Videos and Special Reports

Americans overwhelmingly want a place that they can call “home.” The adage, “Home is where the heart is,” captures part of that deeply felt desire.  The saying, “a man’s home is his castle” may sound dated to some, but is a wonderful reminder that home ownership represents security, pride, and independence.  The Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) has frankly mishandled several …

The headline is missing two words from the original that was provided to MHLivingNews by Lending Tree (LT), via a news media release. Those missing two words? “In Miami.” While that was accurate, it is equally accurate for the vast majority of the U.S. today, thus our edit of those two words. Let’s see what Lending Tree had to say …

In all 50 states, affordable housing is an issue today. In all 50 states, it is difficult for renters to afford rental housing, based upon a wage of $15 an hour.     According to the National Association of Realtors, the typical renter could own a manufactured home for less than the cost of their rent.     According to …

Affordable quality housing is one of the most critical issues of our time.  So too is affordable home ownership, which should be the ideal goal over rental housing. A challenge is zoning and land use, which is highly politicized, and thus is often misunderstood.  What follows is adapted from the comments letter addressed as shown below.  This features a video …

“Best vote ever,” said one manufactured home resident as he took a sandwich, water and thanked President Donald J. Trump.   “I knew right from the beginning,” said another resident in the Naples, Florida manufactured home community as he shook the president’s hand, and thanked him.   First Lady Melania Trump was in the serving line too. Reflector sun glasses, …

If you scratch deeply enough, people of good will can find some common ground with others of good will.  There will be disagreements between people.  It has been so, since ‘the fall,’ and is expected to continue that way until time comes to an end. With that principle in mind, we will look in this column at a Cautionary Tale …

A “Happy Days” sitcom actress died in 2017, after she moved to an Indiana manufactured home community. Morin was looking for a place to regroup and start over. She had played the role of Joanie Cunningham in the then popular 1970s TV show.     Every year, there are thousands of Americans who are looking for second, third, or fourth …

People generally don’t buy something that they don’t understand, misunderstand, have concerns about, aren’t motivated to have, or are otherwise unable to buy. Until understanding, interest, desire, opportunity, need, and the means to buy all come together, no purchase is made. There are more details. But in a nutshell, those two sentences above sum up the answer to the headline …

We’ve begun to explore on MHLivingNews the connections between past and present U.S. Presidents and mobile and manufactured homes. A prior article on the topic is linked below. Note these are fact-and-evidence based reports, not partisan ones. Affordable living ought to be a nonpartisan issue, because everyone needs a good place to call home.   U.S. Presidents Carter, Nixon, and …

There are Americans alive today who have lived in a true mobile home for over 50 years. The production of mobile homes in the U.S. ended on June 15,1976. Starting that day, mandatory federal construction, energy, durability, and safety standards went into effect. Those standards, by law, were administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). America’s most …

“The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions.” – maxim origin, Bernard of Clairvaux.   Improving manufactured home resale values is an important topic for everyone involved in the housing industry.  We learned from the National Association of Realtors (TM) Certified Business Economist (CBE) Scholastica ‘Gay’ Cororaton that manufactured homes can and do rise in value.     Barry …

The need for affordable housing is serious.  Former President Jimmy Carter has publicly commented on the crisis recently. From that same era, Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Gerald Ford spoke favorably about mobile homes as much needed affordable living. The HUD Code for manufactured homes went into effect on June 15, 1976. The homes built before that date that look …

Curbed, The Verge and their sponsor – the Ford Motor Company – all understand that factory-built homes are widely misunderstood. But they believe the homes of the future will come from a factory.  Why?  Crank phones with land lines evolved into “bag phones,” later more compact cell phones, and now smart phones that are more tech filled than a laptop 10 …

The scores of Elvis impersonators one can find are the only reminders needed that he is still seen as the ‘King of Rock and Roll’ today, as he was by millions in years gone by.   When you are a star, it seems surprising to people that someone with money and fame would pick a mobile home for their personal …

Fear affects decision-making every day. But often, “F.E.A.R.” is an acronym for “False Evidence Appearing Real.” Our research indicates that the solution to the affordable housing crisis is hiding in plain sight, but fear and prejudice have kept it from being widely embraced. In this analysis, we’ll discuss what experts – including those outside the industry, sources such as the …