The Top Three Things I Learned from Greatest Generation Community Owners By Dave Reynolds

I’ve been working with members of the Greatest Generation for my entire career. These are the people that literally built this nation and it’s been a great advantage to spend so much time talking and learning from these legends. Here are three of the most important lessons I’ve learned from these mentors. An unbelievable work ethic I have never seen as much energy as many community owners can produce in their 70s and 80s. While others look at retirement as a time to take it easy, many community owners have no interest in such ambitions. I have been to properties where the community owner – although well past retirementage – is still mowing the entire property, fixing any water or sewer issues themselves, and still finding time to collect the rent and make repairs to community-owned homes. Theyliterally work from dawn until dark seven days a week. I’ve learned never to complain about my own workload, as I can’t hold a candle to some of these owners and their desire to get the job done regardless of personal sacrifice. Every time I’m working on buying a deal or reading a lengthy report in the middle of the night, I think about what those Greatest Generation guys would say, and I know it would be “quit complaining – I’d be doing this and mowing the property at the same time, you big baby”. A focus on cost containment Greatest generation community owners are fantastic at keeping costs down. They examine every project and try to find ways to shave each line item. While younger owners may be fast and loose with spending, the Greatest Generation realizes that “a penny saved is a penny earned”. For example, let’s assume that you need to paint the laundry building. A younger owner would just go down to Lowes and buy some green paint. Total cost $100. The Greatest Generation owner would take ten minutes to call three stores and see who’s got the best paint prices, and that one ten-minute delay might save $40 – which comes out to $240 per hour. On top of that the Greatest Generation owner would point out that that $40 savings is after tax, and you’d have to earn $60 to net that much. If you talk to the original builders of these communities, they typically did much of the “grunt” work themselves to save considerable funds, such as digging the trenches for the plumber and cutting down trees. This thrift is an important lesson that has saved me a fortune over time. Every time I spend money, I think “what would those Greatest Generation owners do?” and then I pick up the phone and start calling around to shop for the best deals. Honesty and integrity This is one of the biggest takeaways from a career of working with Greatest Generation owners. It’s their unwavering adherence to the fundamental laws of honor. Their words truly their bond. If a Greatest Generation owner tells you something – and a better deal comes along shortly thereafter – they’re still going to honor their commitment with you. And they’re also going to go out of their way to help others, even if there’s no financial gain involved. This is a lesson that is lost on a lot of younger community owners. Years ago, I sold a community in Oklahoma, but the funding was not until the next day. Overnight, the community was destroyed by a tornado. In the morning, I could have collected my money and saddled the new owner with an extremely difficult situation, but instead I chose to give them their money back – even though it made no financial sense – and to go out and fix the disaster myself. I think that what influenced me to take this extraordinary step was my lesson learned from these Greatest Generation owners that there’s more to life than money, and that being a good person is as valuable as any financial gain. Conclusion One of the biggest losses we will all have over the years ahead is the loss of the Greatest Generation of community owners. It will be hard to even explain the lessons learned from them to the younger generation, as they will not believe such people actually existed. I’m glad that I’ve been able to learn so much from them.   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.