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General Info, Laws & News, Production

Ikea & Pre-Fab Homes

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Today we read a great an article unveiling the “BoKlok” homes that are being built by Ikea.

“Mention Ikea and most people will think of smart, stylish, and affordable furniture. The news that the company actually makes entire houses – and for over ten years now – will come as a shock to many. Since 1996, Ikea and its partner Skanska have been quietly experimenting with the idea of building affordable houses on factory floors. These houses, known as BoKlok – Swedish for “smart living”, are now available in five countries: Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, and the UK.

Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of Ikea, had been mulling over the idea of building homes for a while when, in 1996, he sensed the right time had come, according to the company. The real estate market in Sweden, Ikea’s home country, was prohibitively expensive for many families. Demand exceeded supply in the residential property sector. More importantly, small households that compromise one to three people were, and still are, under-served by the existing market. In Stockholm, more than 85 percent of households were considered “small” in 2008 while 75 percent of the countryside fell in the same category…

When the BoKlok project began, the prefabricated homes were sold at specific Ikea stores. Currently, owners are chosen through a lottery system. “Interest in our apartments has been so great that, rather than operate a waiting list, we distribute apartments through the drawing of lots,” according to Ikea. While the concept remains the same, the design of the houses has been adjusted to the tastes of their target countries. What is best selling in Sweden doesn’t necessarily translate in the Danish, Norwegian, Finnish and UK markets.

In Sweden, Ikea offers three types of BoKlok homes – multiple family houses, apartments, and has recently added villas to its line. They all have high ceilings and extra large windows to allow in maximum light. Most are fitted with oak floors, tiled bathrooms, and Ikea kitchens. The villas come with maximum adaptability to customers’ tastes while the other two types have limitations. The homes are built in modules and then delivered to their final site.  Assembly, done by Ikea itself, takes a short time – just a day to install a six apartment building. “By the time the evening falls, the roof is on and the building is completely watertight,” according to the company. ”

Read the entire article HERE

March 19, 2009 · Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , ,

General Info, Laws & News, Production, Uncategorized

CertifiedGreen Modular Home Program™

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CertifiedGreen Modular Home Program™ Guide, by NMHC and SBRA*

The National Modular Housing Council (NMHC) has introduced a dynamic new program called the CertifiedGreen Modular Home Program™,created by the NMHC in cooperation with the Systems Building Research Alliance (SBRA). This program was created to draw attention to the inherently green nature of factory building: the efficient way that modular homes are constructed, the use and reuse of materials and the general conservation of resources that are hallmarks of modular construction.

CertifiedGreen™ is a national program for new homes that qualify in compliance with the National Green Building Standard recently accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).The standard was developed by a housing industry consensus committee representing architects, site and factory built home builders, environmental experts and building product manufacturers formed by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the International Code Council (ICC) to draft the actual standards documentation. The CertifiedGreen™ program was designed by and for the benefit of the modular industry, expressly to meet the needs of modular home builders constructing green homes.

According to the Manufactured Housing Institute, “With the National Green Building Standard as the program’s technical basis, CertifiedGreen™ homes meet a widely recognized benchmark for green building.”

The Program Guide contains additional information on what is required for participation in the program.

National Green Building Standard™, by ICC and NAHB (New Standard to be in stock beginning of March 2009)

A collaborative effort between the ICC and NAHB, the Standard provides the “green” practices that can be incorporated into new homes, including high-rise multifamily buildings, home remodeling and additions, hotels and motels, and the site upon which the green homes are located.

The green practices include lot design, preparation and development; resource, energy, and water efficiency; indoor environmental quality; and operation; maintenance; and building owner education. The four threshold levels, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Emerald provide builders with a means to achieve basic, entry-level green building, or achieve the highest level of sustainable “green” building that incorporates energy savings of 60 percent or higher. The Standard can be used by any builder for their individual projects, or be the basis for a local community or state green building program.

*Information on CertifiedGreen Modular Home Program™ was obtained from the Manufactured Housing Institute.

March 13, 2009 · Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

General Info, Laws & News

California’s Fleetwood Enterprises files Chapter 11

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(03-10) 14:20 PDT Riverside, Calif. (AP) –

“RV and manufactured housing builder Fleetwood Enterprises Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Tuesday, citing unprecedented credit restrictions affecting dealers and customers following three years of restructuring as market conditions worsened.

The Riverside-based company said its motor home and manufactured housing business will continue to operate while it seeks buyers for those business units, but it will close its travel trailer division.

The division accounted for losses of $65.3 million in 2007 and $16.8 million in 2008. The closing affects three manufacturing facilities and two service facilities employing about 675 people. The company is also laying off an additional 65 corporate associates.

“Although we made substantial progress in restructuring this division and improved the product offering, current market conditions proved too severe to continue the turnaround,” Elden L. Smith, Fleetwood’s president and chief executive officer, said in a press release.

Fleetwood, which employs more than 3,000 people in 15 plants in 10 states, filed petitions in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Riverside for itself and certain operating subsidiaries, but not any of its foreign or non-operating entities.”

Read the Full ArticleLINK

March 11, 2009 · Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Finance and Refinance, General Info, Laws & News, Production, Uncategorized

Lending Fraud Hurts Consumers

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In the world today, fraud in lending comes as no surprise to most Americans who read their daily newspaper or turn on the TV to catch the news. Unfortunately, fraudulent business practices have become a commonplace occurrence in corporate America.  Luckily there are several entities, both private & federal, that have stepped up in an attempt to minimize these crooked business practices & protect consumers from such underhandedness.

One of these organizations, called MARI or the Mortgage Asset Research Institute, Inc., has aligned itself with the manufactured housing industry. From an article entitled “Stamping Out Lending Fraud”, published by Modern Homes Magazine, the writer, Ann Parman, explains that “Recently, the Manufactured Housing Institute entered into an agreement with MARI with the goal of reducing the incidence of fraud in manufactured home loan transactions. Hopefully, the end result will be fewer loan defaults and, as a result, better loan terms for consumers. Higher defaults cost lenders more money, and that gets passed on in higher rates to consumers. In addition, the industry’s participation in MARI can help prevent consumers from obtaining loans that are too large for their budgets or for the homes they purchase, and therefore, increase their ability to build home equity.”

Essentially, MARI is an information service provider that collects reports of possible incidents of fradulent activities in the mortgage service industry MARI’s database collects & maintains two types of reports:

“1) non-public incidents of alleged fraud, material misrepresentations and other serious misconduct;
and

2) public sanctions against professionals and companies involved in the mortgage and financial services industries.”

The Manufactured Housing Institute has also created a Lender Best Practices (LBP) program, where participation in the MARI organization is mandatory. The article reports, “The members of the LBP Steering Committee felt it was important for industry lenders to become more diligent in both the detection and reporting of fraud,” said Don Scarmuzzi of DFS Consulting LLC who assisted in putting the LBP and MARI programs together.

If it wasn’t for organizations like MHI and MARI, the missteps of the past may have never been brought to attention , creating great strides towards corrections of these wrongdoings that only hurt consumers, in the end.

For more information on these organizations, please read the full article at:

http://www.manufacturedhousing.org/mhomes/images/lendingfraud.pdf

March 6, 2009 · Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , ,

Finance and Refinance, General Info, Production, Uncategorized

The Advantages of Manufactured Housing

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manufactured-home

According to the Manufactured Housing Institute, the following are unique advantages to Manufactured Home or Mobile Home Ownership:

Cost-Effective:

Depending on the region of the country, construction cost per square foot for a new manufactured home averages 10 to 35 percent less than costs for a comparable site-built home.

Built for Quality:

All aspects of the construction process are controlled.

The weather does not interfere with construction and cause delays.

All technicians, craftsmen and assemblers work as a team and are professionally supervised.

Amenities:

Floor plans are available that range from basic to elaborate. These include vaulted or tray ceilings, fully-equipped kitchens, walk-in closets, and bathrooms with recessed tubs and whirlpools.

A variety of exterior siding is available, including metallic, vinyl, wood, or hardboard. In some cases, homebuyers can also opt for stucco exteriors.

Safety:

Manufactured homes are among the safest housing choices available today due to federal laws requiring smoke detectors, escape windows, and limited combustible materials around furnaces, water heaters and kitchen ranges.

More Information can be found at http://www.manufacturedhousing.org/media_center/quick_facts/advantages.htm

March 5, 2009 · Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

Finance and Refinance, Laws & News, Production

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

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Here’s an interesting article published by MHI (the Manufactured Housing Institute) on how the new American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 will affect Manufactured Housing:

“On February 17, 2009 President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 into law. Key provisions advocated by the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) and its affiliates the National Modular Housing Council (NMHC) and National Communities Council (NCC) were included in the final economic stimulus package. In particular, the law authorizes a tax credit of up to $8,000 for qualified first-time home buyers purchasing a principal residence on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009.”

“Does this tax credit apply to manufactured and modular homes? Any home that will be used as a principal residence will qualify for the credit including manufactured homes, modular homes, site-built homes, even houseboats!
This also includes homes placed on private land or in a land-lease  Community, a condominium, or a cooperative.Mobile Homes financed using a personal property loan are eligible.”

Read more of the original article via MHI at:

http://www.manufacturedhousing.org/admin/template/brochures/721temp.pdf

March 3, 2009 · Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Finance and Refinance, Production

Q & A with The Institute for Building Technology & Safety

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Q: How can I tell if my home is a modular or manufactured home?

A: Manufactured homes are built as single-family dwellings with units of at least 320 square feet on a permanent chassis to ensure the initial and continued transportability of the home. All transportable sections of manufactured homes built in the U.S. after June 15, 1976 contain a Certification Label and a Data Plate. This documentation ensures that the home was built to the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards. Most states have a state certification label for modular homes. Click here for more information about modular homes.

Q: Whom do I contact if something is wrong with my manufactured home?

A: Start by contacting your retailer; be sure to put the complaint in writing. Document all conversations and save copies of any letters or documents you exchange. The next step is to contact the manufacturer. If you are still dissatisfied with their response 38 States participate with HUD in a State and Federal partnership to regulate and enforce the Federal manufactured housing program in their state. Their involvement depends on the serious nature of the issue. Click here to find the contact for your state.

Q: How can I find out where and when my manufactured home was built?

A: Your home has a data plate that includes the date of manufacture, name and address of the manufacturing plant, manufacturer’s serial number and model, a list of certification labels applied to the home, major equipment, roof load, heating/cooling and wind zone information. Also included is the Design Approved Primary Inspection Agency.

The label is the manufacturer’s certification that the home is built in accordance with HUD’s construction and safety standards. The Data Plate includes information concerning the manufacture, components and intended location of the home. HUD standards cover Body and Frame Requirements, Thermal Protection, Plumbing, Electrical, Fire Safety, and other aspects of the home. They are published in the Code of Federal Regulations (24 CFR part 3280, Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards).

Find More Q & A with IBTS, go here: Link

March 2, 2009 · Tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,

Finance and Refinance, Production

What is a Manufactured Home?

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What is a Manufactured Home?

According to HUD, or the U.S. Department of Housing&Urban Development:

“A manufactured home (formerly known as a mobile home) is built to the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards (HUD Code) and displays a red certification label on the exterior of each transportable section. Manufactured homes are built in the controlled environment of a manufacturing plant and are transported in one or more sections on a permanent chassis.”

What is the difference between manufactured and modular homes?

“Manufactured homes are constructed according to a code administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD Code). The HUD Code, unlike conventional building codes, requires manufactured homes to be constructed on a permanent chassis. Modular homes are constructed to the same state, local or regional building codes as site-built homes. Other types of systems-built homes include panelized wall systems, log homes, structural insulated panels, and insulating concrete forms.”

More Info on HUD Definitions can be found at the HUD Website at http://www.hud.gov/

March 2, 2009 · Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , ,

Finance and Refinance, Production, Uncategorized

5 Ways to Boost Your Credit Score from Business Pundit

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Here’s an informative article found on Business Pundit’s blog at http://www.businesspundit.com/5-ways-to-boost-your-credit-score/

1. Use credit cards. No credit history is just as bad as a horrible credit history. If credit cards make you nervous, only use yours to pay off a monthly bill, or when you go out to eat. Manageable debt is better than not having a credit score at all.

2. Keep your balances small to nonexistent. Don’t max out your cards unless you can pay them back down quickly. Use half or less of the full balance on each card when you make purchases. Keeping balances near the maximum will negatively affect your credit score.

3. Avoid late payments. Serial late payments can trash your credit score. Pay down the minimum amount each month, if not more. (Note: Many credit card companies will wipe your first late payment off your records if you say it was an accident. After that, you’re on your own.)

4. Avoid acquiring too many credit cards. Not only does this complicate your debt life, but it reflects badly on your credit score. There’s no ideal number of credit cards, but try to keep it below six (including store cards).

5. Do not open more than one credit card at a time (this lowers your accounts’ average age), or close too many credit cards (resulting in less credit available). Both actions reflect poorly on your credit rating.

Honorable mention: Don’t declare bankruptcy–it will ruin your credit for up to a decade.

March 2, 2009 · Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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