M-H News Dot Com

[Eileen]

Folks, I hope everybody will click on the "Manufactured Housing News Dot Com" shown on the home page of this site (mfdhousing.com) and read the article entitled "Manufactured Home Industry Stirves to Upgrade Image." The article quotes Jim Grubiak, general counsel for the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia. Grubiak says that counties are reluctant to encourage manufactured homes because their lower value generates less tax revenue than site-built homes. So there you have it! He admits it! These bureaucrats are discriminating against citizens who want to buy manufactured homes simply because these houses don't line the bureaucrats' pockets as heavily as site-builts. Has anybody ever wondered why it's illegal to discriminate against people based on all sorts of criteria - i.e.. gender, ethnic group, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, etc. but it is perfectly all right to discriminate against people based on the kind of house they prefer to live in? We need to remind these arrogant public servants/parasites that they are elected by the people and they can be booted out of office by the people. We really need to make ourselves heard on this.

[Dan O'Flaherty]

The biggest problem I see in zoning issues is on seveal levels.
Often people who are aginst allowing MH homes on private land, really don't know anything about our homes. They hear Manufactured Homes and think, "trailer". In local zoning I have seen this again and again.
But, now there is a shift from, "it's a trailer" to "it will hurt the taxs base".When MH homes are placed on private land most who do assesment haven't the first clue how to fairly determin the value of the home/land package. So when the question of allowing mh homes comes up, local officials say it will hurt the tax base. If elected officials do something that hurts the tax base of a community, everyones taxes are raised. So, then the local elected officials face pressure from other taxpayers.
Also, the Real Estate industry has long believed that any HUD coded home will lose value, so they sell them that way. Our industry has done really nothing to re- shape their thinking. Assessors only have to point to decreasing sale prices of existing MHs to make the point.
The industry has to reach out to the real estate industry and local government to prove that permently placed, maintained homes all retain value.

But, the biggest problem that causes our customers and industry to be unfairly treated is lack of caring. Presenlty in the country about 1/2 the people vote and we traditionally re elect people already in office.
The way the other groups of citizens got noticed and treated the way that they should be treated is they banded together. They attended local meetings, they voted as a group to get rid of elected officials who were not "in their corner".

When the issue comes up on a local level, perspective home buyers, retaliers and everyone with a connection in the industry should be present to make the case. We need to perserve the right for homebuyers to have the right to select the home they want, at a price they can afford.

[Karl]

I agree with most of what you say regarding the prejudice against manufactured homes. I believe most are well-made alternatives to stick built homes, at an affordable price. Some of the anti-manufactured home bias is simply snide snobbery. However, I especially agree that the depreciation issue is a real problem and, until that issue is resolved positively, I believe the industry will suffer, not only from zoning prejudice, but also from lack of buyers who are aware most mobile homes tend to depreciate. I know I will never buy another one after seeing two I purchased new in 1995 for $36,000 each drop in value by at least $10,000 in six years! Now, thanks to a glut of repossessed homes on the market, I am unable to sell these well-kept trailers. Another problem: Mobile home residents (to generalize here) tend to be low income, and don't often organize to protect their own interests and are often ignored by governmental bodies. Sadly, in some cases they are also treated badly by Manufactured Home Associations, who tend to side with their members (park owners and/or manufacturers) when there are disputes between residents and those groups. Some mobile home park owners often complain about zoning, yet they pass their own zoning in the form of park rules or "restrictive covenents" which at times are designed to, I believe, restrict the rights and activities of residents while extracting their money. I see, for example, elderly residents of older homes in these "updated" parks being harrassed so they will move out; park owners who also sell their own overpriced products and then prohibit park residents from placing for sale signs in the windows, twice yearly rent increases, and annoying notes on doors about fixing flower beds and limiting water usage. I understand park owners have to make a living, and I'm sure most are fine, but the days of the plantation trailer parks should be a thing of the past.