Jan 19, 2023
In this episode of The MHP Broker’s Tips and Tricks podcast, Maxwell Baker, president of The Mobile Home Park Broker, interviewed Jimmy Cotty, the executive director of the Georgia Manufactured Housing Association, or GMHA.
This and every Tips and Tricks podcast episode is brought to you by The MHP Broker’s’ proprietary Community Price Maximizer. Use this four-step system to get the highest price possible for your mobile home park or RV community when you sell it through The MHP Broker. Guaranteed. Ask Max for details.
Here Are the Show Highlights:
- Jimmy Cotty has been executive director of the Georgia Manufactured Housing Associaton (GMHA) since April, 2022. (Jimmy, 1:13)
- Jimmy was previously executive director of the Georgia Ready-Mix Concrete Association for 12 years. Before that, he was with sister organization, the Georgia Construction Aggregate Association. So, going back to 2006, Jimmy has significant relevant association experience in the state. (Jimmy, 1:52)
- Jimmy sees his primary mission as making the state more business-friendly to the manufactured housing industry in general. (Jimmy, 3:43)
- Coming out of the last recession, former Governor Nathan Deal made it his mission to make Georgia more business friendly, and current Governor Brian Kemp has continued that tradition. As a result, over the last eight or ten years the state has earned the number one ranking for business friendliness from a number of leading business publications and economic development organizations. (Jimmy, 7:17)
- More growth means more jobs, and not just in the major cities, and an increased need for affordable housing throughout the state. (Jimmy, 8:20)
- The state needs to develop a housing policy in which housing needs are broken down geographically, so that workers don’t have to live some two hours away from their jobs. (Jimmy, 9:11)
- Builders are eager to build the $400,000 to $500,000 homes, but where is more affordable housing being developed? That’s where manufactured housing and communities come in. (Jimmy, 9:47)
- The loss of laborers and tradespeople is hurting the home construction industry too. (Jimmy, 10:49)
- Research from Max’s sister company, Mobile Home Wholesalers, has shown that one in ten people nationally live in a mobile or manufactured home. In Georgia, the rate is one in eight, making the state one of the highest in terms of residents living in manufactured housing. One result of that statistic is that there are some 4,000 used mobile home sale transactions conducted monthly in the state. So there’s great opportunity here. (Max, 11:54)
- The first challenge to the industry is perception. Local communities are taken in by the stereotype of trashy mobile home parks, and don’t see today’s quality housing construction in manufactured homes. (Jimmy, 13:27)
- Local zoning ordinances can make it difficult to nearly impossible to establish manufacturing home communities in some places in the state. (Jimmy, 14:10)
- State taxes on home sales are also a challenge. Working the tax into a monthly house payment makes the manufactured home unaffordable to some prospective homeowners, so we’ve got to look into how we can tax these homebuyers more fairly. (Jimmy, 15:33)
- Some county tax commissioners have a better understanding than others on the value of affordable property taxes that encourage the establishment of new and higher quality mobile homes over the older and less attractive stock. (Jimmy, 19:43)
- Max saw, in talking with industry people in Alabama, that a big obstacle everywhere within the industry is the lack of home movers and installers. Most are getting p into their sixties or beyond and retiring or dying. Greater effort must be made to bring younger people into the trade. (Max, 20:41)
- Those who remain in the moving/installation industry can charge outrageous rates, which can make mobile homes beyond the means of many residents. (Max, 21:58)
- Jimmy has found the absence of commercial truckers to be an impediment in every industry he’s been in. He’s talked to insurance commissioners about it, and sees it as a further knock on the quality of the mobile home housing if the stock isn’t installed right. (Jimmy, 23:59)
- The GMHA has added quality healthcare benefits as an additional incentive to join the association. (Jimmy, 25:13)
- Cybersecurity is another feature of membership they’re exploring, for members who must use digital programs to handle sensitive personal information to pre-qualify tenants. They’re also looking into the possibility of offering property insurance to members. The more services and features GMHA can offer, the more they can increase membership. (Jimmy, 26:12)
- GMHA is also establishing chapters across the state so more people can meet face-to-face regionally. (Jimmy, 27:12)
- The GMHA has, and continues to build upon, a great and fruitful relationship with the state’s Realtors Association. (Jimmy, 28:54)
- The GMHA is also working on building connections with the Georgia Association of Tax Officials and the Georgia Association of Code Enforcement in order to make mobile home ownership fairer and easier. (Jimmy, 30:05)
- GMHA is further working to raise local awareness of the Abandoned Mobile Home Act, which would make it easier to remove eyesores and replace them with new and attractive mobile homes, for the benefit of all. (Jimmy, 33:03)
- If interested in joining the GMHA, you can contact Jimmy directly at Jimmy@GMHbA or visit the GMHA.com website to register online. (Jimmy, 35:32)
Reach out to Max to learn more about trends in the mobile home park industry and to find out how to sell your property for the best possible price. Just drop Max a line at info@themhpbroker.com or give him a call at 678-932-0200.
Power Quotes in This Episode:
“Georgia has, over the last ten or 15 years, built an incredibly friendly business environment. (Jimmy, 7:00)
“The state has numerous programs to incentivize businesses in more rural areas.” (Jimmy, 9:11)
“There's not too many young people trying to get into the mobile home moving industry, and it's very lucrative. I mean, I know a guy that's, you know, his first year in the Industry he made half a million dollars moving mobile homes…” (Max, 21:28)
“Every industry that employs commercial drivers, they are struggling…” (Jimmy, 23:39)
“...we want to be good partners and help offer solutions through our product for one of the most compelling issues the state faces, which is adequate housing for the citizens of Georgia.” (Jimmy, 34:05)