Industry Voices - Latest Comments

Re: Industry Should Stay the Course in Duty to Serve Efforts

easteddie — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 14:07:44 -0000

I note one of our most important albeit little used land lease community development financing programs the FHA207m loan guarantee program, is not listed on the DTS flowchart. The program is alive and well for aqcuisition of land and infrastructure development at 90% or less of costs, in a combination construction loan and 40 year, fixed rate, non-recourse permanent loan. It is enbumbant on our legislative advocates in Washington to make sure this program is included.

Re: UMH’s Sam Landy on Trump/Pence Ticket’s Election, Dodd-Frank and MH Industry Impact

Jim Clayton — Tue, 22 Nov 2016 15:00:00 -0000

Sam, I enjoyed your article and the very accurate points made about lending in communities. Dodd Frank has no place there. Congratulations on your success in the great state of TN. Happy Thanksgiving.

Re: Uncertainty is the Only Known!

Jim Clayton — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 17:21:20 -0000

Tony, so nice of you to publish the "Donald the Disruptor" article -- and the same day sent. Thanking about the election and the future for the industry that has, and continues, to mean so much caused me to need an outlet. It is so special of you to share with my great friends in the MH space. I am grateful. Jim Clayton

Re: Not Enough Hunger

Jess Maxcy — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 14:49:12 -0000

Way to go Marty!!

Yo tengo hambre...

Jess

Re: Not Enough Hunger

Sheila Dey — Mon, 11 Jul 2016 15:08:34 -0000

Great article Marty. Couldn't agree more about our country's lack of hunger.

Re: A Deeper Look at why the GSEs say no to Securitizing Chattel Loans

Williams, Zinman & Parham P.C. — Sat, 28 May 2016 11:49:52 -0000

Any 2270 word column containing the word "I" some 31 times, the word "me" three times, and the word "we" eight times usually strikes me as more of an article about the writer than the subject.

As an Arizona MHC attorney for over 40 years I dealt first hand on the front lines with past lending abuses and corruption of chattel lenders from the 1980's on. I dealt with thousands of abandoned homes, and threatened and sued lenders and repossession agents to cover MHC space rent being run up by their on-site inventories.

I drafted the Arizona statues allowing affidavits of affixture for homes on leased spaces with terns over 25 years in a failed effort to attract Fannie Mae financing for this housing stock, and dealt with the consequences of virtually every such loan being screwed up by the lender, often a successor to the failed bank originally making the loan.

I have worked with current lenders needing repossessions/replevins of homes in default. I have seen them place loans on homes on Indian Reservations not under state law jurisdiction and on raw unimproved desert land with no value whatsoever. I have seen many of their recent loans being made to people who should not be able to qualify for a used car loan. I have seen their loan documentation that often fails to satisfy State law requirements.

I was thrilled to read FHFA's original notice of proposed rule making. I submitted two sets of comments on behalf of the two Arizona MH and MHC organizations outlining how Arizona had taken steps to safeguard tenant rights and thus potential lender security in its MHC legal framework. Since FHFA said it will consider a pilot program I offered Arizona as a test site. Our Executive Director attended the FHFA roundtable In late April.

I have had several discussions with the FHFA program manager on this proposal. I believe FHFA understands exactly what it is doing and what the GSE's would be getting into. I believe they are trying to come up with a way of working around past problems and coming up with a sound chattel lending program. Maybe they will be successful and maybe not.

But criticizing them at this stage is not helpful. The unrelenting attacks on their integrity, honesty and transparency by national organizations supposedly representing the interests of this industry at the national level helps nothing and is bewildering.

48 years in this business including hundreds of suits with lenders and thousands of abandoned home situations makes me jaded. Nevertheless I am convinced that FHFA is serious about considering trying to activate a chattel lending program. The self serving universal criticism by the national organizations and the overwhelming negativity in columns such as this is not helpful.

I don't know the author and judging from the article his background is extensive. But the negative viewpoint and inability to accept the possibility of something positive coming from this process is certainly not helpful.

The word "I" appears 13 times in this comment, the word "me" three times. But negativity about FHFA's proposals does not appear at all and that is my point in this process.

Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.

Michael A. Parham

Re: Moblehome, not Mobile Home

Edie Castaneda — Mon, 18 Apr 2016 08:24:24 -0000

My wife needed a form last year and was told about a great service that hosts a ton of fillable forms . If you are looking for it as well , here's a http://goo.gl/oj2nLp

Re: Will California Park Owners Begin Heading For the Exits?

Marcel Napoles — Tue, 15 Mar 2016 02:39:54 -0000

Thanks for the info! Really helpful.

Re: Will California Park Owners Begin Heading For the Exits?

Shayla Murdock — Sun, 13 Mar 2016 06:51:18 -0000

not spam I'm sharing I apologize if it looked like it

Re: Will California Park Owners Begin Heading For the Exits?

L. A. Tony Kovach — Sun, 13 Mar 2016 04:21:08 -0000

"Spam"

Re: Will California Park Owners Begin Heading For the Exits?

Shayla Murdock — Sun, 13 Mar 2016 04:16:31 -0000

My business partners needed a form
earlier this week and were told about a great service with a huge forms
library . If people are interested in it too , here's the link http://www.pdffiller.com/en...

Re: 2 Great Interviews on Manufactured Home Community Operations and Investments

Rhett — Tue, 22 Sep 2015 16:07:48 -0000

Well said, Kurt. Cheers!

Re: Back To The Future: An Eerie Episode in Iowa

Katie Hauck — Fri, 07 Aug 2015 10:40:36 -0000

How interesting!! Thank you so much for sharing this!!

Re: MHI, MHARR, MHIndustry Associations and the Manufactured Housing Leadership Issue

steve l — Tue, 21 Oct 2014 17:03:43 -0000

My 2 cents.
It needed to be said and written. Most of the responses are like a
“Stockbroker” quote, “Past Performance is NOT indicative of future results”
Who will determine our future and fate if not the organizations, its members, government, Who?

It's no wonder that truth is stranger than fiction. Fiction
has to make sense.

Mark Twain

Re: Reply to Danny Ghorbani’s, “Sobering Wake Up Call…” – “MHARR Report and Analysis “

Richard Weinert — Fri, 15 Aug 2014 12:05:28 -0000

I must comment on this, as a first-person witness to what happened in CA. My comments are not critical of the mfg housing industry, but rather as a way to depict how Subpart I can and should work. During a dealer-lot inspection, a serious construction defect was discovered that required action and the CA- SAA staff used its authority under both state license and federal regulations to require the mfg to notify and correct. It was through the formal notification that we got the call from a homeowner whose family was suffering effects of carbon monoxide poisoning. After correction, HUD, under Bill Matchneer, performed an investigation and uncovered the root causes of the serious defect. To his credit, HUD changed the way HUD and HUD's contractor monitored a manufacturer's systems of control. The point in all this is it was a necessary and potentially life-saving improvement in monitoring that is being embraced by the manufacturers.

Re: Reply to Danny Ghorbani’s, “Sobering Wake Up Call…” – “MHARR Report and Analysis “

rickrand — Thu, 14 Aug 2014 19:20:06 -0000

Bill Matcher is a stand up guy and is one of the few supporters of our industry. Once again, MHARR has twisted the facts and attacked someone with real knowledge of the facts. How sad it is.

Rick Rand

Re: About Exhaustion – Memo in Reply to Marty Lavin, Esquire

Marty Lavin — Thu, 14 Aug 2014 17:49:54 -0000

How will the homes be financed?

Re: Exhaustion Sets In

steve — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 11:37:42 -0000

Martin Lavin,
Our company is performing your ideal. We compete with site built for Green Home Awards, We compete in their USGBC arenas. We build our homes to capture and get energy efficient rebates from utility companies. We even built a community of green manufactured homes because we own and manage them. The disconnect of the industry can be summed up in three words:

"Factories are sub-contractors". They do not build their homes on land sites. They only sell artist renditions to Dealers who sell their product but do not have the same interests.

Developers, Lenders, LLC and folks have land projects and have a clear choice of what they want placed on it. If the marketing and home product is proven winner, attention is drawn, beliefs are changed and interest of others take note. As you suggest, the factories are content with the status quo.

Re: Moblehome, not Mobile Home

Tony — Mon, 14 Jul 2014 17:13:28 -0000

Ken,

I believe you. You care about industry image, which is why you take the time to do some thoughtful writing like

http://manufacturedhomelivi...

Keep it up! Thanks again for the clarity and sharing.

Tony

Re: Moblehome, not Mobile Home

Ken Haynes Jr — Mon, 14 Jul 2014 16:40:22 -0000

Honestly, I only say mobilehome around close friends who know I am not talking about a mobile home, otherwise I say manufactured home; especially to someone who does not know what I am talking about in a HUD code manufactured home.

Re: Moblehome, not Mobile Home

Tony — Thu, 10 Jul 2014 08:56:45 -0000

Ken,
Your Drawn Quarter's column and attachment on MHLivingNews, linked above, is historic.

Your commentary here, from my perspective, was born of the frustration of some challenging realities. A numer of others feel similarly to you.

The fact is that our industry can and ought to do better on image and education, both internal and external. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Tony Kovach

Re: Moblehome, not Mobile Home

Ken Haynes Jr — Thu, 10 Jul 2014 03:07:26 -0000

I was a little harsh on pre-HUD homes. Admittedly, the numbers are not as bad as I portray. You would know what I mean about new uninhabitable if you ever saw a 1972 Foremost Home built in Denton, TX, which went out of business when the HUD code was enacted.

Re: Rent Control in MHCs

Boe — Mon, 09 Sep 2013 11:29:13 -0000

This is a touchy subject in CA. As with all things there must be balance and coordination. High rents are great for the owner until they are not great for the owner, High rents impact lending and new home sales. New homes have a positive impact in communities. It is ALL connected.

Re: Will California Park Owners Begin Heading For the Exits?

Boe — Thu, 18 Jul 2013 17:11:22 -0000

In answer to the title's question...no owners of communities in CA won't be going anywhere. Not to trivialize the issues of rent control and conversion but please stop the alarmist sentiment. We have communities in this state that are doing just fine.

Re: Only In America

Brandy — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 08:48:33 -0000

Boe - I suppose your comments can then be construed as typical defense tactics of the deceiving left. That is typical, you insult the "wacky" and "dimwit" right, and refute the facts without backing it up with fact of your own. These are not partial facts. They are actual facts that represent the sorry state of this country.

In the wake of a numerous voter fraud stories you are really going to defend the idea that voters should be able to vote without providing a driver's license? This argument doesn't even make sense. If your right to vote is so precious to you, then you should guard it against those who can't and shouldn't vote. The TRUE reason the left doesn't want to crack down on this is because they love it when scores of people in various cities like Cincinnati vote 5 or 6 times, and they love it when illegal immigrants vote, too. Providing a driver's license or other formal identification to vote isn't un-American. It's un-American not to!

Thank you Larry Hahn for your article. I appreciate it and concur. I hope the IRS doesn't come hunt you down, now. ;)