southeast Community Owners, and a variety of retailers and community operators throughout the country. As former vice president of marketing for Clayton Homes…”
That may sound terrific, until someone digs into the history of Clayton Homes, and what has occurred in the manufactured housing industry since Warren Buffett-led Berkshire began to buy up aspects of the manufactured home industry. The industry’s production and the number of producers and retailers are all SMALLER today, some 22 years after Buffett’s big stake in Oakwood Homes, and 21 years since buying Clayton Homes, than it was the year of those investments by Berkshire.
5) One must keep in mind that 21st Mortgage Corporation is a sister company to Clayton Homes and has been shown as being under the Clayton Homes umbrella in Berkshire literature. While Buffett likes to project what has been called a ‘folksy’ ambiance, the terms crocodiles and piranhas each describe man-eating – potentially lethal – predators. Don’t cross the predators is perhaps a clear, though not directly stated message.
7) Now, look back at Finney, Nicely, and Hull. Or for that matter, Kevin Clayton, Tim Williams, or Tom Hodges. All are apparently capable of donning that nice guy persona. But isn’t that also what Buffett cultivates?
10) That’s not to say or imply that everyone that has ever worked for Clayton, 21st, Berkshire, or MHI is automatically tainted, problematic, or in some way evil. For instance, Danny Ghorbani is ex-MHI. The most successful non-MHI aligned trade group in the industry’s history is arguably the Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR). Some people can be in an organization, see what is problematic and what the potential might be, and then chart a course to drive achievement rather than industry sabotage from within.
11) There is more that could be said about Heinemann. Or Finney. Or Nicely, Hull, Robinson, and others. Fair to say that there are manufactured home industry insiders, there are lieutenants, and there are outsiders. Note there is no ‘conspiracy theory’ presented here. Only a series of facts and evidence. Those fact and evidence may cause someone to connect various dots, or not. But facts are what they are.
12) Several of those insiders seem to have learned the ‘magic’ of paltering, posturing, true lies, deception and misdirection. They say things that sound fine. They may offer razzle dazzle with a power point, or a nice-looking video or website. But what must be place routinely in front of all such ‘leaders’ and ‘insiders’ is the stark reality of the hardcore statistics! Manufactured housing has been almost exclusively on the downhill slide since Buffett-led Berkshire directly entered the industry. Oh, those pesky facts!
13) Others in the Clayton-backed-MHI insiders orbit may apparently avoid, downplay, or avoid mention of those historic achievements. MHARR, MHProNews, MHLivingNews, and those that are sincerely growth minded like to recall those glory days without ignoring what needed to be corrected during that era.
14) There are all sorts of so-called experts and service providers in manufactured housing. Many have clear and obvious ties that some minutes of research on MHProNews/MHLivingNews may reveal them to be less than effective at their claimed achievements in MHVille when accomplishments are measured not by awards handed to each other by insiders, but rather by the all-important metric of total industry performance. Common sense should tell us that if MHVillage, ManufacturedHomes.com, MHI, SECO, George Allen, et al in that orbit are so great, then why is the manufactured home industry still underperforming during an affordable housing crisis? After years and years of self-proclaimed (or patting each other on the back) greatness, why is manufactured housing still not back to the level when Buffett entered the industry in 2002 and 2003?
15) It can’t be shown too often. Here below is the industry’s production history since 1995 to 2023. Above in Part III #12 is the industry’s history of production throughout the 2oth century and for most of the 21st. Back in 1998, “old” Champion and “old” Fleetwood alone outperformed all of the manufactured housing industry production in most of the Berkshire-era of the industry’s history.
16) While others talk about great looking videos, or how many clicks, or how fine a website that they have, look at the data from production in manufactured housing as the cold, hard reality check for what is real vs. what is smoke, however pleasant smelling it may be to some (say, what are the smoking over there, anyway?). What follows is reality.
Year
New Manufactured Home Production
1995
344,930
1996
363,345
1997
353,686
1998
373,143
1999
348,075
2000
250,366
2001
193,120
2002
165,489
2003
130,815
2004
130,748
2005
146,881
2006
117,373
2007
95,752
2008
81,457
2009
49,683
2010
50,056
2011
51,618
2012
54,881
2013
60,228
2014
64,334
2015
70,544
2016
81,136
2017
92,902
2018
96,555
2019
94,615
2020
94,390
2021
105,772
2022
112,882
2023
89,169
17) 2002-2003 are when Buffett directly entered MHVille. The industry was underperforming already, but it has stayed low ever since. Those years, 2002 and 2003 looked like this.
2002 = 165,489
2003 = 130,815
Due in part to Katrina to 2005, the industry experienced a brief rise in production to 146,881. But in no year since 2005 has the industry surpassed what it did in 2002 and 2003. Even Clayton Homes has fewer retail centers today, per their own data, than it did in 2011.
18) Manufactured housing retail centers are dramatically lower than they were in 2000. Kevin Clayton has said as much to Congress.
19) The number of land-lease communities are in decline. If the industry is improving so much, and if MHI corporate and staff leaders are so great, then why can’t they get the industry back to its glory days? Especially when ex-MHI president and CEO Richard “Dick” Jennison, apparently having been advised by Tim Williams/21st, said that the industry could produce 500,000 new homes a year?
20) Speaking of True Lies, Jennison had a point. “We need to remove the shackles on our industry…” he said. It isn’t exactly the shackles he was talking about that is the problem.
21) Jim Ayotte/FMHA had a point. “It’s not rocket science.” But as Gemini said after doing a quick study of manufactured housing, to achieve that growth, the industry needs to get enforced the enhanced preemption provision of the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 2000.
22) It’s not rocket science. More competitive lending. Routine enforcement of the MHIA and its enhanced preemption provision.
Solutions must be inherently affordable. Decades of subsidies for costly housing have never solved the affordability crisis and never will. | By L. A. “Tony” Kovach https://t.co/nAPLMIgotU
Even if MHI’s ‘leaders’ copied the linked items above and below completely, and failed to give an ounce of credit to the writer, they would arguably be doing the industry a huge favor if they made that their authentic instead of postured focus.
23) MHI leaders can’t have it both ways. They can’t be these geniuses that win awards and hand them out to others and then fail to do what is obviously necessary for the industry to grow to record levels. It isn’t rocket science. But it may be that MHI leaders are engaged in “true lies” to mislead the industry while the insiders steadily consolidate the industry for their own perceived benefit. When their own insiders, in their own investor relations pitch decks say that the industry is fragmented and that they want to consolidate the business, what more evidence does antitrust officials need anyway?
Notice: based upon the information in the report linked above, Republican Party Congressional members have put federal agencies on notice. They want to see federal laws enforced by various agencies as intended, not more, not less. Hypothetically, with some projecting a Trump-Vance victory in November and marginal increases in the Republican-held seats in the House and Senate, that could mean action vs. inaction. On the border and other issues, Trump has said “enforce the law.” That’s the mantra MHARR has had too. On energy, Trump has said “drill baby drill” and that he wants to see more energy production to drive down costs. A similar mantra of build-baby-build appears to be developing in Trump-Vance world. Per Real Clear Politics is the following. Stay tuned. Vote early and bank your vote and make sure your circle of family, friends, and colleagues gets properly informed and then does the same. ###
Our son has grown quite a bit since this 12.2019 photo. All on Capitol Hill were welcoming and interested in our manufactured housing industry related concerns. But Congressman Al Green’s office was tremendous in their hospitality. Our son’s hand is on a package that included the Constitution of the United States, bottled water, and other goodies.
Tony earned a journalism scholarship and earned numerous awards in history and in manufactured housing.
For example, he earned the prestigious Lottinville Award in history from the University of Oklahoma, where he studied history and business management. He’s a managing member and co-founder of LifeStyle Factory Homes, LLC, the parent company to MHProNews, and MHLivingNews.com.
This article reflects the LLC’s and/or the writer’s position and may or may not reflect the views of sponsors or supporters.
