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Affordable living is made easy with Aiken Housing Center, a local dealership for modular and manufactured housing since 1984.

Scott Brinson, owner of the business since 1999, stresses his teams ability to facilitate the entire construction process from A to Z.

We do the whole thing, Brinson said. You pay us one time, we take care of everything. We turn the key.

Aiken Housing Center coordinates and oversees all aspects of home construction, including financing, utility connections and land preparation to provide a streamlined experience for customers. The company sells over 200 houses a year, with features like finished sheetrock, 9-foot ceilings, hardwood cabinets and plywood floors.

Its not your grandpas single wide anymore, Brinson said.

In 2024, Aiken Housing Center is celebrating 40 years of reliable community service.

We have been here for 40 years, and were locally owned, said Jeremy Jones, Aiken Housing Center's marketing director. People need to know that these [houses] are available by a trusted business.

Modular and manufactured homes are constructed differently than wooden, stick-built homes, which are constructed primarily on-site. Instead, modular and manufactured homes are constructed off-site in a factory and are then transported to their final location.

Theres a stigma about manufactured and mobile homes, Jones said. But all these homes are built with the same materials as a home thats built on-site.

See the original post:
Back to Business: Aiken Housing Center offers affordable housing options - The Post and Courier

Every May, thousands of horse-racing fans head to Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby. In January, thousands of builders and bankers head to a massive venue across the street from the racetrack the Kentucky Exposition Center to talk houses rather than horses at the Louisville Manufactured Housing Show.

This years iteration of the marquee U.S. event for companies that build homes in factories, then assemble them on site was a coming-out party for ECN Capital Corp., which lends to home buyers. The Toronto-based company spent the past year repositioning itself as a champion of affordable housing by striking a partnership in September with Skyline Champion Corp. that saw the Troy, Mich.-based home builder, invest $185-million in ECN in return for a 19.8-per-cent ownership stake.

Manufactured homes can be part of the solution to housing crisis, said Steven Hudson, ECN chief executive officer, in an interview from the Louisville show. He said recent changes to Canadian and U.S. regulations, including President Joe Bidens 2022 housing supply action plan, are making it easier for customers to borrow money for manufactured homes.

The Louisville show, which drew representatives of over 1,000 companies, showcased an industry that has gone from making down-market trailers to building multi-floor houses that would blend into any suburban neighbourhood. There are 22 million Americans living in manufactured homes, according to Skylines data.

Asset managers Blackstone Inc. and Carlyle Group Inc. are backing ECNs expansion plans by acquiring the bulk of the loans made by the Canadian company, which earns a fee for originating and servicing the debt. In August, Blackstone committed $1.14-billion to buying manufactured housing loans from ECNs Triad Financial Services division.

Institutions are investing in this corner of the credit market in part because default rates remain low despite interest-rate hikes over the past year, Mr. Hudson said: Our customers buy homes that they can afford.

Editorial Board: In praise of cookie-cutter housing design

Triad has been lending to home buyers since 1959. ECN acquired the company in 2017 for $125-million. As part of the parent companys strategic shift, Toronto Stock Exchange-listed ECN is changing its name to Triad Financial Services Corp.

ECNs new partner, Skyline, is North Americas second-largest manufactured home producer, behind Berkshire Hathaway Inc.-owned Clayton Homes. In a recent press release, Skyline CEO Mark Yost said the company invested in ECN to help streamline the homebuying experience for customers.

Rising real estate prices mean 60 per cent of the population can no longer afford a traditional home, according to Skylines research. The company sells roughly half its homes to millennials, and 25 per cent to baby boomers.

Skyline homes cost an average of US$98,000, and buying or leasing a lot will add to that price. The company sold 26,000 homes last year, built at five factories in Western Canada and 42 U.S. plants, and its revenues rose 17 per cent annually over the past five years. It offers homes in Canada under two brands: Moduline and SRI Homes.

Skyline agreed to keep its investment in ECN at the current 19.8-per-cent level for the next two years. In a recent report, analyst Geoffrey Kwan at RBC Capital Markets said bigger picture, we cant help but wonder whether ECN is positioning itself for a potential sale to Skyline.

Along with Triad, ECN owns a division that lends to boat and recreational vehicle buyers. Last September, the company said it plans to exit this business after a strategic review that concluded with the Skyline investment. Mr. Kwan said ECN is expected to sell or spin off the boat and RV lender in the first quarter of this year.

ECNs focus on manufactured home loans comes after the company sold two lending business in the past three years Service Finance Holdings and Kessler Group for a total of US$2.2-billion. ECN used half the proceeds to pay its shareholders a $1-billion special dividend.

Mr. Hudson spun out ECN from Element Fleet Management Corp. in 2016 now one of the worlds largest vehicle finance companies. Mr. Hudson also launched Newcourt Credit Group in 1984, and sold the company 15 years later to CIT Group for $2.4-billion.

Editors note: A previous version of this article incorrectly referred to Steven Hudson as Elements founder. He was the companys CEO. Element was founded by Stephen Sands. This version has been updated.

Continued here:
ECN Capital finds new backer for manufactured homes business - The Globe and Mail

Image credit: stanzi11onistock.com

Its actually the fact that we sort of stuck the poor away in these places that makes them vulnerable, Andrew Rumbach, a senior fellow at theUrban Institute, told Fast Company about mobile home parks.

A record number of about 20 million Americans currently live in mobile homes, according to NPR. The prefabricated structures have become popular living spaces in recent years due largely to their relative affordability during the ongoing housing crisis. Such homes can help solve both the housing and climate crisis, according to the Fast Company story.

But as Rumbach said, mobile home residents face risks that have less to do with their actual housing and more to do with where they are parked: many mobile home parks are located squarely in flood plains or other areas susceptible to extreme weather events, places where wealthier residents refuse to build homes. And though the name might suggest that residents can easily pick up and move, these manufactured homes are actually not very mobile at all.

Despite their locations, mobile home parks are primed to be a force for change in the face of the climate crisis. For mobile homes to endure the impacts of climate changeand in order for owners to do their part to combat itthey need to organize.

Modular home construction has existed in some form for over a century. A hundred years ago, a potential homeowner could have ordered a house kit from the Sears Roebuck catalog. Over the years, the mobile home has acquired a less desirable reputation, a stigma that the homes are cheaply made or associated with poverty. One current mobile home resident said on TikTok, as reported by Apartment Therapy: I feel like trailers are slept on, and they are judged.

That reputation is shifting. Home affordability faces its worst level since at least 1989, according to CNBC, due to high mortgage rates, slim housing inventory, and incomes that have failed to keep pace with skyrocketing home prices. In 2023, the median family was already $9,000 short in August of the income needed to buy the median existing home, CNBC reported, and the recent surge in rates since has moved another five million U.S. families below the qualification standard for a $400,000 loan. When mortgage rates were at 3 percent, 50 million households could get a loan that size. Now, less than half that number of households can.

For some families, the mobile home is a viable solution. Manufactured housing is the Ugly Duckling of affordable housing, according to the Niskanen Center, which describes the mobile home as a grievously underutilized, deeply affordable housing resource. As the Niskanen Center wrote, Todays manufactured homes are not your grandmas vacation trailer or 1970s-era mobile home.

Tobe truly responsive to the changing climate, mobile home owners need the power to own their land.

Instead, contemporary manufactured homes are regulated under a strict code from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Indoor construction means the materials of the home are not exposed to outdoor elements until completion, allowing builders to work more efficiently. And the average construction cost of a manufactured home is just $90,000.

Those savings are passed onto the consumer, expanding the potential for home ownership. In November 2022, theUS Census Bureau reported that the average sale price of a new manufactured home in the United States was $125,200. Meanwhile, the average price of a traditional family home that same year was nearly three times as expensive at $348,000.

More than traditional homes, newer mobile homes also have the potential to be built with more sustainable materials and, because their locations can be flexible, to incorporate environmental considerations in their site designs. But to fulfill this potential and be truly responsive to the changing climate, mobile home owners need the power to own their land.

Mobile home parks have their own infrastructure, from water and sewer lines to electricity and gas to tree removal (or planting). The owner of the park controls the infrastructure. As Fast Company wrote, In other types of housing, such as apartments or single family homes, a municipality is usually in charge of providing electricity, water, sewage, and tree maintenance. But in mobile home parks, residents are reliant on owners to provide those services.

In worst-case scenarios, this can lead to delays in services or disputes. Residents of one mobile home park outside of Dayton, OH, dealt with intermittent water service for years. Research has shown that residents of mobile home parks nationally are more than three times as likely to experience water outages than residents of traditional houses.

More and more, mobile home owners are taking their infrastructure into their own hands. They are working with their neighbors to buy the land their homes are positioned on, to form resident-owned cooperatives, or ROCS.

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NPQ reported in 2017 about the emergence of these co-ops, which at the time were relatively modest in number: about 11 in the state of Vermont, for example, which contained 214 parks that year. You may own your own home, but a good third of the nine million households that own manufactured homes do not own the land underneath, NPQ wrote.

In the years since ROCs have surged. Nonprofits likeROC USAprovide mobile home communities with the tools to organize, including loans, grants, and other help as needed. The Washington, DC-based nonprofit has worked with more than 300 mobile home co-ops nationwideand none have defaulted or closed. The members of one ROC near Seattle, WA, worked together to secure a loan and buy the park their homes were located in once they learned the owner planned to sell.

And when mobile home residents own land, they have the power to not only make sure the water stays on, but to improve the infrastructure of their communities. Everybody thought, You know what?.Im going to make this place the best that I can, GadielGalvez, who is 22 and a co-op board member of the park outside Seattle, told the AP. Some people painted their homes, some people remodeled their interiors and exteriors, and some are working on their roofs.

ROCs are also adding renewables like solar power. Mobile homes can use heat pumps instead of the propane or natural gas that older, larger homes require. New mobile homes can also be built with sustainable materials. Such changes improve the energy efficiency of mobile homes and can help keep them safe in a changing world.

During the height of the pandemic, the top filer of evictions in Cincinnati, OH, was the owner of a mobile home park.

At present, manufactured homes are more likely to be a climate change issue than a solution. This is particularly true for mobile home parks that are not ROCS. Parks that are not owned by their occupants face increased eviction risk, putting their residents in danger in times of emergencies, from floods to severe cold.

During the height of the pandemic, the top filer of evictions in Cincinnati, OH, was the owner of a mobile home park. As the Ohio Capital Journal reported, land for mobile homes is increasingly in demand for other projects. Park owners may also abruptly alter leases or raise rents. When it comes to evictions, residents have few protections under a patchwork of state laws.

If residents own the land of their mobile home park, they have theopportunity to improve it.

Another group helping mobile home residents organize is Mobile Home Action (MHAction). In Tallahassee, FLan area at high risk from climate change impacts, including hurricanes and floodsMHAction brought mobile home owners and renters together to generate specific action steps in the face of eviction threats, rent increases, and unsafe conditions. I think its important to have [residents] all at the meeting because that way they can all listen to each others stories, build relationships and build power in numbers to fight back, MHActions Florida Community Organizer Nicole Soza told local news channel WCTV.

Mobile home parks, in general, are more likely to be located in climate-risky zonesflood plains, for example. You see a disproportionate amount of mobile homes located in hazardous areas, Rumbach toldFast Company.The demand is being driven by a segment of the housing market thats looking for lower costs. And as a result, you see a lot of manufactured housing being placed into relatively climate-vulnerable places, because that land tends to be a little bit less valuable.

In the severe cold of early January 2024, at least one death occurred in a mobile home when a tree uprooted by the storms fell. Last year, Vermont announced a state program to help the residents of mobile homes whose housing had been destroyed by floods. Meanwhile, as of 2023, mobile home residents in Colorado were still struggling to recover after the floods of a decade earlier.

If residents own the land of their mobile home park, they have the opportunity to improve it: to include sump pumps or graded yards in case of floods to clear dead trees that could fall in a storm or ignite in a wildfire, to guard against poor living conditions, and to take care of each other.

Were hoping to get all these people together, said Caroline Hardy, a Washington State mobile home resident who helped start a new tenants association, so that we can fight.

More here:
How Mobile Home Owners Organize for Land Ownership and Climate Resiliency - Non Profit News - Nonprofit Quarterly

A manufactured home is a structure that:

Manufactured homes do not include caravans or tents.

Manufactured homes are found in various types of residential parks:

Residential parks are managed by a park owner or manager.

A converted caravan is a structure that was designed as a caravan, and is no longer a caravan because of a structural addition or alteration.

A converted caravan is not considered a manufactured home, except when:

You're considered a manufactured home owner for the purposes of the Act if:

View a list ofrecorded manufactured home parks by region.

Manufactured homes in residential parks are legislated by theManufactured Homes (Residential Parks) Act 2003.

You can get free legal assistance andinformation aboutmanufactured homesfrom the Queensland Retirement Village and Park Advice Service.

Operators must be aware of their obligations as penalties apply for non-compliance. Read our information for managing manufactured homes in residential parks.

See more here:
What are manufactured homes? | Homes and housing - Queensland

Home Model Showcases How Off-Site Built Housing Offers an Attainable Solution

ELKHART, Ind., Aug. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A Clayton CrossModhome on display at the RV/MH Hall of Fame is now open to visitors. The home represents a modern housing solution for individuals and families amid the ever growing affordable housing crisis. Clayton, a national home builder, offers beautiful, attainable homes, like the one on display, that feature a variety of unique styles and energy-saving home options.

CrossMod represents a modern home solution for individuals and families amid the ever-growing affordable housing crisis.

The Clayton CrossMod home, along with two other off-site built houses, are part of a new 21,000 square foot Manufactured Home Museum expansion. The new wing is dedicated to showcasing the industry's history and the innovations yet to come. It features interactive displays and the opportunity to tour three off-site built homes.

"CrossMod homes are built off-site like manufactured homes and are an affordable, sustainable solution to today's housing crisis and can be built more efficiently than traditional site-built homes," said Kevin Clayton, CEO. "More consumers, lenders, appraisers, and zoning officials are realizing the benefits of building a home indoors and when visitors walk through this CrossMod home they will see just how indistinguishable it is from any other beautiful, modern house."

The CrossMod home on display is the Hawthornefloor plan. CrossMod homes blend off-site construction methods with on-site features and design to produce an affordable home on a permanent foundation that looks and performs like a site-built house. In addition, CrossMod homes can be financed like a site-built home and appraised using site-built comps. These new homes can help expand zoning opportunities, where manufactured housing has not been previously allowed as a housing solution, mostly due to outdated stigmas. They are an example of how the industry continues innovating the building process to help even more individuals and families achieve the dream of homeownership.

Following the grand opening, Tim Williams, President and CEO of 21st Mortgage, a subsidiary of Clayton, was inducted into the 2022 RV/MH Hall of Fame, which recognizes outstanding careers of those in the industry. Williams has served as CEO since the mortgage company opened for business in 1995.

About Clayton

Founded in 1956, Clayton is committed to opening doors to a better life and building happyness through homeownership. As a diverse builder committed to quality and durability, Clayton offers traditional site-built homes and off-site built housing including modular homes, manufactured homes, CrossMod homes, tiny homes, college dormitories, military barracks and apartments. All Clayton Built homes are proudly designed, engineered and assembled in America. In 2021, Clayton built 60,701 homes across the country. Clayton is a Berkshire Hathaway company. For more information, visit claytonhomes.com.

21st Mortgage Corporation, 620 Market Street, Knoxville, TN 37902, 865-523-2120, NMLS #2280,(http://www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org/)

*CrossMod is a trademark of the Manufactured Housing Institute.

Media Contact:Caitlyn Crosby[emailprotected]

SOURCE Clayton

Link:
Clayton CrossMod Home Displayed at Museum Highlights Manufactured Housing Innovations Over the Years - PR Newswire

BEDFORD, Texas, Aug. 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Legacy Housing Corporation (the "Company or Legacy", NASDAQ: LEGH) is committed to regaining compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250(c)(1), which requires timely filing of all required periodic financial reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As part of that commitment, Legacy provides the following updates:

Duncan Bates, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated: I am excited about the progress our team has made this summer toward regaining NASDAQ compliance and ensuring timely and accurate financial reporting in the future. We have hired several key accounting and internal audit personnel and continue to refine our policies and procedures.

First Half of 2022 Guidance

Legacys team is working diligently to file its Form 10-Q1 and Form 10-Q2 as soon as possible. In the meantime, the Company announces the following unadjusted earnings guidance for the six months ended June 30, 2022:

Curt Hodgson, Executive Chairman of Legacy, added: Despite the accounting distractions, Legacy continues to perform well in a challenging commodity and labor market environment. I look forward to moving past this frustrating chapter and working with Kenny and Duncan to grow the business and create value for our shareholders.

About Legacy Housing Corporation

Legacy builds, sells and finances manufactured homes and "tiny houses" that are distributed through a network of independent retailers and company-owned stores. The Company also sells directly to manufactured housing communities. Legacy is the sixth largest producer of manufactured homes in the United States as ranked by number of homes manufactured based on the information available from the Manufactured Housing Institute. With current operations focused primarily in the southern United States, we offer our customers an array of quality homes ranging in size from approximately 390 to 2,667 square feet consisting of 1 to 5 bedrooms, with 1 to 3 1/2 bathrooms. Our homes range in price, at retail, from approximately $22,000 to $140,000.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. As a result, our actual results or performance may differ materially from anticipated results or performance. Legacy undertakes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements after the date hereof, except as required by law. Investors should not place any reliance on any such forward-looking statements.

Investor Inquiries:Shane Allred, (817) 799-4900investors@legacyhousingcorp.com

or

Investor Inquiries:Duncan Bates, (817) 799-4837duncanbates@legacyhousingcorp.com

Media Inquiries:Kira Hovancik, (817) 799-4905pr@legacyhousingcorp.com

Continued here:
Legacy Housing Corporation Provides Update on Delayed SEC Filings and Guidance for the First Half of 2022 - GlobeNewswire

Why we support Chesa Boudin

EDITOR: A recent study conducted by Amanda Agan of Rutgers University and Anna Harvey of New York University proved that policies like Chesa Boudins, enacted when he was San Francisco District Attorney, actually lower recidivism rates as well as crime rates for the long term. And, the facts show that there was a decrease of 26,000 reported crimes and violent crime was lower during Boudins tenure as DA.

Some of his accomplishments include an end to cash bail, a policy that unfairly penalizes the poor; he brought cases against police officers for abusive behavior and supported laws that eliminated barriers to holding police accountable as well as compensating victims of police brutality; he created worker protection units; dedicated an assistant DA to prosecute hate crimes, and so much more.

The money spent on the recall campaign came from San Francisco billionaires, including William Oberndorf, who donates to extremists like Mitch McConnell and Tom Cotton. They had enough money to fashion the message in a way that would play slight of hand and convince people who should have known better than to vote for the recall. As The Nation magazine article pointed out, at the heart of this reactionary movement is a misdiagnosis of genuine problems. Scapegoating a progressive and effective DA was the perfect target for right-wing operatives and funders. Since they cant win at the ballot box in California, they have embraced the recall process as their strategy. We need to be aware of this larger framework.

Praxis Peace Institute was proud to host Chesa Boudin and to learn more about what he was able to achieve in San Francisco, what powers he was up against, and what a more equitable and empathic district attorneys office could accomplish.

Georgia Kelly of Praxis Peace Institute

Sonoma

EDITOR: I read Marilyn Goodes letter in the Aug 10 edition and was concerned by her attack on Larry Barnett. I attended and spoke at the Design and Historic Review meeting on DeNovas proposal for more single-family housing on Fifth Street West, as well as at both subsequent Planning Commission meetings where they attempted to alter DeNovas development plan to include more low-cost housing, not less.

I wrote letters to the city asking them to clarify the General Plan to avoid these over-priced and over-sized developments. Lots of neighbors showed up at those meetings in support of lower-cost housing.

In fact, what came to surface after months of hand-wringing, letter writing, attorneys fees and an alternative architect paid for by neighbors, was the fact that our city planning staff had failed to prevent this type of development by not altering our General Plan language to state shall instead of should for over three years since the state bill was passed!

I live on the west side of town in an area of both small, single-family, single story homes and apartments, condominium-style communities and manufactured-home parks. We were all seeking lower-priced, smaller homes or apartments for more locals. Almost everyone on the Planning Commission supported that position.

Yet the developer used the new state law to build market-rate housing instead, with the condition he provided a few lower cost units in the plan. It was Larry Barnett who called for an emergency ordinance to the City Council that evening at that last planning meeting to stop further development of this fashion. The attorney actually scoffed at his request, even though City Council members listening in were in support of it.

The two parcels DeNova homes developed for market-rate (over one million dollars) housing were intended for below-market housing, as opportunity sites. But the city couldnt alter DeNovas plans because of the new state law. And, at the last meeting, the Planning Commission even offered DeNova greater density on that corner if they lowered the size and price of each unit. They declined it.

So please, Ms. Goode, unless you have closely followed these local efforts to affect change, its very unkind of you to presume Mr. Barnetts intentions.

Diane Lumiere

Sonoma

Recently, my husband was taken to the ER at Sonoma Valley Hospital by the paramedics. He received excellent care in the emergency room and from there he was taken to a room in the hospital. He stayed there 12 days. The care he received was amazing from the nurses, physical therapists, social worker, the hospitalist Dr. Walther, and all those involved.

Although all those who cared for my husband recommended that he be transferred to a skilled nursing facility, the insurance company denied our request. The help and support we received from the staff to make this happen went above and beyond.

Regardless of their recommendations, my husband was released and sent home. The very next morning, I had to call 911 for an assist to get him up off the floor.

I am so grateful for the professionalism, the kindness and respectful treatment my husband received at SVH.

Nelleke Cooper

Sonoma

Originally posted here:
Letters to the Index-Tribune editor, Aug. 19, 2022 - Sonoma Index-Tribune

Abodu, a company focused on building prefabricated Accessory Dwelling Units, installed its first North Bay unit in unincorporated Sonoma County roughly two weeks ago. The company says more units will be coming to both Sonoma and Napa counties in the coming months.

ADUs are small, self-contained living units that can be attached or detached to single family homes, within the single family lot. A statewide boom in ADU approvals started up roughly five years ago, when California legislators required local municipalities to relax their regulations on ADUs approvals. Further legislation, particularly in 2020, has made building such units even easier.

Legislators have framed opening up the approval process for ADUs as one part of an effort to take on Californias housing crisis. Though getting ADU plans approved by local governments has become swifter and easier, thats only one part of the process. The time and financial burden of building such units falls on homeowners who typically have no experience with construction, said John Geary, CEO of Abodu.

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Thats a problem because even if a homeowner has sufficient money and interest to build such a structure in their backyard perhaps because doing so could give them needed rental income, because theyd like to move a family member in there or a variety of other reasons they might see the time commitment and uncertainty of trying to learn how to navigate the process as too much of a burden.

Abodu designed its business around taking stress out of the process by handling most of it themselves, Geary said.Rene Schomp, director of the Napa Sonoma ADU Center nonprofit, said that similar options are offered by a several other prefab ADU companies.

Construction is tough. Its dirty. Its expensive. Its confusing. And when the average homeowner is building an ADU, theyre essentially building a home in their backyard, Geary said. What we saw is most homeowners arent equipped to do that well. Its a scary endeavor; theres a lot of opacity in the industry. And so our goal was, how do we make this as simple as buying a car or a product; how do we make it easy as possible for folks?

Cindy Loughridge and Seth Restaino, owners of the ADU in Sonoma, said that when they bought their home roughly a year ago, there was already an old, run down ADU on the property. The homeowner at the time was working with another company to replace that with a new ADU, which Loughridge said was a selling point for the house.

The state of the old ADU was almost a deal-breaker, Restaino recalled. It was an eyesore, and it had to either come down or be reworked.

But the company that wouldve built the ADU ended up busy for at least a year, perhaps because of supply chain delays, Loughridge said. Loughridge then discovered Abodu as a replacement option that would get the new ADU installed there relatively quickly. Restaino said the unit the most expensive model out of three possible Abodu choices, a two-bedroom unit with some upgrades cost roughly $425,000 in total.

Loughridge said they began talking with Abodu in August 2021 and signed a contract for the ADU in October. Abodu started building the unit at a factory in November, Restaino said, and it took three months for the custom build to be finished. Owing to various permitting and code compliance delays, the unit was installed in late May, and it will be ready to serve as a residence for the bride and groom during a wedding June 25.

We knew we were the guinea pigs, Restaino said. Im just also a realist about permitting and stuff going to take a little while.

Restaino said the main point of the ADU for now is that it will serve as a guest house to the two-bedroom main house. He added that its possible they might move their parents into the unit when they get older, or it could serve as a long-term rental should they decide to sell the property.

The speed of building such prefab units depends on whether homeowners buy in-production units or wish to design various aspects of the unit. Geary said the organization has installed more than 100 units in California over the past two years, and has several hundred in production behind that.

Schomp said she sees prefab ADUs as one important way to fill California's extreme need for housing. (Though ADU approvals have been picking up in Napa County and across the state in recent years, the number of total ADU approvals is still minuscule compared to the state's housing need.)

Schomp added there's essentially three categories of prefab unit: manufactured, factory built and panelized.

Manufactured housing is certified and regulated on the federal level through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. That means building requirements are less onerous than factory built, or modular, housing which is what Abodu builds because it's certified at the state level and must be built to state building code standards. As a result, manufactured ADUs tend to be cheaper than factory-built, Schomp said.

Panelized ADUs allow a greater level of customization because only the outer shell of the house is prefabricated, and it's delivered in flat panels that then have to be assembled.

All prefab ADUs have the advantage of generally being built more quickly than traditionally constructed units and taking a much shorter time to be installed on the property, Schomp said.

"What we do is we manage the ADU process from start to finish, the home is built entirely off site," Geary said. "So there's no months and months and months of construction in a homeowner's backyard. We're talking about two weeks before delivery, one day of delivery and then about two weeks after delivery, and that's all the homeowner sees of us in that backyard."

But, Schomp added, it's important to recognize that other ADU options traditional "stick-built" ADUs, junior ADUs that convert areas inside an existing home into housing, multifamily affordable housing have upsides as well.

And there are also a few limitations to prefab units to consider, she said. Having a flat lot and enough access to the site that a truck can drive in there with the unit, or so a crane can place it, is essentially a requirement.

The ADU center recently launched a Standard Plans Program which features a gallery of plans that at least some of 16 Napa and Sonoma county jurisdictions have pre-approved. That allows for a diversity of options for interested buyers, and helps the center pursue a goal of saving homeowners and cities time and money on the design and permitting process for ADUs, Schomp emphasized.

And though organizations like Abodu also work with local governments to have their ADU options essentially be pre-approved to cut down on delivery time and hassle, the ADU Center's program attempts to solve another potential flaw of prefab ADUs: the relative lack of options most prefab companies offer on their own. Those looking for ADUs can see options from a variety of companies: Abodu, Villa, Connect Homes, Inspired ADUs, Homes for Sonoma and more.

What I have seen time and time again in the housing space is theres no single silver bullet solution, Schomp said. You cannot say prefab is the answer; its one of the tools in the toolkit. And were going to be the most successful to meet our housing crisis if we approach with a diversity of housing options.

Schomp added that she initially skeptical of prefab ADU companies given that many of them started up, backed by venture capital, after the state's 2020 housing laws that made local permitting processes for ADUs more uniform came into effect. Those processes still aren't entirely uniform, she said, which means that in order for the companies to be successful, they need two teams of employees that work closely with every jurisdiction they're building ADUs in.

Schomp said she didn't anticipate that she'd feel the prefab companies have proven themselves this quickly, but she now feels confident referring people to them. And she believes prefab ADUs are a vital part of solving California's current housing puzzle.

Im pleasantly surprised by how successful these companies have been so far, and Im seeing homeowners significantly shifting from wanting to do traditional construction to wanting to do prefab, Schomp said.

You can reach Edward Booth at 707-256-2213.

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View original post here:
Prefab Accessory Dwelling Units are coming to the North Bay - Napa Valley Register

June 9, 2022

By Ethan Weinstein, VTDigger

RANDOLPH Gov. Phil Scott signed two key pieces of legislation Tuesday meant to address the states housing crisis.

The press conference and bill signing for S.210 and S.226, held at an in-process housing development at Salisbury Square in Randolph, highlighted legislation that will collectively invest over $45 million.

Building more housing to address our critical shortage has been a top priority, Scott said. In the aggregate, this will amount to the largest state investment in housing weve ever seen.

According to Sen. Alison Clarkson, D-Windsor, who also spoke at the event, the Legislature passed about $300 million in housing-related funds in the recently concluded biennium.

S.210 includes $20 million for the Vermont Housing Improvement Program, which seeks to bring houses and apartments in disrepair back into the market.

Having run up against the governors veto of a statewide rental registry, the Legislature passed S.210, which provides funding for the state Division of Fire Safety to enforce health and housing codes in rental units. In most towns, housing code inspections currently fall to the local health officer, often a volunteer.

S.226 will fund middle-income housing and eliminates the need for developers to get water and sewer permits from both a municipality and the state. It raises the cap on units allowed in projects in densely populated areas from 25 to 50. And it prohibits municipalities from imposing parking requirements of more than one space per bedroom on accessory dwelling units.

The legislation also will offer subsidies to contractors building homes that cost more to construct than their market value. It provides $1 million to assist first-generation home buyers and includes $4 million in grants to make upgrades to mobile homes and mobile home parks.

I know its usually the areas of disagreement that get the most attention, Scott said. Here is a great example of how people of different parties can agree on a fundamental problem, put differences aside and work together to find solutions that will benefit our state for decades to come.

The governor pointed to Springfield and his hometown of Barre as examples of communities that, having lost population, will benefit from the new funding to update vacant properties.

Money for the two new laws comes from both state and federal sources.

In a press release, Senate President Pro Tempore Becca Balint, D-Windham, celebrated the bills as an example of a hard-earned compromise.

Im proud of the work weve done to meet housing needs at every level, from affordable housing to middle-income homeownership, and that includes critical updates to rental units and manufactured homes, she said.

Weve also updated policy to make it easier to build housing where we want it, in our downtowns and village centers, and to better ensure that no Vermonter lives in substandard housing.

Phase I of the project involved developing 14 pedestrian-friendly apartments and one permitted home.

The second phase, now underway, seeks to create 19 solar-powered, net-zero units at the site of the former Ethan Allen furniture plant.

Julie Iffland, the groups executive director, highlighted the effort in Randolph to create mixed-income housing within walking distance of downtown. The units, powered by solar panels, will be connected by a microgrid, sharing power and even allowing the storage of solar energy, Iffland said. The project, she said, works toward the common-sense desire to make our communities livable.

During his remarks at the bill signing the first of its kind since the pandemic began Scott praised the Randolph initiative as a community-supported way to help ease Vermonts housing crisis.

The crowd, which numbered about 100, tells a lot about support you have in Vermont and for housing, he said.

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New laws will invest $45M into housing - Addison County Independent

BEDFORD, Texas, June 08, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Legacy Housing Corporation (the "Company," NASDAQ: LEGH) today announced thatDuncan Bates, a member of the Companys Board of Directors and Senior Vice President, Mergers & Acquisitions of Arcosa, Inc. (NYSE: ACA), has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer, effectiveJune 7, 2022.

Curt Hodgson, Executive Chairman of Legacy, stated: I am thrilled to name Duncan as the President and CEO of Legacy. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in corporate finance and capital allocation that will assist us in operating as a public company and strategically growing our business. Duncan has a proven track record of leadership and is an important step in Legacys succession plan.

Mr.BatesreplacesKenny Shipley, who, as part of the management reorganization, will remain with Legacy as Founder and Executive Vice President. Mr. Shipley will also remain a member of the Companys Board of Directors (the Board). Mr. Bates resigned from the Companys Board effective June 7, 2022. Effective June 7, 2022, Francisco Coll was appointed to the Companys Board as an Independent Director and will also serve on the Audit Committee.

Mr. Hodgson added, We are excited that Kenny remains a key part of our team, and I look forward to the new roles both Duncan and Francisco will play in the leadership of Legacy.

Duncan Bates Bio

Duncan (34) most recently served as Senior Vice President, Mergers & Acquisitions of Arcosa Inc., a publicly traded infrastructure products company, since August 2018. Under his leadership, Arcosa executed 16 acquisitions and 2 divestitures in a 3.5-year period to reposition its portfolio around growth-oriented, high-margin products. Previously, he served as a Vice President in the Industrials Investment Banking Group at Stephens Inc. from June 2015 to August 2018. From February 2012 to June 2015, he worked in the Energy Investment Banking Group at Seaport Global Securities, LLC. Mr. Bates began his career in New York at Willis Re Inc. in July 2010. Duncan received his B.S. Management degree with a double major in Finance and Legal Studies from Tulane University.

Francisco Coll Bio

Francisco (37) was appointed to our Board of Directors on June 7, 2022. He has served as the President of Universal Air Conditioner, Inc., a wholesale distributor of aftermarket auto parts, since March 2015. Previously, he was the US Head of Sales for BTG Pactual, a Brazilian investment bank and asset manager that operates throughout Latin America, from March 2011 until March 2015. Mr. Coll began his career at UBS Investment Bank in the sales & trading and wealth management rotational program in July 2007. Francisco received his B.S. degree in East Asian Studies with a minor in Financial Economics from Vanderbilt University.

About Legacy Housing Corporation

Legacy Housing Corporation builds, sells and finances manufactured homes and "tiny houses" that are distributed through a network of independent retailers and company-owned stores. The Company also sells directly to manufactured housing communities. Legacy is the sixth largest producer of manufactured homes in the United States as ranked by number of homes manufactured based on the information available from the Manufactured Housing Institute. With current operations focused primarily in the southern United States, we offer our customers an array of quality homes ranging in size from approximately 390 to 2,667 square feet consisting of 1 to 5 bedrooms, with 1 to 3 1/2 bathrooms. Our homes range in price, at retail, from approximately $22,000 to $140,000.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. As a result, our actual results or performance may differ materially from anticipated results or performance. Legacy Housing undertakes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements after the date hereof, except as required by law. Investors should not place any reliance on any such forward-looking statements.

Investor Inquiries:Shane Allred, (817) 799-4900investors@legacyhousingcorp.com

or

Duncan Bates, (817) 799-4837duncanbates@legacyhousingcorp.com

Media Inquiries:Kira Hovancik, (817) 799-4905pr@legacyhousingcorp.com

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Legacy Housing Corporation Announces Appointment of Duncan Bates as President and Chief Executive Officer - GlobeNewswire