OREGON—Oregon is home to the largest population of HUD Code manufactured home production facilities in the Pacific Northwest with nine active factories, while Idaho has three HUD Code factories and Washington has just one. The Oregon Manufactured Housing Association (OMHA) released its final report detailing how many HUD Code homes were produced in Oregon in 2008. The total was 3,224 homes, down 24.1% from 4,246 in 2007. The Oregon Manufactured Home Show is being combined with the Salem RV Show at the Oregon State Fairgrounds in Salem February 18-22. Link: www.omha.com.
WASHINGTON— Karsten Homes has the first ever factory-built home allowed on a city lot in Ellensberg, Washington. A town of about 15,000, Ellensburg was, until recently, like many other Washington communities that excluded manufactured homes from the city limits except for designated parks or developed communities. A new state regulation changed all that and Travy Epenesa purchased a home from Home Sweet Home Sales of Union Gap, Washington and placed it on her private lot on 13th Avenue.
NORTH DAKOTA - North Dakota’s housing agency in HB 1165 is asking the state legislature for permission to guarantee loans that are given out for the purchase of mobile homes. Housing Finance Agency director Mike Anderson states that while mobile homes are an affordable alternative in certain rural regions that lack housing, during times of tight credit, not many lenders are providing loans to buy them. He adds that the Housing Finance Agency may promote additional private funding of homes by pledging that at least 50 percent of the loan will be paid back.
NEW HAMPSHIRE— A New Hampshire manufacturer has gone global. Epoch Homes employs internet to build house for the Ukraine. Epoch confirms that it has sold several custom single-family units for shipment to the Ukraine. Epoch has sold homes to Japan and Poland in the past using the firm’s online database of residential plans as a beginning point.
CALIFORNIA— One of the more than 600 new laws passed by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2008 set parameters for the placement of gasburning water heaters in manufactured home, requiring that they be braced and strapped down. Also, he approved a law mandating the installation of a smoke alarm in every room where people sleep.
February 26 – ID Board Meeting, Crane Creek, Boise March 17—Utah Continuing Education in Ogden March 18 – Utah Board Meeting, Salt Lake City March 19—Utah Continuing Education in Cedar City March 20—Utah Continuing Education in Provo April 14-15 – MHI Congress, Paris Hotel, Las Vegas, NV April 29-30 – Great SW Home Show, Tulsa, OK May 12-13—Utah/Idaho Convention, Mesquite, NV June 15-17—MHI Annual Capitol Hill Visits, D.C. August 20—Idaho Board Meeting, Crane Creek Club, Boise
For information email
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
True Grit With Vision
True Grit With Vision
It is easy to support our industry in the fat and happy times...not so simple during the challenging times. That’s what separates the true leaders and the true heroes of our industry. You are the people who don’t back down and you are the people that show up, says the brochure for the Louisville Show 2009. Thank you for standing together. Thank you for supporting the state association and for believing in its decades of success. Thank you for displaying true grit with vision!
There is a marketing guru who asks whether you entrepreneurs are as tough as Teddy Roosevelt? Apparently Theodore Roosevelt was shot in the chest but gave a 90-minute speech before agreeing to go to the hospital. His glasses case and folded speech itself had slowed the entry of the bullet, but he was still bleeding. “I am all right, and you cannot escape listening to my speech either,” he is quoted as saying. Some of his other quotes which are applicable today include: “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” “Nine-tenths of wisdom consists of being wise in time.” “If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your troubles, you wouldn’t sit for a month.”
Maybe the life of one of the greatest presidents of the United States will give us some perspective on our troubles these days. We are being asked to stretch our creative minds and deliver new, more flexible solutions to existing dilemmas. We are asked to maneuver sweeping currents of change. We have our ancestor’s strength and example to follow in an industry that has been around for a good long time. We can count our blessings starting with the fact that we offer the most affordable quality homes America has to turn to. As the housing market shakes and trembles, where do you think homebuyers are going to turn as the tighten their budgets? To us, of course. That is if we are visible, at the right spot, at the right time and ready to serve their needs. We must EDUCATE and COMMUNICATE the quality, efficiency and value that factory built homes offer.
With true grit and vision, we are already at the front line to serve the needs of more and more homebuyers. People will always need a place to live—a hearth and home. We offer an enduring product in an exciting market where each challenge creates new opportunity. You understand that. Bully for you! We couldn’t do it without each other. If we stick together, we are HAPPY NEW YEAR! going to make history!
Linda Lindholm - Executive Director
Government Relations
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
by Jack Lyman
Here are the leaders of the 2009 Legislature and the members of the two key committees where the Housing Alliance legislation will likely be heard.
IDAHO HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Speaker: Lawerence Denney (R) Majority Leader: Mike Moyle (R) Assistant Majority Leader: Scott Bedke (R) Majority Caucus Chair” Ken Roberts (R) Minority Leader: John Rusche (D) Assistant Minority Leader: James Ruchti (D) Minority Caucus Chair: William Killen (D) BUSINESS COMMITTEE Chair: Max Black (R) Vice Chair: Frank Henderson (R) Gary Collins (R) Carlos Bilbao (R) Marge Chadderdon (R) Brent Crane (R) Russ Mathews (R) Jim Patrick (R) Clifford Bayer (R) Marc Gibbs (R) Richard Jarvis (R) Joe Palmer (R) Jeff Thompson (R) Elaine Smith (D) John Rusche (D) Branden Durst (D) Brian Cronin (D)
IDAHO SENATE
President Pro Tem: Robert Geddes (R) Majority Leader: Bart Davis (R) Assistant Majority Leader: Joe Stegner (R) Majority Caucus Chair: Brad Little (R) Minority Leader: Clint Stennett (D) Assistant Minority Leader: Kate Kelly (D) Minority Caucus Chair: Elliot Werk (D)
Let’s get down to some practical website sales strategies...
The Sullivan Nod is used by waitresses and bartenders to get you to buy particular items from the menu by a nearly imperceptible suggestion. To do this they nod their head positively, but only slightly when reading a certain item from the menu. Some suggest customers are 60-70% more likely to order the suggested item when the Sullivan Nod is employed.
• How can this be applied to home sales from a website? Websites contain more information than is necessary to sell a home. It is critical that the prospective home buyer be given the nod to take a specific path through the website. Colors, graphics and text will direct your customers to the next link that you want them to go to.
• People want to quickly find a home that's the right fit. By being the expert you have their trust and lead them through a simple and straight forward path to finding a great home.
• Have a Special. Home buyers love a deal, don't we all? With the right visual nod, a “Special” can be displayed that is sure to be clicked. Make the Special, special, use more pictures and say more than the manufacturers blurb.
• Show your ugly mug. Yes, be smiling and upbeat because it means a lot to the buyer. It humanly legitimizes your asking for their business and adds in gaining their confidence.
• Use customer testimonials to strengthen your message. Yes we do this and people love us!
• Call to action. OK, you got them to see their future home now don't leave them hanging. Immediately invoke them to CALL NOW or email for a special price. Ask for their business.
The Sullivan Nod is a good reminder for retail home websites to think strategically on how to get that customer to use your nods to find their home. Think of your website as a salesperson. Establish your credentials to gain confidence, show the benefits of their future home, AND close the interaction by having them respond directly to you via phone or email. Accept nothing less!
Max Marble
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
OREGON—Oregon is home to the largest population of HUD Code manufactured home production facilities in the Pacific Northwest with nine active factories, while Idaho has three HUD Code factories and Washington has just one. The Oregon Manufactured Housing Association (OMHA) released its final report detailing how many HUD Code homes were produced in Oregon in 2008. The total was 3,224 homes, down 24.1% from 4,246 in 2007. The Oregon Manufactured Home Show is being combined with the Salem RV Show at the Oregon State Fairgrounds in Salem February 18-22. Link: www.omha.com.
It is easy to support our industry in the fat and happy times...not so simple during the challenging times. That’s what separates the true leaders and the true heroes of our industry. You are the people who don’t back down and you are the people that show up, says the brochure for the Louisville Show 2009. Thank you for standing together. Thank you for supporting the state association and for believing in its decades of success. Thank you for displaying true grit with vision!
Here are the leaders of the 2009 Legislature and the members of the two key committees where the Housing Alliance legislation will likely be heard.
Website Home Sales Strategies
