We helped 55 homeowners form a ROC in Centralia, Wash., last Friday. Our loan officer shared the seller’s heartwarming comment following the closing: “It seems strange after 27 years to be finished but we are so happy for … More »
manufactured home communities
My vision for affordable housing (It’s more than you’d think!)
I have been working in the affordable housing sector for a few years now and I have lived in an affordable housing neighborhood for almost a decade. Actually, I have lived in many affordable housing neighborhoods at one … More »
Sad and happy follow-up to homeowners’ speeches in Oregon
I blogged about Diane Pense’s and Sam Morris’ speeches in February. Today, I got some really disturbing follow-up on Diane’s situation. Apparently, her 10-home community isn’t closing down but they didn’t learn that until after they all sold … More »
Resident speakers stir motivation and encouragement
Inspiring. I spoke at a conference Friday on the West Coast that focused on making sure manufactured housing continues to play an important role in the affordable housing sector. The event was co-hosted by CASA of Oregon, a … More »
Room for consensus on pressing MHC issues
PBS recently reported on two parts of the manufactured/mobile home industry: Issues homeowners in Manufactured (Mobile) Home Communities (“MHCs”) face; and, The impact of regulation on loans to purchase manufactured (mobile) homes. The reporter did a good job … More »
The dog days of summer have me thinking …
Wow, it’s hot here! We’re in an official heat wave which has me thinking about home improvements. Fall home improvements. Since we have reached 10,000 homes in ROCs and founded a cooperative with other community management companies – … More »
Manufactured Home Retailers (Dealers) in Decline
Updated: Tuesday, January 5, 2016 According to a recent IBTS report, in 1998 there were more than 13,000 HUD-code manufactured home retail sales centers in the U.S. By the end of 2014, some 16 years later, there are … More »
Downright inspiring: Clarence Hall
I had the privilege of attending the National Credit Union Foundation’s Herb Wegner Memorial Award ceremony on Monday night in Washington, D.C. All four awardees were very impressive, but one brought tears to my eyes. Clarence Hall is … More »
Start of the year, end of the year
I have been heads down with report writing the last month and I’ve missed getting my blog together. Well, 2014 was quite a year! Many individual ROCs accomplished great things in 2014, including Wheel Estates in North Adams, … More »
ROC USA Board of Directors adopts ROC leader priorities!
The ROC USA Board of Directors met last week in Washington, D.C., and adopted four priorities put forth by the 23 ROC leaders who attended this year’s Community Leadership Institute! While ROC USA’s formal Strategic Plan isn’t due … More »