Ginnie Mae provides new Guidance on Manufactured Home Loans
Housingwire reports that Ginnie Mae issued new guidance on pooling Federal Housing Administration manufactured home loans. Ginnie guarantees investors the timely payment of principal and interest on mortgage-backed securities containing federally insured loans, mainly FHA. Effective with issuances on or after October 1, 2010, Issuers may pool manufactured home loans electronically through GinnieNET. Eligible collateral for the Ginnie Mae II custom pool type, “C MH,” shall only include FHA Title I home loans whose loan application dates occur on or after June 1, 2009. Manufactured home loans whose loan application dates occur prior to June 1, 2009, will be ineligible for pooling within the “C MH” pool type, and will not be eligible for pooling within any Ginnie Mae security beyond a September 2010 issuance. More detailed information is available at mhmsm.com.
A Muzzle for the Web: Elections Bring Setback for Net Neutrality
As CNN and later talkingpointsmemo.com reported recently, the concept of net neutrality suffered a substantial setback Tuesday. All 95 of the candidates who pledged their support for related legislation lost their elections. Talkingpointsmemo.com says the FCC has been trying to expand its authority to regulate broadband internet providers, initially losing a court case in April. After that, it pushed Congress to pass legislation that would prevent the providers from blocking access to certain internet content, and force them to treat all web content providers equally. Neutrality proponents claim that telecom companies seek to impose a tiered service model in order to control the pipeline and create artificial scarcity. In short, without net neutrality, it may become more difficult to access sites like mhmsm.com.
Delaware Court Says HUD Seal Requirement for Lease Transfer Arbitrary
Boston.com posted a story this week about residents of the Bay City Mobile Home Park in Delaware who found out the lease for their lot can’t be transferred and remain in the community if it doesn’t meet the current Bay City’s mobile-home standards. According to the report, one of these standards was that the manufacturer placed a U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department seal certifying compliance with federal standards on the factory-built home at the time it was manufactured; HUD seals are not placed on such homes manufactured prior to 1976. One resident sued and won in a trail court finding that both a square footage and HUD seal requirements were arbitrary and capricious and, thus, would not be enforced. The Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the decision on appeal. The court pointed out that HUD seals did not exist in 1960, when the home in question was built and a home built in 1976 could have the seal, yet have been in dilapidated condition by the time a transfer was requested.
Manufactured Home Restrictions Melting in Snowflake
From WMI Central in Arizona comes a story about a request for a variance that has led to the consideration of creating several overlay zones in residential areas. At a recent Snowflake council meeting, Michael Stratton asked for a variance that would allow him to place a manufactured home in a residential zone. Snowflake’s town code says manufactured homes are allowed in Ag (agricultural), R-2 acres (residential two acres) and R-1 acre zones, but not in the R-10,000-square-feet zone in which he wants to place his home. Stratton told the council he had removed an old manufactured home from the property and would replace it with a new one. Moreover, several other lots in the R-10,000 zone had manufactured homes. Snowflake Planning Director Dale Call pointed out that, although manufactured homes weren’t allowed in the R-10,000 feet zone, they can have the same look.
The Future Just Became More Expensive
Another estimate on the final taxpayer tab came Thursday from Standard & Poors. As reported on CNBC, costs to “resolve” U.S. mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and capitalize a new entity to replace their roles in supporting the nation’s housing market, could reach $685 billion. The debate on the future of Fannie and Freddie is expected to go into full swing early in 2011.
MH Owners in Britain Seek Legal Protections
The BBC reports that approximately 100 manufactured home owners there recently held a protest for changes in the law. Residents want change in the Mobile Homes Act 1983 to stop park operators from preventing the sale of homes at the “approval of the buyer” stage. One resident said some “unscrupulous” community owners were preventing residents from selling their homes in the hope of getting the properties themselves on the cheap.
All American Looks to Enhanced Accessibility
Accessible Home Improvement of America (AHIA), a division of VGM Group, Inc, and All American Homes recently announced a partnership to provide new homes designed with accessible needs in mind. “Being on the cutting edge of specifically designing new homes to meet the needs of those with accessibility issues fills a special niche within our program offerings,” says Jerry Keiderling, President of AHIA. All American Homes is one of the nation’s leading builders of residential modular housing. Founded in 1970, All American Homes has a large network of independent builders that serve homebuyers in most states.
MHI Urges Support of Energy-Star Tax Credit
Congress is currently scheduled to return for a lame duck session the week of November 15 to complete work on a number of must-pass legislative measures, including a potential energy tax incentive package. MHI is seeking assistance to ensure legislation extending and expanding tax credits available for the production of Energy Star-qualified manufactured and modular homes is included in any tax package considered by Congress. The legislation would amend the tax code to provide a credit of $1,500 for qualifying Energy Star manufactured homes, an increase from the current $1,000 credit. The credit increases to $2,500 when new, more stringent manufactured housing Energy Star requirements go into effect in 2011. MHI says for the highly price sensitive manufactured home market, tax credits are vital in helping offset the added costs associated with the construction, purchase and ownership of an Energy Star home. MHI members are urged to contact members of the Senate Finance Committee and ask them to co-sponsor S. 3935. Read more in Industry Voices at mhmsm.com.
MH Index, Dow Move Higher
The Dow Jones industrial average shot up 220 points or nearly two percent on Thursday after the Federal Reserve announced plans for more bond purchases and earnings beat analyst estimates. The Manufactured Housing Composite value bested the market in terms of percentage points, moving ahead nearly eight percent. Big individual-share value movers include Palm Harbor Homes, up more than 11 percent; Cavco, up nearly nine percent; Skyline Corp., up seven and a half percent; and Drew Industries, up nearly five percent. Penny stock All American group was down 25 percent.