Californian Robert ‘Bob’ Van Cleef is involved in manufactured home resident advocacy. Bob and his wife sold their home and moved into a manufactured home. They enjoy their manufactured home, but were unpleasantly surprised by certain developments in their community.  That’s when Bob stepped up to volunteer as community leader.    He is active with the Golden State Manufactured-Home Owners …

We’ve done several serious reports in the last year or so that look deeper behind the often dark curtain to understand why manufactured homes – along with the mobile homes and trailer houses that preceded them – are so misunderstood.   Today will be a bit different. 43 years ago, today is the official “birth” of HUD Code manufactured homes. …

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 …

Preface. Mistakes happen. People can learn from them, or not. Mature adults should ideally not allow themselves to be defined by errors – because everyone has their share of mistakes and ignorance. Rather, people of all ages and backgrounds are better defined by their behavior after an error has been uncovered.   How is a mistake addressed? Is it swept …

“During my time at MHI, I was often asked the same question, “What must happen for business to return – for manufactured housing to begin growing again? ” My stock answer would usually start with ‘financing’ and end with a general comment about the need to bring ‘value’ to our customers.” The person making that comment was Chris Stinebert. It …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Today we’ll keep it shorter than normal, because we want you to be able to focus on the infographic and data provided below.   We could sum this up like this.  There is a lot of misinformation about modern manufactured homes, starting with terminology.  From there, one can move on to issues of quality, durability, appreciation, and more. The infographic, …

Affordable housing is an issue from coast-to-coast, border to border – and in islands like the state of Hawaii too.  There are efforts under way to bring more modern manufactured homes to Hawaii, because their affordable housing crisis is so acute.   But as often happens, improper terminology and inaccurate information has crept into their discussion.  That matters in all …

You’ve been thinking about the factory-crafted home option. You’ve done your research, and have learned their are differences between pre-HUD Code “trailer houses” and “mobile homes” vs. today’s manufactured homes and modular homes. You know that today’s factory-built homes rival or can even out-perform conventional houses in many ways, while saving you serious money. You are ready to get down …