MHI Annual Awards Dinner

The MHI Annual Awards Dinner was held on Monday evening and began with a reception sponsored by Shaw Industries, Specialty Markets. Four members of the manufactured housing industry were honored during the annual awards dinner. David Tompos, President and CEO of NTA, Inc. received the Frank Walter Standards Award which is selected by the MHI Technical Activities Committee. The award was presented by past recipient Manuel Santana. Leonard “Lenny” Kopowski, Director of Government Affairs, Louisiana Manufactured Housing Association, was honored with the Jim Moore Excellence in Communications Award which is selected by the Manufactured Housing Executives Council (MHEC) and presented by past recipient DJ Pendleton. DJ Pendleton, Executive Director of the Texas Manufactured Housing Association, was presented with the State Association Executive of the Year Award which is a peer award selected by the state association executive directors. Past recipient Sheila Dey presented the award to Pendleton. The 2013 Chairman’s Award was presented to Joe Stegmayer, Chairman and CEO of Cavco Industries, Inc. by MHI’s current Chairman, Nathan Smith. After the awards presentation, the MHI–PAC annual raffle drawing was held. 2013 raffle winners are: 1st prize – Tom Coyne, Vanderbilt Mortgage; 2nd prize – Jeremy Gray, YES! Communities, and 3rd prize – Jerry McCartney, TruMH. Silent Auction winners were also announced.

General Sessions and Annual Membership Meeting

At the Monday morning general session, attendees heard from Steve Schaub, Managing Partner and Chief Operations Officer for YES! Communities, the breakfast sponsor. Schaub highlighted the company’s activities and commitment to serving their residents and the broader communities in which they are located through charitable work and contributions, tutoring and child development programs and disaster and emergency relief efforts. Attendees then listened to an economics presentation by Dr. Stephen Conroy, Professor of Economics at the University of San Diego. Click here to view Dr. Conroy’s presentation.

At the MHI Annual Membership Meeting luncheon, sponsored by Style Crest, Inc., officers for 2014 were elected as follows: Chairman – Nathan Smith, SSK Communities; Vice Chairman – Phyllis Knight, Champion Home Builders, Inc.; Treasurer – Howard Walker, Equity LifeStyle Properties; and Secretary – Kevin Clayton, Clayton Homes. After elections were held, Chairman Nathan Smith addressed the attendees. In his remarks, he expressed appreciation for the opportunity to serve the association for another year as Chairman. He provided an overview of MHI’s major accomplishments in 2013 and highlighted priorities for 2014. MHI’s solid financial position was credited to MHI members’ increased share of home shipments (83 percent) and growth in attendance at the National Congress & Expo. Legislative and regulatory accomplishments highlighted were the introduction and strong co-sponsor support for H.R. 1779, relief for the industry in several CFPB rulemakings implementing Dodd-Frank provisions, extension of the New Energy Efficient Home tax credits, language in DOE’s 2014 funding bill directing the agency to work with HUD and the MHCC prior to promulgating new energy efficiency standards for manufactured homes, and 2014 HUD appropriations bill language requiring HUD to fill the vacant administrator position for the manufactured housing program or face budget reductions.

At the Tuesday morning breakfast sponsored by Hometown America, an “Ask the Experts” panel gathered to discuss Dodd-Frank and the CFPB regulations and take questions directly from the audience. The session was moderated by Dick Ernst, Financial Marketing Associates, and panel members were: Tom Hodges, Clayton Homes; Marc Lifset, McGlinchey Stafford; and Tim Williams, 21st Mortgage Corporation.

MHI Board of Directors

The MHI Board of Directors meeting sponsored by Assurant Specialty Property was held at the end of the Annual Meeting. The board approved a budget for 2014 and reviewed August 2013 financials and audit review documents for 2012 prepared by Raffa, P.C. Divisions reported initiatives and actions requiring board approval. The Manufacturers Division presented a resolution to the board for the approval of energy standards that were developed with the objective of submitting the standards to HUD and the Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee (MHCC). The standards, developed by the MHI Technical Activities Committee (TAC), meet MHI’s objective to balance energy efficiency with affordability. The board unanimously approved the motion to seek approval of the standards by the MHCC. The Suppliers Division requested the board consider appointing an individual to represent MHI at the meetings of the National Electrical Code Committee. The board requested details about financial commitment and technical expertise required to represent the impact of the NEC on manufactured housing and will have the executive committee review the request in more detail. The Suppliers Division also reported on an image/video related project that will be undertaken. The National Retailers Council and the Federated States Division presented a motion to the board seeking support for the development of training for sales people on Dodd-Frank compliance and the board unanimously supported the initiative. The MHI-PAC Board of Governors presented its slate of trustees that were elected at an earlier meeting and they were unanimously approved.

Government Relations Committee

During the meeting of the Government Relations Committee sponsored by Clayton Homes, MHI Vice President of Government Affairs Jason Boehlert provided an overview of the association’s legislative and regulatory advocacy activities in support of the industry’s policy priorities. Boehlert provided highlights of MHI’s specific activities related to:

• EISA Reform: MHI has worked to include language in the FY’14 Department of Energy (DOE) appropriations bill (H.R. 2609) that directs DOE to collaborate with HUD in instituting new energy efficiency standards for manufactured housing, as required by the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA; P.L. 110-140).

• New Energy Efficient Home Credit (I.R.C. 45L): The current credit of $1,000 to producers of Energy Star-qualified manufactured homes and $2,000 for builders of modular homes is set to expire at the end 2013. MHI is working with a variety of housing and energy efficiency organizations to secure long-term reauthorization of the credit.

• HUD Manufactured Housing Program: MHI has successfully worked to ensure HUD fills its key leadership vacancy overseeing the manufactured housing program. MHI has worked to secure language in HUD’s FY’14 spending bill that requires the agency to fill this post or face potential budget cuts.

• GSE Reform: MHI is working to ensure that any housing finance reform measure developed by the House and Senate provides open access to all manufactured homes loans (including those secured by personal property).

• Dodd-Frank Reform: MHI has worked to introduce legislation (H.R. 1779) that will provide relief to the credit constrained manufactured housing market and has secured key concessions from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in some critical rulemakings targeting the manufactured housing market. For more information on MHI’s regulatory activities visit click here and for information on H.R. 1779 visitwww.manufacturedhousing.org.

In an effort to establish the Government Relations Committee as a standing committee within MHI’s bylaws, MHI Chairman Nathan Smith also explained that the membership of the committee was going to be reconstituted to more formally reflect the interests of MHI’s various divisions. Membership of the committee would be comprised of representatives from each MHI division as selected by the Chair and Vice Chair of each division with final approval from MHI’s Chairman.

For more information, contact MHI Vice President of Government Affairs Jason Boehlert at jboehlert@mfghome.org or (703) 558-0660.

MHI-PAC Board of Trustees

The MHI-PAC Board met to review fundraising activities and compliance with campaign finance laws for MHI’s bipartisan political action committee (PAC). Fundraising events discussed included the golf tournament in Las Vegas (and/or possibly Indianapolis during the MHI Summer Meeting); the industry fundraiser co-hosted by MHI-PAC and the Texas Manufactured Housing Association–PAC for U.S. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX-5); and the industry’s largest annual fundraiser, the PAC raffle and silent auction during the Annual Meeting. The 2013 raffle exceeded fundraising goals due to generous participation from employees at MHI-member companies, notably Clayton Homes and its family of companies, Cavco companies, particularly Fleetwood Homes, and YES! Communities.

The board approved re-electing the following trustees for a two-year term beginning January 1, 2014, and forwarded these nominations to the MHI Board of Directors for approval: Rick Rand, Great Value Homes, Inc.; Jennifer Hall, Mississippi Manufactured Housing Association; Jim Ayotte, Florida Manufactured Housing Association; Joe Stegmayer, Cavco Industries, Inc.; and Tony Wicke, Land Home Financial Services, Inc. For questions about MHI-PAC, please contact Gay Westbrook, MHI-PAC Treasurer, atgwestbrook@mfghome.org or (703) 229-6212.

Financial Services Division

During MHI’s Financial Services Division meeting, sponsored by U.S. Bank, elections to the division’s board of governors were held and the following members were elected: Sherrie Clevenger, NADA Appraisal Guides; Dick Ernst, Financial Marketing Associates; and, Paula Reeves, CIS Financial. Session participants received an overview of recent key rulemakings of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) as well as an update of MHI’s policy reform activities in Washington, DC. Speakers included:

• Tom Hodges, General Counsel, Clayton Homes – provided a summary of CFPB’s HOEPA and HPML Appraisal guidelines. Click here to view the presentation.

• Marc Lifset, Member, McGlinchey-Stafford – provided an analysis of CFPB Loan Originator Compensation guidelines, Click here to view the presentation.

• Jason Boehlert, Vice President of Government Affairs, MHI – provided an overview of the association’s legislation and policy activities related to the CFPB and Dodd-Frank.

For more information, contact Jason Boehlert at (703) 558-0660 orjboehlert@mfghome.org

Finance Lawyers Committee

The Finance Lawyers Committee of MHI’s Financial Services Division held a meeting which was sponsored by Advantage Homes/Realty World Todd Su & Co., Inc. Participants received a variety of updates related to recent CFPB/Dodd-Frank rulemakings on Loan Originator compensation, appraisal requirements for Higher-Priced Mortgage Loans (HPMLs), and High-Cost Mortgages (HCMs). In addition, Finance Lawyers Committee Chairman Marc Lifset provided a summary of recent state-level activity related to model manufactured housing legislation developed by the Uniform Law Commission.

National Communities Council 

The National Communities Council (NCC) held a meeting which was sponsored by Assurant Specialty Property and topics included a discussion of the NCC’s mission and vision as well as elections. After a report of 2013 activities from NCC Staff Liaison Jenny Hodge, Chairman David Lentz (American Land Lease, Inc.) initiated a dialogue by asking the group a series of questions about how they perceive the role and mission of the NCC. In the course of this discussion, it was noted that with the industry’s emphasis on H.R. 1779, CFPB rules and other Dodd-Frank consequences, the priorities of the NCC were also on those same activities.

The NCC also unanimously passed a resolution thanking Fran Hirsch Wright for her years of tireless service. Elections were held for board and leadership positions. Elected as state certified representatives to the board of governors were: Barry Cole (CA); Michelle Carlson (MN); and Rick Rand (WI). Community owner/operators elected were: George Allen, GFA Management; Steve Schaub, YES! Communities; and Patrick Waite, Equity LifeStyle Properties. Both Tawny Peyton (CO) and Gary Fordham (MS) were elected to serve out terms expiring in 2014.

Technical Activities Committee

The Technical Activities Committee (TAC) held a meeting sponsored by T.R. Arnold & Associates. Members approved a TAC draft proposal to update energy standards in the HUD code, and agreed to submit the proposed changes to the HUD Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee (MHCC) for consideration. It also considered a proposal by the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA) to amend the Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards (MHCSS) Act to clarify that recreational vehicles and recreational park trailers are not regulated under the HUD-Code. The committee recommended that MHI invite representatives from the RVIA to the next MHI meeting in February 2014, before MHI considers changing its 2011 resolution opposing a change to the MHCSS Act. The committee approved three additional proposed changes to the HUD Code regarding toilet seat certification and testing requirements, range hood covers and roof assemblies. The proposals will be submitted to the MHCC for consideration. Manuel Santana, Cavco Industries, Inc., was elected to serve as Chairman for 2014 and Jeff Legault, Skyline Corporation, was elected Vice Chairman.

Manufactured Housing Division

The Manufactured Housing Division held a meeting sponsored by RADCO. Members approved the recommendation by the Technical Activities Committee (TAC) regarding energy efficiency standards for manufactured homes, and agreed with TAC’s recommendation to invite representatives from RVIA to the February meeting to present its recommendations to amend the MHCSS Act. Members also recommended that MHI work with HUD to develop an update to HUD’s 1997 Statement of Policy concerning HUD’s application of the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974 to certain zoning decisions being made by State or local government. Elections were held and for the Manufactured Housing Division, Charley Lott, Fleetwood Homes, was elected Chairman and Jack Lawless, Champion Home Builders, Inc., was elected Vice Chairman. For the National Modular Housing Council, Dennis Jones, R-Anell Housing Group, was elected Chairman and Jayar Daily, American Homestar Corporation, was elected Vice Chairman.

National Retailers Council

The National Retailers Council held a meeting sponsored by CU Factory Built Lending and reviewed an Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) notice developed by the Pennsylvania association for posting in sales offices to notify consumers about how their identity will be verified if they decide to purchase a home. Detailed discussion was held on how the Dodd-Frank loan originator regulations would impact communication with a customer during the sale of a home. A task force was appointed to work with MHI and industry attorneys to develop guidelines, examples and hypothetical situations for training the industry, specifically retailers, on how to comply with Dodd-Frank. Appointed to the task force were Doug Gorman, Karl Radde, James Knott and Jess Maxcy. Elections were held. Karl Radde (TX), Southern Comfort Homes, was elected Vice Chairman and Rick Martin (KY), Heartland Homes, LLC was elected to the board of governors.

Federated States Division

The Federated States Division held a meeting sponsored by McGlinchey Stafford PLLC. Jennifer Hall, Chairman, informed the division of her recent experience attending a CFPB Advisory Committee meeting in her state. She encouraged members to monitor the CFPB Web site to see if opportunities exist for industry members to attend regional meetings to personally deliver the industry’s message. The division approved a motion to develop a revenue neutral dues formula for the division for 2014 that would simplify invoicing for MHI staff and provide certainty regarding monthly dues amounts for the state associations. Discussion was held on installation training needs in states, especially for continuing education programs once a person is licensed as an installer. Elections were held and Doug Gorman, Home-Mart, Inc., was elected to serve on the board of governors.

MHI Suppliers Division

During the Suppliers Division meeting, sponsored by Clayton Homes, the division received an update on the Suppliers Division Membership Recruitment Initiative. Members were encouraged to recruit new members and to display the new “Proud Member of MHI” logo in marketing materials, websites, and on display in their business locations. The nomination and voting process for the Supplier of the Year award was discussed and members decided to open the nomination process up to both manufacturer and supplier members. The division members heard updates on technical activities such as ground anchors and energy standards. The division also discussed recommending to the MHI Board of Directors that MHI have representation on the National Electrical Code (NEC) Committee. Also discussed were air conditioning efficiency standards that will go into effect in January 2015. Under new business, L.A. Tony Kovach, MHProNews.com/MHC-MD.com, proposed an image/video project that would involve identifying colleges or schools of performing arts that could provide acting, filming and editing of videos promoting manufactured housing. Those videos would be posted on a YouTube channel set up for the project and on the www.ManufacturedHomeLivingNews.com Web site. The following were elected to serve on the board of governors: Ron D’Ambra, Professional Warranty Service Corporation; Terry Dullaghan, Senco; L.A. Tony Kovach, MHProNews.com/MHC-MD.com; and, Don Westphal, Donald C. Westphal Associates.

Manufactured Housing Educational Institute

The MHEI Board of Directors met and approved a financial report dated August 31, 2013. The board discussed the transition of online courses to the new training site www.mhei.myicourse.com. Discussion was held on adding new courses to the site for installer continuing education and also adding a series of short courses for community managers and sales people. Recommendations were also made regarding potential topics for workshop during the 2014 Congress and Expo.

Manufactured Housing Executives Council

The state association executive directors held two MHEC meetings in conjunction with the MHI Annual Meeting. First, an all day meeting was held on Saturday prior to the MHI meeting where members of MHEC discussed topics and heard presentations regarding changes and trends in association membership and management, managing trade association investment accounts, an overview of technology tools available and their impact on associations and communications, and Dodd-Frank and CFPB regulations. The second meeting was held on Sunday where the primary discussion related to the industry’s legislation H.R. 1779 and strategy for the industry in coming months related to Dodd-Frank and CFPB regulation.

Government Shutdown Could Impact Shipments

The impact of the federal government shutdown has rippled through HUD and its associated program contracts. On October 7th, HUD’s monitoring contractor for the Manufactured Housing Program, the Institute for Building Technology and Safety (IBTS), received a “stop work” order. This order means that IBTS will not be able to issue certification labels for homes. These labels are required before homes can be shipped to consumers. MHI understands that most In Plant Primary Inspection Agencies (IPIAs) have approximately a two week supply of labels.

In the meantime, MHI has contacted Federal Housing Commissioner and Assistant Secretary for Housing, Carol Galante, requesting that HUD immediately authorize the issuance of new labels. Going forward, MHI will recommend changes to the Manufactured Home Procedural and Enforcement Regulations that limit the supply of labels issued to manufacturers at any one time. MHI has also contacted key Congressional contacts to advise them of the label supply problem. MHI encourages individual members to reach out to your Congressional representatives to let them know how the partial government shutdown is impacting your business.

Special Notice Regarding Scams Targeting the 2014 National Congress & Expo for Manufactured and Modular Housing

Please beware of scams that target trade shows. An MHI staff member recently received an email from Global Housing Services, Corp. noting that they are currently accepting reservations for the National Congress & Expo for Manufactured and Modular Housing to be held on April 29th – May 1st, 2014 in Las Vegas, NV. Another member received a telephone call from this same group claiming that they were calling from Caesars Palace. They were offering a rate of $179 for Caesars Palace and stated that all prices are on a first-come first-serve basis, availability is limited and that they were entitled to receive a 5% discount on their second booking with Global Housing Group.

This company is not authorized to represent MHI, nor do they have access to official contracted hotel room blocks or rates on behalf of MHI. For your own protection, please do not make reservations through any unknown housing or travel company.

Caesars Palace is the contracted hotel for the 2014 National Congress & Expo for Manufactured and Modular Housing and the early-bird rate will be $119 per night (plus tax). You will be notified directly by MHI when Caesars Palace is accepting reservations for the Congress & Expo in our contracted room block. In addition, we will provide a link on our Web site, www.congressandexpo.com for contacting the hotel directly to make your reservations. We will also be providing you with a toll free hotel phone number.

Also, over the past couple of years Congress & Expo exhibitors have been receiving information from Construct Data Publishers for a listing in a “FAIRGuide.” Please DO NOT respond to their mailing. Click here for a sample. This company is NOT affiliated with MHI or the Congress & Expo and has been targeting exhibitors of many trade shows implying they are affiliated with the show along with a misleading offer of a free listing in their directory. At the bottom of the form, the language constitutes an irrevocable advertising order of $1717 per year that automatically renews each year unless cancellation is made by registered mail at least three months prior to the next expiration.

If you are a victim of this scam, we would advise you to issue an attorney’s letter to the company clearly stating that due to the company’s improper and misleading tactics, you were fooled into thinking you were simply approving text for a free exhibitor listing and that there are no circumstances whatsoever in which you would ever consider making payment and finally, that the letter represents the sole response FAIRGuide can expect to receive.

MHI is in no way associated with the FAIRGuide and did not give your information to them. An exhibitor’s information (exhibitor name, contact person and type of business) is posted on the Congress & Expo Web site to promote the company to attendees and to help them plan their time in the Exhibit Hall.

MHI’s communications to you will always have MHI’s logo, the Congress & Expo theme as on the Congress & Expo Web site or come from an MHI email address. Please be sure you look over anything that you receive regarding the Congress & Expo very carefully to ensure it is legitimate and from MHI.

If you are contacted by a company that is not our official housing provider, or if you are ever unsure whether or not a company is legitimate, please e-mail Cheryl Berard at cheryl@mfghome.org or (703) 558-0668.

Enter the 2014 Land-Lease Community and Retail Sales Center of the Year and Manufactured and Modular Home Design Awards through MHI’s Online Awards System

Click here to enter or view information on the 2014 Land-Lease Community and Retail Sales Center of the Year and Manufactured and Modular Home Design Awards. Through the online system, you can enter the National Industry Awards competition, find eligibility information and submission requirements, view the contest rules, pay entry fees, and upload all of your entry files for judging online. The deadline for submitting entries, paying the fees and submitting materials online for judging is March 12, 2014.

The National Industry Awards are presented each year at the National Congress & Expo for Manufactured and Modular Housing, bringing recognition to the best manufactured home communities and manufactured home retail sales centers in the country and the industry leaders in new manufactured and modular
home designs. This year, the Congress & Expo will be held April 29 – May 1, 2014 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Click here for information on the 2014 Congress & Expo. Awards will be presented on Wednesday, April 30th. Each award winner receives a personalized trophy and the entry will be placed in MHI’s online Photo Gallery. Click here to view.

Please note the following membership requirements for entering the competition:

– Manufacturers that enter the Manufactured and Modular Home Design Awards competition must be a member of the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI).

– Retailers that enter the Retail Sales Center of the Year Award must be a member of the state association of the state where the sales center is located.

– Communities must be a member of the state association in the state where it is located.

5,842 New HUD-Code Homes Shipped in August 2013

In August 2013, 5,842 new manufactured homes were shipped, an increase of 4.9 percent from August 2012. Increases were across the board with shipments of both single-section and multisection homes up compared with the same month last year. Total floors shipped in August 2013 were 9,084, an increase of 3.7 percent compared with August 2012.

In comparison with 2012, 2013 shipments started with an increase in January followed by declines in the months of February and March. The upward trend resumed in April and continued through August with increases in shipments every month. For the first eight months of this year, shipments totaled 39,756 homes compared with 37,498 homes in 2012, a net increase of 6.0 percent.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of shipments was 59,352 in August 2013, down 1.6 percent from the adjusted rate of 60,337 in July 2013. The SAAR corrects for normal seasonal variations and projects annual shipments based on the current monthly total.

The number of plants reporting production in August 2013 was 122 and the number of active corporations was 46, both unchanged from the prior month.