Be Aware & Beware of ‘Place to Prosper’ Act (&) GASLIGHTING
October 2019; Copyright 2019; www.educatemhc.com
Perspective. ‘Land lease communities, previously manufactured home communities, and earlier, ‘mobile home parks’, comprise the real estate component of manufactured housing.’
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Moto: ‘U Support US & WE Serve U! Goal: promote HUD-Code manufactured housing & land lease communities as U.S. source of affordable attainable housing! Call for next MHM class.
INTRODUCTION: As an industry, we were ‘asleep at the switch’ when the S.A.F.E. Act was legislated a decade ago. Let’s not be guilty of similar inattention and inaction as national rent control makes its’ way through the halls of Congress! MHI/NCC. When will your ‘research’ translate into action? And, wouldn’t it be helpful to ‘really know’ the $ details about ‘home & land’ finance of manufactured homes, as well as for ‘home only’ loans? Perhaps 21st Mortgage Company will ‘take the lead’ here, and report $ facts and trends relative to the latter type MH lending. Finally; GASLIGHTING. This has been a trade news blemish awaiting attention for a while now. Manufactured housing and land lease community aficionados owe it to themselves, their employees, and customers, to rely solely on reliable trade news reporting of facts and trends, not salacious op/ed posturing by an outlier!
I.
Be Aware of, & Beware, the ‘Place to Prosper’ Act!
“The Place to Prosper Act calls for a cap of 3 percent or the Consumer Price Index (‘CPI’), whichever is greater, for housing markets nationwide. (The rule would apply specifically to landlords with five or more residential properties or TWO OR MORE MANUFACTURED HOUSING PARKS)…” (Emphasis added. GFA) Per AOC, Bernie Sanders, et. al. Will let you know more when we hear and learn more!
II.
INTERESTING MH $$$ NEWS – Revisited
CFPB’s recently-released HMDA Summary description of 99,200 ‘home & land’ mortgages and 51,000 ‘home only’ loans, according to some freelance manufactured housing consultants, understates the real total, given that an unspecified number of independent third party lenders allegedly don’t report this $ data to the CFPB. However, knowing the manufactured housing industry shipped 96,555 new HUD-Code homes during year 2018, the 150,200 total loans underwritten during that same period of time, appears logical when including resale homes in the mix.
III.
GASLIGHTING
…is a psychological tactic, in writing and speaking, used to (attempt to) gain power over someone – or a group, causing them question their perception, reality, sanity, even memory, of how they believe things are and should be. And I suppose, at times, all of us are guilty of this practice, to some degree, as we deign to influence individuals we interact with during business and social intercourse. However, when I (sometimes) read a particular manufactured housing trade publication (Not MHInsider or Manufactured Housing Review), it appears their op/ed penmen go out of their way to gaslight a particular national advocacy entity – one they should be supporting, and various targeted individuals. Point? Be discerning as to what you read, and who you listen to, in today’s fractious world of politics, business, and certainly, manufactured housing. In truth, you’re better off not reading some news tripe, but concentrate on good and uplifting news about the industry and realty asset class we embrace as businessmen and women.
Is there an acid test to discern gaslighting masquerading as journalism? Yes, three principles of journalism posed as questions:
• Is what you read or hear, the reporting of facts – or just the source’s opinion?
• Check writer/speaker’s resources – or is it past commentary used out of context?
• Is read or spoken word easily understood, by dint of plain style communication?
So, next time you read any of the nearly half dozen manufactured housing trade publications afoot these days, ask those three questions as you read, to learn which ones are worth the time and effort, going forward, and which is not. It’s as simple as that. So, ‘Just Do It!’
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