Why You Should Join Your State Manufactured Housing Association By Dave Reynolds

When I got into the business over two decades ago, I didn’t even know that Manufactured Housing Associations (also known as MHAs) existed. Back then there was no internet to speak of, and most community owners were not that social. But then I found the TMHA (the association for Texas) and I knew that I had found lasting friendship. I have remained a loyal member for over a decade. So why should you join your state MHA? They do great things for the industry In the case of the TMHA, they have literally re-written the laws of the State to the betterment of community owners. Take for instance the revisions to grandfathering law that were passed a couple years ago. If you own a property in Texas, the city now has no power over you to utilize all of your lots. And they succeeded in fending off the HUD desire to take over home installations and cost all owners around $7,000 in site preparation fees. The list goes on and on. And that’s also true for many other state associations. They are basically the lone group watching out for you on a national stage. They offer outstanding resources If you need to know anything from water billing laws to habitability minimums, your state association is the one stop resource. If you need the name and number of a great municipal attorney, they’ve got it. If you need to know if you can add administrative fees to a water bill, then call the MHA.  From their directories to their simple summaries of state law, they are 100% invaluable. They shortcut the learning curve by years. They encourage discussion between owners and a sharing of ideas Have you been to an MHA event? The whole purpose is to share ideas. They have no intention of selling you anything and they don’t care if you own one property or 1,000. It’s simply community owners gathering to share ideas and war stories. We have made many friends through associations, and know you can do the same. They can be enormously helpful in a pinch When the chips are down, you need an ally. Your MHA is a great first responder when you have a problem with a governmental agency. We have gone to them many times with complicated issues and they have helped us solve them.  Having your state association call and support your cause has a real impact on bureaucrats, and having a support network gives you greater peace of mind. The dues are insanely cheap For all the reasons above, the dues to join your state MHA are ridiculously low. In terms of value for your money, it’s hard to find a better thing to do. I think that too many people never bother to check out the dues structure and just assume they can’t afford it. It’s seriously cheaper than some newspaper subscriptions. With as much as you have invested in your property, how can you rationalize not joining? How will you be able to explain to forgive yourself for missing out on that law change because you were not in the information pipeline? It’s the right thing to do Progress in any industry comes from a collective effort. It comes from investment spending. All the benefits that we have today – all of the advances – come from people years ago deciding to invest their time and money to make them happen. Rome was not built in a day and neither has been the manufactured home community business. The right thing to do is to join in the effort to take our industry to the next level. And that’s what your state MHA does. I’m glad that Manufactured Housing Review is getting involved in promoting and supporting MHAs When I heard the rumor that Manufactured Housing Review was changing its format to dedicate itself to the promotion and expansion of the state MHAs I was thrilled as I knew that was the right direction to go. While MHVillage can continue to provide the same old articles and ads with their old-fashioned printed quarterly publication, only MHR can offer real-time internet delivery on a monthly basis of the latest news, announcements and activities of all state associations. Conclusion I’m very proud to be a member of 28 different state associations – one for every state we own properties in. And I’m also proud to be a writer for MHR as it endeavors to become the one collective voice for all the state associations. I’m looking Dave Reynolds has been a manufactured home community owner for almost two decades, and currently ranks as part of the 5th largest community owner in the United States, with more than 23,000 lots in 28 states in the Great Plains and Midwest. His books and courses on community acquisitions and management are the top-selling ones in the industry. He is also the founder of the largest listing site for manufactured home communities, MobileHomeParkStore.com. To learn more about Dave’s views on the manufactured home community industry visit www.MobileHomeUniversity.com. This article originally appeared in the Manufactured Housing Review, subscribe for free here.