We’ll spend a few minutes today on:
- How close we could be to getting passage of HR 650/S 682 – and how to cross the finish line.
- The heart breaks of the DOJ cases (yes, there are more of them).
Let’s start with Dodd-Frank in the manufactured housing, and broader, context…
Dodd-Frank after 5 Years
In five years, America won World War II. Yes, we had many allies. But those allies were losing until the U.S. got into a major, two front global war. That’s one of countless proofs of what an amazing nation we have the privilege of being in. Against that exceptional national-capabilities backdrop, how are we doing with Dodd-Frank, five years after its passage?
Let’s begin by saying that be you for-or-against Dodd-Frank, we all have to agree that the implementation – as far as MH is concerned – has been less than stellar. How so?
In the MH financing space, we have ample evidence that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) implementation of Dodd-Frank has been harmful to manufactured home owners. It’s discouraged untold numbers of MH buyers, as read-hot Renter’s Nation demonstrates.
The well received, and already-popular video interview with Marty Lavin, JD sheds light on how the CFPB’s regulations has turned once acceptable, legal lending that benefited home seekers. Today, that same lending that helped tens of thousands annually, has been turned into something so risky for lenders and investors, that many have MH lenders stopped making such loans, or limited their use.
Loans on MH through a captive finance arm that communities once made are now often rentals; why? Because the regulatory risk is so great, as UMH’s Sam Landy, JD has pointed out in this video interview, that it is safer to rent a manufactured home than it is to sell one.
As the in-depth interview with Marty linked above makes clear, it’s consumers who are the most harmed 
by the very regulations meant to “protect them.”
So unlike the same time-frame of WWII, when we as a nation turned the tide that beat Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany, are we unable to establish in half-a-decade a regulatory regime that works to the satisfaction and benefit of consumers, lenders and businesses?
CFPB, DOJ and the Survey
As was reported in the Daily Business News today, the DOJ has brought new cases against players in MH. We will continue to track that, and comment as needed. For the time being, please refer back to this informative column by an expert, and have your team bone up on the very issue that cost one firm over $250,000.
Regarding the MH Survey on Appraisals and other MH topics, we may hold that for publication until the big October issue. Frankly, we’ve been too busy with other items to present views from pros like you in an appropriate fashion. But let me tease you for now by saying that the suervey will likely surprise some with fiesty viewpoints from industry pros.
Now, let’s focus on manufactured home loans and related regulations.
The Dodd-Frank act empowered the CFPB with the regulatory ability to change their own regs with the snap of a finger. Let me herby propose a very simple part of the solution to the problems of today’s regulations. With the support of doers and thinkers in MH, we will stay on the Preserving Access to Manufactured Housing issue until either:
- the Senate has passed this and it’s signed into law by the president,
- or until the CFPB changes the regulations.
Why the push?
Who is Harmed the Most by current regulations?
First, we call on the consumer groups to join that noble HR 650/S 682 effort, for the simple reason that it’s consumers who want to buy and MH owners who want to sell who are clearly the most impacted. This is one of the many points that Marty’s video makes clear. Marty’s wit from a year ago cut to the heart of part of the problem we face with well intentioned, but misguided “consumer group” efforts.
But let’s re-frame the question.
We speak and message with lenders routinely. All are on the same page with the MLO rule. All support the legislation presented. But step back and ask yourself this. The primary 4 remaining personal property lenders, as painful as the regulations have been, are adapting. We must note that U.S. Bank,was lost to MH through this new regulatory regime. As noted above, many community owners that were making loans have since tapered those back or pulled out, for fear of regulatory risk. Loans once made 2 years ago are not being made today.
So has business been hurt? Clearly, yes.
But that painful adaptation in MH lending reveals that the most harm has come to the consumer! So IMHO, Marty Lavin is spot on in his analysis.
If the CFPB truly cares about it mandate to protect the consumer, if CFED and others really care about MH home sellers and MH home buyers, they should both admit reality: that home owners and home buyers are the most harmed by the current regulations. Then, they should get on board with The Preserving Access to Manufactured Housing Act, or in CFPB’s case – change the regs asap. Otherwise, the conflict of interest analysis stands on its own merits.
“Read Hot!”
The Marty Lavin video related articles are ‘read hot’ in the MH space. Perhaps you’ve seen our standard disclaimer on hit-counts about articles in MHVille before. Begin with the fact that if you take the other 6 most noteworthy MH publishers and combine them, based upon the latest known data, they do not equal the size of our readership on MHProNews alone.
Next, Mark Twain said it. “There are lies, damn lies and statistics.” Meaning, facts out of context can be meant to say almost anything you want. The reverse is also true, that facts in context, matter.
In the MH Industry, MHI claimed 3 years ago that there were approximately 100,000 FTE’s (we at MHProNews believe they’re wrong by tens of thousands on that number, but that’s another topic, another time). Maybe 15% of the general public actually does any serious reading of news. So if there are say 150,000 FTEs today (that is likely still a very conservative number), and 15% are ‘readers of news,’ that gives you an idea of what the upper limits could be on any article limited to the MH professional community.
All facts below are per third party Webalizer. As of the date and time shown:
Usage Statistics for mhmarketingsalesmanagement.com
(Above is also known as – AKA – MHProNews.com and MHMSM.com, other URLs too. These are totals for the month, through the date and time shown for the report summary, below.)
Summary Period: September 2015
Generated 23-Sep-2015 07:07 CDT
When you see ‘referrers,’ think a ‘path’ that someone uses online to arrive at the MHProNews.com website, or a specific article on the website.
Top 250 of 8483 Total Referrers
So over 8,000 referral paths have brought approaching 100,000 visits by readers to webpages on MHProNews this month.
In less than 48 hours, the Marty Lavin/CFPB/Manufactured Home Loan Regulation related report has already hit the top 250. In fact, it already ranks #15 (the first number in the graphic below) for the month! Actual hit count, 8,363 hits, is shown in the screen capture, below.
Including the DBN and other paths, there are 13,000 total hits – all without doing a media release, and without doing our social media posting – in less than 48 hours. That’s the equivalent of some 11½ % of all MH Pros having already ‘hit’ this article with the video on that page. That’s amazing.
Now, the reality is that investors, educators, non-profits, federal officials – including the CFPB – has seen these two articles. Besides our software that confirms numbers of government visits, our sources tell us that CFPB and other federal officials are routinely on our pages.
That’s good, because this gives public officials food for thought. In the case of this video interview, it comes from a source that is very respected in and outside of MHville, Marty Lavin.
Nice words keep coming in about the video, including some via text messages. The latest one, from a well respected and successful pro was just moments ago. Two words “Rock Star.” (meaning Marty).
Ladies and gents, MH enthusiasts, pros and true believers. We can cross the finish line on Preserving Access to Manufactured Housing Act. This isn’t the only thing we need to do, as GSE reform and much more should be on our radars. But HR 650/S 682 is something we ought to do, first for our consumers and then for ourselves.
The way to cross that finish line is to keep the pressure going, and that pressure is the light of truth in the reports we strive to share. Some of you are tweeting or using social media. Others, RSS feeds, some I’ve heard have sent it to their local media or Congressional staffers. Care enough, to share enough to make this happen.
A Thank You to the foreward thinkers in the MH Industry
Near the end of the interview video, Marty says some nice things, all of it unplanned and unscripted. We routinely return the compliments paid us to those who make our work possible. On writing and sponsorhip, this is collaborative! We get TONS of input from pros, from coast-to-coast. So please le me close today by thanking some of those who are and have made videos and reports like these possible. Whenever you need services, please consider these industry folks.
Among others!
For discussion’s sake, when enough of these supporters renew – and about 2x joins the pro-MH information, inspiration and innovation cause – the resources will be present to ‘go mainstream.’
Once MHLivingNews.com and MHProNews.com are both mainstream, over time we’ll shift the landscape of MH in favor of MH owners and industry pros. We’ll have positive MH stories found in other mainstream media reports routinely.
Home owners and sponsors will thus benefit, as will associations and the industry at large.
Experience with those we’ve done this with for a while demonstrates that fact; so we’re sticking with those demonstrable “opportunity-knocks” facts. Nike’s right. When something is worth doing…Just Do It. ##
