By Chris Parrish

The turmoil in the overall housing market continues, and as providers of affordable housing we have not gone unaffected. Financing problems in the housing industry have not improved over the last several years, forcing most in the land-lease community sector to pursue alternatives to third-party finance for their customers. What this means is that land-lease community owners today are doing everything except building the home, and even then there’s at least one community owner that even does that.

Because NCC members are involved in so many different aspects of the business, this is reflected in the organizational activities of the NCC. Over the past couple of years, the number of priority issues that the MHI-NCC is actively engaged in has grown tremendously. Also, the level of engagement and the influence we have had on them has grown. For instance, last month the NCC was able to generate thousands of comments from residents on the “Duty to Serve” the manufactured housing industry by the government sponsored enterprises in just a few short days. There is no more powerful statement that can be made then by residents of manufactured homes conveying the need for financing. There is also a group of NCC members who have resolved to bring additional resources to the table to improve financing, and for the past year have supported a separately funded project through the MHI-NCC. This group will be meeting with senior FHA officials in the coming weeks.

As the industry evolves, so too does the association. Because of the importance of communities to the overall health of the manufactured housing industry, MHI is committed to growing the influence of the NCC within Washington, DC. I’m pleased that the NCC recently elected to create a leadership structure within the NCC Board. This small group of leaders will meet regularly between NCC Business meetings and provide guidance on the policies and priorities for community owners within the MHI organization, in consultation and ultimate approval of the NCC Board and the NCC members. In addition, MHI is actively planning to increase resources significantly for its primary purpose of “protecting and promoting” the industry in Washington, DC, including the land-lease community segment. This will be deliberated further at the MHI Annual Meeting in September and we hope you will be there for the discussion.

On a final note, this is my last column as chairman of the National Communities Council. I will be turning over my gavel at the conclusion of the NCC meeting in September to Greg O’Berry of Hometown America. It has been a pleasure these past two years serving the industry and advancing the cause of communities. I appreciate all the support many of you have given me over the past two years, and I look forward to continuing my active support of the NCC as a board member.

As always, feel free to email your thoughts and concerns to me at chris@parrishmanor.com.