Following a story MHProNews posted July 9, 2015 regarding the Huntsville (Texas) City Council initial vote to prohibit manufactured homes from being sited inside the city limits, unless they are in a manufactured home community, opposition to the vote has surfaced. Due to be finalized at the July 21 city …
Huntsville City Council to Vote on Prohibiting Manufactured Homes from City Read More
Chapter 40B, Massachusetts’ comprehensive permit law, which encourages the production of affordable housing, allows developers of low cost housing to override some local zoning laws if the affordable housing stock of the community does not equal ten percent of total homes. Specifically, the new housing projects do not have to …
Legislation would Classify Manufactured Homes as Affordable Read More
In the biggest rent hike since 1999-2000, new resident rents rose 5.2 percent during the year that ended June 30, according to data from MPF Research. “By far the biggest factor driving up the overall rent growth number is simply significantly more momentum in metros that previously had been performance …
Rental Market Continues Strong among Historical First-time Homebuyers Read More
The Fair Housing Act (FHA) does not allow discrimination in the buying, selling, use or renting of homes, which fall under the category of “intentional.” Under a recent ruling by the United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS), in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc., 576 …
Supreme Court ruling could Open the Floodgates against Manufactured Home Community Owners Read More
While the startribune informs MHProNews that manufactured homes (MH) were the original affordable housing in rural and suburban Minnesota, in the twin cities area of Minneapolis-St. Paul the number of occupied MH has fallen 12 percent since 2001 to 13,660 homes. Nationally, the number of manufactured homes shipped dropped drastically …
Demand Continues for Manufactured Homes in the Twin Cities Read More
The SAFE Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 (the “SAFE Act”), which requires states to license loan originators, substantially restricts the ability of a small retailer or community operator to sell manufactured homes to purchasers/residents that do not qualify for financing from traditional third-party lending sources. These problems are exacerbated by …
Do De Minimis Exemptions Provide Relief to the Manufactured Housing Industry? Read More
Randall K. Rowe, Chairman of Green Courte Partners, LLC has been chosen to lead a global organization dedicated to creating communities that are livable, economically prosperous and environmentally sustainable. As Global Chairman of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), an education and research non-profit founded in 1936, Rowe will have three …
Urban Land Institute Chooses Randall K. Rowe as Chairman Read More
As part of the ongoing mixed signals from the factory built housing market, the Manufactured Housing Institute’s (MHI) National Modular Housing Council (NMHC) reports that 2,763 new MODs were shipped during the first quarter of 2015 in the states where they track shipments. That is a 3.9% decline over the …
San Jose, California – The closure of Buena Vista Mobile Home Park draws closer. Given the impact on 400 low income residents, Santa Clara County supervisors voted Tuesday to offer $6.5 million tied to a similar commitment from the city of Palo Alto, CA. “Time is of the essence,” said …
High Dollar Community Closure Looms for Buena Vista Mobile Home Park Read More
Following a story MHProNews last posted June 2, 2015 regarding Cavco Industries, Inc.’s request for a tax abatement following its acquisition of manufactured homes producer Fairmont Homes, the Nappanee City Council met for a public hearing on the request Mon., June 15. No one from the public spoke either for …
Public Hearing Follows Cavco’s Request for Tax Abatement Read More
From a hearing June 11, 2015 from the House Financial Services Committee entitled, “The Future of Housing in America: Oversight of the Department of Housing and Urban Development” at which Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA) questioned HUD Secretary Julian Castro about the need for housing finance reform, and bank lenders leaving …
In manufactured housing (MH) news, the demand for smaller homes could be a boon for MH, while Sunshine Homes documents the quality that goes into their product. In other company news, Nobility Homes posts strong results, UMH sets acquisition for six MHCs, Clayton Homes incentivizes purchase of homes while Clayton …
Sunday Morning Recap—June 7, 2015 to June 13, 2015 Read More
As an outgrowth of MHARR’s strenuous and continuing opposition to the imposition of extremely costly new manufactured housing energy standards by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), a DOE contractor, Navigant Consulting — based on calls to our office from MHARR manufacturers — is attempting to arrange meetings and interviews …
Meeting and Interview Requests by Department of Energy Contractors Read More
MHLIvingNews and MHProNews publisher L. A. “Tony” Kovach interviewed Brent Bolding, head of quality control at Sunshine Homes in Red Bay, Alabama. The interview documents the steps a manufactured home producer must go through in assuring the product is made correctly. Bolding, a former self-employed businessman, now in his tenth …
Video Interview Documents Quality of Sunshine Manufactured Homes Read More
The aphorism that to own your own home was the American Dream, and that with a little more initiative you could have your very own Dream Home, has proven to be more elusive. As builderonline says, “The fact that easy and crazy lending made ownership possible does not mean that …
Market Conditions are Ripe for Manufactured Housing to Fill A Void Read More
Through a series of interviews with manufactured housing industry professionals, politicians and consumers and a bevy of statistics and graphs, MHLivingNews and MHProNews publisher L. A “Tony” Kovach documents the pitfalls and stumbling blocks that prevent manufactured housing from becoming a major player in meeting the growing need for affordable, …
The Path to the Rebirth of the Manufactured Housing Industry Read More
Australian modular builder Ecoliv built a show home for the 2014 Sustainable Living Festival, according to treehugger. It features numerous green attributes including a vertical garden at the front entryway, a dry-tolerant garden fed with greywater and water cachement, a 2 kilowatt grid-connected solar system and solar hot water, electric …
Following a story MHProNews posted May 5, 2015 regarding Cavco Industries, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:CVCO) acquisition of Fairmont Homes, the Nappanee (Indiana) City Council took the first step towards a tax abatement for Cavco’s proposed economic development and expansion of Fairmont, which would bring added growth to the area. Noting that the …
Cavco Seeks Tax Abatement to Upgrade Fairmont Homes Read More
Swedish architect Jonas Wagell has designed a modular home that is delivered flat-packed and requires only two days to assemble on site. The design includes an insulating polystyrene core clad with plywood or plastic laminate. The Mini House modules consist of prefabricated walls, framing, roofing and trim-less windows. Wagell tells …
While he supports free enterprise in the mortgage market, former Ginnie Mae President Joseph Murin, in a blog on housingwire, says without the federal guarantee offered by the Federal Housing Administration, the Department of Agriculture and Veterans Administration mortgages, the U. S. economy may have fallen farther than it did. …
Before you Dismantle Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae……… Read More
