For the first time, political parties will hold early election-year caucuses in Nevada, giving state residents an unprecedented opportunity to influence the selection of the next President of the United States. On January 19, voters registered with both major parties will gather in schools, community centers and other public places to select their party nominees. Groups such as AARP are holding town hall meetings across the state and, in cooperation with the Nevada Broadcasters’ Association, are running TV and radio ads to inform voters on how to make their voices heard.
New Joint Compound Plant
New Las Vegas Joint Compound Plant
Certain Teed Gypsum, a subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, has announced plans to build a state-of-the-art 100,000 sq. ft. plant in Las Vegas, Nevada for the manufacture of ready-mix joint compounds, setting type joint compounds and powdered textures. “Our customers in the Southwest have asked us for a full interior finishing system consisting of Pro-Roc branded gypsum board, joint treatments and tapes,” says Geroge Wattman, General Manager of Certain Teed.
Legislative Report
Legislative Report by Susan Fisher
There is bad news, good news and more good news. The bad news: The Governor has called for 8 percent across the board budget cuts in nearly every State agency. The good news is that the Department of Business and Industry that oversees the Manufactured Housing Division will not see any lay-offs at this time. The agency is able to absorb the 8% cuts by various departments working together.
More good news: The hiring of a new manufactured housing inspector for the Elko area to relieve the backlog was in the works prior to the Governor’s announced hiring freeze, therefore it is not affected. That hiring is still in the long slow process.
News too early to call: The Director of he Department of Business and Industry is till looking at various strategies and options with regard to the open MH Division director position. The foreclosure issues are taking up a lot of time that the Director could use to deal with MH issues. The short story is that the State does not plan to provide a bail out because it would put the State’s bond rating at risk.
Elections: There are 10 Senate seats up at this time; John Lee, Valerie Wiener, Stephen Horsford, Joe Heck, Bob Beers, Dina Titus, Mike Schneider, Dean Rhoads, Mike McGinness and Bill Raggio. The only race with a known opponent is Mike Schneider who is being challenged by Battista Locatelli, a restaurant owner.
All 42 Assembly seats are up for reelection and some will be up for grabs as the incumbents are not seeking re-election, such as Garn Mabey, Valerie Weber and Rosemary Womack.
Senate Majority Leader, Bill Raggio, has not ruled out seeking election to what will be his 18th term,; the longest Senate service in Nevada history.
Freddie Mac Fees
FREDDIE MAC’s NEW “DELIVERY FEE”
MHI and your state association are vigorously opposing Freddie Mac’s recent announcement that, as of March 1, 2008 it will be charging an additional “delivery fee” to lenders to purchase manufactured home mortgages of 50 basis points (bps) (or 0.5 percent of the loan balance). This delivery fee will be added to the current 50 bps penalty they already charge for manufactured home mortgages in addition to the recently announced 25 bps charge for all mortgages—bringing the total to 125 basis points. To make matters worse, the new announcement also adds yet another 50 bps penalty for mortgages scored “A-minus” or lower by Freddie Mac (this includes the vast majority of manufactured home mortgages)—bringing the total penalty for most manufactured housing loans to 175 basis points (or 1.75 percent of the loan balance). This will dramatically impact the affordability for manufactured homes secured by real estate. We believe this action is an unjustified reaction to the sub-prime mortgage meltdown which has dramatically affected Freddie Mac’s profitability. While Freddie Mac cites the “deteriorating performance of higher-risk mortgage products” as justification for their actions, that statement contradicts statements made in recent months about improvement in manufactured home loan performance. Fannie Mae has not signaled its intent to match Freddie Mac’s actions.
Quarterly Economic Report
MH Quarterly Economic Report
Shipments of HUD Code homes down 20%
The seasonally adjusted annual rate of shipments was 92,900 in October. Year-to-date shipments are down 20.2 percent, compared to 2006. Shipments were up in 19 states, flat in 12 states and down in 18 states. Total floors shipped in October were 15,790, number of plants 199 and number of corporations 65. Year to date through October 2007, shipments for Idaho were down 21.7 percent, down 29.5% in Utah and down 55.9% in Nevada. Neighboring western states were as follows: California -35.1%, Washington -15.4%, Oregon- 24.4%, Arizona -37.9%, with Montana up 40.5%.
Shipments of modular homes totaled 8400 in the third quarter, a decrease of 16% from 2006. The four states experiencing shipment growth were Maryland, Tennessee, Iowa and Illinois. Modular continues to gain market share on a national basis.
News From Other States
WASHINGTON - The Washington Supreme Court denied Manufactured Housing Communities of Washington’s (MHCW) petition for review. The rental agreement form case is now back in Kang County Superior Court for a trial on the remaining Consumer Protection Act elements such as public interest, causation, damages. The Holiday Resort tenants, represented by Columbia Legal Services, are trying to broaden the plaintiff in the case to all tenants affected by month-to-month reversion language in MHCW’s one-year rental agreement. MHCW is defending the lawsuit with the additional position that the language in the Mobiel Home Landlord-Tenant Act requiring a one-year rental agreement is an unconstitutional taking of the community owner’s rights. ARIZONA - The Manufactured Housing Industry of Arizona informed its members that its board of directors decided to change the name of the association to the Arizona Housing Association (AHA) in order to reflect what the industry has become and where it is headed in the future. The name change reflects that none of the group’s manufacturer members include the term “manufactured” in their company name. OKLAHOMA – Oklahoma’s Executive Director, Deanna Fields and two board members participated in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Severe Weather Research Roundtable. Discussions included: Sensationalism prompted by the “crawler” on the bottom of the TV screen and echoed by local weathermen because that is what NOAA gives them to say, which gives a false impression that other dwellings are safer than factory-built housing; Concerns thaqt NOAA always argues that deaths are higher in “mobile” homes when some of the deaths were people taking refuse in a ditch and killed by debris; and Use of the Reverse 911 on cell phones and how it needs to universal. LOUISIANA – Rebuilding efforts continue to change neighborhoods as more modular homes pop up in New Orleans, with 20 modular homebuilders in the area. “Until the rebuilding effort took hold, modular housing did not have a presence in the south-central part of the United States,” says Thad Thayer of the National Modular Home Council. This has been a new phenomenon; the enlisting of builders working with them to use modular construction. MISSISSIPPI – The Circuit Court for Harrison County, Mississippi found in favor of modular homebuyers in a deed restriction case that prevented the construction of a modular home in a subdivision. The Court found that: (1) “there is no evidence of how a conditional use permit to all Appellant’s modular home to be built in the Deerwood Subdivision would be detrimental to the neighborhood” and (2) “that Appellant’s modular home was to be built the same way as a stick built house with conventional methods of construction, thereby, meeting the standards set forth in the covenants.”
