Having just chaired my first meeting of the National Communities Council at the MHI Winter Meeting in Memphis, I must say that 2005 certainly promises to be a productive and exciting year for new industry initiatives that will directly benefit manufactured home communities. From improving financing to helping resales to protecting us from liability, the NCC certainly has a number of hot topics on the agenda.

After a year’s worth of work, the Community Attributes System (CAS) Task Force presented its final version for consideration by the NCC. For those that have not been following the development of CAS, this project was undertaken to develop an objective database of information about specific communities that lenders can use to improve lending decisions in communities. No longer will community owners be at the mercy of outdated “rating” systems or subjectively developed internal systems that can penalize homebuyers who want to purchase a home in a community.

The CAS is an objective system that does not lead to any bottom line rating or classification of the community. It simply will provide a wide range of information about the community, including its ownership, recent rent history, management, infrastructure and amenities. All community owners will be able to input the information on their communities, so they will know exactly what is being provided to lenders. At the meeting in Memphis, the NCC and the MHI Board of Directors saw the value of the system and approved its implementation for later this year. We will keep everyone apprised of its development. I would also like to commend NCC Past Chairman Rick Rand and Financial Services Division Past Chair Marty Lavin for co-chairing this effort. They showed tremendous leadership in moving this project forward. For more information on the CAS, please see the related article in this issue.

Another exciting new initiative approved by the MHI Board of Directors was the creation of an existing homes Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Communities are also expected to be a main beneficiary of this effort since the resale of homes in communities is one of the major issues facing the industry today. Lack of an organized resale market in many parts of the country has led to increased foreclosures in many instances and is a major deterrent to many lenders interested in lending in communities. This multi-year effort will not only help the resale of homes in communities but also improve the valuation of homes by establishing a viable database of comparable sale information.

Another important issue the NCC addressed in Memphis is mold in resale homes in communities. At the request of the NCC at the Annual Meeting in October, the MHI Lawyers Committee looked at the issue of developing a mold disclosure form for community owners. At the NCC meeting in Memphis, Lawyers Committee Chair Gary Pritchard presented the sample disclosure form for use by NCC members, which has been distributed to all NCC members. This is a sample form and all members are encouraged to have it reviewed by counsel for compliance with any specific company circumstances and for compliance with state law. Thanks go to NCC Members Fran Hirsch of Brandenburg, Staedler and Moore and Lyn Wellhausen of Rudgate Communities for spearheading this effort.

As always, feel free to contact me with your thoughts and questions at nsmith@sskcommunities.com.

Nathan Smith, PHC
Chairman, National Communities Council
President, SSK Communities