Videos and Special Reports

As previous and upcoming reports on MHLivingNews reflect, there is a growing interest in America by politicos spanning the left-right divide about supporting the use of more manufactured homes as part of the solution to the affordable housing crisis. It’s about time.   One of the reasons we like to spotlight the rich and famous who own a manufactured home …

Songs can often capture ideas and emotions in poetic and transformative ways. Ballads by definition are songs that tell a story. The ballad that Gretchen Peters wrote that was performed by Martina McBride blends a range of symbols that brilliantly captures the story of an abused woman, as told through the eyes of her daughter. For the next few minutes, let’s …

“Follow the Money.” – a maxim used by journalists and investigators.   “Sometimes the best place to hide is in plain sight.” – axiomatic expression used by numerous authors.   ‘One should separate wheat from chaff.’ – Per Dictionary, to separate wheat from chaff means sort the valuable from the worthless, as in ‘I hope we’ll get a preview of …

It’s a sad day when a good and necessary product or service gets sullied by the bad behavior of certain businesses.   At the end of this fact check and exposé will be a video with happy manufactured home customers, but they are not customers of SSK Communities, who recently changed their name to Flagship Communities. Keep in mind that …

Californian Robert ‘Bob’ Van Cleef is involved in manufactured home resident advocacy. Bob and his wife sold their home and moved into a manufactured home. They enjoy their manufactured home, but were unpleasantly surprised by certain developments in their community.  That’s when Bob stepped up to volunteer as community leader.    He is active with the Golden State Manufactured-Home Owners …

Kurt Kelley, JD, is the publisher of the Manufactured Housing Review (MHR), as the below reflects in his quarterly’s “Publisher’s Message.” For the 2019 Quarter 1 issue, his message read in part as follows.   “…We also [in this issue] address Senator Elizabeth Warren’s attempt to gather private information from Manufactured Home Community owners. New things surprise us each day, …

In a letter dated June 6, 2019 obtained by MHLivingNews, Senator Tina Smith (MN-D) wrote Senators Mike Crapo (ID-R) and Sherrod Brown (OH-D) to urge greater support for lending on affordable housing, particularly naming manufactured homes.   Senator Crapo is the chairman and Senator Brown is the ranking member of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Smith is …

This NBC News 2 in Orlando, WESH, video report is insightful on numerous levels. First, it reflects the ‘right stuff’ exhibited by the members of the installation team that put the higher priority on saving a man’s life than protecting the home that was being installed.  That’s behavior that reflects a proper ‘people first’ concern that should be applauded. Next, …

We’ve done several serious reports in the last year or so that look deeper behind the often dark curtain to understand why manufactured homes – along with the mobile homes and trailer houses that preceded them – are so misunderstood.   Today will be a bit different. 43 years ago, today is the official “birth” of HUD Code manufactured homes. …

“Let’s make sure people understand what’s available,” said HUD Secretary Ben Carson about affordable housing, as he spotlighted manufactured homes as a key part of the Innovations in Housing display on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.   “You can get one of these manufactured houses, for instance, for 30 percent less, and they are very, very resilient. Because that …

Let’s note from the top that what follows is rooted in reality but will be framed as an exploration of a hypothetical scenario that could redistribute wealth without resorting to socialism or new laws.  It could be done via a specific use of existing antitrust and RICO laws.   Let’s further note that while huge businesses may seem to offer …

Every year, there are hundreds of tornadoes in the United States.  Several dozen people in all kinds of housing die as a result of those storms annually.  There are statistical indications that more die in ‘mobile and manufactured homes.’ But is there more to that claim then meets the eye?  An on-the-record statement by a National Weather Service (NWS) expert …

First, let’s make it clear that there are all kinds of reasonable and good housing options. This publication is broad-minded about all safe, legal, and legitimate housing options.   That said, Amazon has made headlines recently with some of their kit homes. What are those? Kit housing has been around for about a century that we know about, because the …

Imagine for the new few minutes that you are a detective trying to solve a mystery. Detectives look for clues and examine evidence. Investigators ought to be objective. Like a doctor seeking the cause for an ailment, there are tests, results, facts, and reason that should to be the drivers for solving any puzzle.   Investigators ask questions, such as …

The text that follows has one edit, Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) Joe Stegmayer’s name was misspelled, and we’ve edited in links to other reports that we’ve published that HUD Secretary Carson’s comments confirmed. Those links have an * at the end of that hotlink. Otherwise, the text is as shown. Manufactured Home Living News (MHLivingNews) will follow this up with …