On paper, much of what Clayton Homes General Counsel, Thomas “Tom” Hodges, J.D., has said or written over the years may seem fine from the viewpoints of certain quarters involved in the battle for more affordable housing in general, and more manufactured homes in particular. But according to the information, evidence, and reasoning in a complaint with the Tennessee Bar …

Let’s start with the lyrics to two different versions of the song, “Ain’t We Got Fun.” The earlier version is from Peggy Lee, later it was performed by Doris Day. How this relates to more affordable home ownership will be made clear on the far side of these two versions of the lyrics and related videos.  It is noteworthy that …

It is a troubling story that has a better-than-expected ending. But former nurse Laurie Myers had to appear in Knoxville, TN “General Sessions Court on Tuesday, Sept. 14,” where she was told to expect “to be officially evicted from Amherst Ridge.” Amherst Ridge is a land-lease manufactured home community that per an informed local source was once owned by Clayton …

Samuel “Sam” Strommen from Knudson Law forged an evidence-based and systematic case that points the finger of monopolization at Clayton Homes, 21st Mortgage Corporation, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, and several specific members of the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI). Minneapolis Federal Reserve professional researchers James A. Schmitz Jr and David Fettig have made their own evidence-based argument that “Monopolies Inflict Great Harm on Low- and …

While much, but not all, of the mainstream media is busy telling one side of the story on COVID19 and the effectiveness or risks with vaccinations, there is an entirely different set of facts and scientific evidence to consider. There are not quacks with tin hats. These are often frontline doctors, health care professionals, and scientists from nations around the …

Manufactured homes are the most proven form of affordable housing in America today, period. Nothing else comes close. That is not an empty or boastful claim. Rather, that statement is based on decades of well-documented facts and evidence. There are numerous research studies, mostly from third parties to manufactured home interests, that document that some 22 million Americans live in …

When someone wants to understand the lack of affordable housing in the U.S., by reading published studies from a range of sources, a few common facts emerge. The underlying causes of the affordable housing crisis observed by experts and partisans are often similar regardless of which of the two major political parties they may favor. For example, Zoning is a …

Why is there so little competition in the manufactured home lending market? While there are several interlocking factors, one of the simplest points to make is that the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are not doing the robust lending in the manufactured home market as they are doing for conventional housing. What follows is a step-by-step explanation based …

By the tens of millions, public interest in unidentified flying objects (UFOs) has been steady and strong for decades. The “incident at Roswell,” NM in July 1947 marks the ‘modern’ start to the contemporary question of – ‘are we alone as sentient beings in the universe?’ Whatever someone thinks of former President Bill Clinton, he made an interesting point when …

“The more things change the more they stay the same.” That’s the common translation of what French writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr wrote in 1849 – “plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose,” per Wikipedia and Quora. Over 66 years ago, in 1954, a well-known leader at the time named Walter Reuther made the call for building 2 million new …

A documentary entitled “Walmart – The High Cost of Low Prices” presaged several of those observations by Kenton in the video posted below. But what does that have to do with affordable housing and manufactured homes? Follow along and, step-by-step, you may see how the dots connect. The stories in the video are gut-wrenching and tug at the heartstrings. Sometimes …

Some decades ago, the first two manufactured home communities that I lived in where quite basic. There were the streets, homesites, utilities, and the manufactured homes themselves. For first-time readers, it may be useful for me to mention that I’ve owned and lived in several of the various types of housing available in America. There were conventional ‘site-built’ houses, apartments, …

The Private Equity Stakeholder Project (PESP) are among the nonprofits, media, and public officials who have called RHP Properties and other “consolidators” of land-lease manufactured home communities “predatory.” While such comments were once more commonly reserved to Democratic lawmakers, Republican officials have, in recent years, also become concerned that what is occurring in what for decades was “affordable housing” is …

As a disclosure for new readers and as detail-minded and longtime readers here know, Manufactured Home Living News takes a dim view of predatory, illegal, and unethical business practices. Then what explains this evidence-based viewpoint on making arguably notorious Frank Rolfe and Dave Reynolds the new leaders for the Arlington, VA based Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI)? Simple. Because birds of …

Before diving into the headline topic about angry Clayton Homes customers, it is important to note for accuracy and balance that there are millions of Americans that are blessed and happy living in a pre-HUD Code mobile home or a post-HUD Code manufactured home. The manufactured home business, like any profession, could be oversimplified into so-called “white hat” or ethically …