Videos and Special Reports

When you strive to tell the truth as you know it, consistency becomes easy. Former President Barack Obama is beloved by millions. Others opposed his policies. It is similar, albeit more intense, with the current President Donald J. Trump. Each man stands quite apart on many issues. But on at least one thing, they agree. Both men believe that the …

“So, the McMansion is dead, long live the mobile home?” That was the question CBS Sunday Morning asked designer Jennifer Siegal – who is known for turning the image of ‘the trailer house” on its head. Her reply was “Absolutely.” This CBS News video was previously featured here some years ago, but it is time to bring it back for …

First, the good news. Then, we’ll follow the good news up with what’s problematic. This will be systematic: quotes, facts, and eye-opening insights. “People live better when they have less financial stress,” Lindsey Bostick said. “They can do more of what they really want to do with their lives when they pay less for their home.” She explained that, “I …

Rent control is a hot topic in the U.S. as well as in Canada. It is an issue for those in apartments or other forms of rental housing, as well as numbers living in manufactured home land lease communities. The CBC News video below spells out the challenge in multifamily housing, north of the border. It will help tee up …

What follows below is a letter to the editor of MHLivingNews from a community resident-leader. It is worth mentioning that this person has lived and owned in conventional housing before moving into a manufactured home in a land-lease community. He loves his manufactured home, as he has said on his own blog. He enjoys the community, neighbors, and lifestyle. But …

There is no date on the article, but it appeared in a Google search on a topic that is relevant to the manufactured home industry and its current doldrums. Based upon its contents, it would appear to be less than 2 years old.   The reason that this a good look at this article is important to current owners of …

The truth has been hiding in plain sight for years. But politics, the revolving door, and other factors have kept Americans – living in one of the wealthiest nation per capita on planet Earth – out of the top 40 countries in the world in terms of the percentage rate for personal home ownership.   How did that relatively low …

The data found below from the Zillow Group comes from their 2016 and 2018 research surveys of home buyer desires and actual purchases. By showing both sets of data, MHLivingNews readers will get a sense of the trends.   Properly understood, the Zillow data reveals, among other details, what people believe they wanted vs. what they in fact purchased. Before …

For several years in our Inside MH Road Show series of videos, MHLivingNews interviewed politicos, experts, but also homeowners of various builders of manufactured homes. Those video interviews are real people, who own actual homes and were not paid for their comments. We’ve learned over the years that manufactured homeowners gladly tell their stories, because they want to be part …

To understand the warning and/or alert noted in the headline, some background is useful.   Dave Anderson is the Executive Director of the National Association of Manufactured Homeowners Association (NMHOA). Prior to NMHOA Anderson was the executive director with the Minnesota-based All Parks Alliance for Change (APAC).  Both ‘resident’ organizations state as their mission to benefit and protect the rights …

“Credit is the lifeblood of housing.” – Eric Belsky, then with Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.   “Pay more attention to what people do than what they say.” – Marty Lavin, JD, prior finance and GSE consultant, manufactured home lending, years of experience in manufactured home retail and land lease. Lavin is a Manufactured Housing Instiute (MHI) award winner …

Superficially, manufactured housing is an easy to understand product, service, and industry. It costs far more to build a house on site – so-called ‘stick building’ – then it does to build one in a factory and was permanently installed on a buyers preferred home site. It costs more to build apartments than it does a manufactured home community. The …

An article published on July 23, 2018 in Psychology Today explained the proper way to correct false or misleading information.   Start with the truth, put the problematic or deceptive claim in the middle, and end with the truth again. They said it is known as the #TruthSandwich.   Setting aside the partisan nature of their article, the balance of the …

It is important to get a balanced view of anything that involves a major decision. Here on MHLivingNews, we’ve done a mix of stories for years, spotlighting the good, the bad, and the misunderstood about all kinds of housing, including those homes built in a factory.    How do you tell the difference between a proverbial ‘white hat’ company and …

Preface: it must be kept in mind that every business and profession have good, bad, and meh examples of that occupation.  Research by third-parties suggest that millions love their pre-HUD Code mobile home or post June 15, 1976 manufactured home.  University and academic studies by nonprofits have praised manufactured homes for decades. That said, there are clear-cut examples of ‘white …