Mobile home buyers should soon be able to rest a little easier, thanks to an agreement between the Manufactured Housing Institute and the Mortgage Asset Research Institute that will help retailers weed scam artists and con men out the buying and financing process.

The pact encourages MHI members to participate with MARI in building its data base on sales and loan personnel who have been involved in fraud, misrepresentation or other forms of misconduct and skullduggery. Those who choose to supply information will be permitted to access the complete pool as supplied by all MHI member-participants.

By being able to turn to a central repository for such information, manufacturers and retailers can determine whether potential employees have hidden backgrounds or whether possible lenders have not always played within the rules. Armed with such knowledge, they can then act accordingly.

"Financing is essential to the health and growth of our industry," said MHI President Chris Stinebert. "Making sure that we keep our standards high will ensure that manufactured home buyers have access to adequate financing. The MARI program will help our members do that."

MHI is a national trade association representing all segments of the manufactured home industry, including makers, retailers, finance company and component suppliers.

The Reston, Va.-based MARI already has a similar program for mortgage bankers that is endorsed by their trade association and is used extensively by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, private mortgage insurers and many of mortgage firms, large and small.

MARI's public data base contains information about administrative, enforcement and certain legal actions taken by more than 100 government and private entities that perform oversight of professionals in the mortgage, real estate, appraisal and commercial banking and securities fields. Public reports provide the identities of the parties involved in administrative and legal actions and the alleged offenses.

The company also maintains a non-public file with descriptions of non-public incidences of alleged fraud, material misrepresentation and serious misconduct by mortgage industry personnel.

Published: April 12, 2000

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When Lew Sichelman first started writing about housing in 1969, he was the youngest real estate writer in the country. Now, 37 years later, he's one of the oldest -- and most decorated. He has been rated the top housing columnist in the country by the National Association of Realtors as well as by his peers in the National Association of Real Estate Editors. Indeed, NAREE has recognized his work on numerous occasions. One year - due to his advancing age, he can't recall which one - he earned top honors in the annual NAREE Journalism Contest in three out of the four major writing categories. It was the first time one writer has won so many NAREE awards in a single year. Known for his ability to make even the most difficult topics understandable, Sichelman also has been honored by the National Association of Home Builders and the Mortgage Bankers Association. He began providing in-depth coverage of and consumer-oriented information about housing and housing finance at the Washington Daily News, where he was real estate editor. He held that same position for nine more years at the Washington Star, which purchased the News in 1972. The Star, a so-called "writer's newspaper" which also had the misfortune of being an evening paper, was put out of its misery in 1981, and Sichelman, who had begun self-syndicating his column in 1978, decided to become a full-time columnist. Today, his column, "The Housing Scene," is distributed by United Media to newspapers throughout the country. He also is on the staff of National Mortgage News, an independent newspaper which is considered the bible of the mortgage business. And he writes for numerous other publications, including MarketWatch.com, where he answers readers questions once a week, Sports Illustrated (don't ask), RealtyTimes.com, BigBuilder and others. Sichelman is married, the father of five and grandfather of eleven.