A little noticed title in the omnibus housing bill that cleared the House earlier this month modernizes the 25-year-old Manufactured Housing Act by ensuring that the national building code under which manufactured houses are built is updated on a regular basis.

Title XI of the 11-title measure also provides the Department of Housing and Urban Development with additional staff and resources at no expense to taxpayers, and establishes a dispute resolution program so that buyers are not caught in the middle when makers, retailers and installers blame each other for problems.

Formerly known as trailers and then mobile home, manufactured houses are the only ones built to the national HUD-enforced building code. All other houses, even modular units which also are built in factories, must adhere to local rules and regulations. You can tell a manufactured house from a modular house by looking for the HUD sticker.

Currently, nearly 20 million people about 8 percent of the population live full-time in more than 8 million manufactured house, and more are joining them all the time. Last year alone, more than one out of every five single-family housing starts was a manufactured home.

And all told, the industry shipped nearly 350,000 units from 323 plants around the country.

Despite the surprising popularity of manufactured house, some consider the HUD code somewhat inferior to local rules. But Chris Stinebert, president of the Manufactured Housing Institute in Arlington, Va., says the difference between the national code and local dictum "aren't as drastic as ost people think."

At the same time, however, HUD, says Stinebert, has been "rather lax" in keeping the standards up to date. But the American Homeownership and Economic Opporunity act would change that by bringing "accountability to HUD's oversight."

Specifically, the bill would establish a 21-member private sector committee to make recommendations for updating standards and regulations. The HUD secretary would be required to accept, reject or modify any suggested change within one year or the proposal will be enacted automatically.

This, Stinebert believes, will "take the burden off" the sceretary and streamline the code changing process.

The creation of a system to resolve disputes between buyers and manufacturers, sellers and installers is another provision that will benefit consumers. Shifting the focus away from federally mandated extended warranties, it calls for states to establish a mechanism for ensuring purchasers are properly serviced under existing guarantees.

Buyers, says Stinebert, are often "caught in the middle" when retailers, manufacturers and installers can't agree who's at fault. As he sees it, though, it's the "yahoos" who place the house on the site who are usually the culprits. Manufactured houses, he says, are "solidly built," but the installation is left up "to a bunch of lowest-bid subcontractors working out of the back of a pick-up."

Under the bill, complaints that erupt during the first year after the home is installed on its first site and cannot be solved by those involved will be handled under the review system.

In addition, the legislation requires states to establish minimum installation requirements that cover not only the work and inspections of that work but also the licensing and training of installers.

States must create both the dispute resolution system and installation requirements within five years after the bill becomes law. If they don't meet that deadline, HUD is permitted to assert its jurisdiction. "If they don't do it," says Stinebert, "the federal government will do it for them."

Published: April 18, 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.