Manufactured Housing Action (MHAction) has teamed up with other progressive organizations that have published a report linked here that ripped private equity and their “predatory” moves into the manufactured home community space. That may be, but the evidence is clear that MHAction has been supported in good measure by billionaire Warren Buffett. MHAction asks its members to sign a statement …

Prior to getting into the most recent column by Mark Weiss, J.D., president and CEO of the Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR), a few words of introduction will prove valuable. MHARR has no PAC or political action committee. They don’t endorse candidates. As an attorney, as with all good lawyers, they are taught to look at the details …

If someone wants to understand the politics and economic issues that influence affordable housing and the manufactured industry, sooner or later, one will come across the Manufactured Housing Institute or MHI. As with many organizations, MHI has its supporters and detractors. A ranking staffer in a Democratic House of Representative’s member’s office told MHLivingNews that MHI had a reputation as …

The title to the report linked here is California Feudalism – The Squeeze on the Middle Class. But research authors Joel Kotkin and Marshall Toplansky for the Center for Demographics & Policy at Chapman University themselves point out the relationship of their report to those who want to see America become more like California. They also use the phrase “working …

“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 …

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 …

Realtor.com says that Kristina Smallhorn goes by the moniker, “Your Real Estate Whisperer.” She tells those pondering the housing markets ‘secrets’ and insights that others may not realize. Manufactured Home Living News (MHLivingNews) stumbled across Smallhorn’s video last night, and we knew right away that we had to share it. Not because we think she’s made is a perfect video, …

Complex problems cited in the headline can be simplified by making this specific point. Affordable housing and income or wealth inequality are in several ways related issues. Home ownership is the most common form of wealth building in America. There are already good laws ‘on the books’ that make more affordable housing available. There are also good laws that make …

Let’s begin with what many will want to know every day, not just Veteran’s Day. Yes, you can buy a manufactured home with a VA – Veterans Administration – loan with as little as zero down payment. Millions who have a DD214 could qualify.     That said, veterans by definition are individuals who have or still do serve their …

During a widely acknowledged affordable housing crisis, one would normally imagine that affordable housing would be doing very well. While some segments may be performing well, perhaps the most proven form of U.S. affordable housing ever is struggling at historically low levels. How is that possible? Furthermore, millions of Americans who live in this most proven form of affordable housing …

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 …

“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 …

“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 …

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 …