“Curiosity helps us learn better, the research suggests. Specifically, we’re better at learning things we’re curious about. It also improves our memory.” So said an article on SciTech. “We feel most comfortable when things are certain, but we feel most alive when they’re not. Curious people welcome surprise in their lives. They try new foods, talk to a stranger, or ask a question they’ve never asked before,” per an article on Fast Company, which added that people “seek surprise.” While there is some truth there, it is also debatable, because as a prior slogan for Holiday Inn aptly noted, there are absolutely times when “The Best Surprise is No Surprise.”
“The best surprise is no surprise” was the highly effective slogan for Holiday Inn hotels for decades. Unpleasant surprises were the norm in the 1950s when it came to traveling by car on the new interstate highway system, especially when looking for a place to stay.” So said The Desert Sun on 1.2.2022.
One might think that the manufactured housing industry’s largest trade group might learn from that “The best surprise is no surprise” slogan. But instead, it seems to be mimicking a different and unofficial mantra, one internally expressed by a Midwestern manufactured home community operator to describe the ‘drama’ that can occur in the land-lease community business. That maxim used to lighten oddities, or problematic behaviors was to describe the issue as “free entertainment.”
If the current Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) leaders are any example, they arguably have moved beyond “free entertainment” to rather costly entertainment for residents of so-called ‘predatory’ brands in the land-lease manufactured home community (MHC) sector that seem to violate the MHI/National Communities Council (NCC) ‘rules of ethical conduct’ with impunity. Other mainstream media reported ‘predatory’ behavior among leading brands in manufactured housing caused Democrats to lodge legal complaints with federal regulators against perhaps the biggest brand in the industry. Meanwhile, even a corporate leader at an MHI “endorsed” operation in manufactured housing admitted that there appears to be more bad news than good news generated about the industry. Rather than deal with such obvious scandals, MHI leaders apparently ramped up generation for industry professionals in the form of awards given for “excellence,” often to some of the same brands that attracted costly legal issues in production and other embarrassing headaches among MHI member communities. Instead of dealing with authentic issues in a straightforward manner, their unspoken rule seems to be to distract and attempt to deceive.
Despite big claims and often the quite different results, MHI leaders seem to have bought into their own increasingly apparent multi-year pattern paltering, posturing, illusion generating, and gaslighting style of propaganda (see items in and linked from the weekly recap below). When even a stock analyst essentially questioned during an earnings call why manufactured housing wasn’t living up to its own claims, when carefully examined, the answer given by that same corporate leader was oddly different than the remarks deliver by that same leader on behalf of MHI to Congress.
Perhaps these apparent disconnects between years of claims by MHI vs. the stark realities are among the reasons why well over 1,500,299 visits from readers like you occurring annually at MHProNews?
Numbers of those over 1.5 million are returning visitors, some of whom have been reading MHProNews for years. Others are new readers, some of whom also become repeat visitors. That helps explains the surge in visitors to MHProNews in 2023 over 2022. The content focused on factual, evidence-based analysis are a magnet. More on that in a report linked in the headlines for the week in review, shown further below.
Because at some level, many in and beyond MHVille are curious about what is true. As noted, a report below documents how readers – like you – apparently want to know and understand specific examples of clever agenda-driven deceptions. As a MHEC leader opined to MHProNews recent, “the noose is closing around MHI.”
How is the noose tightening around MHI? Doubtlessly because facts and evidence uniquely shared in a way that reveals the truth is increasingly embarrassing to MHI leaders; another recent and shocking example of that is found among the headlines linked below on the hot button topic of financing.
The Powers that Be at the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI)
The powers that be behind MHI are not difficult to identify.
- The MHI board of directors’ names are published.
- The MHI Executive Committee is known, as are the companies they represent.
- While MHI has repeatedly declined providing their bylaws and governing documents, which an award winning MHI state executive and Manufactured Housing Executive Council (MHEC) member told MHProNews is a violation of law and regulations governing nonprofits, presumably money and numbers hold serious influence at MHI.
When MHI claims to have over 1000 member firms, how are those members counted? The prior MHI document linked here indicated that Clayton Homes is counted as 357 members. What? Yes, that’s according to MHI’s own document. Some other members also have multiple locations, per that MHI document. So, if every member location gets a vote, then Clayton Homes that year had 357 votes. Based on that evidence, it may only take a few corporations to get a ‘majority vote’ at MHI.
The vexing reality that when requested MHI won’t give MHProNews their governing documents, past and present, itself ought to speak volumes. What are MHI leaders hiding? Is it facts like the evidence above suggests? Curious minds want to know!
The Clique and Their Agenda
Oxford Languages defines a clique as: “a small group of people, with shared interests or other features in common, who spend time together and do not readily allow others to join them.”
Since MHI is apparently being run by a relatively small clique of firms that have been described, at times by themselves, as consolidators of their segment of the manufactured home industry, it should be obvious that others who are MHI members that aren’t consolidators are either hoping to be a future meal for a consolidator (are they negotiating how much will be left on the nightstand?), or perhaps they enjoy the networking, or get some other social/emotional ‘fix’ and effectively ignore the ongoing drama.
Some may feel ‘stuck’ because if they want to engage with certain brands, they may feel compelled to ‘pay to play’ in manufactured housing. If so, is MHI engaged in a form of racketeering and other illegal behaviors?
Or perhaps some, for whatever reasons, may want to ignore the evidence of declining production and shipments and accept the belief that MHI is actually accomplishing their stated goals? If it’s the later, they are practically asking to be lied to, or that might be an MHI’s attorney legal defense if they ever get sued by a member or members for false advertising, fraud, antitrust violations, RICO, or other possible evidence-based charges.
A Recent Case in Point
A recent example is the ‘read hot’ story of Lesli Gooch’s outrageous remarks as prepared at the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) “Listening Session” on the implementation (or lack thereof) of the Duty to Serve (DTS) “mandate.” While claiming to represent the interests of all segments of manufactured housing, lady, Dr., and CEO Gooch once again revealed her behavior apparently benefited the side of consolidators. See the evidence for that in the report with analysis in the headlines below.
See too how that pattern influenced manufacturing housing production in June 2023 – that’s among the headlines in review below.
Who said failure to properly regulate manufactured housing has hurt the industry? How about MHI Vice Chairman, and Cavco Industries CEO William “Bill” Boor. That too is among the headlines linked below.
Facts and Fiction – Sell Outs and Betrayals?!?
It has been said that the truth is stranger than fiction. If so, then MHI and manufactured housing more broadly is an example worth exploring in that “truth is stranger than fiction” genre.
Dr., CEO, and Lady Gooch was ‘almost’ the recipient of a Women of Influence award, the industry was told. Wow! Almost influential! Isn’t that just what manufactured housing needs? Yes, as part of the gaslighting and “illusory truth” creating machine that has blown smoke in the faces of thousands of hard working but reportedly unhappy and perhaps previously hopeful manufactured housing industry professionals, MHI leaders made sure that CEO, Dr., lady, and almost a ‘woman of influence’ Gooch was nominated for an award that she didn’t get! Amazing accomplishment, right?
Will Lady Gooch come out next as identifying herself as a minority who plans to go trans? If so, will we be surprised if manufactured housing goes further into the Bud Light tailspin that cost Bud billions of dollars in stock value and sales? There is recent evidence beyond MHVille that there is only so much that the public will tolerate.
- At what point will FACTS and EVIDENCE override mere claims, posturing and photo ops among MHI leaders?
- At what point will MHI leaders be held to the purported standards of their own apparent train wreck of a history of manufactured housing in the 21st century?
- How much lipstick can be placed on the sad picture of tens of thousands of dreams being dashed inside the industry? Or how many millions of consumers must be denied their shot at the American Dream of homeownership with a manufactured home? (See that recent report on MHLivingNews, linked below.).
- Why did Dr. Gooch hand Fannie and Freddie a gift-wrapped excuse not to do chattel loans on manufactured homes? (See the new Masthead, in the weekly headlines recap, further below).
The articles linked below provide current and historical insights into those questions and other topics too.
And because inquiring minds “want to know” readers who haven’t already read those reports will now click through and do so in numbers that will keep them coming back for more doses of reality. Because unlike MHI’s website, the data in a report linked below demonstrated how most MHI visitors often don’t go beyond 1 pageview, while on our site they routinely logon to multiple pages per visit.
Notice: the graphic below can be expanded to a larger size.
Why do people palter, posture, lie, defraud, and deceive? To paraphrase Peter Joshua in the classic movie Charade: because they want something and they are afraid that the truth won’t get it for them!
To dig into the topics that follow is to explore serious and laughable examples of what’s gone wrong in the rigged American system, to learn why those who rig the system in MHVille and beyond often play dirty, and to discover what can be done about it.
But the start of every adventure in correcting what’s wrong in America begins by understanding who did what, when, why, how, and for how much money.
In fairness to lady Gooch, the facts in the reports linked below make it plain that she is arguably far from alone in selling out thousands of industry professionals for mere money. Ask yourself once you read what follows: doesn’t Gooch have obvious company in MHI leaders, past and present?
In the Masthead below, an insider’s view that Cavco’s William “Bill” Boor is preparing for a pivot is shared. So too is our Missouri, “the Show Me” state view. Namely, please convince me, Bill. Prove it – “SHOW Me!” that you are going to lead MHI in a fresh direction – by actions and deeds, not with more words.
And Bill, if Lady, CEO, Dr., almost a woman of influence Gooch has something to apologize for, what about you and your “leadership” peers? Aren’t you collectively responsible for putting and keeping her in that role despite years of failures?
The problem with a big con is that once the con is exposed, the leaders often still want to deny that the con occurred in the first place. Because in the criminal world one mantra is “never give up the con.”
A Tragic Comedy
William Shakespeare was known in part for mixing comedy with his theatrical dramas, and some drama into his comedies. Storytellers for centuries have dipped into that Shakespearean formula.
Manufactured housing is full of tragic-comedies. We as an industry ought to be soaring past conventional builders! There are so-called leaders of MHVille who have said so to shareholders! Do they think people lack a memory?
But the so-called leaders at MHI are so apparently so disgracefully bent on their agenda of keeping the industry underperforming so they can consolidate as much of it at a discounted or “bargain” valuation that they apparently believe everyone will have forgotten some of their own statements and remarks. The purpose of gaslighting has been defined as making people question reality.
But we at MHProNews haven’t forgotten! We remind the industry’s readers of what was said and by whom. That way, industry pros, attorneys, and public officials can hold those so-called leaders to account based upon their own stated standards!
Don’t miss the postscript.
With no further adieu, here are the headlines for the week in review from 7.30.2023 to 8.6.2023.
What’s the Newest and Latest on MHLivingNews
What’s New from Washington, D.C. from MHARR
The Latest Facts, Views, and Insights on the Masthead
What’s New on the Industry’s First and Still #1 Leading – Daily Business News on MHProNews
Saturday 8.5.2023
Friday 8.4.2023
Thursday 8.3.2023
Wednesday 8.2.2023
Tuesday 8.1.2023
Monday 7.31.2023
Sunday 7.30.2023
Postscript
Because MHARR and MHProNews/MHLivingNews are willing to challenge MHI to leaders to live up to their own stated claims and standards, you and others can dare to do so too.
Next to scoundrels who can’t keep their stories straight are so called news and information sources in MHVille that puff out their chests with and “proudly” proclaim their MHI awards. Oh, please. Explain to me what good is an award form an inept and/or corrupt organization? Which kind of award would you want? One from a group led by incompetents? Or an award from a bunch of self-serving, insider-dealing corrupt people? Which do you want MHI and their awards to represent?
That’s hardly an exaggeration, given the following facts about just a few MHI ‘award winners’ spotlighted in the reports linked below.
When MHI ‘endorses’ MHInsider parent MHVillage, what exactly does that ‘endorsement’ REALLY prove?
When MHI awards ManufacturedHomes.con (sorry, that .con ought to be .com) or blogger George_Allen.con (that is his Allen’s web address right? GeorgeAllen.con?), what should that really tell facts, evidence, and truth seekers?
Curious minds want to know.
The best surprise at times is no surprise.
But a good surprise would be if Boor and/or his colleagues decided to clean house of the top staff at MHI. What have they accomplished in approaching a decade since Lady Gooch has been at MHI? And who has benefited? Even if the top staff used the excuse that they were only following orders, who benefited?
The history of manufactured housing is being told day-by-day on MHProNews. How so? Poynter and Study.com each attribute to Philip L. Graham: “Journalism is the first rough draft of history.” The 21st century version of that history is starkly different than it was in the 20th century. People are free to choose, free to ignore the MHI-linked purported gaslighters.
Notice: the graphic below can be expanded to a larger size.
Notice: the graphic below can be expanded to a larger size.
Journalism can be editorial views buttressed by facts and evidence.
MHProNews has long used the tagline of manufactured housing “Industry News, Tips, and Views Pros Can Use.” ©
Here’s a tip. Don’t trust what MHI says at face value. Time and again, factual and other errors that MHProNews has publicly called MHI out for have later quietly been corrected or changed by MHI.
Take a cold, hard honest look at the MHI 21st century track record. That production trends graphic above plus that quote-collage represents reality. That reality sucks for thousands of manufactured housing professionals, by their own previously stated standards!
At the current pace, manufactured housing will finish the year somewhere in the 86,000 (+/-) shipments area. If so, the industry hasn’t been that low for some 15 years, ouch!
Notice: the graphic below can be expanded to a larger size.
The case can be made that MHI and their publisher/blogger allies are part of a criminal conspiracy to undermine manufactured housing from within. Who has made that case? In case you missed it, or need to brush up on the evidence and allegations, see the legal thesis linked below.
Do the Math
In the meantime, if you are an MHI member and you aren’t a consolidator, do the math.
- How much have you paid in membership dues?
- How much have you paid in travel or related expenses?
- What was the value of your time spent on things related to MHI?
- How good is the ‘education’ provided by MHI and its allied insiders, if the manufactured housing industry’s production is in steep retreat?
- Once you’ve done the math, think of the possibility of suing for triple damages via a contingency attorney. Or think about a class action lawsuit. Because if there is a fun part to lawful vengeance against MHI’s own leaders, it is how often they have ironically provided evidence of just how much harm has been done to literally thousands of independents.
If you are a shareholder or “stakeholder” in manufactured housing, and the company you have invested in is built on consolidation, look at the article on Sun Communities (SUI) linked in the weekly recap above and here closely. To borrow the phrase used by contingency attorneys: “…you may be entitled to substantial compensation.”
If you know a U.S. Congressman or U.S. Senator, why not ask them to hold hearings on public officials who have failed manufactured housing, but also on MHI and consolidators there?
If you know a state attorney general, why not ask them to probe MHI for fraud, RICO, antitrust or other violations of the law?
If you or someone you know in MHVille have been taken in by people who have talked big and made promises, but then failed to deliver, all while MHI magically gives out MHI awards to apparently troubled brands, think about who your real friends are. Because a case can be made that this is how gaslighting looks in MHVille.
Friends don’t let friends drive drunk, or so the saying goes.
A true friend will tell you the hard truths as best they can, because only the truth can set us free. Who says? God’s Word good enough for you? Per Bible Gateway (ESV John 8:31-32)
The Truth Will Set You Free
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
But there are volumes on that subject of truth and avoiding deception. Here are some from various faith- and reason believers, quoted below.
Clever and seductive lies can seem pleasant for a while. But lies and deception are ultimately unsatisfying.
More bluntly, when someone realizes that they have been deceived, they understandably feel betrayed.
MHI leaders can’t escape the cold hard facts. If the manufactured housing industry is capable of selling 500,000 new manufacture homes a year, then why are we currently hovering around an annualized rate of only some 86,000 new HUD Code homes for 2023? That’s a cold, hard fact. So too is the point that while conventional housing is recovering, manufactured housing is still sinking. That’s hard for even gaslighters to explain away, isn’t it?
If the MHVille industry is capable of a million or more new homes a year, then the point above is even more stark.
If you are among thousands upon thousands of those tired of being manipulated, lied to, cheated, defrauded, and conned, you are not alone. We provide the evidence that allows you to protect your sanity.
Much can be done. But it all starts with understanding. Discipline. A multi-level plan with a variety of options to achieve the objectives of fixing what has gone wrong in MHVille.
We earnestly believe that manufactured housing can achieve great things. But it won’t do so without changing and challenging the status quo.
Watch for a planned follow up. Until then, learn more to earn more, and do it honestly. ##
Again, our thanks to free email subscribers and all readers like you, as well as our tipsters/sources, sponsors and God for making and keeping us the runaway number one source for authentic “News through the lens of manufactured homes and factory-built housing” © where “We Provide, You Decide.” © ## (Affordable housing, manufactured homes, reports, fact-checks, analysis, and commentary. Third-party images or content are provided under fair use guidelines for media.) See Related Reports, further below. Text/image boxes often are hot-linked to other reports that can be access by clicking on them.)
By L.A. “Tony” Kovach – for MHProNews.com.
Tony earned a journalism scholarship and earned numerous awards in history and in manufactured housing.
For example, he earned the prestigious Lottinville Award in history from the University of Oklahoma, where he studied history and business management. He’s a managing member and co-founder of LifeStyle Factory Homes, LLC, the parent company to MHProNews, and MHLivingNews.com.
This article reflects the LLC’s and/or the writer’s position and may or may not reflect the views of sponsors or supporters.
Connect on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/latonykovach
Related References:
The text/image boxes below are linked to other reports, which can be accessed by clicking on them.’
