We could argue that Manufactured Housing has seen some improvement in the way the mainstream media covers our Industry. In the very next breath, we’d also have to say there are plenty of stories out there that paint a very unbalanced view of the most quality, durable, affordable permanent home solution known in America today. We’ll focus for a few moments on an example of a story gone wrong, and how the MH Industry can correct the record.
Matthew Silver returns to MHProNews with a new Industry in Focus report, exposing some of the errors in the Daily Yonder‘s recent story about manufactured housing. Matthew laces facts and commentary from the likes of such notable industry pros:
-
Dick Ernst – FinmarkUSA
-
Don Glisson, Jr. – Triad Financial Services
-
Tim Williams – 21st Mortgage Corp.
Readers will also see statements from polar ends of the political spectrum woven in, past and current Congressmen Barney Frank and Jeb Henserling. Affordable MH is a bi-partisan issue!
Documents from the GAO and insights from Fannie Mae round out a robust rebuttal of some of what Lance George (mis-) published in the Daily Yonder. See our new, record correcting Industry in Focus report submitted by Matthew Silver, linked here.
Screen capture above from Daily Yonder site,
corrections font by MHProNews.
So please read and share this MHProNews record-correcting article. When you finish reading it, why not post a comment with a link on the Daily Yonder? Or why not link it up from your Facebook page and Twitter feed? Send a link to you Congressional Representative and Senators, along with ‘the ask’ for supporting HR 650!
Then let your local media know with an emailed message and link what the facts are on this issue. From personal experience, I know the media routinely wants to get it right. They don’t want to have holes poked in their stories. I’ve seen mainstream media correct the record of an errant MH story, when they are presented with the facts in a compelling way.
Shame on them or shame on us?
Nature abhors a vacuum. If we don’t define ourselves as an industry, others will define us. Those would-be definitions by outsiders are often to our detriment, and that is costly.
Failure to act in modest yet positive ways to promote the TRUTH about MH arguably costs virtually every MH pro daily. Don’t point the finger at Arlington, DC or your state/community association for failing to make such issues right. It is the job of every committed professional to be part of the solution.
As noted above, that can be as simple as reading and then sharing a link to a fact-correcting story or report.
Failure to correct and change the record costs MH billions a year, and that means your portion of that is lost for lack of those routine drops of water that will fill the glass with a new and improved understanding and image for our Industry.
We’ll close for today with some simple math. We documented some $40 billion in annual federal spending on rental subsidizes alone. What if those dollars we’re going to buy a $45,000 single section 3/2 home on a 30K improved homesite?
That home/land combo would equal over 533,333 new MH homes sold a year. That’s just one of many possible examples. Why don’t we have a bigger bite from such pies?
Because of ignorance of the facts about modern MH and outdated stereotypical myths.
My personal thanks to each of the industry pros noted above and who provided info off the record too, which made the report more complete and possible. It is by working together that we will advance our cause farther, faster and higher.
Please see Matthew Silver’s important report, linked here, and makes sure you share this with your team mates and associates! Ignorance is costly, knowledge shared pays. ##
(Image credits: WikiCommons – quote posters by MHProNews © 2014-2015, all rights reserved.)
