New Hampshire Legislation Ends Unfair Curbs on Manufactured Homes
(Source: the following are excerpts from an op-ed penned by Steve Saltznan, President and CEO of New Hampshire Community Loan Fund).
Today’s new manufactured homes are not “trailers”. They are not “mobile homes.” They are well-built, aesthetically pleasing homes that have been manufactured in an off-site, climate controlled facility before being moved and placed permanently on a piece of land.
As part of its efforts to address the Granite States shortage of affordable housing, New Hampshire’s legislators are currently considering HB 685. Which would increase the supply of affordable homeownership options around the state by allowing manufactured homes to be placed on single-family plots of land in all residentially zoned areas. But bias and misinformation about this type of home persists. Allow me to set the record straight.
Manufactured homes are distinguished from “trailers” or “mobile homes” by the rigorous safety, quality, and durability standards they must adhere to. These standards, established in 1976 by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, ensure that new manufactured homes of today are quality, durable, and beautiful places to call home.
In addition to these construction standards, New Hampshire has adopted building standards that require that the wheels and axles of a manufactured home be removed, and the home be affixed to a permanent foundation before a homeowner can move in. That is why we say these homes are only mobile once.They are designed with features to ensure they can be transported from the factory where they were built to the site they will use as a permanent residence.
Last year, our average mortgage loan for a manufactured home was just over $123,000. Meanwhile, the median cost of purchasing a stick-built home has consistently exceeded half a million dollars.
Support for HB 685 is support for well-built, aesthetically pleasing homes that will help ensure everyone in our state has the opportunity to achieve the American dream of homeownership. As the median cost of purchasing a home has skyrocketed, we must not allow misinformation to block affordable homeowner legislation like HB 685.
(Note) The manufactured housing industry is supportive of the New Hampshire SB 865 and hopefully that passage would be a template for the manufactured housing market nationwide.
