The Reporter 2023

September - October Issue

“The stars will never align, and the traffic lights of life will never all be green at the same time. The universe doesn’t conspire against you, but it doesn’t go out of its way to line up the pins either. Conditions are never perfect. ‘Someday’ is a disease that will take your dreams to the grave with you. Pro and con lists are just as bad. If it’s important to you and you want to do it ‘eventually,’ just do it and correct course along the way.”

-- Tim Ferris, author of The 4-Hour Work Week --

In response to a Congressional request by the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development to review the federal government's role in supporting the financing of manufactured housing, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a report on manufactured housing. The report examines trends in the use of federal financing for manufactured housing and federal efforts to access and improve financing options entitled. GAO based its findings on federal housing data, regulations and information about federal financing products, a review of literature, and interviews with federal entity officials and lenders, industry groups, and other industry groups. Read the full GAO Report about manufactured housing here.

The GAO made two key recommendations, which HUD and Ginnie Mae agreed with:



·    That FHA implement planned changes to provide additional financing options for manufactured homes, including identifying options for greater securitization of manufactured home mortgages and personal property loans and establishing time frames and milestones for the actions.

·    That the President of Ginnie Mae implement planned changes to provide additional financing options for manufactured homes, including identifying options for greater securitization of manufactured home mortgages and personal property loans and establishing time frames and milestones for the actions.

The Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) has been advocating for reforms to the FHA program to better support financing for manufactured homes for years. In addition to securing attention by HUD and Ginnie Mae resulting in actions to improve the programs, MHI has also secured language from Congress urging HUD and Ginnie Mae to take immediate action. MHI will provide further analysis of the GAO's findings to state Associations and will continue to advocate for updates to the FHA program.

Representative Ralph Norman (SC-5) has proposed an amendment to the House of Representatives' Fiscal Year 2024 spending package for the Department of Energy (H.R. 4394) that would not allow the DOE to use funds to implement energy standards for manufactured housing.

A member of the Housing Subcommittee, Representative Norman has expressed concern about the DOE's rule and lack of understanding about how manufactured homes are constructed. This summer, MHI Vice Chairman and President and Chief Executive Officer, Cavco Industries, Inc. Bill Boor testified before the Subcommittee about the issue. During the hearing, Representative Norman expressed concern that the DOE regulations will negatively impact what he called the “most affordable housing market that there is.” He also pointed out that the DOE regulators do not understand the construction process of manufactured homes and encouraged his fellow Representatives to visit a manufactured home building facility to better understand the problem and see the benefits of manufactured housing first-hand.

Representative Norman's amendment is currently pending before the House Rules Committee. 

Representative John Rose (TN-06) introduced H.R. 5198, the Expansion of Attainable Homeownership Through Manufactured Housing Act of 2023. This bill would revise the definition of manufactured housing by removing the phrase “built on a permanent chassis” from the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974. Allowing for the removal of the chassis would allow HUD Code homes to match the profile and exterior aesthetics of other homes. This is particularly noticeable when manufactured homes are placed in communities with predominantly site-built homes.

THA State Delegate James McGee and THA Executive Director Marla McAfee introduced this topic to Representative Rose during the June 2023 fly-in to Washington, DC. Representative Rose was swift in furthering the discussions and formulating the necessary legal language with MHI staff and attorneys. This would be a groundbreaking change for manufactured housing in future years.

As the federal government appears to be heading for a shutdown at the end of this week, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released a contingency plan for operations during the closure. The department warns that “monthly subsidy programs such as the public housing operating subsidies, housing choice voucher subsidies, and multifamily assistance contracts can be at risk of running out of funding during a lapse period” while “nearly all of HUD’s fair housing activities will cease during a lapse.” However, operations related to FHA’s portfolio of insured mortgages, including manufactured housing, will continue during a closure. The Office of Manufactured Housing will continue to “perform oversight of Manufactured Home Construction and Safety and Installation Standards and Model Installation standards, as necessary, to maintain core operations and protect life and/or property.”

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that it would be charging the Owners Association and General Manager of Preferred RV Resort in Pahrump, NV with discriminating against a family with three minor children. HUD alleges that the resort “discriminated against families by placing unreasonable age restrictions on many of its amenities, including prohibiting anyone under 18 years old from being in the outdoor swimming pool unattended, contrary to state law, and restricting children under 14 years old from using the property’s billiards room and spa.” Furthermore, the charges allege that the property’s management made statements admonishing parents about letting their children be unsupervised on the property. If discrimination is found to have occurred, the judge may award damages to the family, as well as injunctive relief and other equitable relief, attorney fees, civil penalties, and/or punitive damages.

Recently, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced it was beginning a rulemaking process to remove medical bills from credit reports. The proposed rulemaking would enact the following measures: medical bills would be removed from consumers’ credit reports, creditors would be prevented from relying on medical bills for underwriting decisions, and it would prevent debt collectors from using medical debt reporting as a method of collection. This announcement represents a set of proposals and alternatives under consideration for the CFPB’s Fair Credit Reporting Act Rulemaking.

Download the graphic and video from this newsletter or from your member email (09/13/2023).

As a member, you may use these tools in your social media posts or on your website.

On Friday, September 8th, the Department of Labor (DOL) published a notice of proposed rulemaking revising overtime pay regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The publication of the proposed rule starts a 60-day comment period. The proposal increases the minimum salary threshold to $55,068, up from the current $35,568: an increase of nearly 55%. The proposal also implements automatic increases to the threshold. The threshold will be updated every 3 years and tied to the 35th percentile of weekly earnings of full-time non-hourly workers in the lowest-wage Census Region. The Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) has advocated against these changes to overtime pay regulations and will continue to monitor the situation and respond to the DOL’s proposed rule. 

The production team at ManufacturedHomes.com is always looking for installed manufactured and modular homes that will represent the industry in our state. If any of our THA members have recently set a home and the landscaping is now complete, drop a picture of the exterior to Rick@manufacturedhomes.com

Earlier in September, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced it would increase Fair Market Rents for Fiscal Year 2024. HUD plans to increase Fair Market Rents by an average of 12% across the U.S. with the expectation this increase will also increase the number of units that families using housing vouchers can access. Additionally, HUD noted it would be releasing an additional $113 million in Housing Choice Vouchers to public housing agencies to help 9,500 families meet these growing costs. HUD also made available a tool to look up Fair Market Rent by county for Fiscal Year 2024. 

New research from Fannie Mae found that flexible workplaces might offer some relief for potential homebuyers' top consideration: housing affordability. In 2014, the top consideration for homebuyers was neighborhood (an important factor in selecting a home for 49%), and in 2023, affordability was the top factor (36%) with neighborhood falling to 33%. Remote and hybrid work has driven this shift, allowing homebuyers to move further away from their workplace. The study authors note that “the decoupling of local labor markets from housing markets has the potential to both reduce labor market rigidities nationally and housing market vulnerability more locally.” This also creates opportunity for manufactured housing to capitalize on the general affordability of manufactured homes but also the amenities offered by communities can be leveraged to attract potential homebuyers who are more location-agnostic than in the past. 

A recent survey conducted by Redfin found that roughly one of every five (18%) millennials and 12% of Gen Z respondents believe they will never own a home. The survey found nearly “half of Gen Z and millennial renters who believe they’re unlikely to purchase a home in the near future say the high price of homes on the market is blocking them from buying.” Other barriers to homeownership indicated by respondents include the ability to save for a down payment and an inability to afford mortgage payments. Additionally, student debt is also a concern for younger borrowers, with 46% of Millennials and 33% of Gen Z reporting they would need to pay off student loan debt before they would be able to purchase a home.

Accredited Community Manager (ACM) - Designation -

The ACM curriculum is a two-part course for owners and managers of manufactured home communities. Topics include management and resident policies, community maintenance, leasing and sales techniques, marketing communities, taxes, insurance, financial management, business planning, physical asset management, and federal and fair housing laws.

2024 Annual Member's Meeting

"Make Every Connection Matter"

June 9 - 11, 2024

Dollywood's ... NEW

HeartSong Lodge & Resort

Pigeon Forge, TN