‘YIMBY Act’, ‘Small Dollar Mortgages’ Support Move to Senate
The U.S. House of Representatives on March 2 voted unanimously to pass the “Yes In My Backyard Act,” as well the “Improving FHA Support for Small Dollar Mortgages Act of 2020”.
The Manufactured Housing Institute has worked side-by-side with a non-partisan group of lawmakers as well as nearly 20 affordable housing advocacy and consumer protection organizations to urge action on the affordable housing bills.
“The YIMBY Act is bipartisan legislation, introduced by Reps. Heck (D-WA), Hollingsworth (R-IN), Clay (D-MO), Foxx (R-NC), Quigley (D-IL), and Herrera Beutler (R-WA), that is intended to eliminate local land use policies preventing the development of affordable housing,” MHI stated in a housing alert distributed the day following the vote.
H.R. Bill 4351 calls for “allowing manufactured homes in areas zoned primarily for single-family residential homes”. The YIMBY Act creates a reporting requirement under the existing Consolidated Plan Reporting that would require localities that receive Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to report the extent to which they are implementing specific pro-affordability and anti-discriminatory housing policies.
‘Small Dollar Mortgages’
H.R. 5931, the “Improving FHA Support for Small Dollar Mortgages Act of 2020” requires the Federal Housing Administration to review its policies and identify barriers to supporting mortgages under $70,000, as well as report to Congress within a year regarding a removal plan for any barriers.
During Committee discussion, Rep. Al Lawson, D—Fla., requested clarification that the legislation also would be applicable to manufactured home loans. Rep. William Lacy Clay, D—Mo., who authored the bill, confirmed that manufactured home loans would be included in the review. Rep. Steve Stivers, R—Ohio, added that the legislation would be a positive step forward for manufactured housing financing.
Who would have ever thought five years ago that manufacturers would be able to affordably offer ceramic tile, stainless steel farm sinks, and large, walk-in showers in their homes?
It’s increasingly common for manufactured home professionals to have a photo album on their phones of amazing homes they’ve seen, or been a part of bringing to market. My regular rounds provide a nice album of merchandised interiors for Clayton Homes. A sweep through five or six images can change even the most jaded opinions of our homes.
Why Not Find A Way?
Patriot Homes had heard about my work from some of the leading site builders and invited me to work on their homes. As an introduction, the plan was to attend The Tunica Show and walk every home, come back with suggestions on products that could aid the designs. The purchasing agent at the time had other plans. The reason?
Because “We don’t do things that way in our industry”. The plan came together after getting to know each other, and with some give and take on both sides, we provided some innovative but still cost-effective looks for consumers who are influenced by HGTV and the home decor magazines. Add to that, our project gained the attention of Home Depot, which designed some product lines just for us.
The Louisville Show
The Louisville Manufactured Housing Show.
Among the greatest places to get inspired is the professional seminars at manufactured housing trade shows. It’s a great place to hear the valuable success stories, and to learn from some great experiences.
Last year it was a real treat to speak at the Louisville Show and to see the evidence of how far we have come as an industry.
Typically at shows we get to see the best of the best, but it’s an industry show and not a consumer show. So, how do we share who we are now? How do we share with potential customers who think we are still the mobile home of the 1970s?
More than 90% of consumers now start their home search online, and if homes aren’t professionally staged and photographed, it will be harder to convince that consumer to come to see the place in person. Many of the major manufacturers provide photography to help you sell homes. But what if the customer falls in love with the home they see online ad? If they come to your community or retail center and see something with no skirting, dated furniture, and no electrical power, they are going to feel deceived. So for practicality, and for progressive business practices, we are tasked with creating masterfully staged home that can be photographed and made availabe for tours.
But Why Luxury Brands?
You would think spending time researching luxury brands and how they do business would be a waste of time, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Many of the trends and products that consumers want start at the luxury side of the business, then filter down to affordable design. Progressive manufactured home builders have recognized this. You’ll see some of their team members walking shows like the International Builders Show, The Kitchen and Bath Show and the High Point Furniture Market. They are learning about new trends that connect with consumers now – many at price points way above what our customers expect to spend. But they take these ideas home.
They do some research on how to get this look for less, then incorporate it into their homes.
Something that many luxury brands are good at is listening. They don’t tell their customers “we can’t do that,” they say let’s figure out how we can make your dreams come true.
Luxury wine and lifestyle brand The Boisset Collection traveled to cities coast to coast and hosted “The Alchemy Series”. Photo courtesy of Lisa Stewart Photography.
The Fruit That Makes The Wine
Jean-Charles Boisset is the perfect example of this. When he was 11 years old his schoolteacher grandparents brought him on vacation to the United States from France, and as someone who grew up in wine country, he fell in love with Napa Valley – especially the Buena Vista Winery. He said right then that someday he was going to own that winery. After coming back to the U.S. for college, he did buy it and restored it to its original grandeur. The Boisset Collection is now 27 wineries in the U.S. and France and has expanded into a luxury lifestyle brand. After listening to his customers, he discovered their frustrations with buying at home the wines they discovered when they traveled, and how many stores wouldn’t even try to help them get what they wanted. They tried to sell the customer something else.
Sound familiar?
If you think our industry has a lot of rules and regulations, you should research the wine and spirits world!
But, not one to take no for an answer, Boisset kept asking questions, kept researching, and discovered a way to sell directly to consumers through “ambassadors”. These were and are friends and neighbors in the community who could assist on wine journeys and get the best value for customer tastes. Customers can go online and buy wine from the wineries and it’s delivered right to their home, cutting out the middle man, and also making sure that the wine has been stored correctly. A brilliant move for everyone, but few people are as brave as Boisset. He alone completely changed an industry.
The Value of Listening
Think about what listening more to our customers could do for our industry as well.
LG Appliances is one of the most highly respected appliance and electronics companies in the world. Based in Korea, the company understood other markets but were having trouble understanding, and selling to the luxury buyer in the U.S. Wisely, they hired a well-known and respected leader in the luxury appliance world here, and started Signature Kitchen Suite. One of the first things they did was to build and open their Experience and Design Center in Napa. When asked why Napa, the answer was that “it’s the destination for the culinary world and close to Silicon Valley, the hub for the tech world.” Since they build smart technology appliances for their Technicurean® customers (a word they came up with and trademarked), the location made sense. They design appliances that have never would have been available in the consumer market. And now LG is the company that keeps the pace for others trying to reach those heights. Customers are invited to the EDC to be hands-on with the LG and SKS appliances. It helps them understand all of the technology and features the brand offers.
When is the last time you asked customers or potential customers for an open dialogue on what they want? What’s important to you? Or are we price selling or value selling? Do we just assume our customers are on a particular budget? Do we educate them first and see what upgrade or home can be something they want and will pay to have?
One impressive interaction recently came from Bryan Rogers, regional vice president for Clayton Homes. We had a day with the sales team in Desoto, Texas. Rogers was inside the homes, showing the teams all of the special features each offered. He covered how to show the homes to potential customers. We all learned a lot listening that day, and as the merchandiser of these homes, it helped me understand the features I needed to highlight with my designs.
What To Do Next?
I’m going to break the rules (again) and offer some suggestions – And I would love to hear your ideas as well.
1. Press Tours and a guided consumer tour of our homes at shows
It’s understandable that we want to avoid having non-industry people in our homes at trade shows where pricing is shown and conversation can go in a lot of different directions. But what about doing a pre-show or something after hours at a specified time that allows media, bloggers, influencers, and potential homeowners to take guided tours through our beautiful homes? Tour them like Bryan with the Desoto sales team, showing them what makes our homes such a great value. Let them take a lot of photos that they could show to friends and share on social media. Pricing could be removed, and we could show them what we want them to see.
2. We expect the customer to always come to us – why don’t we go to the consumer?
Jean-Charles Boisset is doing this by hosting the “Alchemy of the Senses” tour. He has gone coast to coast renting luxurious estates that happen to be for sale, and brought his team of chefs, designers, sommeliers, and marketing people with him to create an experience of a lifetime. People tend to remember tasting experiences more than visual ones, and an event like this proves that point. Teaming with retailers and communities in an area where the consumer lives, and creating a unique sensory experience where they could see, touch and understand our homes sounds like an “out there idea”, but it would set us apart. Food actually cooking in our kitchens, people tasting and chatting in our dining rooms, playing and cajoling in our family rooms, gathering in our flex or outdoor spaces.
3. Get social
Yes, the mention has been made, but social media is more important than ever because this is truly where your customers are spending their time. Creating a Pinterest account and sharing unique design details in your home, or recipes that can be cooked in your kitchens, or lifestyle shots and ideas really can make people rethink their perceptions about manufactured housing.
4. Sell it, Don’t Save It
Shari McLellan and her team atClayton Homes of Victoria have figured out that it makes a lot more sense to sell her lot models furnished than to move everything into storage and try to reuse it later. This gives them the advantage of saying “yes!” to that customer who wants a home that looks as good as the model – they can own the model home and everything in it. And, The homes on their lot are always fresh and up to date.
When you are attending and touring our industry shows, or some of the shows for other industries, don’t forget to take many, many photos. Pick up the literature. Ask the questions. All of them. Challenge yourself to take home at least one great idea every day.
Spencer Roane of Pentagon Properties explains how to finance new homes during a 2019 talk in Tunica.
The Tunica Show, March 24-26 in Tunica, Miss., will offer attendees a series of highly educational speaker panels and seminars to kick off the three-day trade show.
Tunica 2020 will include four opening day seminars designed to keep manufactured housing professionals current on news and trends. Speakers include leaders in state and national advocacy, as well as seasoned sales professionals, marketing experts, and leading manufacturers. The Tunica 2020 educational seminars are relevant to all attendees and particularly suited for professional manufactured home retailers.
Business Building at The Tunica Show
Tuesday, March 24
8 – 8:45 a.m. — State of the Industry
Presenters Doris Hydrick, of Alabama, Jennifer Hall, of Mississippi, Dr. Lesli Gooch, from MHI, and Sam Huffman, representing multiple states, will have a discussion on trends, opportunities, and challenges in today’s manufactured housing market.
8:45 – 9 a.m. — 2020 Hot Manufacturer Trends
Representatives from some of the nation’s leading home manufacturers will cover hot new trends, new homes for generational customers, finding the right mix of model types, selecting custom features that sell, and partnering with your manufacturers.
9:30 – 10:15 a.m. — The Essentials of Internet Marketing Success
Darren Krolewski, co-president and chief business development officer for MHVillage and Datacomp, leads attendees through strategies and tactics that will create more business success online, including conversations on website best practices, digital advertising insights, and direction on social media strategy and automation tools.
10:15 – 11 a.m. — Producing the Ultimate Open House
Industry sales professional Ken Corbin provides an eight-week plan on what to do and not to do in planning and messaging to create an open house that will garner dozens of applications and deposits in just three days.
Register for Tunica 2020 Today
The Tunica Show is ideally timed for the spring selling season. It is a great place for networking with an estimated 2,400 manufactured housing professionals in attendance. Registration for Tunica 2020 is open now!
Tour all of the latest model homes, view the design, materials, technology trends, and catch expertly programmed industry seminars and panels.
Attendees will appreciate a more central location in 2020 compared with previous years. All model homes will be adjacent The Hollywood Hotel and Casino. More than 25 manufacturers will have fully outfitted homes ready to tour.
Additionally, better than 100 service and supply exhibitors are confirmed for The Tunica Show, including six first-time exhibitors. The 2020 Tunica Show is an essential element for the retailer, builder-developers, owners and operators of manufactured home communities.
Book Your Room at Hollywood Casino and Resort
Registered attendees of The Tunica Show canstay onsite at The Hollywood, and at a discounted event rate. When contacting the hotel, use the room block code HOME20 for special pricing.
Industry Research Points to ‘Manufactured-Housing Regulations and Restrictions’
The White House released a new report on the economy that dedicates a chapter on housing affordability and availability. Within the White House economic report is a list of regulatory burdens that includes “manufactured-housing regulations and restrictions”.
“Incomes in the United States are rising, but home prices are rising much faster in some highly regulated markets,” chapter 8 of the White House economic report begins. “While overall homeownership rates have increased since 2016, some disadvantaged groups lag behind.”
The 2020 report, conducted in cooperation with President Trump’s Council of Economic Advisers, was published Feb. 21. It includes a list of highly regulated areas of the economy that have a negative impact on affordable housing, as well as a list of the 11 most hard-hit metro areas.
Highly Regulated Areas that Negatively Impact Affordable Housing
Cover of the economic report published Feb. 21 by the White House.
“Research has linked higher home prices and lower housing supply to many of these regulations,” the White House economic report notes.
In addition to direct manufactured housing regulation and restriction, many of the other burdened areas of the economy add further negative impact on the manufactured housing industry’s ability to speed new entry-level and middle-range homes to the market.
“Excessive regulatory barriers to building more housing in these specific areas also have broader negative effects beyond those imposed on lower-income Americans,” the White House economic report states. “State and local housing regulations reduce labor mobility by pricing workers out of several of the nation’s most productive cities, which stunts aggregate economic growth and increases inequality across regions and workers. Excessive regulatory barriers also reduce parents’ ability to access neighborhoods that best advance their children’s economic opportunity.”
Datacomp has published the February 2020 Michigan JLT Market Reports for manufactured home community rent and occupancy trends, available now for order and immediate download.
JLT Market Reports provide detailed research and information on communities in 181 major housing markets throughout the United States. These include the latest rent trends and occupancy statistics, as well as a variety of other useful management insights.
Datacomp is the nation’s #1 provider of market data for the manufactured housing industry. JLT Market Reports are recognized as the industry standard formanufactured home community market analysis.
February 2020 Michigan JLT manufactured housing market data includes information on 406 “All ages” and “55+” manufactured home communities.
Altogether, the Michigan reports include data representations for 123,702 homesites, including a new report for Berrien County, Michigan.
“Adjusted rent throughout Michigan increased an average of 3.5%, with only one market showing a decrease in adjusted rent,” Datacomp Co-President and Chief Business Development Officer Darren Krolewski said. “Occupancy also increased in all but three Michigan markets.”
More About JLT Market Reports
Each JLT manufactured home community rent and occupancy report from Datacomp has detailed information about investment-grade communities in the major markets. The detailed information includes:
Number of homesites
Occupancy rates
Average community rents, and increases
Community amenities
Vacant lots
Repossessed and inventory homes, and much more
JLT Market Reports also include management insights that rank communities by the number of homesites, occupancy rates and highest to lowest rents. Established reports show trends in each market with a comparison of February 2020 rents and occupancy rates to February 2019, as well as a historical recap of rents and occupancy from 1996 to present date in most markets.
Each fully updated report for mobile home communities is a comprehensive look at investment grade properties within a market, enabling owners and managers, lenders, appraisers, brokers, and other organizations to effectively benchmark those communities and make informed business decisions.
Tunica attendees stream into a model home from Champion on display at The Tunica Show in 2019.
Join 2,400-plus Manufactured Housing Industry Professionals, Register for Tunica Today
Manufactured housing industry professionals who want to attend the nation’s premier outdoor manufactured home show can register for Tunica today.
The Tunica Manufactured Housing Show takes place March 24-26 in Tunica, Miss.
Tunica kicks off the spring selling season for more than 2,400 manufactured housing professionals each year. Tour all of the latest model homes, view the design, materials, technology trends, and catch expertly programmed industry seminars and panels.
The Tunica Show will be more centralized compared with previous years, with all of the model homes being shown immediately adjacent The Hollywood. Nearly 20 manufacturers representing about 30 brands will have fully outfitted homes ready to tour, as well as sales representatives on hand to answer questions.
The showcase of homes is an essential element for the retailer, builder-developers, owners and operators of manufactured home communities, and installers as they head into the spring selling season.
The interior of a NXT home from Clayton, shown in Tunica for 2019.
The Tunica Show Schedule
Attendees talk with exhibitors during The Tunica Show.
Tuesday, March 24
8 – 11 a.m.: Pre-Show Seminars
9 – 10 a.m.: Sponsored Breakfast for Suppliers
11:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.: South Central Manufactured Housing Institute’s Hospitality Luncheon
11 a.m. – 5 p.m.: Exhibits Open
Wednesday, March 25
9 a.m. – 5 p.m.: Exhibits Open
9 a.m. – Bloody Mary Mixer in the Service & Supply Exhibit Area
11 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.: SCMHI’s Hospitality Luncheon
Thursday, March 26
9 a.m. – 1 p.m.: Exhibits Open
Educational programming, including moderated panels, will cover insights on the state of the industry, top manufacturer trends for 2020, internet marketing essentials, and a presentation on how to throw the ultimate open house event.
In addition, several dozen service and supply exhibitors are confirmed for The Tunica Show, including six first-time exhibitors.
Attendees talk outside a new Champion home on display at Tunica during 2019.
Book Your Room at The Hollywood Casino & Resort
Registered attendees of The Tunica Show can stay onsite at The Hollywood, and at a discounted event rate. When contacting the hotel, use the room block code HOME20 for special pricing.
Service Animal Clarification for Manufactured Housing Professionals
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently provided guidance to clarify how housing providers can comply with the Fair Housing Act when assessing a person’s request to have a service animal.
The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing against individuals who have disabilities that affect a major life activity. The act requires housing providers to permit a change or exception to a rule, policy, practice, or service when necessary to provide people with disabilities that affect a major life activity an equal opportunity to use and enjoy their home.
In most circumstances, a refusal to make such a change or exception, known as a reasonable accommodation, is unlawful.
Exceptions to No-Pet Policies
A common reasonable accommodation is an exception to a no pet policy. A person with a disability that affects a major life activity may require the assistance of an animal that does work, performs tasks, or provides therapeutic emotional support because of the disability.
If not readily apparent, housing providers may confirm whether the requested accommodation is needed because of a disability that affects a major life activity and is a reasonable request.
This new Assistance Animal Notice will help housing providers by offering step-by-step guidance for service animals. It covers what accommodations should be made when a person asks about a disability-related need for the accommodation, including supporting information from a health care professional.
“Countless Americans rely on assistance animals to fill a void, providing individuals with disabilities with the means to have a home that supports their quality of life,” stated Secretary Ben Carson. “In my many discussions with housing providers and residents impacted by the need for assistance, I recognized the necessity for further clarity regarding support animals to provide peace of mind to individuals with disabilities while also taking in account the concerns of housing providers. Today’s announcement responds to the ambiguity surrounding proper documentation for assistance animals with clarity and compassion to provide an equal opportunity for a person living with a disability to use and enjoy their home.”
Fair Housing and Added Guidance for Service Animals
Anna María Farías is HUD’s assistant secretary for fair housing and equal opportunity.
“For decades, HUD has recognized the rights of individuals with disabilities to keep an assistance animal in the home where it is a reasonable accommodation,” Farias said. “Housing is unique, and a person with a disability that affects a major life activity might need an animal that provides support in ways that is not readily apparent to housing providers.”
For example, veterans or senior citizens may need the assistance or therapeutic support of an animal to help them cope with the symptoms of a disability that affects a major life activity. This guidance will help housing providers to recognize the important way assistance animals can improve the lives of persons with disabilities and to meet their obligation to grant such accommodations.
“With the Assistance Animals Notice, both housing providers and individuals with disabilities will better understand their rights and obligations under the Fair Housing Act regarding assistance animals, particularly emotional support animals,” HUD General Counsel Paul Compton added. “For housing providers, this is a tool that can be used to help them lawfully navigate various sets of sometimes complex circumstances to ensure that reasonable accommodations are provided where required so that persons with a disability-related need for an assistance animal have an equal opportunity to use and enjoy their housing. The guidance will help ensure that these important legal rights are asserted only in appropriate circumstances.”
How to Respond to Requests on Non-Customary Service Animals
Additionally, this new notice provides information on the types of animals typically used as service animals. It also provides information for both housing providers and persons with disabilities regarding the reliability of documentation of a disability or disability-related need for an animal obtained from third parties, including internet-based services offering animal certifications or registrations for purchase.
Because they apply to more types of facilities than housing, the laws applicable to public accommodations and government-funded facilities, including Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, while sometimes overlapping with the Fair Housing Act, have different, and sometimes narrower, requirements.
Similarly, public transportation and common carriers, such as airlines, also are subject to differing rules. The notice refers only to scenarios regarding fair housing.
Adventure Homes set up a model home in its factory parking lot to show modular duplexes.
MH-inspired Modular Homes in Demand for Campuses, Workforce Housing, Communities
The manufactured housing industry is at it again, bringing new concepts in housing to the forefront. And this time, Adventure Homes has a hunch that its “two is better than one” concept will find success in communities, at worksites, and on college campuses.
Duplex homes, as the Indiana-based company sees them, use a HUD code envelope. However, the homes are built to modular specifications and provide a pair of residences rather than one.
“We have a prototype that has a one-bedroom and a two-bedroom residence in a 16 by 76’ envelope, and a duplex sectional that has a pair of two-bedroom residences in a 28 by 64’ envelope,” said Rich Rice, general manager of Adventure Homes.
Though the homes work within a manufactured home envelope, Rice said, they have to be built to modular specifications because HUD-code calls for its homes to be single-family residences.
Rice said duplex homes offer the company’s customers “another wrinkle, another approach” in factory-built housing.
Where Do Modular Duplexes Go?
Rice said he and the production team at Adventure envisioned a place for the new factory-built duplex homes on college campuses and at or near large worksites in rural settings, where housing stock is short or nonexistent.
However, the potential for duplex housing in manufactured home communities also has been broached with industry leaders and the state of Ohio. In the fall, Adventure Homes organized a meeting with the Ohio Department of Commerce that included UMH Properties, a large regional owner and operator of communities, as well as the Ohio Manufactured Homes Association.
“We are pursuing mods in communities both in Ohio and in Indiana with both existing state statues and new legislation,” Rice said. “The Indiana Association is drafting new legislation and we have verbal commitments from more than one legislator to help sponsor a bill. Minnesota already has statues that allow modular coded homes in communities,” Rice said.
In late November, the Ohio Department of Commerce announced that modular homes would be allowed in the state’s manufactured home communities. Part of that announcement included provisions for inspection and approval by a local housing authority as it pertains to local modular code and site-built additions.
Modular homes are permitted in Ohio manufactured home communities under the following guidelines:
The manufacturer’s plans for the modular homes are approved through the Ohio Board of Building Standards’ (BBS) Industrialized Unit Program.
Modular homes are placed on a non-manufactured housing lot in a manufactured home park.
The development plans for placing the modular home in the park are approved by the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Industrial Compliance (DIC).
Rice said suitable financing for modular homes placed in a community still needs to be worked out, which could take until mid-2020. The company also has been in talks with a community in Champagne-Urbana, Ill., whose owners are open to the concept and are willing to work on the effort in Illinois. Rice said officials in that part of Illinois have cited a rapid increase in enrollment at area colleges as a primary need for new, readily available affordable housing.
“We’re going to have to work out each eventuality and figure out where the speed bumps are, and work our way around it and keep moving forward,” Rice said of lending questions and particulars with various local governments. “If everyone is on this, we should be able to get it done.
“We’re seeing the old adage change, the prejudices (against factory-built housing) start to disappear because local governments are beginning to see this more clearly as the solution to their housing dilemma,” he said.
Bringing New Modular Duplexes to the People
Rice said, as with anything new, the company will manage the ebb and flow of negotiations on the concept. The two duplex homes are among the seven Adventure Homes put on display at The Louisville Show.
“We have 220 people who absolutely have a passion for what we’re doing here, and it’s our job to take it outside the walls,” Rice said. “It’s going to be a learning process, and we’ll all adjust.”
By most estimates, there are approximately 40,000 professionally run manufactured home communities in the country. And even though most homes in a community are owned by the resident, few organizations buy more homes than large operators of communities.
So, why and how do communities buy homes?
Homebuyers for communities stay active for many reasons. New communities need homes, as well as communities that are expanding. Community buyers purchase homes that will be marketed as rentals, and model homes that will be used to demonstrate how well built and thoughtfully designed modern manufactured homes can be.
Homebuying Insight from a Purchasing Professional
Ayal Dreifuss is the vice president of rentals for UMH Properties, which owns and operates communities in eight states on the eastern seaboard and in Tennessee.
Simply stated, Dreifuss said buying homes in volume can be tricky.
“I order hundreds of homes every year for our manufactured home communities,” he said. “Since the demand for rental homes is very strong in all our communities, we’re trying to stay ahead of the game everywhere, by trying to estimate the amount of brand new vacant inventory we’re going to need in each community.”
Dreifuss said he buys new homes with the expectation of having them occupied in three months or less.
“Estimating the number of homes is the tricky part, where sometimes we fall short for unexpected high demand or vice versa,” he said.
Getting the Needed Pricepoint
The final price of a home will vary from location to location and region to region. This has a lot to do with the cost of freight and distances that are traveled for and with the home. Price also is impacted by local code and regulation, both where the homes are being built and where it’s being placed.
“While homes in Tennessee wouldn’t have to stand for more than 30 pounds of roof load, homes in New York would have to stand for more than 40 pounds of roof load, and require a higher grade of insulation,” Dreifuss explained.
UMH Properties also pays more for freight going to New York, because they’re buying from a home building facility in Pennsylvania. The company works with select builders in volume and the Pennsylvania provider is the nearest in their network to New York.
“We usually prefer to purchase our homes from the closest location not only to save on freight but also for service purposes,” he said. “In any case, the purchase price always has to be competitive, if the prices of the local home manufacturer are too expensive, we would consider getting homes from manufacturers located farther away and even from different states for a lower price.
“We believe that our homes are strong enough to take a trip of any distance, whether it’s 50 or 400 miles,” Dreifuss said.
What it Means to Purchase in Volume
UMH Properties has purchased nearly 4,900 homes since the start of its designated rental program in 2012. The homes they purchase, Dreifuss said, are forecasted to serve residents well for at least 40 years and more.
“For that reason above all, we’re not compromising on quality,” Dreifuss said. “We have our special UMH standards that all our home builders are keeping. That includes items such as steel doors, porcelain sinks and tubs, and real wooden cabinets.
“Although these options make our homes more expensive, they are all well worth it for the long run,” he said.
Dreifuss said the focus that UMH and its builders put on structural integrity and quality material choice is off-set when possible by avoiding the urge to install premium upgrades such as spa tubs or granite counters.
“These luxury upgrades we will include many times in our show home inventory… homes that we have for sale, not for rent. The new rental homes have to be well built with the most durable components, that would be able to stand any normal use of our renters, but still be affordable enough,” he said.
What is Customer Response?
UMH Properties has focused in recent years on its rental business. In fact, it’s the first large operator to program and build an all-rental community, with its property Memphis Blues in Tennessee.
Attention the company’s rental homes have received has resulted in a waiting list at nearly every property.
“Our customers are very excited to move into our brand new homes,” Dreifuss said. “The most common rental home we order is a 3-bedrooms, 2-bath 16- by 76-foot single section home. This one is a winner because most people find that a 1,200 square-foot house is a great fit for a family with two or three children.”
The end cost for UMH Properties is about $45,000 for that home, which is achievable only because of the volume or purchasing. However, that price point allows the company to charge a new resident, in a new home, only $750 per month.
“This is a very affordable price in most areas,” Dreifuss said. “And we can still get the return on our investment within five years.
Another reason the rental program has been successful is that UMH Properties, with the help of the Manufactured Housing Institute, was able to make progress in Washington, D.C., in getting rental home financing for new manufactured homes in a park on a similar footing as the multi-family rental industry.
Homes of Varying Size
A good number of UMH residents desire to live in larger, multi-section homes. Those homes, while in lesser numbers, can be rented at a UMH property for between $850 and $950 per month, depending on the location and size of the home.
“In some area we have only small sites available, but we can fit a 1- or 2-bedroom tiny home. Although most of our costumers prefer living in bigger homes, we still have a very strong market for single men or women, young or older, who want to live by themselves and don’t want to pay more than they have to for their homes,” Dreifuss said.
UMH Properties’ rental programs provide millions in revenue each year. And, the massive volume of brand new homes brought into communities every year is having a stunning impact on the overall curb appeal of the communities, Dreifuss said.
“It actually has transformed our communities, and our new acquisitions, into exceedingly beautiful and very desirable communities that our residents are very proud to live in at very affordable prices,” Dreifuss said.
HUD Secretary Ben Carson arrives on the National Mall during the 2019 Innovative Housing Showcase.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson announced that the Department will lead a bus tour across the nation focused on removing barriers to affordable housing stock.
The “Driving Affordable Housing Across America” tour will kick off in Louisville, Ky., on Jan. 29 and make stops in various local communities for events and discussions focused on the need for increased affordable housing.
“In our efforts to alleviate the unnecessary regulatory barriers to housing construction and development, it’s important that we get out into local communities and hear directly from our fellow citizens who are grappling with rising housing prices and learn more about best practices to address them,” Secretary Carson said. “Families, businesses and all levels of government have concerns about the rising cost of housing, and this is an opportunity to bring those parties to the table for a discussion about how we can work together to fix the problem.”
Development of Executive Order on Housing Affordability
This bus tour is a part of the work Secretary Carson is undertaking as the Chair of the White House Council on Eliminating Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Housing. The Council’s eight Federal member agencies are engaging with governments at all levels—State, local, and Tribal—and other private-sector and non-profit stakeholders on ways to increase the housing supply so more Americans have access to affordable housing.
President Trump signed Executive Order 13878, “Establishing a White House Council on Eliminating Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Housing,” due to the fact that, for many Americans, the supply of available housing has not kept pace with the demand for housing by prospective renters and homebuyers, driving up housing costs.
Regulations are often necessary to protect the health and safety of American citizens, such as clean air, water or disaster mitigation practices. However, outdated and overly burdensome, time-consuming, and costly regulatory requirements and restrictions prolong the completion of new housing supply and those costs are shifted to the consumer, particularly in tight markets.
As the Executive Order states, “Increasing the supply of housing by removing overly burdensome regulatory barriers will reduce housing costs, boost economic growth, and provide more Americans with opportunities for economic mobility. In addition, it will strengthen American communities and the quality of services offered in them by allowing hardworking Americans to live in or near the communities they serve.”
For more information and details about tour stops, visit www.hud.gov/drivingaffordablehousing. Follow along on social media using the hashtag #DrivingAffordableHousing
In August, the RV/MH Hall of Fame will celebrate the 2025 class of inductees, five from each industry.
“Our selection committees held meetings to review...
Duplex homes, as the Indiana-based company sees them, use a HUD code envelope. However, the homes are built to modular specifications and provide a pair of residences rather than one.
