There is a daily array of business, governmental, nonprofit, and other news and media releases. Only some of these are selected for publication. For various reasons, the joint news release that follows below from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) was not published on 8.12.2021 when the announcement occurred. At times, such delays in publishing prove to be beneficial, because other information develops that sheds light on the original statement. Such was the case with this joint announcement by HUD and the FHFA, which will be followed by a challenge made by key manufactured housing advocates. Analysis, plus our market snapshot report for manufactured housing connected equities on 8.16.2021 will follow.

 

HUD and FHFA Announce Collaboration to Advance Fair Housing and Fair Lending Enforcement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

8/12/2021

​Joint Release

​Department of Housing and Urban Development

Federal Housing Finance Agency

 

Washington, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) (collectively, the Agencies) entered into a first-of-its-kind collaborative agreement regarding fair housing and fair lending coordination. Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the two Agencies will focus on enhancing their enforcement of the Fair Housing Act, which HUD is primarily charged with administering and enforcing, and their oversight of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac (the Enterprises), and the Federal Home Loan Banks (collectively, the regulated entities), all of which FHFA regulates.

The MOU is an important mechanism that strengthens the Agencies’ ability to enforce fair housing and fair lending requirements, by promoting information sharing, coordination on investigations, compliance reviews, and the ongoing monitoring of the Enterprises. The Agencies anticipate that the MOU will lead to stronger oversight that will help advance vigorous fair housing enforcement that can begin to redress our nation’s history of discriminatory housing practices.

 

​”Today’s signing is an important and historic step to advance and strengthen the enforcement of our nation’s fair housing and fair lending requirements,” said HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. “FHFA oversees entities that have significant control over a large share of the mortgage market. Stepping up our collective fair housing oversight of their activities will mak​​e an enormous impact on lives and communities. I am proud to partner with Acting Director Thompson on this effort and advance the work that President Biden called upon us to do. We are prioritizing the work required to remove barriers that have created separate and unequal neighborhoods and limited access to housing opportunity and wealth building. I look forward to working with FHFA to make a meaningful impact in this space.”

“FHFA does not tolerate housing discrimination,” said FHFA Acting Director Sandra L. Thompson. “Today’s MOU allows FHFA and HUD to share information and resources to improve fair lending oversight over the mortgage finance system. I am pleased to work with Secretary Fudge on the important work of fulfilling the Fair Housing Act’s promise of equal access to safe, decent, and affordable housing for all Americans.”

​Memorandum of Understanding by and Between HUD and FHFA Regarding Fair Housing and Fair Lending Coordination​​

###

​The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. …

The Federal Housing Finance Agency regulates Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the 11 Federal Home Loan Banks. These government-sponsored enterprises provide more than $7.2 trillion in funding for the U.S. mortgage markets and financial institutions. …

##

 

In response to that joint HUD-FHFA announcement, the producers-focused and Washington, D.C. based Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform sent the following to HUD Secretary Fudge and FHFA Acting Director Thompson. The MHARR letter speaks for itself and will be followed by their accompanying press release. Both this and the MHARR media release state their challenges to the federal agencies, but also to other manufactured housing post-production trade groups and other interested parties.

The text below is as in the original. But the highlighting is added by MHProNews for reasons that if not immediately apparent, will be addressed in our analysis.

 

August 13, 2021

VIA FEDERAL EXPRESS

Hon. Marcia Fudge
Secretary
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Suite 10000
451 7^th Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20410

 

Ms. Sandra Thompson
Acting Director
Federal Housing Finance Agency
Constitution Center
400 7^th Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20219

Re: Collaboration to Advance Fair Housing and Fair Lending

Dear Secretary Fudge and Acting Director Thompson:

On behalf of federally-regulated manufactured housing producers and the HUD Code manufactured housing industry as a whole, we are writing to thank you and congratulate you on the establishment of the August 12, 2021 Memorandum of Understanding Between the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Federal Housing Finance Agency Regarding Fair Housing and Fair Lending Coordination (MOU).

As you know, and as we have previously communicated with both of you, manufactured housing, regulated by HUD, is the nation’s most affordable source of non-subsidized housing and homeownership – particularly for lower and moderate-income families. Moreover, as has recently been documented by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, manufactured housing, and particularly manufactured homes financed through home-only personal property loans, are a significant housing resource for American minority communities.

Yet, the availability of manufactured housing and the affordable homeownership that it provides — for all Americans — has needlessly, baselessly and discriminatorily been subverted by local zoning mandates that exclude or severely restrict the placement of manufactured housing, as well as a lack of available and fully-market-competitive consumer financing, resulting from the longstanding refusal of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to provide secondary market and securitization support for manufactured housing consumer loans, and particularly manufactured housing personal property loans.

Existing federal law, however, together with the Fair Housing Act and the August 12, 2021 MOU, provides HUD and FHFA with ample authority to address and correct these destructive limitations which undermine federal housing policy as established by Congress, as well as the economic justice principles of the Biden Administration. In particular, the enhanced federal preemption provision of the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 2000 provides HUD the authority to override discriminatory local zoning exclusions, while the Duty to Serve Underserved Markets (DTS) provision of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) provides FHFA with the authority to ensure that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac support all elements of the manufactured housing consumer finance market in a market-significant manner.

Through the August 12, 2021 MOU, HUD and FHFA can now simultaneously and effectively address both of these baseless, discriminatory and indefensible constraints on the manufactured housing market and the availability of affordable manufactured housing for all Americans but, most especially, lower and moderate-income families who rely on manufactured housing as their main source of affordable housing and homeownership.

We urge you to utilize the instrumentalities of the MOU aggressively in pursuit of the federal housing objectives established by Congress through the 2000 manufactured housing reform law, DTS and HERA, and take concrete steps to eliminate existing discrimination against manufactured housing owners and purchasers.

As always, MHARR stands ready to assist both of you in this effort in any way possible, and will contact you soon to follow-up on this matter.

Thank you, and we appreciate your work on behalf of economic justice and equity.

Sincerely,

 

Mark Weiss

President and CEO

 

cc: Hon. Joseph R. Biden

Hon. Sherrod Brown

Hon. Patrick Toomey

Hon. Maxine Waters

Hon. Patrick McHenry

HUD Code Industry Manufacturers, Retailers, Communities, and Finance Companies

##

 

The MHARR press release that follows accompanied the copy of their FedEx delivered letter to HUD, FHFA, the Biden White House and key members of housing/finance members of Congress. As above, highlighting is added by MHProNews, but the text is otherwise as in the original.

 

AUGUST 16, 2021

 

TO:                 HUD CODE INDUSTRY MANUFACTURERS, RETAILERS, COMMUNITIES, FINANCE COMPANIES

                        AND STATE ASSOCIATIONS

 

FROM:           MARK WEISS

 

RE:                 MHARR URGES HUD AND FHFA TO ADDRESS ZONING AND CONSUMER FINANCING UNDER THEIR NEW AGREEMENT

Attached, for your information and follow-up, is a copy of a communication from the Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR) to HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge and Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Acting Director, Sandra Thompson, regarding the important agreement between the two agencies announced on Friday, August 13, 2021 (see copy attached).

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between these two agencies provides yet another opportunity and basis for concrete action by both, to address and resolve the two main impediments to the greater utilization of HUD Code manufactured housing — i.e., discriminatory and exclusionary zoning restrictions, as well as the unavailability of fully-competitive consumer financing for purchasers of  federally-regulated, affordable manufactured housing. As the letter indicates, federal law provides a strong basis to address these fundamental post-production failures, through the enhanced federal preemption of the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 5403(d)) and the “Duty to Serve” provision of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (12 U.S.C. 4565).

We urge other industry members and organizations to share these concerns — and their importance to the industry and consumers — with the leadership of both federal agencies.

Thank you.

 

Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR)
1331 Pennsylvania Ave N.W., Suite 512
Washington D.C. 20004
Phone: 202/783-4087
Fax: 202/783-4075
Email: MHARR@MHARRPUBLICATIONS.COM

Website: manufacturedhousingassociation.org

##

 

Additional Information, MHProNews Analysis and Commentary,
Followed by our Business Daily Market Report for 8.16.2021 

There are certain niceties that virtually all trade associations use. Both MHARR and the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) will from time to time use the politically correct language of ‘congratulating’ and ‘thanking’ some federal official(s). What follows after those polite terms of political speech can be far more important than those opening words of greeting. In fairness, that flowery lingo leans on the notion that it is easier to catch flies with honey than vinegar.

That noted, thus far MHARR is the only trade association in manufactured housing that is know to have made such a statement to HUD and FHFA. Perhaps MHI has and has simply not revealed their dazzling display of genius on behalf of the consolidators of manufactured housing.  Because thus far, there is no known statement by MHI that corrects their demonstrable deception and misdirection that was exclusively highlighted by MHProNews in the report shown in the report linked below.

 

As a MHEC member put it, the chutzpah at MHI has grown to the level that they are charging their own members to sit in on a webinar that tells them what MHI claims they are doing.

 

 

MHI has restricted their emails to non-members.  As the report above made clear, MHI’s emails to members/non-members are demonstrably deceptive at times in a manner that should spark federal investigation and possible fines, other regulatory action, if not prosecution under RICO, the Hobbs Act, etc.

The Florida Manufactured Housing Association (FMHA), after the reports linked below, stepped up and issued a press release that took a noteworthy step toward promoting the image and understanding of manufactured housing during an affordable housing crisis.

 

By contrast to MHI, which has made the obviously failed CrossMods scheme, backed by Clayton Homes and some other MHI board members, FMHA ignored that and promoted ALL manufactured homes.

 

Day-by-day, a succession of reports, fact checks, and analysis have made clear that MHI is failing at their own claimed goals. MHARR, a production association, is strategically challenging MHI et al to do their self-proclaimed job.

 

 

When MHI members are on record critiquing their own trade group’s performance, as the report linked above makes clear, it is time for others in the industry’s trade media to step up and show their independence, or face the need to explain their increasingly brown nose to their demonstrably modest numbers of readers. Apparently, there is only so much BS that even MHI fan-boys can swallow.

 

 

Legislation is working its way through Congress that may not openly state that it is designed to defend residents against predatory MHI members, but that is precisely what the evidence strongly indicates is the case. Meanwhile, MHI’s faux code of ethical conduct goes unenforced where ever it sits gathering digital dust.

 

 

Last but not least. For those who believe in big government and its self-proclaimed value, the events of the last week and month should make it clear that it is all an illusion. A quick review will illustrate.

• Decades of death, wounds, a trillions spent in Afghanistan have suddenly vaporized. Did the markets react negatively? Hardly. After all, the military-industrial-spy complex rolls on despite victory or defeat.
• The HUD-FHFA MOU is a de facto admission that what they claim has not occurred that they aim to fix through this collaboration has gone unaddressed since the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act (MHIA) of 2000 was enacted. While the rate of homeownership ticked up during the Trump Administration, the overall trend of home ownership in the U.S. is lower today than in 2000 when the MHIA was signed into law. Yet, as MHARR’s communications made clear, the purpose behind the MHIA was to make more affordable housing – specifically more affordable manufactured homes that routinely do not require federal subsidies available. Only tremendous incompetency and/or corruption can explain the failures. To get into the weeds, citing both Democratic and Republican federal and other sources, see the report linked below.

###

Next up is our business daily recap of yesterday evening’s market report and related left-right headlines.

The Business Daily Manufactured Home Industry Connected Stock Market Updates.  Plus, Market Moving Left (CNN) – Right (Newsmax) Headlines Snapshot. While the layout of this daily business report has recently been modified, several elements of the basic concepts used previously are still the same. The headlines that follow below can be reviewed at a glance to save time while providing insights across the left-right media divide. Additionally, those headlines often provide clues as to possible ‘market-moving’ items.

 

Market Indicator Closing Summaries – Yahoo Finance Closing Tickers on MHProNews…

Headlines from left-of-center CNN Business = evening of 8.16.2021 

• Moving out
• The “Fearless Girl” statue across the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street.
• State Street, which manages $3.5 trillion, is closing its New York offices
• Tesla is under investigation because its cars keep hitting emergency vehicles
• Here we go again: These companies say the Delta variant is hurting business
• T-Mobile confirms it was hit by data breach
• Hyatt is betting on luxury travel with a $2.7 billion resorts deal
• Wall Street’s confusion about Airbnb is a sign of the times
• Roblox wants to rule the metaverse
• Investing green is harder than you’d think
• This Indian has more than 500,000 employees, and it’s ditching office life
• Afghan journalists are ‘absolutely petrified’ amid the Taliban takeover
• Is the oil market broken?
• ‘Free Guy’ tops box office with surprisingly solid opening weekend
• Rare Honus Wagner baseball card sells for record $6.6 million at auction
• Jeep’s Grand Wagoneer takes luxury off road
• VAN HORN, TEXAS – JULY 20: Jeff Bezos speaks about his flight on Blue Origin’s New Shepard into space during a press conference on July 20, 2021 in Van Horn, Texas. Mr. Bezos and the crew that flew with him were the first human spaceflight for the company.
• Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin sues US government over moon landing contract
• Chefs Nadav Mille and Amanda Cohen.
• Restaurants are facing ingredient shortages. Here’s how they’re coping
• How newspaper front pages covered the fall of Afghanistan to Taliban forces

Headlines from right-of-center Newsmax – evening of 8.16.2021

• Poll: Nearly 70% Disapprove of Biden’s Handling of Afghanistan
• President Joe Biden gestures as he gives remarks on the worsening crisis in Afghanistan from the East Room of the White House Monday. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
• A Trafalgar survey shows that nearly 70% of American voters nationwide disapprove of President Joe Biden’s handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. [Full Story]
• Fall of Afghanistan
• Chaos, Halted Flights at Kabul Airport as Afghans Flee Taliban
• UN Security Council Pushes for Talks to Form New Afghan Government
• US’ ‘Hasty’ Afghanistan Exit Gifts Taliban a Cache of Weapons, Drones, Vehicles
• NSA Sullivan: Afghan Security ‘Would Not Fight’ Taliban
• Deputy NSA Finer: ‘Severe Consequences’ If Taliban Interferes With Evacuations
• US Terror Threat Concerns Rise as Taliban Hold Grows
• Taliban in Control of Afghanistan, Panic in Kabul
• More Fall of Afghanistan
• Newsmax TV
• Byron Donalds: Biden Should Resign Over Afghanistan
• Mark Krikorian: Biden May Not Be Able To Limit Afghan Refugees |
• Pete King: Biden’s ‘Arrogance’ Led to Afghanistan’s Fall |
• Harvard Medical Professor: Vax Mandates Create Distrust |
• Pataki: NY Corrupted by ‘Arrogance of Power’ |
• Dick Morris: Inflation Growing Because of Biden’s Road Blocks |
• Dershowitz: Interstate Vaccine Passports ‘Tough Sell’ |
• Dershowitz: AG James Faces Ethical Woes If She Runs for Governor |
• More Newsmax TV
• Newsfront
• In Texas, School Officials Keep Mask Mandate, Despite Court Setback
• Local officials in Texas who have been battling their governor over mask mandates said they would continue to require face coverings in schools despite a setback in the state Supreme Court.The latest manifestation of the political divide over how to beat back the…… [Full Story]
• Related Stories
• Texas Supreme Court Sides With Gov. Abbott, Temporarily Bans Mask Mandates
• Search for Survivors Continues After Haiti Earthquake
• Rescuers and scrap metal scavengers dug into the floors of a [Full Story]
• Biden Not Giving Americans Priority in Afghanistan Evacuation
• American citizens will reportedly not be prioritized by President Joe [Full Story]
• GOP Senate Campaign Chair Seeks 25th Amendment, Probe Against Biden
• Senate Republican campaign arm chairman Rick Scott has floated the [Full Story]
• Grenell Accuses White House of ‘Outing’ Intel Officials on Twitter
• Former Ambassador and acting Director of National Intelligence Ric [Full Story]
• Johnson & Johnson Pause Fueled Vaccine Hesitancy Among Undecideds
• As the Biden administration blames conservative media and Republican [Full Story] |
• US Opens Probe of Tesla Autopilot After 11 Crashes
• US safety officials opened a preliminary investigation into Tesla’s [Full Story]
• Canceled? Johnny Depp Says Hollywood Is Boycotting Him
• Johnny Depp has spoken out for the first time since losing his libel [Full Story]
• Double Trouble: Wildfires Can Raise COVID Risks
• The wildfire smoke now smothering wide portions of the United States [Full Story]
• Another Navalny Ally Handed Restrictions Over Protests
• A court in Moscow on Monday sentenced another ally of imprisoned [Full Story]
• Biden Admin Files Appeal Notice to Ruling That Revived ‘Remain in Mexico’ Policy
• The Biden administration on Monday filed a notice of appeal of a [Full Story]
• Republican Adam Laxalt Files to Run for US Senate in Nevada
• Republican Adam Laxalt filed late Sunday to run for the U.S. Senate [Full Story]
• Florida Rep. Perez to Newsmax: Feds Can’t Pay Off School Superintendents
• The Biden administration’s move to offer money to school [Full Story] |
• Bezos’s Blue Origin Challenges NASA Contract With Musk’s SpaceX
• Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin is challenging a U.S. government contract [Full Story]
• US Troops Kill 2 Armed Men At Kabul Airport Amid Chaotic Evacuations
• S. forces at the airport in Afghanistan’s capital of Kabul killed [Full Story]
• Texans Will Soon be Allowed to Carry Guns Without Permits
• A new Texas state law will soon let most Texans carry handguns in [Full Story]
• Cuomo Mandates COVID Vaccine for NY Healthcare Workers
• New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday announced that all of the [Full Story]
• US’ ‘Hasty’ Afghanistan Exit Gifts Taliban a Cache of Weapons, Drones, Vehicles
• Nearly 20 years since they were forced into the hills and neighboring [Full Story] |
• The Sun, Not CO2, to Blame for Global Warming: Study
• Warmer temperatures in recent decades might be caused mainly by the [Full Story]
• Poll: Nearly Third of Workers Under 40 Considered Changing Career During Pandemic
• Thirty percent of American workers under the age of 40 have [Full Story]
• California Voters Split on Gov. Newsom Recall: Poll
• California voters are divided on whether Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom [Full Story]
• Masks and Police on 1st Day of School in Colorado County
• Police have been called in to keep the peace at Eagle County Schools [Full Story]
• Liz Cheney: Biden Takes Final Blame for ‘Disgraceful’ Afghanistan Loss
• Liz Cheney on Monday blamed both the Trump and Biden [Full Story]
• T-Mobile Probing Claim Hackers Got Data of 100M Subscribers
• T-Mobile is investigating a claim that the personal data of more than [Full Story]
• Indiana Man in ICU After Catching Flesh-Eating Bacteria From Eating Raw Oysters
• A 50-year-old man from Indiana spent three weeks on life support and [Full Story]
• Texas Supreme Court Sides With Gov. Abbott, Temporarily Bans Mask Mandates
• The Texas Supreme Court on Sunday temporarily blocked mask mandates [Full Story]
• North Korea Asks China to Unite Against US
• South Korea and the United States will resume their annual military [Full Story]
• Biden Administration Approves Record Increase in Food Stamps
• Average benefits for the food stamp program are set to rise $36 from [Full Story]
• Malaysian PM Expected to Resign After Months of Political Turmoil
• Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is expected to step down on [Full Story]
• California Fire Threatens Homes as Blazes Burn across West
• Thousands of Northern California homes were threatened Sunday by the [Full Story]
• Trump Calls on Biden to Resign
• Former President Donald Trump on Sunday called on President Joe Biden [Full Story]
• More Newsfront
• Finance
• T-Mobile Probing Claim Hackers Got Data of 100M Subscribers
• T-Mobile is investigating a claim that the personal data of more than 100 million customers has been breached, the company said Sunday. [Full Story]
• Apple Aims to Bring Back In-Store Classes as It Tiptoes Toward Normalcy
• Oil Slumps as Delta Variant Takes Toll on China and Equities
• Tesla Autopilot Safety Probe Puts a Damper on Musk’s AI Day, Hits Stock Price
• Company Behind Wall Streets’ Fearless Girl State Leaving NYC Offices
• More Finance
• Health
• Some Diabetes Meds Might Also Lower Alzheimer’s Risk
• Older adults who take certain diabetes drugs may see a slower decline in their memory and thinking skills, a new study suggests. Researchers in South Korea found that among older people… [Full Story]
• 10 Proven Health Benefits of Garlic
• Experts Say Herd Immunity Against COVID May Never Be Achieved
• Get Your Kids on a School-Ready Sleep Schedule
• Brain-Training App Aids Cognitive Function After Brain Injury

 

 

Manufactured Housing Industry Investments Connected Equities Closing Tickers

Some of these firms invest in manufactured housing, or are otherwise connected, but may do other forms of investing or business activities too.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • NOTE: The chart below includes the Canadian stock, ECN, which purchased Triad Financial Services, a manufactured home industry lender
                        • NOTE: Drew changed its name and trading symbol at the end of 2016 to Lippert (LCII).
                        • NOTE: Deer Valley was largely taken private, say company insiders in a message to MHProNews on 12.15.2020, but there are still some outstanding shares of  the stock from the days when it was a publicly traded firm.  Thus, there is still periodic activity on DVLY.

 

Summer 2021…

Berkshire Hathaway is the parent company to Clayton Homes, 21^st Mortgage, Vanderbilt Mortgage and other factory built housing industry suppliers.
· LCI Industries, Patrick, UFPI, and LP each are suppliers to the manufactured housing industry, among others.
· AMG, CG, and TAVFX have investments in manufactured housing related businesses. For insights from third-parties and clients about our publisher, click here.
Enjoy these ‘blast from the past’ comments.

MHProNews. MHProNews – previously a.k.a. MHMSM.com – has celebrated our 11th year of publishing, and is starting our 12th year of serving the industry as the runaway most-read trade media.

Sample Kudos over the years…

It is now 11+ years and counting…

Learn more about our evolutionary journey as the industry’s leading trade media, at the report linked below.

· For expert manufactured housing business development or other professional services, click here.
· To sign up in seconds for our industry leading emailed headline news updates, click here.

Disclosure. MHProNews holds no positions in the stocks in this report.

That’s a wrap on this installment of “News Through the Lens of Manufactured Homes and Factory-Built Housing” © where “We Provide, You Decide.” © (Affordable housing, manufactured homes, stock, investing, data, metrics, reports, fact-checks, analysis, and commentary. Third-party images or content are provided under fair use guidelines for media.) (See Related Reports, further below. Text/image boxes often are hot-linked to other reports that can be access by clicking on them.)

By L.A. “Tony” Kovach – for MHProNews.
Tony earned a journalism scholarship along with numerous awards in history. There have been several awards and honors and also recognition in manufactured housing. For example, he earned the prestigious Lottinville Award in history from the University of Oklahoma, where he studied history and business management. He’s a managing member and co-founder of LifeStyle Factory Homes, LLC, the parent company to MHProNews, and MHLivingNews.com. This article reflects the LLC’s and/or the writer’s position, and may or may not reflect the views of sponsors or supporters.