On paper, much of what Clayton Homes General Counsel, Thomas “Tom” Hodges, J.D., has said or written over the years may seem fine from the viewpoints of certain quarters involved in the battle for more affordable housing in general, and more manufactured homes in particular. But according to the information, evidence, and reasoning in a complaint with the Tennessee Bar …

Inflation. Afghanistan. Supply chains problems. Southern border. COVID19 vax mandates. Soaring housing costs. A series of apparent blunders and oversteps of authority are behind Joe Biden’s plunging approval. Which makes it odd at best that the National Housing Conference (NHC) President and CEO’s David M. Dworkin, who has spoken favorably about support for manufactured homes, recently said to fellow “housers” …

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 …

Samuel “Sam” Strommen from Knudson Law forged an evidence-based and systematic case that points the finger of monopolization at Clayton Homes, 21st Mortgage Corporation, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, and several specific members of the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI). Minneapolis Federal Reserve professional researchers James A. Schmitz Jr and David Fettig have made their own evidence-based argument that “Monopolies Inflict Great Harm on Low- and …

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 …

Prejudice and ignorance are not bliss. Bias against affordable housing and/or manufactured homes are costly to most of society, save a few well-connected elites. In fairness, over a decade before the self-described “atheist” dark lord of Omaha entered the manufactured home industry, Americans were understandably complaining about a lack of affordable housing. Part of the problem was and remains NIMBY …

“The more things change the more they stay the same.” That’s the common translation of what French writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr wrote in 1849 – “plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose,” per Wikipedia and Quora. Over 66 years ago, in 1954, a well-known leader at the time named Walter Reuther made the call for building 2 million new …

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 …

  “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 …

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” – Abraham Lincoln.   Preface before addressing the headline issues: Steve McDonald reminds us in the intriguing lyrics from the title song of Sons of Somerled that there’s been times when the sword is mightier than pen. Today, sometimes money seems to outweigh pen and sword, although …

Preface. This article will first outline a five-point plan for affordable housing and manufactured home living recovery. Then, it will give some specific examples of why this plan makes more sense than others that are being discussed. Interlaced with that will be facts, evidence and specific examples of how the battle for affordable housing has been weaponized by some powerful …