MHARR Presidential Initiative – Status Report

by Danny D. Ghorbani

As announced last week, MHARR, on September 18, 2012, sent an identical package to both President Obama and Governor Romney.The Association’s communication appealed to them to help revitalize the manufactured housing industry by eliminating discriminatory federal policies and incorporating affordable manufactured housing as a core component of the nation’s housing opportunity and home financing programs, with the objective of challenging the next administration to elevate the status of manufactured housing to that of a co-equal with all other segments of the housing industry.

These communications, which dovetail with ongoing efforts in the U.S. Congress, represent the initial phase of a broader presidential initiative discussed at the MHARR 2012 Spring Meeting.They express in broad terms the prime policy agenda that the Association will pursue to advance the cause of manufactured housing and its consumers in the nation’s capital after the November 2012 election, regardless of which candidate is ultimately elected president.

In order to achieve maximum national exposure for this initiative, MHARR contracted for national distribution of these materials, and the initial response has been quite gratifying.Within the first week after this effort was launched, it had been picked-up by more than 1,000 sources across the United States and was also the subject of several independent news stories.

Furthermore, the success of this effort in generating national interest in the future wellbeing of the manufactured housing industry and its consumers, and the availability of manufactured housing as a resource for affordable home ownership, has been reflected in the number of calls and inquiries that MHARR has received regarding this matter – all of which are being addressed, as appropriate, by MHARR.

With this initiative now successfully launched, the MHARR Board will be in a position to further address the elements of this national policy agenda at its November 2012 meeting, by which time one of these candidates will have been elected the next President of the United States.

This activity also interacts with the launch of a parallel MHARR legal initiative onSeptember 25, 2012,details of which will be provided to you next week.

MHARR Appeals to Obama And Romney For Action

Danny Ghorbani, President, Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR)