Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/454549
FEBRUARY 2015 26 THE JOURNAL Ask Eddie BY ED HICKS DEVELOPMENT MARKETING What is manufactured housing? Mobile Homes? Modular Homes? I am confused by the different terminologies. Alice C., Bryant, AL It is a little confusing to be sure for those not directly involved in the industry. First, the term manufactured housing can apply to any form of housing, which is whole or in part built in a factory environment. It is preferable to use the more generic term "factory built housing". And, may include all three of those terms, plus a few more. Originally of course, and historically the first transportable homes were the prairie schooners aka covered wagons and handcarts of the 1800's, which were used to settle many of the central and western parts of the US. With the advance of time, they were replaced by the rail- roads, and eventually automobiles. Some of the first automobiles had limited sleeping added to them, but the more popular version was the "tear drop" trailer, which was towed behind the early automobiles of the 20's and 30's. By the 40's these small tow behind sleeping units had been expanded in width and length to provide for kitchens, and eventually bath- rooms. These "long long trailers" as portrayed by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz needed a place to repose, so they became common fixtures of camping spots and eventually became "trailer camps". Many were located in resort areas, but with the coming of WWII, aircraft workers found by modifying the fuselages of airplane sec- tions, and placed on the parking lots of the fac- tories. Hence some of the early designs of travel trailers like the ubiquitous Airstream, the popular house trailer was born. Building codes for these "homes on wheels" if in existent at all, were overseen by some of the states, and varied greatly. There was little consistent regulation from state to state. Many states had virtually no building codes at all. In the 70's about the same time Ralph Nader was challenging the safety of the Corvair with his book "Unsafe At Any Speed", the resulting Federal Legislation turned their attention to the "mobile home" industry. It may be noteworthy that his "muckraking" activities about building codes for "mobile homes" was being promoted well after the industry was working on common solutions to uniform building codes. In 1974 Congress passed the Manufactured Housing Act, which provided for uniform building codes for all factory built homes which were being built for sitting on leased homesites, and officially changed the names for these struc- tures as "manufactured homes". All manufac- tured homes built and shipped after June 1976 were required to meet the new standards. These standards did not apply to recreational vehicles, which were under 400 sq.ft. in size, and intended to be temporarily, not perma- nently, sited on specified, zoned, campsites or their equivalent. These included travel trail- ers, motor homes, and so called park model RV homes. Later Florida made an exception to units, which had 500 sq.ft. or less. Other factory built homes which were not subject to the official manufactured housing label were the "modular homes". These homes which are also wholly or partially built in a fac- tory environment differ in that they are in- tended to be sited on land use or zoned homesites which are legally intended for site built homes, without distinction. These build- ing codes, which were prescriptive in nature, followed the lead of site building codes, such as the BOCA, UBC, SBCC, and other state and local building codes. As such they were imme- diately accepted by lenders on notes and mort- gages to be sold on the secondary financing market as site built homes. Thus they were el- igible for 30 to 40 year, low interest loans, based on the appraised value of the homes when affixed to, and conveyed with to the buyer, an approved homesite. Manufactured homes on the other hand, when placed primarily on leased homesites, were financed with "chattel" or "personal prop- erty" loans, similar to those of automotive fi- nancing. Higher interest rates, shorter amortizations, and title passed to the buyer only upon complete payment of the loan. As we moved into the 80's some lenders began to allow manufactured homes to be fi- nanced on similar terms as site built and mod- ular, when similarly conveyed with the land in a land-home configuration, and therefore eligi- ble for similar modular or site built home fi- nancing terms. It may be noted that presently, many manu- factured home builders feature the same options and features as modulars and site built housing, with the exception of the requirement that the transportable frame remain under the home after sitting. By the way, some modulars are "on frame" and some are "off frame" where the transportable frame system is returned to the factory for certification and reuse. The floor systems for these modulars must be designed dif- ferently for this type of use. Although most manufactured home site placements are de- signed for the use of the frame as a part of the foundation, the wheels and axles are often re- moved and returned to a recycler for use on an- other new home. Today the term mobile home is still in use to describe the designated factory build manufac- tured home as defined by the housing act of 1974. And, some manufactured homes, which are built to the same options and standards as modulars, are referred to as modular equiva- \ 28