MHMSM.com presents Factory Built Housing Industry News at Noon with Erin Patla.
Coming up, Congressman Walter Jones Says SAFE Act
Wasn’t Meant to Regulate Manufactured Home
Industry
But first…these stories:
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DOE Announces $30 Million for Energy-Efficient
Housing Partnerships
RealEstateRama
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced 15 research and deployment partnerships to help dramatically improve the energy efficiency of American homes. These highly-qualified, multidisciplinary teams will receive a total of up to $30 million for the initial eighteen months of the projects to deliver innovative energy efficiency strategies to the residential market and address barriers to bringing high-efficiency homes within reach for all Americans. A total of up to $20 million per year will also be made available for the partnerships for three potential one-year extensions. These research and deployment partnerships will provide technical assistance to retrofit projects and will leverage industry expertise and funding to support DOE’s energy efficiency retrofit programs. This effort will support the Department’s Retrofit Ramp-Up initiative, announced by Vice President Joe Biden in April, which brings communities, governments, private sector companies and non-profit organizations together to deliver energy-efficiency upgrades (or retrofits) to whole neighborhoods and cities.
“Home energy efficiency is one of the easiest, most immediate and most cost-effective ways to reduce carbon pollution and save money on energy bills, while creating new jobs,” said Secretary of Energy Steven Chu. “By developing and using tools to reduce residential energy use, we will spur economic growth here in America and help homeowners make cost-cutting improvements in their homes.”
The new partnerships will provide additional support to ongoing retrofit initiatives that are making cost-effective energy efficiency retrofits easily accessible to hundreds of thousands of American homes and businesses. These partnerships will research and deploy new technologies and demonstration projects, and provide systems engineering, quality assurance, and outreach for retrofit projects throughout the country.
Existing techniques and technologies in energy efficiency retrofitting (such as air-tight ducts, windows and doors, heating and cooling systems, insulation and caulking) can reduce energy use by up to 40 percent per home and cut energy bills by $40 billion annually.
IN MARKET NEWS: KB Home has the Best Relative
Performance in the Homebuilding Industry
By Chip Brian
In the search for stocks that have the potential to outperform, the top five companies in the Homebuilding industry as measured by relative performance are the following:
KB Home (NYSE:KBH) ranks first with a gain of 7.36%; Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH) ranks second with a gain of 6.96%; and Lennar (NYSE:LEN) ranks third with a gain of 6.15%.
Pulte Homes (NYSE:PHM) follows with a gain of 4.67% and Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) rounds out the top five with a gain of 4.44%.
SmarTrend was bearish on shares of KBH in May, but the stock has fallen 34.6% since then.
“Up next, Congressman Walter Jones Says SAFE Act Wasn’t Meant to Regulate Manufactured Home Industry”
But first, this podcast of News at Noon is sponsored in part by: Precision Capital Funding, on the Web at CaptiveFinance.net. Precision Capital Funding earned the MHI 2010 Service Supplier of the Year Award.
For more information, email Kenneth Rishel at kennethrishel@captivefinance.net or call 217-971-3968.
“And now, back to the news…”
Congressman Walter Jones Says SAFE Act Wasn’t Meant to Regulate Manufactured Home Industry
By Eric Miller with L.A. ‘Tony’ Kovach
RALEIGH, NC, July 22, 2010. North Carolina Congressman Walter Jones (Republican-NC) says a bill aimed at regulating the mortgage industry known as the SAFE Act was not meant to cover those working in the manufactured home industry. In an exclusive interview with Manufactured Home Marketing Sales Management (MHMSM) Publisher Tony Kovach and INdustry In Focus Reporter Eric Miller, Congressman Jones explains his support for legislation that would exempt manufactured home retailers from regulation meant for the mortgage industry.
The Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 (“SAFE Act”) gave states one year to pass legislation requiring the licensure of mortgage loan originators according to national standards and the participation of State agencies on the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry. As was explained by Congressman Jones, the SAFE Act was not meant to cover sellers of manufactured homes.
“The SAFE Act puts a heavy strain on small mom-and-pop-size manufactured- home-related businesses, but also larger firms as well,” says MHMSM.com Publisher Tony Kovach. “It’s an unintended consequence, but the already struggling industry is facing huge costs of compliance.”
To help remedy the situation, Jones became a co-sponsor of H.R. 5369, the Manufactured Housing Licensing Clarification Act. H.R. 5369 is sponsored by Indiana Congressman Joe Donnelly. The legislation would amend the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act to exclude from the definition of “loan originator” an individual who performs manufactured or modular housing retail sales activities and is licensed or registered under state law, unless such individual is compensated by a lender, a mortgage broker, or other loan originator or by one of their agents.
“To muzzle sales people or a community manager under the guise of the SAFE Act was never the idea behind that law,” Jones says.
With Jones, the bi-partisan bill currently has five co-sponsors including Representative. Ben Chandler (Democrat-KY), Rep. Gary C. Peters (D-MI), Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL) and Rep Charles A. Wilson (D-OH).
In the interview, Jones voices his support and admiration for the manufactured home industry and shares some personal experiences with manufactured housing, including how it has provided affordable housing for military families.
“We are honored to have been able to speak directly with Congressman Jones on this important issue, and the industry is grateful for his support of H.R. 5369,” Kovach says.
The complete interview is available at: mhmsm.com/10/366
“On behalf of Production and IT Manager Bob Stovall, Editor L.A. ‘Tony’ Kovach, Associate Editor Catherine Frenzel, INdustry in Focus reporter Eric Miller, and the entire MHMSM.com writing and support team, this is Erin Patla. G’day!”