Manufactured Home Article

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 …

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 …

Millions of conventional site built houses are still underwater, according to recent reports by RealtyTrac, Bloomberg and the S&P/Case-Shiller index. As the recovery of depressed prices from the housing/mortgage bubble have slowed recently, leaving millions of Americans in homes that are “underwater” on their loans. An “underwater” mortgage is defined as a real estate home with a loan that is …

“Pencil head, its not a trailer park.”  So said Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS) Chairman and real estate legend Sam Zell to a packed auditorium of manufactured housing professionals, as Zell described previous comments he’s made to potential investors.  But “its not a trailer park”  isn’t the impression you’d get about proper manufactured home terminology from reading “The Cold Hard Lessons …

UMH Properties, Inc. of Freehold, New Jersey has acquired eight Ohio manufactured home communities (MHCs) comprised of 1,018 homesites. Marketwatch, MHProNews and StockNews among others have reported that UMH owns and operates 82 land-lease manufactured home communities with approximately 14,500 total sites. UMH Properties is a public real estate investment trust (REIT). The company has roughly doubled its holdings in …

Figures from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) indicate shipments of new “HUD Code” manufactured homes hit 4,405 in January, a 3.8 percent increase over the 4,242 homes shipped in Jan., 2013. (Photo Credit: Eastern Ohio Home Show,  Friday, May 16th – Sunday, May 18th, 2014 at the MAPS Air Field and Museum located adjacent to the Akron/Canton …

Technology-based marketing services company SearchCore, Inc., which connects consumers with brands, products and services through comprehensive websites, announced additions to their ManufacturedHomes.com site. The upgrades includes the most extensive list of producers of manufactured homes, retail centers and floor plans available in the entire industry. The company’s next step will be to consolidate other MH services which include banking, insurance, …

Housing professionals will not want to miss the 2014 Congress and Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada.  The Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) along with National Communities Council (NCC) is hosting this all star event. The 2014 National Congress & Expo for Manufactured and Modular Housing will be held on April 29 – May 1, 2014 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. The …