{"id":14780,"date":"2018-06-19T13:31:45","date_gmt":"2018-06-19T18:31:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mhmarketingsalesmanagement.com\/blogs\/tonykovach\/?p=14780"},"modified":"2019-01-31T21:59:45","modified_gmt":"2019-02-01T03:59:45","slug":"only-3-options-the-elephant-in-the-room","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.manufacturedhomepronews.com\/masthead\/only-3-options-the-elephant-in-the-room\/","title":{"rendered":"Only 3 Options &#8211; the Elephant in the Room"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-14781\" src=\"https:\/\/manufacturedhomepronews.com\/masthead\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Only3OptionsTheElephantIntheRoomManufacturedHousingIndustryDailyBusinessNewsMHProNews.jpg\" alt=\"Only3OptionsTheElephantIntheRoomManufacturedHousingIndustryDailyBusinessNewsMHProNews\" width=\"550\" height=\"315\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A) In manufactured housing production, the elephant in the room is Clayton Homes. They are owned by Berkshire Hathaway, which also owns the 2 largest industry lenders, 21st Mortgage and Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance (VMF). Berkshire also owns a large stake in the industry\u2019s third largest single family manufactured home loan lender, Wells Fargo.<\/p><div id=\"manuf-2558754140\" class=\"manuf-content manuf-entity-placement\"><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3870480136270376\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3870480136270376\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p>There are only three (3) options on the following topic. The Berkshire owned manufactured housing brands either:<\/p>\n<p>1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<em> know<\/em> very specifically what must happen to grow manufactured housing sales up to the industry&#8217;s sustainable potential, which some estimate to be between half a million and a million HUD Code manufactured homes (MH) annually.<\/p>\n<p>2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Berkshire brands in MH<em> don\u2019t know<\/em> what must occur to grow the industry to reach its potential.<\/p>\n<p>3)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Some point on the spectrum between numbers 1 and 2 above.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s about <strong>150 words<\/strong>. The rest are details and commentary.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>B) Arguably, any of the 3 positions above ought to be alarming to the vast majority of the industry\u2019s independents. Why?<\/p>\n<p>The case has be made by voices inside and outside of MHVille, that the Warren Buffett led Berkshire brands in MHVille dominate the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI).<\/p>\n<p>While he\u2019s been silent in recent months, MH Communities pro <a href=\"https:\/\/www.manufacturedhomepronews.com\/frank-rolfe-blasts-mhi-for-poor-media-engagement-industry-reactions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Frank Rolfe was among the industry\u2019s professionals who blasted MHI and their \u201c<span style=\"color: #993300;\"><strong>hypocrisy<\/strong><\/span><\/a>\u201d and failed \u201c<span style=\"color: #993300;\"><strong>leadership<\/strong><\/span>\u201d in defense or promotion of the MHIndustry.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.manufacturedhomepronews.com\/tip-of-iceberg-rick-rand-marty-lavin-communities-have-no-confidence-in-manufactured-housing-institute-new-national-trade-group-announced\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Marty Lavin, a MHI award-winner, said on-the-record that MHI only works for the interests of <span style=\"color: #993300;\">\u201c<strong>the big boys<\/strong><\/span><\/a>.\u201d Lavin added that MHI only work for the interests of smaller companies if they happen to align with the interests of \u201c<span style=\"color: #993300;\"><strong>the big boys<\/strong><\/span>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform <a href=\"https:\/\/www.manufacturedhomepronews.com\/greener-stylish-manufactured-homes-hidden-facts-in-the-washington-post-manufactured-housing-narrative\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">(MHARR) was cited by the <em>Washington Post<\/em> (WaPo)<\/a> as having been the driving force for the removal of Pam Danner at HUD. MHI\u2018s EVP Lesli Gooch specifically told <em>WaPo<\/em> they took <em>no part<\/em> in removing Danner. Why not?<\/p>\n<p>We could outline other examples, on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.manufacturedhomepronews.com\/duty-to-serve-complete-waste-of-time-per-tim-williams-ceo-21st-mortgage-potus-trump-warren-buffett-insight\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Duty to Serve (DTS)<\/a>, DOE and the energy rule, or how Pam Danner got her job in the first place. MHI has been on the wrong side of numerous issues, plus the execution on other important issues.<\/p>\n<p>The bottom line is that MHI\u2019s track record are seen by several professionals as problematic, save for the consolidation of smaller companies into the hands of larger ones. That\u2019s about <strong>275 words<\/strong>. The rest are details and commentary.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>C) So in <strong>about<\/strong> <strong>400 words<\/strong> above, a case has been outlined. Logic and evidence-based concerns, plus common-sense reveals why the Berkshire brands and MHI arguably should not be trusted by the vast majority of MHVille independents. The rest are details and commentary.\u00a0 We&#8217;ll invite them again to debate this publicly via video.\u00a0 If we were wrong, why don&#8217;t they take us up on that invite and prove us wrong?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>D) <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mhmarketingsalesmanagement.com\/blogs\/industryvoices\/state-association-quits-membership-in-manufactured-housing-institute-mhi-explains-in-writing-why\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">State communities associations have broken away from MHI<\/a>. They are in the process of formalizing the launch of an independent manufactured home national communities association.<\/p>\n<p>Those MH Communities have split because they lost confidence in MHI representing their interests. The rest are details and commentary.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>E) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.manufacturedhomepronews.com\/smoking-gun-3-warren-buffett-kevin-clayton-clayton-homes-21st-mortgage-corp-tim-williams-manufactured-home-lending-sales-grab\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><em>Smoking Gun 3<\/em><\/strong><\/a> documented and outlined how 21st Mortgage questionably pulled-back on lending to MH Independents in 2009. Hundreds of retailers folded afterwards.<\/p>\n<p>As a result, a number of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.manufacturedhomepronews.com\/clayton-homes-top-25-manufactured-housing-industry-report-trend-lines\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HUD Code manufactured home producers either failed, or were absorbed by Clayto<\/a>n.\u00a0 Some where absorbed by Cavco, which is led by a former Clayton division president. Skyline Champion recently combined. Now 80 percent of the industry\u2019s production is in the hands of those three vertically integrated firms.<\/p>\n<p>The rest are details and commentary.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>F) Manufactured housing is increasingly being recognized as the affordable housing solution that is hiding in plain sight. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.manufacturedhomelivingnews.com\/the-solution-to-the-affordable-housing-crisis-is-hiding-in-plain-sight\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>MHLivingNews<\/em> touted that theme years ago<\/a>. Others in media have been picking up on that very theme. Coincidence?<\/p>\n<p>There is a need for 8.3 million affordable housing units in America today. It can only be provided cost-effectively by some form of factory building. HUD Code manufactured homes are the most affordable solution today.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>G) Even though Clayton and MHI each have marketing and PR people, they have routinely allowed bad news stories that unjustly harm the industry\u2019s image to go unaddressed. They have done so for years. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mhmarketingsalesmanagement.com\/blogs\/industryvoices\/about-responding-to-pbs-newshours-bad-bargain-report-by-stephen-fee\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">21st Mortgage CEO Tim Williams, the prior MHI Chairman, admitted on-the-record<\/a> that the case could be made that every unfair story about MH should get addressed. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.manufacturedhomepronews.com\/frank-rolfe-blasts-mhi-for-poor-media-engagement-industry-reactions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Frank Rolfe has said similarly<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The above is about 700 words total to say that MHI and Berkshire may not cause every bad news story in MHVille, but they fail to address the majority of them.<\/p>\n<p>The upshot? Limited new home sales and more Consolidation. See what award-winning Alan Amy said about that in the video.<\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/239019639\" width=\"576\" height=\"324\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>H) The MH Communities sector recognized their need for independent representation. Retailers and others in the post production sector arguably need representation do too.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.manufacturedhomepronews.com\/greener-stylish-manufactured-homes-hidden-facts-in-the-washington-post-manufactured-housing-narrative\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> MHARR is clearly representing the interests of the industry\u2019s independent producers, as <em>WaPo<\/em><\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.manufacturedhomepronews.com\/will-costs-rise-6000-per-home-doe-energy-rule-on-manufactured-housing-revived-mharr-rattles-legal-saber\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SBA, George Washington University<\/a> and other third-party sources reflect.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>I) Is there any reason why the Berkshire brands couldn\u2019t repeat what they did in 2009? Shouldn\u2019t every independent operator realize that they have a symbolic target on their head?<\/p>\n<p>The rest are details and commentary.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>J) Thanks to our supporters, we planned ahead years ago by creating the industry\u2019s first and premier pro-industry educational platform with <strong><em><span style=\"margin: 0px; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/mhlivingnews.com\/\">MHLivingNews.com<\/a><\/span><\/em><span style=\"margin: 0px; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>.<\/em> <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>MHProNews<\/em> was a key part of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.manufacturedhomelivingnews.com\/from-entry-level-to-elegant-inside-look-at-the-louisville-manufactured-housing-show\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">rebirth of the Louisville Show<\/a>, as everyone in show management at the time said on camera and\/or in writing.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve proven our ability to get into mainstream media, such as Washington D.C.\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/thehill.com\/blogs\/congress-blog\/economy-budget\/248665-regulations-for-manufactured-home-loans\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>The Hill<\/em><\/a>. Or consider often-referenced by others in media, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.valuepenguin.com\/home-insurance\/fear-manufactured-homes-affordable-housing-crisis\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Value Penguin<\/em>,<\/a> which ranks among the top 2 percent of all websites in America. <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.manufacturedhomelivingnews.com\/where-are-you-headed-this-summer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Value Penguin<\/a><\/em> dwarfs anything in MHVille for traffic.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>K) We and those that support our efforts know what must be done to remove the shackles that have hobbled manufactured housing for years. <strong>Information and understanding are the First Phase<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Armed with evidence and reason, we are at the <strong>cusp of starting Phase 2<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The details and next steps will follow in the days ahead. Stay tuned, and sign up for our industry leading emailed headline news updates. From the biggest names in MHVille, to the mom-and pops, and thousands in between, we continue to lead the industry in readership. The reasons include insights like those above.<\/p>\n<p>How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. ##\u00a0(News, analysis and commentary.)<\/p>\n<p>(Third party images, and content are provided under fair use guidelines.)<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong>Related Reports<\/strong><\/span>:<\/h2>\n<p>https:\/\/www.manufacturedhomepronews.com\/greener-stylish-manufactured-homes-hidden-facts-in-the-washington-post-manufactured-housing-narrative\/<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/www.manufacturedhomepronews.com\/northstar-and-manufactured-housing-radix\/<\/p>\n<p>To provide a <a href=\"mailto:iReportMHNewsTips@mhmsm.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>News Tips and\/or Commentary<\/b>, click this link<\/a>. Please note if comments are <strong><em>on-or-off the record<\/em><\/strong>, thank you.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_9862\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9862\" style=\"width: 120px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-9862\" src=\"https:\/\/manufacturedhomepronews.com\/masthead\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/l-a-tony-kovach-mhlivingnews-mhpronews-latonykovach-com-.jpg\" alt=\"l-a-tony-kovach-mhlivingnews-mhpronews-latonykovach-com-\" width=\"120\" height=\"120\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9862\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>Publisher and industry consultant, L. A. &#8220;Tony&#8221; Kovach.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>By<a href=\"http:\/\/www.83degreesmedia.com\/features\/mhnews072115.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> L.A. &#8220;Tony&#8221; Kovach<\/a> &#8211; Masthead commentary, for <em>MHProNews<\/em>.com.<\/p>\n<p>Tony is the multiple award-winning managing member of LifeStyle Factory Homes, LLC, the parent company to <em>MHProNews,<\/em> and <a href=\"http:\/\/MHLivingNews.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>MHLivingNews.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><span lang=\"en-US\">Office <b>863-213-4090<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><span lang=\"en-US\"> |<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span lang=\"en-US\">Connect on <\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span lang=\"en-US\"><b>LinkedIn<\/b><\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span lang=\"en-US\">:<br \/>\n<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #1155cc;\"><span style=\"font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><u><a href=\"http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/latonykovach\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span lang=\"en-US\">http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/latonykovach<\/span><\/a><\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Sign Up Today<\/span>!<a href=\"http:\/\/eepurl.com\/daiyGn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-75403\" src=\"https:\/\/www.manufacturedhomepronews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/EmailedMHProNewsHeadlineNewsDailyBusinessNews.png\" alt=\"EmailedMHProNewsHeadlineNewsDailyBusinessNews\" width=\"348\" height=\"313\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Click<strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/eepurl.com\/daiyGn\">here to sign up in 5 seconds for the<\/a> <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">manufactured<\/span><\/strong><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"> home industry&#8217;s leading<\/span> &#8211; and still growing &#8211; emailed headline news updates<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A) In manufactured housing production, the elephant in the room is Clayton Homes. They are owned by Berkshire Hathaway, which also owns the 2 largest industry lenders, 21st Mortgage and Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance (VMF). Berkshire also owns a large stake in the industry\u2019s third largest single family manufactured home loan lender, Wells Fargo. There &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"ast-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.manufacturedhomepronews.com\/masthead\/only-3-options-the-elephant-in-the-room\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Only 3 Options &#8211; the Elephant in the Room<\/span> Read More \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":16049,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5079,5080,5081,5093,5084,5085,5086,5073,5112,5088],"tags":[2577,451,1761,3910,3658,4590,275,973,7,8,5113,5114,450,533],"class_list":["post-14780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-analysis","category-commentary","category-industry-image","category-manufactured-housing-commentary","category-manufactured-housing-industry-reports-news","category-manufactured-housing-industry-trends","category-manufactured-housing-institute-mhi","category-news-analysis","category-promoting-the-mh-industry-solutions","category-thought-provoking","tag-21st-mortgage","tag-berkshire-hathaway","tag-clayton-homes","tag-consolidation","tag-frank-rolfe","tag-manufactured-housing-assoc-regulatory-reform","tag-manufactured-housing-institute","tag-marty-lavin","tag-mharr","tag-mhi","tag-monopolistic-moats","tag-only-3-options-the-elephant-in-the-room","tag-vanderbilt-mortgage","tag-warren-buffett"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Only 3 Options - the Elephant in the Room - Masthead L. 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