From Tennessee, Blount Today reports that David Schwall, 39 Vice president of marketing, Clayton Homes will soon be honored for leaving his mark on East Tennessee through professional achievements and philanthropic efforts. Schwall will be honored January 11 at the Knoxville Convention Center for his application of technology to increase …
Bloomberg News reports that Addison, Texas-based Palm Harbor Homes won court approval to hold an auction to sell its assets with an initial offer of about $58 million. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Sontchi approved the rules and procedures that would govern the company’s proposed March 1 auction. Bloomberg says Sontchi …
From Virginia, the Mount Vernon Gazette reports a controversial project to construct a manufactured home community for low-income residents of Fairfax County is about to move forward. The project has been on the drawing board since the early 1980s. The article recounts how a series of events conspired to scuttle …
The Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) submitted comments in December to the Department of Housing Urban Development (HUD) on its October 29, 2010 proposed rule establishing the regulations that govern the Housing Trust Fund (HTF). The HTF, authorized by Congress under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) of 2008, was …
Joe Kelly at the Iowa Manufactured Housing Association alerted us to another story about manufactured homes making the pages of the Des Moines Register. MHMSM.com recently responded to a story in the paper about fire safety in manufactured homes, pointing out mis-use of terminology. The use of the terms showed …
From Minnesota, the Free Press reports that the city of St. Peter is planning to participate in a pilot program aimed at upgrading or demolishing mobile homes. The report indicates the plan would provide both rehabilitation incentives for homeowners with homes built to the HUD Code and buyout assistance for …
From Arizona the San Pedro Valley News-Sun reports there’s less red tape involved with installing manufactured homes in the community of Benson. The report says the city council there approved an Inter-Governmental Agreement between the city and the Arizona Department of Fire, Building and Life Safety, Office of Manufactured Housing …
Insurance Networking News reports that Moody’s has assigned an Aa2 rating to $1.5 billion of senior unsecured notes being issued by Berkshire Hathaway Finance Corp. Net proceeds are expected to be used to repay a like amount of BHFC notes maturing in January 2011. Moody’s says the rating outlook for …
Iowa Manufactured Housing Association Executive Vice President Joe Kelly says the city of Des Moines is concerned about how older factory-built homes are sold on contract. The City Attorney, Bruce Bergman, expressed to Kelly that Des Moines is considering requiring all community owners, if they are selling a home in …
Des Moines Considering Regulatory Changes in MH Titling and Inspection Read More
The Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR) sent out a message to manufacturers indicating its view that the already diminished role and authority of the Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee (MHCC) as an independent check and balance on the power of HUD regulators took another major step backward on January …
MHARR Says Committee Selection Process Sets MHCC Back Read More
Bankrate.com reports the zero-down mortgage is still alive in the form of the USDA home loan. The property must be in a designated rural area; however, some eligible properties are in places that most people would not consider rural. USDA Spokesman Jay Fletcher explains to MHMSM.com the department has …
It might be called a moving tax. The Illinois Lincoln Courier reports a measure that took effect last week requires a factory-assembled home on private property and not part of a community to be assessed and taxed as real property. Previously, the homes had been taxed by counties at 15 …
New Illinois Law Hikes Tax on Some Manufactured Homes Read More
The Center for the Polyurethanes Industry (CPI) of the American Chemistry Council (ACC) recently announced the availability of a new online training program for spray polyurethane foam (SPF) applicators to further improve good safety practices. “This new training program is part of CPI’s ongoing efforts for continuous health and safety …
Sun Communities, Inc., a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) that owns and operates manufactured housing and recreational vehicle communities, announced recently its Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.63 per share for the fourth quarter of 2010. The dividend is payable January 21, 2011 to shareholders of record …
Sun Communities Declares Fourth Quarter 2010 Dividend Read More
From New York, Greene County News reports that Catskill Mountain Housing Development Corporation recently announced that they are collecting applications for the Greene County Trailer Replacement Program. The program replaces severely deteriorated mobile homes with new, energy-efficient manufactured homes. To be eligible, applicants must own the land on which the …
From New York, the Watertown Daily Times reports that an investor recently purchased a 53-acre property known as Patriot Mobile Home Park, expecting demand in 2012 when troops return from Afghanistan. Las Vegas-based Jeremiah L. Boucher purchased the community for $615,000 and currently holds about 60 two- and three-bedroom homes. …
From the Bismark Tribune we learn that the town of Killdeer, ND has signed a letter of intent to sell some commercial property it owns to Pinnacle Equity, of Bismark, to develop a court for 30 single-wide manufactured homes. The land will require a conditional use permit. The article indicates …
MHMSM.com recently sent a letter to Des Moines Register Managing Editor Randy Brubaker regarding a December 26th article titled “The most dangerous housing in America.” The letter pointed out the article failed to correctly distinguish between “mobile” homes built before the implementation of the HUD Code in 1976, and modern, …
MHMSM.com Responds to MH Article in the DesMoines Register Read More
From the Wall Street Journal blog we find that Cormello LLC, the owner of a manufactured and mobile-home park in Michigan, filed for bankruptcy earlier this month. The report indicates documents filed in the Detroit bankruptcy court, the township of Ypsilanti, alleged that the Ypsilanti Mobile Village “constitutes a public …
It is NOT manufactured housing, but you may come away with that impression after reading a recent item in the DesMoines Register. The article recalled the first death of 2010, a man named William McCune who reportedly died during a fire in an old, pre-HUD code mobile home. The article goes …
