Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/647244
MARCH 2016 26 THE JOURNAL Ask Eddie BY ED HICKS DEVELOPMENT MARKETING Can you tell me in your opinion, why there seems to be such hostility on the part of many people including elected officials towards manufactured housing. Gary W., Tampa, FL That's the 64 thousand dollar question, Mr. W. I have been directly and indirectly involved in the factory built housing industry since 1960 as a serviceman, salesperson, retailer, manufac- turer, developer, and community development lender. Now I function as a consultant to devel- opers and operators of communities, and often act as a buyer's agent to assist in the acquisitions of existing land lease communities. To start with, most of us have grown up in urban and suburban areas where older trailer camps or parks were nothing more than loosely or- ganized rows of portable tin sleeping quarters, many of which were eyesores and often housed itinerants said low income families. In a sense, they were the outgrowth of older campgrounds, and often housed bands of Irish or Romanian trav- elers. Some of the units were used as portable homes for traveling to resort areas, vis a vis, the movie entitled "Long Long trailer, by Lucielle Ball and Desi Arnaz. During WWII, many along with the shortage of low cost housing for factory workers near air- craft factories in CA, IN, and NY, some entre- preneurial individuals started building airplane fuselage structures without the wings, engines or tails, and set them up in the parking lots adjacent to the factories for use as low cost housing. Some began to add wheels to them, for towing be hind a car in the shape of a "teardrop", which were used primarily for sleeping quarters. As time went on, they began to add kitchens, bathrooms, and dining areas, which required the lengthening and widening of the units. In most cases, registration and sales of these "trailer houses" we're overseen by state and local motor vehicle jurisdictions, and were financed by similar chattel or personal property loans, since in most cases, they were not permanently affixed to the land, but were on rented homesites. Various manufacturing quality and safety standards were managed by states and varied greatly from virtually no management over designs or standards to groups of states which subscribed to a higher ANSI established codes. Still, once a unit was trans- ported across state lines, it may or may not have meet that states standards or non-standards. So, as these unregulated constructed dwelling units began to deteriorate with use, the "communities" they were in became eyesores and more. Most didn't see the improvements which were being made in the homes through the implemen- tation of the Manufactured Housing Act of 1974 which provided for strict design and construction of non-modular factory built housing built after June 1976. In concert with the implementation of zoning and land use laws and regulations in many jurisdictions which greatly improved "mobile home parks", now termed manufactured housing land lease communities, the quality of living was greatly improved. Still, images of depreciating home units prevailed, and most lenders failed to provide for terms and rates on a part with site built hous- ing. State licensing laws which established li- censing fees which were based on presumed depreciation of the home's value, much the same as they had established for automobiles, added to the "evidence" of regular annual lowering of val- ues. To top it all off, lenders were loathe to finance resales on the same basis as new financing, with shorter terms and higher interest rates. So, for the home to be affordable, it's value upon resale must be reduced to keep the new payments at the worsen terms and rates, to continue to be afford- able. Not the least of the industry's problems, the terms "trailer trash", or "trailer park beauty", and other negative descriptive terms became ac- cepted pejorative names for this unique form of af- fordable housing. Never mind that in any of the newer land lease communities which were de- signed and built to the higher standards, along with the now indirect Federal Government design and construction standards, home values in- creased at about the same rate as for site built. Carefully selected vivid photos and TV videos of destruction from high winds in tornados and hurricanes seemed to create more destruction in m/h communities, broadcasters failed to note much of the visible damage was from accessory structures, and homes which were pre-1976 con- struction, and not installed on local and state ap- proved foundation systems which used extensive methods of "permanent'" attachment to the homesite. Newscasters still include warnings for those in manufactured homes to evacuate when high wind storms are anticipated, without noting that newer homes in communities are no more susceptible to damage or danger than site built homes. In the eyes of the public who are largely igno- rant of the facts, in their minds manufactured homes were: cheaply built, depreciate rapidly, dangerous in wind storms, and were occupied by the economic and socially deficient under belly of our country. No matter to them that this hous- ing alternative is a great value at no sacrifice to safety or quality. Most legislators and elected public officials are therefore subject to the demands of the misguided public when formulating land use laws and regula- tions which they mistakenly believe will protect their home values when a new community is pro- posed to be built. Investors and lenders fail to bring reasonable financing programs to the public for new and used home financing terms and con- ditions on the mistaken notion that a viable home financing program isn't a good investment. Without any serious and competent industry efforts to share positive values and inherent safety built in to new m/h, those of us who are truly in- formed, will seek out this high quality housing source. My wife of 40 years and I, both of which are University educated and have been employed as professionals all of our working lives, have cho- sen to take advantage of this uniquely American housing alternative in a beautiful Seniors only community.. Edward "Eddie" Hicks, lic. RE Broker, and Lic. Mortgage Broker has been a man- ufactured housing community developer and industry consultant, retailer and home manufacturer since 1963, and is currently a manufactured home resident of a sen- iors Age 55+ m/h condominium homesite community in Central Florida. He He may be reached at (813) 300-6150 and at easteddie@aol.com His websites are: www.mobilehomepark.com www.factorybuilthome.com T J