Dodge City

[Chet]

El Guapo pointed me to a web forum called "Dodge City Talks" while Cyburbia was down. I ran into an intersting thread:

http://www.dodgecitytalk.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=499

Thrust of the discussion was on the "new" building standards in Dodge - look what's allowed folks!

ATTN: Mike Gurnee - - - > WTF!

 

[mike gurnee]

Inspections says, "It is a work in progress".

 

[donk]

I wish our mobile home parks looked that good. i really need to find the digital pictures to share with all of you. Maybe next week when I need to get out of the office...

 

[Cardinal]

Yeah, pretty amazing to see a mobile home development with concrete aprons and walks, and curb and gutter on the street. Fugly none the less, but nicely done.

 

[El Feo]

You're not gonna believe me...

but this house is in a "mobile home park" just off the BW Parkway in Maryland. The homes are HUD Code manufactured homes, NOT modular (how many of you knew they made two-story trailers?). There are a variety of designs, and the last I heard they sell for around $120,000 and up, and lot rents are about $400 per month. I have examples of plenty more developments like this from my former life at the industry's trade association...I'm still very much an advocate for how great these homes CAN look, given proper aesthetic standards, and how affordable they can be especially in very expensive or tight housing markets.

They don't all have to be fugly single-wides on former commercial hog farms.

 

[Chet]

Awesome EF! I'd love to get my hands on some of that literature - do you have a URL to share?

 

[donk]

From the image and description El Feo provides this looks like it is one of the "land lease communities" the industry is promoting.

Some interesting stats the industry floats here - 80% of the structures are not moved once installed. People just sell the buildings in place and the new owner takes over the lease.

Most parks in our area now only accept homes from a single manufacturer and they must be brand new / fresh from the factory to be accepted.

This
story is an interesting problem related to the of mobility of the structures and what happens when the land they sit on is actually worth more then the buildings. It is intersting because people were including the value of the land in the sale price of their unit.

 

[El Feo]

More stats, and some urls

Donk is right about the "mobility" of the homes now, but the figure I've seen is actually higher - close to 90% of the homes remain in place once sited. This is due in part to the fact that even single-section homes are much more complex than they used to be, and "uninstalling" and moving a home can cost in excess of $20,000 for even MORE complex multi-sections.

A few more nationwide stats:

70% of new homes are multi-section, 30% single-section. This is the reverse of just 15 years ago.

Per square foot cost of structure only (land, site prep, etc. is much the same as for site-built, of course) is $30.90 on average ($32.15 for multi-sections only) v. $71.66 for site built homes.

HUD Code homes account for about 20% of housing starts nationally (about 25% of single-family detached starts)

Some urls you might want to check out:

New Colony Village (the house above is located there) www.newcolonyvillage.com.

Manufactured Housing Institute www.manufacturedhousing.org/default.asp. Check out the Developer Resources and Techinical Resources pages in particular.

Mills of Carthage (a new brownfields development in Cincy using HUD Code and modular homes) www.millsofcarthage.com. There is an upcoming development seminar in Cincy with tours and case studies focusing on this one. Donk - at MHI's website, check out the profile of Lido Peninsula Resort. It's a park that was facing closure about 10 years ago because of rising land costs, until the owners decided to upgrade the homes and redesign the whole kit and kaboodle. Old residents remain in place, with homes changing on turnover, but the developer has incentives to encourage "home upgrades" for the older existing homeowners. Now new homes there sell for $300,000+, and lots rent for $2500+ per month. Only in California...

 

[Cardinal]

Wick Homes, in Mazomanie, WI manufactures homes similar to the one El Feo showed. As I thought on it, I guess I tend to call the single-wides and double-wides "mobile homes" while I call the nicer ones "manufactured housing." I suppose the industry experts would tell me I'm using the terminology wrong, but that is how i differentiate between them.

I am also an advocate of manufactured housing in some instances, particularly on difficult sites, and I think it has excellent potential for making good homes more afforably.

The land lease developments are very problematic from a city perspective, depending on how the land is taxed. A few of these developments have occurred in Illinois, where these "mobile home parks" are taxed at a lower rate than a typical single-family subdivision. This can cause problems related to cost of services, etc.

 

[El Feo]

Wick Homes

Michael, Wick builds some great houses, and Jeff Wick, the company president, is one of the more forward thinking manufacturers in the industry. They build both HUD Code and modular homes.

While still in the industry I was a bit touchier about the terminology, and from a strictly legal perspective you've got to be extremely careful about how the terms are used in your ordinances. Futhermore, step VERY carefully if you allow modular homes built to the state code in a district, but exclude HUD code "mobile" homes. Changes to the federal law in 2000 clarified the preemptive nature of the HUD building code, and greatly strengthened the industry's argument that local governments can't zone HUD code homes out where modulars are allowed.

Let's face it, compatibility is one of the big issues - so aesthetic standards that ensure the units blend well with older existing homes is the way to go, IMHO. As for taxes, about 65% of these homes are placed on permanent foundations, financed with a traditional mortgage, and sold fee simple. The University of Michigan and the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies (along with a couple others) have both shown that even homes in a well-located, attractive land-lease community will appreciate, albeit at a lower rate than real property, and that manufactured housing does not adversely impact property values. Any local government that fails to tax them as real property when they can (and where state law doesn't forbid it - IL and MI are examples of THAT) is being short-sighted and cutting themselves out of thousands in revenue.

 

[donk]

In our area, part of what makes these homes appealing is that in many cases they are not sold with a standard mortgage. (bank) Instead the manufacturer holds the mortgage and the unit is purchased as one would an appliance from a department store credit department. What this does is increases the short term affordability (less down payment required, no mortgage insurance) but increases the long term unaffordability due to high interest charges.

The most expensive modular home I have seen is located on the Niagara escarpment just north of Toronto. Think 4 stories, walk out basement full view of TO from 60 miles out. The lot alone probably cost 175 000.

In the middle we have the new "mini-home" standard. 14 feet wide (thats the widest a trailer can be) placed on site with a crane. Built to the National Building Code. One in our area
has been built on one of the nicest properties around, in terms of view and access to the river. i don't understand why they did not build a "real house" or modular to take better advantage of the setting. (ie windows and access to rear yard/river)

At the other end of the scale, in our district we have the homes in the trailer parks. Tornado/fire traps, aluminum wiring, 12 feet wide, chassis for towing, 4 inch wall, no insulation can smell the bologna frying a mile away...