Manufactured Housing Laws and Legislation

Action Alerts!!!!! We currently have three issues on the Federal level that we have been watching. Please help us educate our Congressional representatives about the impact on Manufactured Homeowners.

1> PARK OWNERS' DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN - WARNING LETTER FROM THE NATIONAL MHOAA - THIS IS HAPPENING IN NEW JERSEY RIGHT NOW!

From Ishbel Dickens
Executive Director,
Manufactured Home Owners Association of America (MHOAA)

Contact your congress people to let them know that you support the Dodd/ Frank Act and especially the way it regulates lending to manufactured home owners.

It appears that some community owners across the country are encouraging the home owners in their communities to contact their congressional delegates regarding the Dodd Frank Act. It seems that community owners are upset with how potential Dodd Frank regulations might impact the way they do business as it relates to their ability to sell manufactured homes.

Financing of manufactured homes, usually through chattel loans, is open to the same abusive practices as the banks were perpetuating in their mortgage lending practices. Dodd Frank was passed to regulate these practices and to ensure that loans are made to people who can afford them and who will not suffer foreclosure as a result of being tied to an unrealistic payment plan. Community owners and other dealers who sell to people who want to buy manufactured homes seem unwilling to be governed by the same regulations as will now apply to the banks. However, it is in the best interest of you, the consumer, that your lender be accountable, only provide a loan that you can afford, and that this loan be set with a reasonable interest rate, so that you are able to remain in your home without fear of foreclosure.

Act now.
Please call or email your congressional delegates and let them know that as a manufactured home owner you welcome the fact that the Dodd Frank Act governs all lenders, including those who lend to people preparing to purchase manufactured homes.

Urge your congressional delegates to keep the Dodd Frank Act strong.

You can find your delegates email address and phone numbers by going to:
Representatives: www.house.gov/representatives/
Senators: www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

The Capitol Switchboard at 202.224.2131 can also connect you to your legislators offices.

2 > ACT NOW! Congress is considering legislation that would help homeowners to replace aging homes!

Please ask your congressional delegates to sign on as sponsors to HR 1623. Just click here and enter your zip code to go directly to CFED's policy page and send a letter to your Congressional Representative

HR 1623 would reauthorize the Assets for Independence Act. This is an existing program that has been tweaked to include replacement of pre-1976 mobile homes with ENERGY STAR manufactured homes. The bill already has 28 sponsors (all Democrats) but it would be great to have YOUR congressional delegates as sponsors too. HR 1623 improves a matched savings and financial education program to provide down payment assistance to owners of pre-1976 mobile homes and gives them the ability to replace their old home with a new ENERGY STAR manufactured home. The help could be available to any home owner who is at or below 80% of the area median income level and the money may be used to remove the older home as well as provide the home owner with $10,000 towards the purchase of a new ENERGY STAR home, in which monthly utility costs will almost certainly be substantially less than in the pre-76 home.

We hope to include a bill in the Senate as well. Senator Merkley is leading the effort so ask your Senators, especially Senators Snowe, Collins (Maine); Burr (NC); Brown (MA), Alexander (TN), Tommey (PA), and Coats (IN) to contact Senator Merkley’s office and join on as original cosponsors.

Send your legislator an email now!

3> On the Federal Level we would like to encourage our New Jersey Elected Representatives
to join the House and Senate Manufactured Housing Caucus'


Why Join the Congressional and Senate Manufactured Housing Caucus"?

1. Manufactured homes account for 1 out of 4 new single-family homes sold each year in the United States and are the largest source of unsubsidized affordable housing in the state.

2. Two of HUD’s top priorities are increasing access to affordable housing and reducing dependencies on subsidized housing. Manufactured homes, with an average cost of $62,300, offer a solution to both of these departmental priorities.

3. Congressional constituents -- the homeowners, residents and voters who live in manufactured housing in New Jersey deserve federal consumer protections against predatory lending, foreclosure, and to uphold housing standards. These constituents need to increase their voice and their representation at the Federal level!

4. Replacement and upgrades of Manufactured Housing are important ways to reduce energy usage and costs for homeowners. Federal energy star and other energy reduction program need to be applied to manufactured housing.

There are 80 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE members of the MANUFACTURED HOUSING CAUCUS but only one of them is from New Jersey. Congressman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) from the 6th District in New Jersey in the sole New Jersey member of the caucus. MHOA NJ would like to encourage New Jersey's other Congressmen to become members of the Manufactured Housing Caucus. Neither of New Jersey's Senators are members of the Senate Manufactured Housing Caucus.

MHOA NJ urges all of its members and New Jersey's manufactured home owners to contact their Congressional officials and ask them to join the Manufactured Housing Caucus' and to work toward helping owners of manufactured housing in New Jersey.