Perhaps 20,000 to 30,000 jobs and the home values of some 4 million pre-HUD Code mobile and post-HUD Code manufactured homes hangs in the balance of the passage of HR 3849. Can it get done? Experts tell MHProNews that it will require a strong grass roots effort by industry professionals to make it happen. The chart below is one reason why. Lobbying dollars from manufactured housing pales in comparison to other housing related groups. According to OpenSecrets, $66,477,304 was spent on real estate lobbying in 2011. The National Association of Realtors alone spent $22,355,463 in 2011. But 100% sign-on to HR 3849 by all the House members in MS and OK – congressmen representing both parties – proves it can be done. One source told MHProNews that there are three reasons MS got all their congressman on board “Jen Hall, Jen Hall and Jen Hall,” meaning Jennifer Hall and the Mississippi Manufactured Housing Association’s efforts.Doug Gorman explains how it was done in OK in an exclusive Industry Voices guest column. Tony Kovach said, “Use the information at this link to HR 3849 to get your congressman on board. Then contact your manufactured home owning residents and customers with thislinkand have them contact their congressman too. Call and email, get others to do the same. If we want to fix Dodd-Frank and SAFE so we can sell more homes and protect manufactured home owners values, just do it.
