Duplex Manufactured Homes Take Center Stage at Innovative Housing Showcase
For the 2024 Innovative Housing Showcase, UMH Properties worked with the Manufactured Housing Institute, HUD, and homebuilders Cavco Industries and Skyline Champion Corporation to bring a pair of new duplex HUD code homes to the Capitol’s doorstep.
“We plan to market one duplex model built by Cavco Industries as the ‘UMH Tiny.’ This factory-built single section unit is a 16-foot by 70-foot unit and, when divided by the fire wall, creates two one-bedroom, 500-square-foot dwellings,” UMH President and CEO Sam Landy said. “The second unit, in partnership with Skyline Champion Homes, is a factory-built 28-foot by 70-foot multi section unit and, when divided by the fire wall, creates two two-bedroom, one-bath, 900-square-foot units.
Landy said one unit on the Champion home will have solar shingles, which he hopes will lead to factory-built homes having solar shingles, as well as battery packs, installed at the factory.
“This use of renewable energy would result in manufactured homes becoming more energy independent and also enable residents to charge an EV or plug-in-hybrid vehicle,” Landy said.
UMH Properties has dedicated itself to the concept of duplex manufactured homes for rent in communities as an efficient way to provide quality housing with a low monthly rents.
“These duplexes provide a unique opportunity for those looking to live together while maintaining separate living spaces, such as residents who wish to live with aging parents or other family members,” Landy said. “Additionally, these homes help provide housing in urban areas where increased density is needed.”
UMH Properties began operating more than 55 years ago and today is a public equity REIT that owns and operates 136 manufactured home communities with about 25,800 developed homesites in New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Alabama, South Carolina and Georgia. The company also has an ownership interest in and operates two communities in Florida, with 363 sites, through a joint venture with Nuveen Real Estate.
HUD Points to Manufactured Housing in Efforts to Increase Homeownership, Housing Affordability
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development initiated the 22nd Annual National Homeownership Month on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., by introducing a new program specific to mission-based organizations interested in buying manufactured housing communities, and continued through the week in advocating for greater availability of safe and affordable homes.
“Homeownership is the way many people in the U.S. build wealth, but the dream of owning a home of one’s own feels out of reach for many Americans, especially people of color, young people, and people with low incomes who face historical and financial barriers to homeownership. Our goal is to help people purchase homes they can afford, including starter homes,” HUD Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman stated. “The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has taken decisive action to expand access to homeownership by supporting housing counseling and down payment assistance, reducing barriers for those with student loan debt, allowing positive rental history to impact someone’s chances of obtaining an FHA-insured mortgage, and lowering mortgage insurance premiums on FHA mortgages.
“Taken together, these strategic policy changes have helped millions of people become homeowners, including 2.5 million first-time homebuyers,” she added. ”But we know there is more to do. That’s why, this National Homeownership Month, HUD is doubling down on its work to advance homeownership opportunities for all who want them.”
Throughout the Innovative Housing Showcase, which is part of National Homeownership Month, HUD is hosting events and engagements to amplify its efforts and increase awareness of the many tools and opportunities available.
Among the many accomplishments HUD is celebrating and looking to build upon are the updated policies to “provide greater qualifying flexibility for borrowers purchasing homes with accessory dwelling units (ADUs)” and the continued work to update the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards, commonly called the HUD code.
“When completed later this summer, changes to the code will provide greater flexibility for the manufacture of safe, affordable, and efficient manufactured housing,” HUD said in its statement.
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