WMAL and Newsmax satirical pundit Chris Plante asks, “Remember Normal?” NBC Bay Area said “Illegal rent increases at a mobile home park” have been alleged by “Housing Director Erik L. Soliván alleges the owners of Western Trailer Park, Stockton-based Harmony Communities.” According to the list linked here, Harmony Communities is a Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) member. As MHProNews recently reported, there are six Democratic (so-called “blue”) states that have moved to ban specific RVs at a time when homelessness is at or near all-time highs and RVs have become an alternative housing option for some. CA is one of those “banning” RVs. These are hundreds of potential headlines tee up a recent article by Star Parker on the one thing that almost all Americans agree on and what the syndicated columnist thinks it means. That will be covered in Part I. Additional facts, evidence, and analysis (FEA) on related topics will be found in Part II.
But first, extended quotes from NBC Bay Area in the San Fransico Bay area of California (CA) are appropriate for industry pros to know.
Illegal rent increases at a mobile home park just outside the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds have San Jose housing department staff turning to the city attorney for help.
A Nov. 7 report by Housing Director Erik L. Soliván alleges the owners of Western Trailer Park, Stockton-based Harmony Communities, told residents earlier this year rent would go up after purchasing the trailer park in March. Despite multiple warnings from housing officials that the company’s rent increases are illegal because they exceed the city’s 3.14% maximum allowable increase for 2023-24, company representatives said San Jose’s rent policy doesn’t apply to them.
Harmony Communities Regional Manager Nick Ubaldi told San Jose Spotlight the RV lots at the trailer park are not the same thing as mobile home lots, and therefore should be exempt from the rent control policy. Western Trailer Park has 94 lots.
“Since the lots in question are designated and used for RVs, they do not meet the definition of mobile home lots,” Ubaldi told San Jose Spotlight. “City staff appear to not understand their own (policy) and state law. We are operating in full compliance with the (policy). There have been no illegal rent increases.”
Legal advocates say rent has gone up as much as 50% for many trailer park residents.
…
“Just imagine how devastating that is to a household to learn that your rent is going to increase by nearly 50%,” Chagolla told San Jose Spotlight. “What I find so stunning in this example, and I think why this example has really hit hard for the impacted families and stakeholders, is how defiant the property owners have been in correcting their illegal and improper rent increase.”
Commissioners on Thursday raised concerns about the rent and called on the city to enforce the rent policy. Commissioner Daniel Finn said the rent increases have been an issue for about eight months and people are continuing to get hurt, especially older adults.
“I thought we were trying to keep people from becoming homeless and unhoused and parking their RVs on the street, and I would think the city would want to get very much deeply involved in this — because that’s what’s going to happen to these people,” he said Thursday. “I don’t understand why we’ve allowed this situation to continue for such a long period of time.
Commissioner Roma Dawson said she was uncomfortable with the idea that a company managing mobile homes is allowed to raise rents illegally, and she has heard other stories of mobile home residents hit with costly rent increases. …”
More on that in Part II of this article.
As an interesting feature of the NBC article is this popup, shown below, that appeared on the NBC Bay Area article. Obviously, people there want to know why in what used to be a regional gem in the “Golden State” of California, housing costs exploded, and homelessness did too. More on that in Part II as well.
With that tee up, here is Star Park’s post-election column via the Daily Signal. According to her bio-in-brief: “Star Parker, a columnist for The Daily Signal, is president of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education.”
Part I
Commentary
What Happened? What’s Next?
Star Parker | November 14, 2024
Two weeks ago, I wrote: “There seems to be only one thing about which all Americans agree … that something is very wrong in our nation.”
My point then was that all the polling data has been pointing in one direction—Americans of all persuasions are not happy with what’s happening in, and the direction of, our country.
Now we see, despite all the pessimism about the state of American democracy, that it works.
Why be surprised about the blowout of the incumbent party when, for most of Joe Biden’s presidency, the percentage of Americans saying they are satisfied with the direction of the country hovered around 20%. And when, after the early months of his presidency, Biden’s approval ratings tanked and for the remaining time, the gap between his disapproval and approval hovered between 10 to 15 percentage points.
As former Reagan speechwriter Ken Khachigian noted in The Wall Street Journal, Vice President Kamala Harris drove a stake into her candidacy when in an appearance on ABC’s “The View” she said nothing came to mind that she would have “done differently than President Biden.”
Gallup started asking about satisfaction with the direction of the country in 1979. The highest it’s ever been was 71% in February 1999.
In Trump’s first term, satisfaction reached 41%, the highest it had been in 15 years. Then, to the misfortune of the then and future President Donald Trump, COVID-19 hit.
So, my answer to the tsunami of commentary about what happened in this election is that Americans are not happy and are sufficiently vibrant and healthy to step up and say “enough.”
As I said in my column two weeks ago, the only thing most Americans seem to agree about is that things are not good.
Now that the status quo has been rejected, where do we go?
I will repeat what I have been saying for a long time. A country that is fiscally bankrupt, culturally bankrupt, and morally bankrupt is not a country with a future.
The great news that I see is that those with a great stake in the country’s future—our youth, our working class, and lower- and middle-income Americans, and our non-white Americans whose votes have always been disproportionately on the left, for Democrats—shifted in a meaningful way to Trump and Republicans.
Regarding the surge to the right by young men of all colors, my take is they are unhappy with a feminized culture of victimhood, wokeness, and moral relativism.
I am not talking about manhood in a macho sense, but in the true sense of masculinity—to step up and take responsibility, to work, to build, and to create. They are getting that the critical element of manliness is not taking control of others but of taking control of oneself.
The headline from the exit polls is decisive dissatisfaction with the economy, and all these votes went to Trump.
They will all agree with the tax cuts.
But how about spending cuts? We must shrink the long and heavy hand of government to recapture the economic growth of years gone by.
The voting shift among Americans of color is of crucial importance. The country is becoming less and less white.
Seventy-one percent of the 2024 vote was white voters. When Ronald Reagan was elected president in 1980, 88% of voters were white.
Less than half the children in K-12 in America’s public schools are white.
We need Americans of color to walk away from the culture of victimhood and embrace the culture of freedom and personal responsibility.
America needs these Americans of color, and these Americans of color need the values that built the country.
Regarding the Democratic Party, I would not liken it to a bankrupt company. A company in bankruptcy needs to reorganize and do its business more efficiently.
The Democratic Party is very efficient. Its problem is it’s selling the wrong product.
We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal.
Part II – Additional Facts, Evidence and MHProNews Analysis
In no particular order of importance are the following.
1) The NBC Bay Area News article didn’t mention Harmony Communities reported membership in the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI). On this date, Harmony Communities and Western Trailer Park are not found as a result of the Western Manufactured Housing Communities Association (WMA.org) website.
2) By contrast, the MHPHOA website has numerous pages of results for the search Harmony Communities starting with this.
“Harmony Communities Mobile Home Parks – Buyer Beware!” That resident-focused website provides a: “Table of Mobile Home Parks Owned/Managed by Harmony Communities Inc, 6653 Embarcadero Drive, Suite C, Stockton, California 95219.” According to their website: “MHPHOA is NOT affiliated with any mobile home park owners and/or mobile home park management entities. We are both outspoken and anonymous mobile home residents, past and present, just like you, experiencing similar injustices, who want to help.” MHPHOA is an apparent acronym for “Mobile Home Park Home Owners Allegiance.”
Among the pages that come up in a search for “Harmony Communities” and “Manufactured Housing Institute” via a Google search this morning is this. “Don’t Believe a Single Word From Harmony Communities” which is by David Taub, Senior Reporter on GVWire.com March 20, 2023.
3) From the award-winning GVWire is an article that said the following.
Mariah Thompson, with California Rural Legal Assistance, is defending several La Hacienda residents facing eviction.
“I think that tells the public everything they need to know about their company values,” Thompson said.
Jess Maxcy, president of the industry group California Manufactured Housing Institute, had a succinct reaction.
“What you have described is not professional,” Maxcy said.
Taub opened with these observations.
Not everyone wants to talk to the media.
Politicians, business leaders, and many others sometimes have reason to dodge scrutiny. Some ignore requests for comments. Others are polite enough to officially say “no comment.”
Taub contrasted that with a Harmony manager’s curious emailed response, which Taub quoted included their message and its hotlinks. About Harmony, under the subheading: “No Apology or Contrition by the Company,” Taub said the following.
So, Harmony lied to reporters to embarrass them. A company that has hundreds, if not thousands, of people’s lives in the palm of their hand wants to play a joke.
It would be funny except for the residents facing eviction or what they consider draconian regulations that could make them homeless.
4) Shifting gears, Star Parker had a point when she said: “There seems to be only one thing about which all Americans agree … that something is very wrong in our nation.” Parker noted this.
Gallup started asking about satisfaction with the direction of the country in 1979. The highest it’s ever been was 71% in February 1999.
In Trump’s first term, satisfaction reached 41%, the highest it had been in 15 years. Then, to the misfortune of the then and future President Donald Trump, COVID-19 hit.
Parker said the “then and future” President Trump. But there has been two known assassination attempts. God only knows what will happen between now and inauguration day. According to Ballotpedia’s “What happens if the winning presidential candidate becomes incapacitated before taking office? (2024)” is the following.
The Twentieth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution governs what happens if the president-elect dies before taking office. In that case, the vice president-elect becomes the president-elect. It is an open legal question whether a candidate becomes the president-elect after winning a majority of the vote in the Electoral College or only after Congress counts the vote.[1] The Electoral College is scheduled to vote on December 17, 2024, and Congress is scheduled to count the vote on January 6, 2025.[2]
Facts and accuracy matter.
5) That noted, Parker has made an interesting point when she illustrated how far satisfaction as reported by Gallup and their surveys has fallen since February 1999. Parker’s focus isn’t manufactured housing. But in 1999, there were 348,075 new HUD Code manufactured homes sold. In 2023, that total had fallen to 89,169. So, not only has the reported satisfaction with the country’s direction has fallen, but obviously the results for the manufactured home industry have too. Thoughtful professionals, media, and researchers should wonder what has happened to our once far greater profession too.
So, just as Parker noted that: “There seems to be only one thing about which all Americans agree … that something is very wrong in our nation.” It should be just as nearly universal that professionals, advocates, and others should ask and seek authentic answers to: ‘What has gone wrong in the manufactured home profession?’ Which has related questions.
6) As our trade publications have informed our readers, California is a state where state-level preemption for accessory dwelling units (ADUs) has become a real-world case study of how preempting local zoning could help open up construction of more affordable housing. MHProNews/MHLivingNews have done several reports over the course of years that connect the dots between increased ADU use and what lessons that should have for manufactured housing.
In fairness, MHI does have some posts publicly available on the topic of ADUs. Curiously, one of them is from an item dated 11.9.2024. Part of what makes that curious is that MHI has apparently once-more back dated posts, likely knowing that MHProNews has posted multiple fact-checks that showed that they had nothing posted since 11.4.2024. While it may seem to be a minor point, one should ask, if they are willing to be deceptive about something this minor, what else are they willing to be deceptive about? More on that another time but consider the screen capture below a placeholder to the latest example of what seems like deceptive behavior by MHI hiding in plain sight.
7) The above noted, in MHI’s post that mentions ADUs is the following. Under the headline “Survey Says Americans View Homeownership as More Important and More Inaccessible.” To reframe that headline, MHI is proving the point that MHProNews has often made, namely, that their home page claim that they are expanding attainable home ownership is bogus. They disprove it themselves with their seemingly back-dated post on 11.9.2024.
Citing a survey in October 2024 by the U.S. Mortgage Insurers (USMI), MHI’s article that claims it was posted on 11.9.2024 included this.
Key findings include:
Homeownership is more important now than a few years ago. 78% of respondents believe owning a home is very important, 6% higher than in 2021.
MHI also said this.
The majority of renters (65%) and owners (55%) think it is harder to buy a home. This is true across different races: White/Caucasian (66%), Hispanics (54%), Asians (50%), and African Americans (38%).
…
Higher prices (81%) and higher interest rates (71%) were the top two reasons why it has become harder to buy a home.
…
Financial problems contribute to these perceptions more than housing problems. One in 3 people were struggling financially in the last year, worrying about buying groceries, paying utilities, and having no money for gas/transport as the top financial problems in the past year. The most common housing problems reported were worries about falling behind rent, missing mortgage payments, and inability to pay property taxes.
…
A down payment is perceived as the main challenge to buying a home, with 28% of respondents choosing “unable to afford a down payment” as the perceived main challenge, followed by “economic and personal uncertainty”, and “limited supply of affordable homes.” The down payment challenge is most acute among renters (37% picked it as the top challenge).
MHI continues to prove their incompetence and/or failures to address the topics raised in their own post, which said the following.
Only 34% of respondents know that buying a home with a 3%-5% down payment is possible.
Note that there was no mention by MHI that there are also zero down payment loans that potentially millions of Americans could qualify for, which begs the question, who authors what little MHI does post for the public? How well do they know their own industry?
8) When their post above is further explored, it turns out that the MHI post that seemed to use the word ADU is not a subject found in that post. The apparent reason their search engine showed ADU as a result is because of the use of the word “adult,” which begins with the letters, ADU. When a revised search is performed for Accessory Dwelling Unit (a.k.a.: ADU), there are fewer articles on the MHI website and only one that is publicly posted on the topic. That seemingly only use of the term accessory dwelling unit publicly available on this date and time, per their search tool, is found in this paragraph which ends with that terminology. Per their site, it was supposedly posted on: “Date Published March 12, 2024.” It is about the Biden-Harris housing plans from Joe Biden’s State of the Union.
The Administration also plans to explore updating the statutory definition of manufactured housing—for example, through amending the chassis requirement—with the goal of identifying options that could provide manufactured homebuilders with more design flexibility and consumers with more options beyond local site-built homes for single-family homes and accessory dwelling units.
9) That MHI article ended with these words.
MHI is reviewing the proposals to ensure they have a positive impact on homeownership through manufactured housing.
Like so much that is produced by MHI, it is a laughable remark. Biden’s State of the Union was delivered on March 7, 2024, at 9:00 p.m. EST, per left-leaning Wikipedia. What makes that laughable? Where do we begin? MHI later came out with endorsements or applause of several Biden-Harris and Democratic housing proposals that made no mention of the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 2000 (a.k.a.: MHIA 2000, MHIA, 2000 Reform Act, 2000 Reform Law). The 2000 Reform Law provided for what is known as “enhanced preemption.”
MHI CEO Lesli Gooch, Ph.D., it will be recalled ran as a Republican for a CA congressional seat. Her candidacy drew serious push-back in an district that was held by a Republican.
10) Zoning and problematic regulations are well-documented barrier to more affordable housing. The ADU legislative experiment in CA is a real-world example of how impactful statewide preemption could be to opening up more affordable housing in a state that is starving for lower-cost homes. MHProNews has been reporting on the impact of CA’s liberalized use of ADUs for years.
11) As was stated earlier, GVWire’s Taub insightfully noted that:
11) MHI has managed to escape serious mainstream media scrutiny for years. But MHProNews, our MHLivingNews sister site, and our new series on the Patch shed periodic light on the problematic behavior of MHI and of several of their leading brands. At some point, it would not be a shock if MHI comes into focus in mainstream media and/or from public officials. If so, that could be one more thing for Americans to be thankful for. Stay tuned.
California Democrat turned Republican Ronald Reagan famously quipped that the “nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help.” Parker drew attention to the dissatisfaction with the direction of the country now that has resulted in Kamala Harris (D) losing her bid to become an elected President of the United States (POTUS), at least during this election cycle. Harris is said to be considering a run for California governor and as a possible Democratic candidate in the 2028 election cycle. In the X post below it should be noted that Harris said that their campaign raised $1.4 billion, or almost $1.5 billion.
As Kamala delivers a message to her dejected supporters bragging about how they raised nearly $1.5 billion for her failed campaign…
David Plouffe finally admits the “campaign’s internal polling never had Harris ahead of Trump.”
It was all a giant scam. pic.twitter.com/MCiSVIeDUj
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) November 27, 2024
I’ve never accused Kamala Harris of being a drunk. I like to stick only to facts. But man, this video is not helping her.
— Anna Matson (@AnnaRMatson) November 27, 2024
Dem strategist James Carville absolutely obliterates Kamala’s progressive staffers who kept Harris from doing the @joerogan interview: I would tell them, “Not only am I not interested in your f**king opinion, I’m not even gonna call you by your name.”
“You’re 23 years old. I… pic.twitter.com/r3NpDVKyDq
— Rusty (@Rusty_Weiss) November 26, 2024
Kevin O’Leary Delivers a Brutal Reality Check on Why Kamala Harris Lost in a Landslide
This is the harshest critique I’ve ever heard on CNN.
• “Faulted, broken candidate.”
• “Inconsequential in her vice presidency.”
• “Complete loser in 2020.”
• “Never could articulate… pic.twitter.com/QMqCcUoHFO— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) November 27, 2024
FULL VIDEO: Kamala Harris addresses supporters three weeks after humiliating loss to Trump in painfully CRINGE 10 minute rant where she brags about wasting over $1.4 BILLION in donor money.
This is hard to watch – YIKES pic.twitter.com/dI8KqK8lwW
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) November 27, 2024
Who thinks Tusli Gabbard is way smarter than Kamala Harris!? pic.twitter.com/VTbeMm9N7g
— Save America 🇺🇲 (@SaveAmericaNew) November 23, 2024
41% of Democrats say they want Kamala Harris to run again in 2028.
100% of Republicans say they want Kamala Harris to run again in 2028.
— Scott Mason (@hypnoksa) November 27, 2024
Headline- MSNBC admitted it was “unaware” that Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign paid $500,000 to Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network nonprofit ahead of a friendly interview with the Democratic nominee ahead of Election Day.
Anybody believe this? Anyone?? Bueller??… pic.twitter.com/4Dpg4aPsYg— Ron Milner (@RonMilnerBoodle) November 26, 2024
🔺️So ‼️The View.‼️ has come out and said that Kamala Harris would have won the election if platforms like X and Rumble would have been censored.
🔺️So Leftist lies are ok.
🔺️But MAGA or Conservative truth needed to be shut down so Kamala Harris could win.😬‼️Jeff… pic.twitter.com/Karcz2V5dv
— (Jason) Stands For Truth (@TrueJMitchell) November 25, 2024
In less 90 days, Kamala Harris took over a billion dollars and turned it into a $20 million deficit and screwed her staff out of their paychecks. Does anyone of you who were dumb enough to vote for her seriously think she was going to help you get a head financially??
— The Nasty Italian🍷🇺🇸 🇮🇹 (@sayitnspinit) November 26, 2024
OMG 😳 Democratic Party space cadet, Kamala Harris — appears to be drunk off that Henny😅 pic.twitter.com/suaUrXZxiG
— HarrietEve9 (@HarrietEve9) November 27, 2024
4 years of fighting Trump can wear a persons out. Just ask Kamala Harris.
BEFORE AFTER pic.twitter.com/uKvqi2ybg3
— 🇺🇸 Larry 🇺🇸 (@LarryDJonesJr) November 27, 2024
But it isn’t about Democrats or Republicans or left vs. right, said the award-winning Glenn Greenwald. It is about the Anti-Establishment vs. the Pro-Establishment. The Democrats have been a key part of the Establishment for decades.
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. There is much to do, but it is appropriate to take time with family and friends to thank God for avoiding what has become a far-left, billionaire and Wall Street/big corporate backed Democratic Party. As political independents, MHProNews holds the position that the GOP is absolutely not perfect. But compared to what has become of the Democratic Party, it was a hands-down better choice in 2024. MHProNews will monitor and report on the Trump transition and other events that are important for helping the manufactured housing industry and affordable housing markets recover to their true potential. Stay tuned.
Democrats and their supporters need to look carefully at what some of their own have said about the affordable housing issue.
The solution to the affordable housing crisis has been hiding in plain sight for far too long.
that the industry ought to expect this current downturn because more expensive site-built housing is also in a downturn? MHI’s research and reasoning are arguably a classic example of PALTERING and the use of a RED HERRING logical fallacy. Note: depending on your browser or device, many images in this report and others on MHProNews can be clicked to expand. Click the image and follow the prompts. For example, in some browsers/devices you click the image and select ‘open in a new window.’ After clicking that selection, you click the image in the open window to expand the image to a larger size. To return to this page, use your back key, escape or follow the prompts.
Reminder. The Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR) said in a message to MHProNews that they look forward to working with Trump’s HUD nominee Eric Scott Turner for the full implementation of the 2000 Reform Act. More to come. ##
An hour or so of reading a day can make the realities of your life and options and obstacles clearer. That’s a fraction of what Warren Buffett reportedly does in reading. No one connects the dots in MHVille like MHProNews and MHLivingNews. Who says? Competitors. Manufactured home industry outsiders, but also from MHVille insiders. But we have also added insights from AI fact checks and analysis, see the report linked here as an example. https://www.manufacturedhomepronews.com/artificial-intelligence-answers-why-manufactured-housing-has-underperformed-in-21st-century-during-affordable-housing-crisis-facts-analysis-plus-sunday-weekly-mhville-headlines-r/
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By L.A. “Tony” Kovach – for MHProNews.com.
Tony earned a journalism scholarship and earned numerous awards in history and 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.
Connect on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/latonykovach
Related References:
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