My How Things Change Over The Decades

by George Allen, CPM Emeritus, MHM-Master

BBetween 2004 and 2014 there were two efforts, one by “group think” and one by individual effort, to document the evolution of trade terminology within the manufactured housing industry and then manufactured home communities nationwide.

The first initiative occurred during meetings of the

Urban Land Institute’s Manufactured Housing Communities Council, founded in 2004 as a quasi-think tank for matters pertaining to factory-built housing of the manufactured housing type.

The result? Nothing published, but a working paper kept on hand for future reference. The MHCC functioned well for a decade, but ceased to exist in 2015. A second initiative, effected by California-based author Bob

Vahsholtz, during research for his specialty text “Dueling

Curves, The Battle for Housing” published in 2014 picked »

up where MHCC left off. Vahsholtz ultimately produced a manufactured housing timeline: 1950s thru 2010, which can be found in Chapter 9 of his book held in reserve at the RV/MH Hall of Fame library in Elkhart, Ind.

So, what does the evolution of manufactured housing and later land-lease community trade terminology look like today?

Let’s begin with the housing product. Prior to 1960, they were “house trailers”; in the 1960s and early 70s “mobile home” became the popular term – continuing today in some circles. As of 1976, by federal edict, “manufactured housing” took center stage and continues there today – except for some contemporary efforts to talk of factory-built housing, off site-built, and simply “homes”.

Then there’s the ever-changing descriptions of the common paired configurations of HUD-code manufactured housing. Early on, folks talked of “8 and 10 wides”, then “12 and 14 wides”. Eventually, “singlewide” and “doublewide” parlance, too, evolved into single-section and multi-section manufactured homes.

How about the evolution of regulatory standards?

Back in the 1960s and earlier, an ANSI standard (American National Standards Institute) was referenced to guide design and production of new homes. Then through the years 1974 and 76, the HUD-code, formally the National Manufactured Home Construction & Safety Standard, was passed and implemented. It continues in force to this day with the addition of the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act in 2000. Now there are rumors that outside influences, as well as initiatives within the Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee might be focused on altering the code’s performance-based standards.

Here’s a fun one. Within the land-lease community business model, what many of us today refer to as “rental homesites”, have been labeled as “stalls”, “pads”, “spaces”, and “lots”. Individuals outside the realty asset class not really familiar with the demarcation between manufactured homes and communities oft misspeak and refer to these rental homesites as “units” in the matter of an apartment or condo, for instance.

How ’bout the income-producing properties proper? This has been a true and constant evolution over past decades. Trailer courts and camps were the lingo back in the 1950s, and “mobile home parks” prevailed during the 1960s and ’70s. Starting in the 1980s, then officially in 1992, following a national terminology survey by the Manufactured Home Merchandiser magazine, “manufactured home communities” became the term of choice, though some thought “manufactured housing communities” might be a more apt moniker.

Today, MHCommunities (the abbreviation) remains the term of choice among some purists, but journalists and industry executives aware of the seven types of shelter now commonplace in the property type, use the more accurate “land-lease communities”.

How have these housing units been transported over the decades? Way back when, as trailers, they were pulled behind automobiles, then by “trailer toters”, later shortened to “toters”. Today these large single-section and multi-section homes are moved by “transporters”.

Those who’ve marketed and sold manufactured housing over the decades have gone from being referred to simply as “dealers” to now, “independent retailers” or “street retailers”.

Housing valuation. Early on, the mobile home Bluebook was the value estimating standard. This was followed by the Kelley Blue Book. Then NADA Manufactured Housing Cost Guide – first in print, then online. All these were pretty much replacement value references, whose results were then adjusted in accords with available “comps” or comparable market values of similar, recently sold homes. Today, the Datacomp market-based valuation prevails in popularity and utility nationwide.

So, what do we call folk who buy our homes and live in our unique properties? Some say “tenants” and others say “residents”. However, among enlightened land-lease community owners and operators, the descriptive term “homeowner/site lessee” covers both bases.

Even on-site property managers, akin to mayors of small towns, have seen their job description title evolve over the years, from caretaker to park manager to administrator to resident manager. And in some locales, there’s an increasing preference to respectfully refer to them by their professional property management certification designation, e.g. ACM, MHM, ARM.

While what you just read are the major trade terminology evolutions in manufactured housing, there are more, which we won’t describe in detail here, but include: · “Developer Series homes” of the “Big Box = Big Bucks” during the late 1990s Land & Home Package era, to the “Community Series Homes” debut in 2009 and continuing to this day. And most recently, introduction of CrossMod™ as next generation of “Big Box =

Big Bucks” homes. · A decade-long paradigm shift beginning around year 2000 and continuing beyond 2020 with new home sales shifting away from individual (street) retailers to on-site marketing and sales within landlease communities nationwide – and then the recent resurgence of MHRetailers. · From 25 known property portfolio owners/operators of (then) MHCommunities in 1987 to more than 500 such individuals, corporations, partnerships, and

REITs in 2021. This 35 years consolidation foisted changes on the realty asset class, such as need for professional property management, less support of state MH associations, and more.

So, there you have it, many ways in which trade terminology associated with manufactured housing and land-lease communities has evolved during the past seven or more decades. Maybe next time I’ll tell you of a dozen or more things that once were germane to the industry and realty asset class, but no longer exist. For example: aluminum wiring in mobile homes, the Hitchball Social Club, South Bend MHShow, and many others. MHV

George Allen has owned and fee-managed land-lease communities since 1978. He’s a former MHI Industry Person of the Year and a member of the RV/MH Hall of Fame. He has been designated a Certified Property Manager-Emeritus and a Manufactured Housing Manager-Master. He’s also a senior consultant and staff writer with EducateMHC. Allen can be reached at (317) 346-7156 and gfa7156@aol.com.