Birth, Death, Resurrection of Affordable Living – Celebrating Factory Crafted Homes Lakeland, Fla. June 15, 1976 – Ever since the industrial revolution, factories have been a driving force in the economy — and in American culture. Factories meant jobs, and they also meant access to quality, affordable goods that were once out of reach for ordinary people: everything from cars …

1) Who, What and Where: (Your name, town and your formal title at Massachusetts Manufactured Housing  Association, MMHA). Mary McBrady, Executive Director of Massachusetts Manufactured Housing Association. I work out of my home office in this part-time contract position. MMHA maintains a post office box in Halifax, MA about 15 miles away. 2) Background: (Educational/Professional snapshot before entering the factory-built housing arena, …

A Primer on Factory-Built Housing Claus and Kathy are preparing to pull up stakes and start a new life in Florida. Married for 30 years, they’d like their fresh start to begin with their first custom-built home. There was a time when folks who wanted a brand new custom residence had only one option: Find a contractor and wait six …

With millions of Americans stuck in ever-rising rental rates, and skyrocketing conventional housing prices, the need for an appealing, safe and affordable option is clear — and the solution is hiding in plain sight. Perhaps 99 percent of all Americans are operating under a number of outdated and misinformed notions about factory-built homes. But that is about to change. Manufactured …

Meet Cathy and her husband Bruce Reimenschnedier. They are retired, successful business professionals. They own a conventional house in a subdivision, another place on the Fox River in Illinois, and now they own a manufactured home in a quiet, modest community tucked away on a side street that’s not far from the beaches and activities found in the St Pete/Clearwater/Tampa …

“We had an Energy Star home done right, and families could qualify for a broad range of mortgages.” — Stacey Epperson, Next Step Network Lakeland, Fla. — Stacey Epperson used to have some fairly strong ideas about manufactured housing — none of them particularly flattering. The materials must be “weird,” she thought, and the quality questionable. But all of those notions …

Tucked in a quiet Lakeland suburb, a man who calls himself L.A. “Tony” Kovach is nurturing an enterprise he firmly believes could be the next Google or Amazon or Facebook. Just don’t ask him what the L.A. stands for. “It’s a secret,” he says. “A conversation starter.” But it is no secret that what Kovach wants to talk about is manufactured …

Malibu, CA — When does a “mobile home” get snapped up for a cool $4 million before it even hits the market? Answer: When it occupies a piece of rent-controlled real estate along the most desirable stretch of coastline in California. Welcome to Malibu, where three communities offer a beach house lifestyle for a fraction of what folks pay for …

When Doc Reynolds describes pre-HUD Code mobile homes as he does in this video, please don’t take him literally. Some people have a gift for creating a mental image in a few words, and Doc has that talent. Today’s manufactured homes aren’t oversized beer cans on a frame with wheels. They are, as Doc explains, a home – super solid, …

What is the reality that quality yet affordable living produces? With the affordable housing crisis spreading, we’ll peek and see the solution hiding-in-plain-sight revealed in this half-page report and video. In many of our articles we’ll spotlight one or more “real people.” Those reports come from places border to border in the U.S., and we are looking at including Canada …

If you just want to see the latest Inside MH video and want to skip all the discussion of MH in the news media, please feel free to jump to the bottom, where the newest video is awaiting! For those who want to dig deeper, and better understand what sometimes happens with MH in the media, let’s begin by stating …

Videos can be a powerful way to quickly capture and convey impressions. The written word can provide details and context that a typically short video will of necessity miss. Put video and written words together, add some photos and/or graphics, and you can have rich, multi-media insights that – properly portrayed – can begin to truly inform the reader/viewer. Before …

“There are lies, damn lies and statistics.” Mark Twain “In my case, using what politely might be called “advocacy journalism,” I’ve used reporting as a weapon to affect political situations that bear down on my environment.” – Hunter S. Thompson “Minorities exploited by Warren Buffett’s mobile-home empire (sic)” The Seattle Times/Buzz Feed “…The Seattle Times account simply follows the long-time …

“The one issue that will prohibit affordable housing in the future — not only manufactured homes, but site-built — is local zoning and covenants.” — Jay Hamilton, executive director of the Georgia Manufactured Housing Association When you’re a single mother of three looking to secure your family’s future, you have to have a plan. One young Georgia woman thought she …

Reinventing HUD’s role in Quality Affordable Housing, Reducing Poverty and Dependency The cover letter and proposal outline below was provided to Congressman Jeb Hensarling, Chairman of the Financial Services Committee in response to a request for comments from interested parties on how to improve the delivery of services housing services by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and …