MFH News and Views: FEMA, Skyline Corp. and HUD Rule Change … Provide Help, Hope and Concern

It’s Monday, April 11, 2016 – FEMA Delivers 100 MFH to Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Skyline Corp Ranks as Best Buy For `16 and a new HUD rule could change the ‘Park Model’ classification. 

Those are your prefabricated housing headlines for the past seven days, now let’s “kick the tires” on those stories…

FEMA Delivers: Announced 0n March 30,2016 that a major milestone has been reached in the recovery from the May 2015 storms on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, FEMA announced the 100th new manufactured home was recently provided to a tribal household. The 100 homes have been installed in just over three months’ time, with the first being turned over on December 9.

“Today marks a large step on the road to recovery for tribal members impacted by last year’s storm,” said Federal Coordinating Officer Gary Stanley. “However, we still have more to do. This is one of the largest housing construction efforts undertaken on the reservation.”

All of the manufactured homes are furnished three bedroom units. To mitigate against high winds, all of the homes have been anchored and received insulated skirting. As part of the installation process, the home is also connected to utilities–electricity, water and sewage/septic lines.

“We appreciate the efforts of FEMA in assisting our members who were in need following the storms,” said Oglala Sioux President John Yellow Bird Steele. “By providing for such a basic need, these families now have a safe place to call home and have hope for a brighter future.”

MFH footnote: Manufactured housing often plays a significant role following declared disasters in the U.S., deployed by FEMA when the need for immediate quality safe housing pops up in the country.

SKYLINE CORPORATION ON LIST OF BEST PENNY STOCKS TO BUY IN 2016: GroundReport on April 1,2016 issued a list of 5 penny stocks by investment predictors to be best buys for 2016. Skyline Corporation is listed as one of those that appear poised for growth. Their recommendation as follows:

Skyline Corporation is a company that produces and markets manufactured housing and modular homes in both the United States and Canada. Their company’s shares currently fit the criteria of penny stock based on their growing capital. They have no corporate debt and a strong cash position with an 18 per cent increase in their year-over-year revenues. Their stocks were going for just $0.86 per share at the beginning of 2015, but they’ve since risen 37 per cent with more growth in the future. For excellent returns, the time to get involved with these stocks is now.

MFH footnote: Skyline Homes founded in 1951 is truly a pioneer in the evolution of affordable manufactured housing with a stellar reputation for maintaining high customer satisfaction ratings and garnering industry respect for uncompromising integrity.

It is notable that Skyline Homes survived the housing crises of the late 2000’s, considering a majority of independent manufactured home companies either were shuttered or gobbled up by one of the large behemoth vertically integrated companies.

PROPOSED HUD RULE WOULD NOT ALLOW PARK MODEL RV’S TO BE USED FOR PERMANENT OCCUPANCY: HUD has proposed a rule that would modify the current exemption in the Manufactured Home Procedural and Enforcement Regulations that allows park model recreational vehicles that do not exceed 400 square feet to be regulated by HUD’s manufactured home program.

According to the proposed docket information many park models are being built with porches, screened rooms and other fixtures that exceed the maximum 400 square foot limitations subjecting those RV’s to HUD’s manufactured home requirements.

HUD’s proposed rule would permit recreational vehicle manufacturers to certify that a unit is exempted from HUD’s regulations. Specifically, HUD’s proposed rule would define a recreational vehicle as a factory built vehicular structure, not certified as a manufactured home, designed only for recreational use and not as a primary residence for permanent occupancy, and built and certified with either of two codes, (NFPA) or (ANSI) A119.5-15. HUD’s rule would require that unit’s claiming the exemption display a notice that identifies the standards used to construct the unit and states that the unit is designed only for recreational use, and not as a primary residence or permanent dwelling.

The decision to adopt the new HUD regulation will be announced after April 14th. As it looks right now it will become a regulation.

MFH footnote: Park models produced by the RV industry and intended for recreational, non-year round living have seen an increase in retirees living in them as permanent residences within RV parks. That would come to an end.

Despite rampant speculation that this change in policy would also classify “tiny homes” as RV’s thus making them illegal for permanent occupancy, MFH doesn’t believe there is any language in the proposed rule that addresses this form of housing, nor does HUD, at this time, profess any jurisdiction over tiny home construction standards. It is reasonable to assume that in the near future HUD and/or other agencies will address this new form of dwelling.