Words may sound good but are at times proven to be devoid of meaningfully matching action. A new HUD PD&R report effectively confirmed and amplified several findings in an August 2021 research report and analysis on MHLivingNews entitled “Why So Few Affordable U.S. Homes? Federal & Other Research – Monopolies, Moats, Manufactured Housing – Impacts Renters, Current Manufactured Homeowners, Conventional …

Manufactured homes are the most proven form of affordable housing in America today, period. Nothing else comes close. That is not an empty or boastful claim. Rather, that statement is based on decades of well-documented facts and evidence. There are numerous research studies, mostly from third parties to manufactured home interests, that document that some 22 million Americans live in …

When someone wants to understand the lack of affordable housing in the U.S., by reading published studies from a range of sources, a few common facts emerge. The underlying causes of the affordable housing crisis observed by experts and partisans are often similar regardless of which of the two major political parties they may favor. For example, Zoning is a …

Why is there so little competition in the manufactured home lending market? While there are several interlocking factors, one of the simplest points to make is that the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are not doing the robust lending in the manufactured home market as they are doing for conventional housing. What follows is a step-by-step explanation based …

The American Dream has to various degrees always included the ideal of home ownership. As conventional housing prices have long been out of reach for millions with more modest earnings and/or a smaller housing budget, the evolution from 1930s-1940s era trailer houses into larger mobile homes occurred during the 1950s into the early 1970s. While many of those post-trailer house …

The Private Equity Stakeholder Project (PESP) are among the nonprofits, media, and public officials who have called RHP Properties and other “consolidators” of land-lease manufactured home communities “predatory.” While such comments were once more commonly reserved to Democratic lawmakers, Republican officials have, in recent years, also become concerned that what is occurring in what for decades was “affordable housing” is …

Even though tens of millions of Americans understandably believe that “the system is rigged,” the case can be made that the system is more rigged than most realize. The response from the Office of General Counsel at the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to this writer and MHLivingNews publisher L. A. “Tony” Kovach is an example of that which will …

To understand the importance of the cautionary comments from award-winning attorney Marty Lavin to Mobile and Manufactured Home Living News (MHLivingNews), it is useful to understand some basics that influence all forms of conventional and manufactured homes. Access to lending plays an important role in all resale home valuations. The law of supply and demand, along with proper support by …

In my junior high school civics class, I don’t recall a single time that we ever heard the term “fake news.” That phrase is a relatively new phenomenon. What we did get some insights on was the historic period that featured “yellow journalism.” Yellow journalism was agenda-driven news. It’s defined below. By the mid-20th century, journalism was increasingly taught to …

“Positioned in the heart of the Midwest, Iowa’s weather ranges from extreme cold and snow to temperatures in the triple digits.” So, something Iowans are familiar with is wild weather, said a recent industry press release to MHLivingNews. For what its worth, the weather in Oklahoma – and other Great Plains states – can fit this description. If you are …

Preface before the White House statement, which is found further below. On a daily basis, MHLivingNews and our MHProNews sister-site receive media releases from a variety of sources that include governmental agencies, politicians, companies, others in media, and nonprofits. Some are quoted and a few are published if deemed relevant. We have published information from across that spectrum of sources. …

“We study history in order to understand the present and to prepare for the future. Because anything that’s happened before can happen again.” – House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (SC-D) on 2.29.2020.   When you limit or destroy competition, you are by definition limiting and harming consumer opportunities. That in turn leads to a variety of problematic outcomes, which the …

> “…All weather-hazard related deaths in the United States are recorded as fatalities with no further information or considerations as to the scope of their injuries or why they perished…”   > “For your questions about fatalities inside or outside of factory-produced homes. Again, no distinction or considerations are made about how building materials led to a person’s death, where the person …

  “In general, the figures suggest that manufactured homes have seen price [appreciation] trends broadly similar to those of other homes.” – August 23, 2018 news release by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), page 24 of the federal document linked further below as a free download.    “I will never make a disparaging remark about a manufactured home. It …

“Facts are stubborn things.” – Mark Weiss, J.D., President and CEO of the Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR).   Near the epicenter of what could become a cosmic clash in the year 2020 are events that have their origin approaching 2 decades ago. Much more recently, Congressional Representative Maxine Waters (CA-D) signed a letter with some of her …