As Thousands Protest, an Industry Celebrates New Trump Administration

"...President-Elect Trump’s promise to “impose a … moratorium order on new agency regulations,” pending the review and elimination of regulations that “kill jobs” and “do not improve public safety,” has taken an important first step forward with a November 15, 2016 congressional communication – signed by the House Majority Leader and the Chairmen of all standing House Committees -- to the Secretaries, Directors and Administrators of all federal agencies...cautioning them against “finalizing pending rules or regulations in the [Obama] Administration’s last days.”

- M. Mark Weiss, JD, in a memo to MHARR Manufacturers

While thousands of paid or volunteer organizers and protesters march in "blue" cities, campuses and states, a different post-election story is playing out for an American industry and millions of its customers, thousands of whom live in Lakeland, FL.

“Manufactured home owners are certainly one of the “hidden majority” who may have felt somewhat disenfranchised in recent years,” said Eddie Hicks, a long-time manufactured housing industry veteran and consultant.

Hicks owns a modern, residential-style manufactured home (MH) in Florida, not far from The Villages.

“I don’t care whether you are a liberal, conservative, independent or something else – the bottom line with this year’s election was simply more of the same or something new, different or unique,” said Tim Connor, CSP.

Connor earned the Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation, and is the author of over 80 books on business, management and personal development. He has worked with numerous factory-home builders over the years, and lives near Charlotte, NC.

Connor states that dozens of companies he knew didn't survive the 2008 economic downturn, or the highly-regulated recovery that followed.

It's common for manufactured home (MH) industry professionals to claim that the rising tide of regulations forced smaller- to mid-sized operations to:

• sell out,
• into consolidations,
• or pushed them out of business.

But manufactured home owners, sellers and prospective buyers have also been impacted by federal regulations, as consumer-affairs journalist Jan Hollingsworth and others have chronicled in articles on MHLivingNews.com.

The Call for Help...

"I am a manufactured home owner affected by the current Dodd-Frank policies in place," posted Liz Romanchek - who lives in Westville, IN - on an article published on The Hill which advocated for reforms to federal lending that harmed manufactured home owners and businesses. "Too much regulation is just as harmful as no regulation," Romanchek said. "Please help the American home owners by making these corrections."

Proponents of the Preserving Access to Manufactured Housing Act said CFPB rules have harmed the value of all housing under $75,000, by limiting access to credit.

For years, the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) and other MH industry associations and professionals lobbied for changes with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and with Congress. A group representing Florida's manufactured home owners signed onto a letter supporting those changes. The National Association of Realtors, the Mortgage Bankers Association and other groups outside of manufactured housing also supported the measure.

The House passed the bill last year that would have made the technical corrections that would have opened up lending cut off by CFPB rules.

Mari Blaquiere, co-owner of Highland Mobile Park in St. Petersburg, FL was one of many professionals who spoke out in favor of those reforms to CFPB rules that were never adopted. Under Dodd-Frank, those changes could have been implemented with the stoke of a pen by the CFPB's director, Richard Cordray.

Corday snubbed requests for the changes - including a rebuff from a bi-partisan coalition of U.S. Senators - who sent him a letter asking that specific reforms to CFPB regulations be implemented. Had the Senate passed the bill, the Obama White House signaled it would be vetoed.

Now with Republicans in charge of the House and Senate in 2017 - and with President-elect Trump arguing that dismantling Dodd-Frank would be good for smaller lenders, businesses and job creation - Corday and his political allies may soon find themselves completely reversed and out in the cold.

HUD. DOE. FHFA. CFPB...

But it isn't just the CFPB that industry professionals say has hurt manufactured home buyers, sellers, businesses and owners. An avalanche of pending regulatory actions or inaction has hit the MH industry since 2009.

Starting in late January of 2017, "All three branches of government are in Republican control," said D.J. Pendleton, JD, executive director of the Texas Manufactured Housing Association. "What will this mean? It simply means that there is little in the way of the Republican policy agenda.”

M. Mark Weiss, president and CEO of the Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR), told MHProNews that a "Trump Victory [is] a boost for affordable housing and consumers."

Weiss said, "With a personal background in business, rather than government, Mr. Trump – during the just-ended campaign – has been a consistent critic of innovation-stifling and job-killing overregulation and regulators who ignore or rationalize the far-reaching negative impacts of such regulations on the health of the economy, smaller businesses and consumers….”

Associations routinely avoid endorsing presidential candidates during campaign season. Our sources at MHARR said that their association had two plans prepared prior to November 8. One was contingent upon a victory by Secretary Hillary Clinton, another was based upon billionaire-builder Donald Trump taking over as the next resident of the White House. It should be noted that none of those named above were asked - nor offered - to say whom they voted for in the presidential contest.

Warren Buffett - who openly campaigned for Clinton - is chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, a conglomerate that includes numerous companies that build, sell, finance and supply components to the manufactured housing industry.

“I support any president of the United States. It’s very important that the American people coalesce behind the president,” Buffett told CNN in an interview on November 11th.

“That doesn’t mean they can’t criticize him or they can’t disagree with what he’s doing maybe," Buffett said. "But we need a country unified. He deserves everybody’s respect.”

Will those words from a Democratic backer of Secretary Clinton resonate over time with protestors?

The Dow and other U.S. markets have soared to record highs since the Trump win, as investors digest the fact that regulation- and tax-cutting proposals by president-elect Trump equals a pro-growth plan akin to what worked for Democratic President John F. Kennedy and Republican President Ronald Reagan.

Another Billionaire - and MH Owners - Sound Off

Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) Chairman and legendary investor Sam Zell told CNBC that President-elect Trump would be good for business, the economy and job creation.

ELS has several upscale manufactured home communities in Florida, and 100+ total locations in over two dozen states.

A number of news media outlets, including the New York Times, noted that manufactured home owners were often supporters of the Trump campaign.

An informal canvas was performed the week before the election of campaign signs and bumper stickers found on homes and vehicles in a 55+ MH community on the north side of Lakeland, FL. That unscientific survey revealed six out of fourteen home-sites with signage supporting Clinton, with the other eight supporting Trump.

Why it Matters...Affordable Housing in Crisis

Affordable housing is at crisis levels in many U.S. markets. Bloomberg, HousingWire, Realtor and Fox News all favorably reported recently on the money-saving value and appeal of modern manufactured homes, which evolved from the trailers and mobile homes of yesteryear.

So the need to unshackle the potential for manufactured housing will only increase during this period of rising rents, flat incomes and modest job creation.

Some seven percent of the nation - and one-in-ten Floridians - live in a pre-code mobile home, or in a post-HUD Code, federally-regulated manufactured home.

What might the future hold for this incoming administration, the MH industry and the millions of people it serves?

During this time of mixed emotions, Tim Connor offered these thoughts.

Addressing other industry professionals, Connor said, "So, let me just say that regardless of your political affiliation or beliefs – Mr. Trump will be a successful President for one major reason – his ego. He will not want to go down in history as an unsuccessful president due to his ego, so he will surround himself with wise, thoughtful, intelligent, experienced and caring individuals who will help him create a legacy of success." ##

By L. A. "Tony" Kovach.

Kovach is the publisher of Lakeland, FL based MHLivingNews and MHProNews, the leading trade publications for manufactured home consumers and MH industry leaders, investors and public policy professionals who want up-to-date lifestyle and business news.