FEMA Seeks Manufactured Homes for LA Flood Victims as Washington State Sales Soar, and more…
FEMA Seeks 1000’s of Manufactured Homes for Louisiana flood victims from Dealer inventory, the Bay State will not call manufactured homes affordable housing, Michigan Homes Showcase a big hit for the industry, and Washington State manufactured home sales soar 47%, on a year-over-year basis.
“There’s good news and slightly good news” ~ Joanne Harris, The Gospel of Loki.
What we have this week is a lot of manufactured home news from across the country. Particularly benefiting Louisiana’s flood victims, FEMA is seeking retailers with unsold inventory. On the confusing side of the news front, some are asking … are “Mobile Homes” affordable housing for Massachusetts? (We think they are.) Expected news, the MMHA Showcase of today’s newest and most energy-efficient manufactured homes wows in Michigan. Meanwhile, up in the great Northwest, Washington home sales have jumped nearly 50% thanks to the expense of traditional housing. And, shining a bright light on the otherwise bleak topic, we’ve included a bonus 3D virtual tour of what quality affordable housing looks like in the Northwest.
Pull up a chair and let’s drill down on these news stories.
FEMA Needs Manufactured Homes
FEMA Seeks Retailer Open Inventory for Louisiana Flood Relief: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Logistics Management Division has issued a request for proposal seeking individual retailers with commercial off-the-lot two-, three-,four-, and five-bedroom Manufactured Housing Units (MHUs) with dimensions up to 16’ x 72’ to support FEMA disaster operations in Louisiana, according to US Federal Contractor Registration and reported by Marketwired. FEMA anticipates awarding multiple Firm Fixed-Price Contracts with a base ordering period for up to 100 MHUs, and three option quantities for up to 400 MHU units, with a possibility of increasing the quantity. FEMA intends to issue contracts on a rolling basis and is leaving this particular solicitation open through January 19, 2017. Contractors who can provide the required MHUs are invited to submit a proposal anytime through January 19, 2017. FEMA will evaluate all offers each week, and the cutoff for that week’s review is every Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. EST. Offers must be sent to Contracting Officer LaShawn Smith and Contract Specialist Amanda Morgan, 500 C.Street,SW, Washington, D.C. 20472. To receive the contract, contractors (retailers) must be registered with the System for Award Management (SAM) database, and have as part of the Registration all current Representations and Certifications. Contractors must also be registered with FEMA. US Federal Contractor Registration, the world’s largest third-party government registration firm, completes the requested Registrations on behalf of its clients.
Candidates Debate Affordable Homes
Massachusetts State Candidates and Prefab Homes: Looking to provide a little clarity for their constituents, the candidates for the 2nd Plymouth district in Massachusetts squared off and discussed several topics, one of which was affordable housing. Republican Susan Williams Gifford and Democrat challenger Sarah Hewins, in a recent pre-election showdown on the topics, the candidates were asked the following question, as reported by Wicked Local.
“Wareham voters approved a Town Meeting article to petition the state Legislature to classify all mobile homes in the town as affordable-housing units. Do you support this initiative?”
(Abbreviated answers)
Republican Susan Williams Gifford
“The state’s current ‘Affordable Housing Law,’ Chapter 40B, is outdated and harmful to towns like Wareham. Wareham has over 1,000 mobile homes which are an affordable alternative to conventional housing but not included in the definition of affordable housing in regard to 40B.” (Gifford points to previous legislative attempts to count 50 percent of mobile homes to count toward the affordable stock of over 10% which had failed to pass the state Senate) She continues: “The state failed to act on the bill.I will keep fighting for Chapter 40B reform but these efforts are being blocked, in my opinion, by the large urban housing lobbyists such as Citizens Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA) who see any changes to 40B as weakening the law even though these changes have no effect on the big cities.”
Democrat challenger Sarah Hewins:
“Reclassification of 100% of all manufactured housing as affordable has been tried before. While it’s possible that another attempt may succeed,experience says otherwise. The Department of Revenue (DOR) has said that 100% would require each individual manufactured home owner to prove his/her home is “affordable!”. The DOR has also said that, if manufactured homes would be assessed the same way market value homes are, then between 50 and 60 percent of those manufactured homes would be considered affordable by the DOR.”
MFH Note: It seems almost incomprehensible that a debate about whether or not manufactured homes should be considered affordable! Unfortunately, there are still many state and local officials across the country that continue to denigrate America’s quality affordable housing choice, based upon myths and self-interests.
Michigan Manufactured Homes
Michigan Manufactured Home Showcase Success For All: Approximately 3 weeks ago, the Michigan Manufactured Housing Association held an intimate little event for approximately 5,000 people at the Novi Home Show at Collection Show Palace. Displaying their newest energy-efficient models and featuring ingenious space-saving floorplans, Skyline Homes newest models were on display for the three-day event. Also in attendance, Champion Home Builders brought both a multi-section and a single-section manufactured home, as well as the Athens park model. While Clayton Homes also rolled in with a stylish multi-section model for display. Impeccably staged and appointed, each model emphasized the skilled craftsmanship, attention to detail and high-end amenities. According to online reports “The success experienced at the MMHA Showcase demonstrates the increasing awareness and interest of manufactured homes.”
Washington State Manufactured Home Sales
Photo Courtesy of Seattle Curbed
Washington Home Buyers Turn to Manufactured Homes: Thanks to some diligent statistical reporting from the Northwest Housing Association, Seattle Curbed has just published a rather astonishing fact; manufactured home sales have increased by 47% amongst Washington State home buyers. Marking a 360° about-face in public acceptance of prefabricated and modular housing, according to Joan Brown, executive director of the Northwest Housing Association, “550 homes have already been shipped in 2016 and plants are currently staffing up to meet stronger demand.” Citing fiscal responsibility and an improved economy as motivating factors, many are turning to manufactured housing thanks to improved financing options. that’s right ladies and gentlemen, in the land of high-tech housing, during 2015 one out of every new housing permits pulled in Washington state was done so for the construction of a manufactured home. While the report pointed out that 15 counties showed 20% or more of new permits for manufactured housing occurred in unincorporated areas, the subtext of that factoid remains, 80% occurred in urban areas.
MFH Bonus: Sit Back, Relax, and enjoy this 3D Virtual Tour of a Stunning Manufactured Home Preferred by Buyers in the Northwest. The positive reception recently received by the manufactured housing sector in the state of Washington parallels those of the entire Pacific Northwest and intermountain regions of the upper Northwest. At the forefront of this surging activity is the high quality and affordability built into each of today’s modern and innovative manufactured homes.
Kit Homebuilders West, located in Caldwell, Idaho is a leading producer of high quality, value oriented manufactured and modular homes serving home buyers in Washington, as well as the entire intermountain region.
The Kit Homebuilders model is the Stonebridge 5502 that boasts 2,232 square feet of well planned living space with three extra large bedrooms and two well located deluxe baths. As you sell navigate your 3D tour you will note the many handcrafted details, qualities, amenities and features that exemplifies homes produced by Kit Homebuilders West, located in Caldwell, Idaho, exclusively designed for the northwest lifestyle preferences. Stonebridge 5502 features a sprawling “great room,” elegant gourmet-style kitchen and adjoining formal dining room and a spacious privately located master bath with luxurious bath.
Enjoy the tour!
Shoppers are cordially invited to take a unique 3D virtual tour of one of the 85 Kit HomeBuilders West customizable models offered for sale by authorized retailers throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, No.Dakota, So. Dakota and surrounding regions. View all 80+ customizable floor plans available for sale by retailers of Kit HomeBuilders West, and take our unique virtual tours of selected models and review construction specifications. Simply type -your town- in the search bar to get started. Securing a no obligation price is as easy as clicking “GET CUSTOM PRICE QUOTE” on any of the models.
