Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/518853
JUNE 2015 6 THE JOURNAL No. 3 on Get It Quick Page Ask Eddie BY ED HICKS DEVELOPMENT MARKETING Why are there virtually no new m/h land lease communities being built in recent years. Jeff H., Williston, ND. There are several reasons, some of which may change soon, but others will persist for a long, long time. One of the major reasons is the long-term in- terest rates for site built homes which lowers monthly home payments way below those which are available for m/h in land lease communities. Although credit qualifications for these low in- terest loans have tightened up in recent years, due to the relatively high rate of foreclosures, those with good or better credit find the financ- ing terms much more acceptable. Major secondary capital sources and investors who supply m/h lenders have in the past 10 to 12 years, been badly burned by the high rate of repossessions. Lenders who provided financing for ultimately unqualified home buyers on "easy" financing terms, went under and along with their defaults on bonds and other financing instru- ments became virtually worthless. In recent years, attempts by m/h lenders to underwrite loans to more qualified buyers, and the increases in interest rates, and reductions in loan to value for their loans has in effect raised the monthly housing cost for m/h buyers when compared to much lower site built home financing options. Hence, event though the home prices may be lower, by the time a buyer qualifies for a loan, and signs a note with a lender, the resulting "ef- fective" home price differential is gone. And, although there are solutions to this dichotomy which may create "par" lending terms, there currently seems to be little interest in the politi- cians who can make effective changes, in doing so. Still there is hope. The term manufactured housing is still very confusing to m any prospective home buyers. Does it refer to: trailers, mobile homes, modu- lars, RVs, sectional homes, pre-fab homes, or what? Technically the term includes all forms of housing built in a factory environment, even though Congress passed the Manufactured Hous-