Fully understanding the challenges facing community owners and operators and developing necessary strategies and tactics to resolve them is the core mission behind the National Communities Council’s new five-year plan. Under the able guidance of NCC Vice Chair Chris Parrish, a special work group examined the key issues confronting the NCC and developed a “game plan” to tackle each issue with proactive strategies and tactics.

The five key issues identified were: 1) Advocacy; 2) Finance; 3) Preservation and Promotion of Communities; 4) Property Management; and 5) Membership. By implementing proactive measures, the NCC can ensure that land-lease communities will continue to be a viable and appealing housing choice for millions of Americans.

On the issue of advocacy, the plan recommends a sustained and enhanced NCC influence in the legislative and regulatory arenas. It calls for identifying and developing initiatives to amend key areas of federal law to enhance the competitiveness of land-lease communities, while also reaching out to federal and state agencies and real estate-related organizations to educate them on the importance and nuances of land-lease communities. At the same time, the plan calls for increasing the NCC’s political influence by increasing the land-lease communities’ participation in the industry’s political action committee (MHI-PAC) which supports industry allies in Congress.

We all know too well the vital importance that financing plays in the manufactured housing industry. In response, the plan calls increasing and enhancing consumer financing options through an outreach effort targeting local banks and mortgage lenders on financing homes located in land-lease communities. It also calls for reviving efforts to establish a leasehold mortgage program utilizing long-term leases with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). The plan also lays out a plan to expand the utilization of the Community Attributes System (CAS) by lenders and community owners to further the credibility and confidence lenders can have in financing homes in land-lease communities.

The task of enhancing the public image of community living in the face of increasing community closures is a major challenge that requires a coordinated and far-reaching initiative. The plan calls for developing major marketing tools and “best practices” for communities that can be used by community owners and state associations to educate the home-buying public on the advantages of community living. At the same time, the plan establishes a proactive approach to dealing with community closures and the resulting media coverage while also working to increase the availability of new land-lease communities. The plan also lays out a far-reaching strategy of improving the resale market for homes in communities as a means of enhancing the public perception of community living.

Improving the professionalism of property management and enhancing resident relations programs is another critical element in ensuring the growing acceptance of community living. The plan calls for establishing professional standards for property managers and working to enhance the industry’s resident relations practices. It also calls for exploring new approaches to enhancing property operations, including maximizing operation and profitability of in-house community sales.

To ensure an organization’s viability, expanding the value of and growth of membership has to be a constant focus. The NCC five-year plan establishes key strategies to serve the community sector with programs and services that directly address the needs of community owners. It also looks at ways of sharing knowledge and techniques among community owners to improve operations and marketing success.

As you can see, this is an aggressive, proactive plan that focuses squarely on addressing the key challenges facing the NCC. The plan was reviewed by the NCC at the MHI Summer Meeting in July and I will be discussing it at the International Networking Roundtable (INR) in Portland, Oregon on Sept. 14 before final approval at the NCC Annual Meeting in October. For registration information on the INR, contact GFA Management at 877-633-4764 and to register for the MHI-NCC Annual Meeting, visit the NCC’s website at www.mhcommunities.org.

For a more complete look at the NCC Five-Year Plan, contact the NCC’s Michael O’Brien at mobrien@mhcommunities.org. As always, feel free to share your thoughts and comments with me at umh2@aol.com.

Christine Lindsey
Chair, National Communities Council
Vice President of Sales, UMH Properties