The latest “NMHOA Across America” newsletter is available here (PDF).

Excerpt from the latest article about this issue from the Napa Valley Register:

Results of a study conducted on the demographics of Calistoga’s mobile home parks will be useful in securing future assistance programs for the seniors who occupy the parks, officials learned at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

Read the complete article here.

See the previous post about the article on this issue (see here).

This event is on August 9, 2014.

Please see information about this here (PDF file)

Interesting article from the Weekly Calistogian (Napa Valley, CA). Read the article here.

To: State Associations of Manufactured Home Owners

From: National Manufactured Home Owners Association (NMHOA)

Below is a great offer for manufactured home owners’ state associations who are members of NMHOA to become part of an even bigger network of manufactured housing advocates. CFED, one of NMHOA’s funders, is offering an unique opportunity for state association members of NMHOA to become lead organizations which will give them access to technical assistance from CFED as well as scholarships to attend CFED events. I encourage all State Association members of NMHOA to contact CFED and become lead organizations.

– Ishbel Dickens, Executive Director, NMHOA.

Lead Organizations

Network membership has two tiers—General Membership and Lead Organization Membership—and often partners with a group of key social ventures, policy advocates and funders. General Membership is open to any individual interested in staying informed or contributing to the national dialogue about manufactured housing as a source of affordable housing. Lead Members include an invitation-only, core team of organizations with a demonstrated commitment to and experience developing manufactured housing solutions that build financial security for homeowners.

Lead Organizations include a core group of organizations with a demonstrated commitment to I’M HOME’s mission. In addition to the benefits accessible to General Members, Lead Organizations may access responsive technical assistance from CFED and other national partners, heightened visibility on the national stage, scholarships to attend CFED events. Lead Members may also influence and shape the direction of the I’M HOME Network through working groups and one-on-one interactions with CFED staff.

Lead Organization Benefits & Opportunities to Contribute

• Access to responsive technical assistance. All Lead Organizations can access responsive phone and email technical assistance on issues such as using CFED’s online resources, locating data, developing communications materials or analyzing policy. In addition, through CFED’s partnership with the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC), Lead Organizations may access direct technical assistance from legal staff at NCLC with extensive experience developing and advocating for state-level manufactured housing policy reform.
• Influence CFED’s programmatic and policy agendas. Lead Organizations are eligible to participate in working groups, such as the monthly Manufactured Housing Policy Partners conference calls, to inform the I’M HOME policy agenda and contribute to strategy development. Other working or learning groups may be developed based on demand from the needs of the Network.
• Priority consideration for partnership opportunities. In every area of the I’M HOME initiative—policy, finance, community preservation and new or affordable development—we often pursue special projects in partnership with practitioners on the ground. As they arise, such opportunities will be reserved for I’M HOME Lead Organizations.
• Be eligible for scholarships to attend I’M HOME events. Lead Organizations are eligible for special pricing and to apply for scholarships or stipends to attend in-person events such as the annual I’M HOME Conference. Scholarship availability will depend on
• Connect with other Lead Organizations by participating in a Lead Members listserv. Lead Organizations can ask questions of peers, suggest working group ideas and share information on the listserv.

What is required of Lead Organizations?

The only requirement of Lead Members is that they submit a brief annual summary of their manufactured housing-related activities to help shape I’M HOME’s understanding of the field and the contributions to its development made by key network members. On a case-by-case basis, we also expect Lead Organizations to respond to requests from other Network Members or National Partners for peer advice or insight from the field.

There is no cost associated with Lead Organization Membership.

How do Lead Organizations join the Network?

Periodically, organizations will be invited to join as Lead Members by CFED’s I’M HOME team and asked to complete a summary of their activity over the past year.

How long is the membership term? How does a Lead Organization renew?

Organizations commit to joining as Lead Members for one year. At the end of that term, Lead Members will be invited to renew by submitting a brief update about their activity over the past year.

Questions? Contact CFED’s I’M HOME Team at imhome@cfed.org.

The current OSTA Review, the quarterly newsletter of Manufactured Housing/OSTA, is attached to keep you aware of Oregon’s work to help residents of manufactured/mobile home parks by keeping them informed of their rights and connecting them to statewide support services.

Read the newsletter by clicking OSTA Review Summer 2014 (pdf).

From an article in the Arizona Daily Star:

If unsafe and unsanitary trailers were condemned, if salvageable trailers were renovated, if park owners had an incentive to maintain their premises, trailer parks could become a lifeline for thousands of the area’s poorest residents, advocates say.

But that area’s shortage of affordable housing gets in the way of all those possibilities.

Read the entire article by clicking here.

An interesting article about investments in manufactured housing parks. from the “Rooflines’ folks.

“In recent weeks, a number of major publications have published articles about manufactured housing communities as investments for wealthy people. To summarize them in a sentence: manufactured home communities (also known as mobile home parks) present investment opportunities and the benefits of the investment go to the owner.”

Read the article by clicking here.

Each year since 2005, I’M HOME has convened a range of audiences interested in applying manufactured housing solutions to affordable housing challenges to network, learn and share best practices with one another. In 2014, we look forward to accommodating the growing audience of stakeholders seeking to connect with others on these issues by making registration open to the public and offering a wider range of content through concurrent sessions.

Get all the information by clicking this link.

Homeowners in Oregon’s manufactured housing communities secured a big win this legislative session when they celebrated passage of HB 4038 – allowing them an opportunity to compete to purchase their community as a resident-owned cooperative. The legislation also extends the opportunity to purchase to nonprofit organizations and local housing authorities.

Full information: click this link to read the article .