If you don’t live in the RioGrande Valley, or don’t follow manufactured housing (MH) scams, you might have missed the “Park Girl” Story. JoLeigh Ares, a manufactured housing retailer operating under the catchy name “Park Girl,” allegedly sold dozens of manufactured homes to consumers, taking cash down payments and then either not delivering homes, or […]
Read more
Tag Archives: manufactured housing
Problems Found with Accessibility Modifications to Smith County Manufactured Home
June 8, 2011 
1 Comment
KLTV reports that a Habitat for Humanity of Smith County is facing criticism over home accessibility modification work done through its “Rehabitat” program. ReHabitat helps low-income seniors and low-income individuals with disabilities with emergency home repairs and modifications. According to the KLTV, a man in Smith County asked Habitat to make his manufactured home scooter-accessible, […]
Read moreUpdate:2011 Tornado Season
May 12, 2011 Comments Off
Three weeks ago we had an extensive discussion of the relationship between tornado fatalities and manufactured housing (see Many of These Are Preventable Deaths, 4/28). At that point in time, the National Weather Service had not yet examined the string of tornadoes that blew through the South on that day. The data is still coming in, […]
Read moreIncreasing Minimum Entry Door Width in Manufactured Housing
April 11, 2011 1 Comment
TxLIHIS recently submitted Comments to the Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee (MHCC), a federal advisory committee to HUD on the regulation of manufactured housing, regarding its review of the minimum exterior door and interior hallway widths allowed in the building code for such homes. These comments follow: ************************ April 8, 2011 Mark J. Mazz, AIA General […]
Read moreManufactured homes, mobile homes, and trailers, oh my!
March 14, 2011 Comments Off
While many readers were tracking the exciting housing bills popping in the mad-end-of-bill-filing rush in the Texas Legislature last week, I was in DC attending the Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee (MHCC), a federal advisory committee to HUD on the regulation of manufactured housing. I’ll keep most of the exciting details of parliamentary intrigue and interpersonal […]
Read moreA Picture Worth a Thousand Words
November 30, 2010 1 Comment
(Image Kerry Smith / AP) The AP reports today: “Storms ripped through central Mississippi [...] Dozens of homes were damaged in the Pines mobile home park,said Sgt. Tom Roberson of the Starkville Police Department.” A secure foundation is key to home safety. Texas should inspect 100% of mobile home installations.
Read moreImproving Manufactured Homes, One Tabled Proposal at a Time.
November 5, 2010 1 Comment
I spent much of last week in DC at the Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee (MHCC), a federal advisory committee to HUD regarding the regulation of manufactured housing.* The MHCC was created through a bill passed in 2000. (“The Manufactured Housing Improvement Act.”) One task the committee performs is to consider public suggestions for changes to […]
Read moreSeriously?
June 2, 2010 1 Comment
Sometimes things cross my desk I don’t even know exactly how to comment on them in polite company: H.R.5369 : “A BILL To amend the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 to exempt manufactured and modular housing retailers from the requirements of such Act, and for other purposes.” If you missed […]
Read moreMississippi moves to 100% inspections of mobile home installations; so should Texas
May 17, 2010 3 Comments
In response to six deaths in mobile homes from the April tornado in Mississippi, WAPT in Jackson Mississippi reports that the State Insurance Commissioner of Mississippi has authorized 100% of inspection of installations of manufactured housing. Previously, Mississippi had a goal to inspect 50% of installations. Texas has a statutory goal of inspecting only 25% […]
Read moreReducing tornado deaths in mobile homes
April 26, 2010 5 Comments
This weekend ten people were killed when tornadoes touched down in Mississippi. This section of the Washington Post coverage of the storm caught my eye: “A 78-year-old great-grandmother was among the 10 victims of a Mississippi tornado that devastated part of the state. <…> Coker lived just steps away from her sister and brother-in-law. Both […]
Read moreTDHCA Sunset Recommendation #7: 3 in 1 on manufactured housing
April 23, 2010 2 Comments
As previously discussed here at Texas Housers, TDHCA is currently undergoing Sunset Review. We are presenting recommendations for ways to improve TDHCA that have been endorsed by a broad range of stakeholders in TDHCA’s activities. Issue: The Manufactured Housing Division could better serve its mission to “improve the general welfare and safety of purchasers of […]
Read moreTDHCA Sunset Recommendation #6: Give the Manufactured Housing Division Its own Sunset clause and review
April 21, 2010 Comments Off
As previously discussed here at Texas Housers, TDHCA is currently undergoing Sunset Review. We are presenting recommendations for ways to improve TDHCA that have been endorsed by a broad range of stakeholders in TDHCA’s activities. Issue: The Manufactured Housing Division receives inadequate attention in the sunset process. Background: The Manufactured Housing Division of the Texas […]
Read moreBuffett wants to tilt the market towards manufactured housing
March 1, 2010 4 Comments
On Friday Warren Buffett released his annual letter to shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway. Berkshire Hathaway owns Clayton Homes, a major manufactured home manufacturer. In the letter, Mr. Buffett laments that “very few factory-built homes qualify for agency-insured mortgages” Mr. Buffett compares the market rates of 9% on manufactured housing loans to the current rate of […]
Read moreBooks we are reading
No data found
