Manufactured and Modular Homes: The Affordable Housing Opportunity Investors Miss

Corwyn Melette (00:00)
Exactly. Exactly. And you know, sometimes people want to just jump. And I get it. I understand it completely. However, if you when you most people when they jump, they try to have an idea where they want to land. So that means you have to have some calculation, some forethought in what it is that you’re doing. So before we just buy a piece of property and, you know, and start, hey, we’re gonna go vertical with construction. No, no, no. We need to understand what is our cost, are we gonna have any impact fees or any other, you know.

regulations or anything that’s gonna hinder what is wanna do, is it gonna make the process longer? ‘Cause if it is, then we need to make sure we hedge that against what we’re, you know, hedge that in our risk and make sure we calculate that out because it’ll increase our carrying costs.

Scott Bursey (02:14)
Welcome back to the *Real Estate Pros* podcast powered by Investor Fuel. I’m your host, Scott Bursey. And today, pros, we have a heavy hitter joining us who is absolutely redefining what it means to lead with a servant’s heart in the real estate space. Corwyn Melette isn’t just closing deals, he’s building legacies for families who need it most. Whether he’s advocating for affordable housing or helping first-time buyers plant their roots, the feel he brings to the industry is.

is phenomenal. Corwyn welcome to the show.

Corwyn Melette (02:46)
Thank you, Scott. Thank you so much for having me.

Scott Bursey (02:48)
It is a pleasure having you here. And Corwyn, to help our listeners get up to speed, please give us the front row seat and how your career ignited and where you’re pouring your fuel now.

Corwyn Melette (02:58)
Well, Scott, again, thank you so much. Corwyn Melette, South Carolina, Charleston area primarily. But work a few other parts of the state. I’ve been in the real estate business industry now. For twenty two years, I tell people I’m too stupid to leave it. For whatever reason, I keep finding something new. I don’t I don’t know if I’m getting smarter along the way or what. I don’t know. But you know, you know, been been doing this for quite some time. Started with a smaller, franchised office,

went from there to a independent that was owned by a nonprofit. That’s what got me into affordable housing. or got or kind of got me deeper into it because I was already working in that space. and then continued there until I opened my own brokerage independent and bought a franchise. So I now own an office, an Exit Realty franchise and then also co own another office in the Columbia market of South Carolina as well.

Scott Bursey (03:46)
that is awesome. And what really caught my attention about you was the way that you’ve been able to seamlessly bridge the gap between being a powerhouse broker owner at Exit Realty Lowcountry Group and a passionate advocate for sustainable home ownership. You haven’t you know, just managed properties, you are actively fighting for affordable solutions and balancing.

That was smart rental investments. That kind of focus is rare.

Corwyn Melette (04:17)
Mm-hmm. It is. It is. And you know, you know, Scott, you know, getting into the business, you know, initially, one of the things that really, really, really stood out to me was just that nobody really taught this stuff. I mean, people now talk about it all the time, but not anybody, not not many people back then really just kind of taught it, and and leaned in on it. And most people just focused on to be very transparent, making money. You know, I’ve I’ve heard

you know, over the years, a number of different terms, social investing and and a number of other different terms that kind of all surround you know, you can be an investor, you can make you can make money, but but in that process, you can help and serve people. And, you know, I’m a firm, firm believer, you know, Zig Ziglar said this thing that you get what you want in life by helping other people get what they want. So if you focus on helping, you focus on serving, then in reprocity, you’ll find yourself getting things out of life that you want as well.

Scott Bursey (05:57)
Absolutely. And that, my friend, is a winning recipe. Since you’re so focused on the first time buyer market, we’re curious to know what’s the biggest strength your team leverages to turn a maybe buyer into a yes homeowner in this kind of tough market?

Corwyn Melette (06:14)
So, you know, Scott, funny, funny you should ask that. So what I would tell you, if I could frame it as one word, is curiosity. you know, most most agents now are very, you know, one size fits all. they don’t put any extra effort in, they don’t ask any questions. They, you know, they tell the consumer the same thing. They say, You gotta have this credit score, you gotta have this income, and you gotta this, this, this. And if you don’t meet any of that, then you can’t buy a house. And that’s not true. but that’s that’s what they that’s what they what their mantra is.

So curiosity is the thing that that is in favor of my my folks. Cause what happened with my folks is what they do is they ask questions. Well, hey, I got this. So then we can strategize on the scenario. You got a person that has this income, you know, these assets, or whatever credit score that that they may have. And then we can work from there asking and and answering questions as we go along to help find them the better and best solution for them.

And I’m a I’m a huge advocate. I don’t like for people to have just one thing to do, meaning that it’s all you can do. I like for people to have options. So we try to explore as many options as possible and then let the let the consumer then vet those out, come in, okay, well look, I don’t like this, I don’t like this, I don’t like this, to get to what their decision is.

Scott Bursey (07:29)
If I’m hearing you correctly, when you lead with curiosity instead of just a transaction, you build trust that lasts a lifetime.

Corwyn Melette (07:38)
Yes, exactly. And that keeps you in business. Twenty two years, I guess, maybe I don’t know, maybe I know something. I don’t know. But you know, that keeps you in business because you’re able to answer difficult questions. You know, I you know, I learned this a long time ago. I did a transaction. This is a long time ago, but I did a transaction one time where I had just over a thousand dollars of documentable household income and I was able to put someone in a eighty thousand dollar home at the time.

which was, you know, that’s different market, don’t get me wrong. But rates were similar to where they are now. So if I could put someone in a home back then with a a thousand dollars, just over, I think it was eleven hundred dollars a month, documentable income, by asking questions, by challenging, hey, this, can we do this to get to a solution? It was it was a young it was a lady and she had a disabled child. She was a full-time caregiver for the child.

So we was able to make a difference from them. They were getting put out of where they were. They couldn’t couldn’t the rent went up beyond what what they could pay where they were. And we were able to make it make it happen. So the short of it is asking the questions and being willing to explore different options is what makes a difference and what makes a true professional, in my opinion.

Scott Bursey (08:51)
Spot on. Asking the proper questions is everything. Caring about the person across from you is so important.

Looking at the current landscape, we’re curious what’s the one friction point or weakness you see in the affordable housing sector that you’re most focused on currently?

Corwyn Melette (09:44)
So what I’m most focused on right now, you know, and I and don’t don’t know if your audience really pays attention to politics, right? Forgetting, you know, parties and none of that stuff. That but what what matters is what they’re doing. So the 21st Century Housing Act, you know, just is passed and is moving through. Hopefully that’ll be signed soon. But the other side of that, what’s embedded in there is an expansion of options.

For manufactured and modular housing. So factory-built housing. We have, and then also other shifts and changes that will help trustfully ease some regulations to help give people more housing options. You know, I I’m I work in that particular space. I’m a licensed manufactured housing retailer as well in the state of South Carolina. And one of the things that I know is that manufactured housing came about as the first affordable housing option.

Because you know, people, site built homes, the cost, the time it took, it was easier and oftentimes in certain locales, much less expensive to build housing in a factory and deliver it quote unquote on site. So those options are what I’m paying attention to going forward. This is going- to help create housing for people who otherwise have been shut out.

Scott Bursey (11:05)
That type of strategy right there, Corwyn, is what separates the pros from the rest of the pack. And on that note, what is some of your strategy for the next twelve to twenty-four months?

Corwyn Melette (11:17)
So twelve to twenty-four is development construction. you know, we’re actively looking for you know, lots and small parcels to be able to start building homes, you know, modular or manufactured as well as you know, site built. We have a construction arm in-house now as well. and we’re looking to create create options for people, you know, not you know, beyond what they currently see in market.

You know, not every person wants to be in a large subdivision. Some want to be on some land, you know, a little bit more so out in the country or acreage or what have you. And not every, you know, affordable housing, you know, developer, you know, works all areas. Most times funds are limited. funding for certain for certain types of housing is limited. to specific areas. So we’re looking to serve those people who are in those areas that are left out, that are outside of

those rings, if you will, or those locales where money and funding is normally available. We’re looking to go outside of that and help to create options for people they may not know exist.

Scott Bursey (12:18)
I love that. And Corwyn, you’re balancing rental investments and advocacy work. Where do you see the biggest hidden opportunity for an investor to serve the community while still keeping their margins healthy?

Corwyn Melette (12:31)
Well, you know, so the rent the rental market is is everybody has to have a place to stay, right, Scott? I mean, you know, shelter is that fundamental thing. So if we focus on that, you wanna focus in areas where, you know, there’s two things. You want to focus in areas where there’s growth and development because there’s a how there’s gonna be a housing need and housing will become more expensive, which means that people some people will need more rental options in those particular areas.

But then you also want to look at on the other end of the spectrum the areas that are underserved. You know, your rural markets are underserved, you know, and and those areas are where majority of of you know what what I currently hold are all matter of fact, all of them are where where they are currently in in more rural areas that have less opportunity. And even some of those markets, one market in particular we’re working on, a particular a or renovation,

you know, budgeting out a renovation now on a property now that I hold in a in a rural area. And there isn’t many short-term rentals. You know, and it’s it’s it’s an area that there are things that go on, families that, you know, seek to come home and visit people, et cetera, but they don’t have many hotel options. The hotel options in town are not good. so what that leaves is an opportunity for short-term rentals in the in the particular market.

So, you know, that’s something I’m exploring now with a project that we have to do a renovation on, doing a short-term rental on it. And I’m super excited about it. I I’ve I I, you know, casting the vision, already have the vision ready to share it and ready to run with it.

Scott Bursey (14:06)
Exactly. You don’t have to sacrifice profit to have a purpose. You’re living proof of that.

Corwyn Melette (14:12)
Exactly. And that’s that’s the thing, you know, Scott. You know, most times people think it’s just about being about making money. And and and not saying that you won’t, you know, have or be able to achieve that, but if you serve greater, if you look at, okay, I want to help somebody, then what you’ll find is you’ll go down the road and at some point in time you realize how well you were served in serving someone else.

Scott Bursey (15:19)
Absolutely. That’s spot on. And Corwyn, we’re seeing a lot of shifting tides in real estate regulation. What’s the biggest threat to your current pipeline and what play-by-play moves are you making to hedge against it?

Corwyn Melette (15:32)
So, you know, the b the biggest thing is always, you know, we as we’re getting over into, you know, development, construction, all that stuff, you know, the biggest thing is regulations, you know, you know, things that slow down the process of doing doing a project, you know, development impact fees, all those kind of things. So we’re paying attention to the areas that we’re looking to work in to figure out what they’re looking at doing. you know, starting to get, you know, get hands on the the minutes from

the county council meetings, city council meetings, to understand what they’re talking about and trying to make sure we get plugged in before we, you know, lean in further into a particular area, just to make sure that we’re not gonna get h hit with any sudden surprises or anything of that nature.

Scott Bursey (16:14)
Defensive strategy is key. Staying liquid and informed is how we survive the storms.

Corwyn Melette (16:21)
Exactly. Exactly. And you know, sometimes people want to just jump. And I get it. I understand it completely. However, if you when you most people when they jump, they try to have an idea where they want to land. So that means you have to have some calculation, some forethought in what it is that you’re doing. So before we just buy a piece of property and, you know, and start, hey, we’re gonna go vertical with construction. No, no, no. We need to understand what is our cost, are we gonna have any impact fees or any other, you know.

regulations or anything that’s gonna hinder what is wanna do, is it gonna make the process longer? ‘Cause if it is, then we need to make sure we hedge that against what we’re, you know, hedge that in our risk and make sure we calculate that out because it’ll increase our carrying costs.

Scott Bursey (17:04)
Absolutely. What a nice breakdown. And Corwyn you built an impressive organization at Exit Realty. What’s the it factor you look for when you’re hiring agents who actually care about sustainable home ownership as much as you do?

Corwyn Melette (17:18)
That’s a hard one, Scott. So I look for people that have a heart. you know, you can you can have a business mind, but a servant’s heart. And and sometimes, you know, people don’t think those two things go together, they don’t mesh, but they do. So I look for people that have a servant’s heart that want to really serve people. Agents that are only focused on making money usually don’t make it too long with me. And the reason that is, is because they usually, you know.

It’s hard. You know, when you’re only focused on making money, you can find yourself doing a disservice to others.

Scott Bursey (17:50)
Character over commission. That’s how you build a culture that thrives, not just survives.

Corwyn Melette (17:57)
Mm-hmm.

Scott Bursey (17:57)
And we’re very interested to know what is the most overlooked strategy for an investor looking to scale their rental portfolio while remaining a champion for the affordable housing families that you serve.

Corwyn Melette (18:09)
So find the need. And what I mean by find the need, your tenants had a need. Find out what they need next and find out who else needs what they need.

Scott Bursey (18:19)
Absolutely. And those are great words of wisdom. And really, Corwyn, you’ve given us a lot of words of wisdom. Is there any additional advice that you could leave with our pros here today?

Corwyn Melette (18:32)
no more than what you do. and what I mean by that is very simply get an understanding about more than what it is that you do. many times people just are so boxed in that they don’t know anything going on outside of what they’re boxed in on. And those things that are going on outside of your box eventually are gonna spill into your box and you need to know what’s going on.

understanding what’s going on at at the local, like local, state, as well as national legislative levels. And not saying you have to be an expert, but you need to understand what is going to have an impact or trickle down effect into your business. So having some knowledge, some understanding is going to be extremely beneficial to you in the bigger picture.

Scott Bursey (19:18)
Corwyn, you have really brought the fuel today. For those of our listeners that want to keep this conversation moving, stay in your lane or collaborate with you, what is the best way for them to plug into your pipeline and reach you directly?

Corwyn Melette (19:30)
I’m pretty easy to find. guys, I have a weekly radio show that airs on a couple of radio stations, South Carolina, the podcast. *Exit Strategies Radio Show*. You can connect with us there. or you can find me on social media. I’m pretty easy to find. most of my hash excuse me, my signs are CMelette. so that’s facebook.com/cmelette C M E L E T T E. And if you look for me on Instagram.

I’m Corwyn I’m corwyn_therealestatepreacher. So find me wherever you can, guys. I’m pretty easy to easy to locate.

Scott Bursey (20:07)
Thank you for joining us today, Corwyn.

Corwyn Melette (20:09)
Thank you, Scott, so much for having me.

Scott Bursey (20:11)
And to our listeners, we appreciate you. If you got value from today’s episode, please subscribe. We’ll be filling your tanks with elite guests just like Corwyn Melette, who are accelerating and setting the pace for the rest of the industry. Until next time, keep your standards high and your vision clear. We’ll see you in the next episode, everyone.