We’ve been tracking the so-called “Tiny House Movement” for a few years now. FYI TV recently debuted a new TV show that features Tiny Homes, which are often less than 300-400 square feet. The concept is simple, make a tiny house that’s as space efficient as possible. De-cluter your life and you can live well for less, because you’re saving …
Read More »CityScapes at the Mills of Carthage; Boston and other cities, are you Listening?
Recent positive stories in the mainstream media have brought more attention and interest in using modern manufactured homes in a metropolitan setting. This is already being done in other countries, and could just as easily be taking place here in the United States. More public officials and media professionals are beginning to grasp the modern realities versus the outdated myths …
Read More »Inside MH: a look at Manufactured Home Direct-to-Consumer Purchase, Refi and “Cash Out” Loans with Mountainside Financial’s Anthony Ducharme
The popularity, understanding and appreciation of manufactured homes is growing day by day, but a key topic we’re routinely asked about is financing. As a “specialty product,” often local lenders ‘just don’t know’ enough about manufactured homes and so they can be reluctant to lend on what what they don’t understand. Thus the importance of specialty lenders in manufactured home …
Read More »Joe Stegmayer, Cavco CEO and Chairman, talks about American Dream-Builders, Better Homes and Gardens, Industry Growth plus more…Inside Manufactured Housing Video Interview
Cavco Industries is the second largest consortium of U.S. factory home builders. Cavco, a publicly traded company (CVCO), builds modern manufactured homes, modular homes, vacation and commercial units. They’re a well managed, growing and profitable company, known for quality work. So when Cavco President, CEO and Chairman, Joe Stegmayer speaks, home shoppers, investors and others listen. Inside MH caught up …
Read More »“Drawn Quarters” – Then and Now
“Most men appear never to have considered what a house is, and are actually though needlessly poor all their lives because they think that they must have such a one as their neighbors have.” – Henry David Thoreau. I have been carrying around the article attached below since I first read it in 1984, because it still has a lot …
Read More »Taking a Factory Tour, an Inside Look at the Kit Home Builders West
As our recent features on tours of manufactured housing production facilities taken by U.S. Congressmen revealed, one of the most powerful ways to see the value of today’s factory built homes is seeing first hand how they are built. Concerns about quality, energy efficiency and appeal all melt away during even a one hour factory tour. With over 120 manufacturing …
Read More »U.S. Congressman Matt Salmon Tours Champion Home Builder’s Factory And Factory Expo Home Center In Chandler
On June 3, 2014, U.S. Congressman Matt Salmon toured the Champion Home Builder’s manufacturing plant in Chandler. Rick Boles, General Manager of Champion Home Builders, hosted the Congressman along with his Chief of Staff, Adam Deguire, and Constituent Services Representative, Janet Bosley. The Congressman and his staff were very impressed with today’s manufactured homes and enjoyed the tour. The Congressman commented …
Read More »Mother Earth News embraced Updating a Manufactured Home story for Debt Free, eco-Friendly Living
The Lacefields purchased an older-model manufactured home to save money and lessen their environmental impact, says Mother Earth News. The couple told their own story, some quotes from that story follow. Mother Earth made this part of a larger series on eco-friendly ways to live well, debt free. For less than the price of many used cars, this couple now …
Read More »Greater Accessibility to Manufactured Home Financing in Sight
Recently, the U.S. House Financial Services Committee acted on and passed the Preserving Access to Manufactured Housing Act (H.R. 1779). This bill would amend the loan amount thresholds under Dodd-Frank that set criteria for manufactured home loans classifying them as “high-cost.” Under current Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) guidelines, many small loan amounts originated for manufactured home purchase are unjustly classified …
Read More »Congressman Bill Flores Tours a Manufactured Home Building Center
“There is no better demonstration of what today’s manufactured home building industry is then walking through a modern production center in full operation!“ exclaimed D. J. Pendleton, Executive Director of the Texas Manufactured Housing Association (TMHA). Pendleton was part of a delegation that included Congressman Bill Flores of Texas, who toured a Fleetwood Homes building center near Waco on June …
Read More »Boston Globe Reports that New Building techniques can avert a Housing Crisis
The Boston Globe published an editorial that began as follows. “THE TERM “manufactured housing” tends to invoke a 65-by-12-foot mobile home plopped down in a trailer park. But the industry has evolved to the point that many housing units assembled in factories are indistinguishable in looks and quality from homes built on site.” We agree. While their recent column seems to …
Read More »CBS News Reports on “Mobile homes: More than just a box on wheels” A look back and the Modern Realities
CBS News’ recent Sunday morning show report on “Mobile homes: More than just a box on wheels” was a remarkably fair look at the past as well as the new realities of the manufactured home industry. While CBS’ used outdated terminology in most cases – not clearly making the distinction between the mobile homes that have no longer been …
Read More »Georgia Manufactured Housing Association’s Jay Hamilton on Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) May 11, 2014 article, “Mobile Home Sales Rebound”
by Jay Hamilton When reporter Dan Chapman from the Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC) called and asked would I assist him in writing a business article, I was internally hesitant. Due to our industry receiving a lot of bad newspaper press over the last six months I certainly did not want to assist someone in tormenting us. I was concerned it …
Read More »Eyes on Akron and Today’s Surprising Factory-Built Homes
Tim Williams, the Executive Director of the Ohio Homes Association, requested we consider drawing attention to online newspaper coverage, “Akron Beacon Journal Article entitled “Factory Built Homes…May Just Surprise You”. One of the most positive news articles regarding our industry in some time.” Williams is right, quite so! Williams has told ManufacturedHomeLivingNews.com of their vision for advancing the image and …
Read More »Freddie Mac’s move Offers Manufactured Home Buyers Mortgages
Freddie Mac recently announced an initiative allowing the Government Sponsored Enterprise (GSE) to make mortgages available on manufactured homes. Freddie sees manufactured homes as key to affordable housing. John Cannon, senior vice president, stated: “It broadens our geographic footprint and creates a more balanced approach.” The program will offer loans on manufactured homes sold as real property at conventional mortgage …
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