Developing With Manufactured Housing

[Ken Rishel]

May 3d - Caesars Palace - Las Vegas, NV a part of the Manufactured Housing Institute's National Congress and Expo

Faculty

Donald Westphal, Donald C. Westphal Associates, LLC, is a Landscape Architect and Site Planner who specializes in manufactured home community, residential subdivision and RV resort design. Don received his bachelor's degree in Landscape Architecture from Michigan State University and master's degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Illinois. He designed is first land-lease community while at the University of Illinois over 50 years ago and has dedicated his practice to work in this industry. He is co-author of the books, Navigating the Manufactured Housing Zoning Process and Renewing your Manufactured Home Community.

Roderick Knoll, Manufactured Housing Resources Group, has over 20 years of experience with manufactured housing projects, including both land-lease communities and subdivisions. His consulting work focuses on the following: Acquisition and pre-purchase due diligence; Financing for new development, expansion, and/or turn-arounds; Financing for home inventory, lease/option homes, rental homes, and seller-carried notes; Accessing funds from affordable housing programs; Pro formas; Market studies; and Business plans.

Schedule

7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m.Registration

8:00 a.m. – 8:15 a.m.Welcome, Introductions & Opening Remarks

8:15 a.m. – 9:15 a.m.

Manufactured Housing Industry Overview

Participants will learn about factory built housing in general and the range of products available from low to high cost. Detailed information will be shown regarding the range of HUD-Code homes available, including affordable single-section "community series" homes, multi-section homes for communities and private land. The use of modular one and two-story homes, and multi-family apartment units will be presented. Development types such as affordable land-lease communities, high-end land-lease communities, senior/retirement communities, community upgrades will be discussed. Fee simple developments, including subdivisions and urban in-fill, will also be discussed.

9:15 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.

The Development Process – Site Selection

Proper site selection is the key to a successful project. The faculty will discuss both the physical aspects of site selection (location, utility options, site characteristics, etc.) as well as the initial financial feasibility (forecasted revenue, estimated costs, etc.).

9:45 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.

Pro Forma

A well-constructed and accurate pro forma helps a developer to know a good deal from a bad one. Techniques for preparing your pro forma will be discussed. Critical assumptions and a basic spreadsheet format will be reviewed. Important outputs will be shown, along with benchmarks that indicate feasibility or lack thereof.

10:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.Break

10:30 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.

Development Process – Site Planning

Manufactured housing developments have unique land planning considerations. This presentation will be given by a planner with fifty years of experience in skillfully navigating these issues. Initial plans and finished product illustrations will be a highlight of this session.

11:15 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.

Zoning – Case Study

Oak Ranch Manufactured Home Community, Austin, Texas: Zoning for a manufactured home community is one of the most difficult types of zoning to achieve. The developer of this impressive community would not have won regulatory approvals without a massive effort during the zoning and site planning process. Learn from the co-author of “Navigating the Manufactured Housing Zoning Process” how a few small but critical elements lead to a successful conclusion in this case study presentation.

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.Lunch

1:15 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.

Meet The Manufacturer’s Panel

A panel of manufacturer representatives will discuss the manufacturing process, home features, design issues, and home installation. Also covered will be how to do business with a home manufacturer. As with all sessions, time for interaction and questions will be available.

2:15 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.Break

2:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Finance

Obtaining financing is another of the more difficult parts of the manufactured housing development process. The current availability and terms of development financing will be presented. Types of financing will include construction loans, permanent loans (for land lease communities), and customer end loans (both chattel and mortgages).

3:00 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.

Case Study – Property To Be Determined

The faculty will present a ground-up development or an expansion development. Details will include site characteristics, planning and zoning, construction matters, market and marketing issues, feasibility and financing aspects, and property operations. Practical “Lessons Learned” will be highlighted.

3:45 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.

Due Diligence

Some of the best opportunities in manufactured housing development involve the acquisition of an existing project. Renovations and expansions fall into this category. A thorough due diligence process is needed to protect one’s investment. A checklist along with key processes will be presented.

4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Meet the Experts

This popular opportunity from previous seminars allows you to bring your plans and questions for some one on one discussion with the seminar leaders.

6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.Reception in the Exhibit Hall