The Wisconsin Mfd Home Owners Association  encourages you NOT to BUY a manufactured home. The building process, both on-site and in the factories, is about cutting corners—using inferior quality sheathing, cutting boards too short to meet in the center of studs—problems that promote irregular air exchange within a house and which eventually produce growth of mold and excessive heating bills. 

Additional problems:  fraud, misdealing, false statement, improper assembly, illegally based seizure of homes, defective set up, worthless warranties, and suspect consumer protection.  

If you are unfortunate enough to get caught in this malignant Pandora's Box as an unsuspecting consumer, you will find yourself immersed in an endless war that will consume the rest of your life and your life's income. You will get no satisfaction from HUD or even some legislators and state agencies because many have been corrupted by the MH industry—they have been bought off with big money and the heady power of control over millions of victims.

What the Industry Wants

Since the latest changes to MHP law that the Industry wanted and Commerce waved in,  you will get to pay for improvements to land you don't own when you ask for maintenance.   This may well occur if you want your driveway paved or correction of a sewer hole problem.   Search the Commerce website to ascertain if this could happen to you  www.commerce.state.wi.us  Find the Safety and Buildings link to search the MHP regulations.

Call your Legislators at 266-9960 (Madison residents); 1-800-362-9472 (if you live outside Madison). Ask for your Senator's and Representative's names, numbers, and addresses.   Save this info for future use!

Tell your legislators this: "The MH Industry expects ME to pay for park  improvements (roads, wiring, driveways, water-sewer problems, trees, and grounds) to their property when I ask for repairs to any of these or to my lot.     I will get no credit or equity for paying the park's bills because I don't own the land.     I strongly object to paying the park owner's bills plus rent!"    But tenants are lied to regularly by MHP owners and management and end up paying for permanent improvements without recompense.

Besides that, the MH industry wants Right of First Sale in new developments (gouging unsuspecting buyers).    Never underestimate the industry's greed!   Corporate park owners own numerous parks—-not just one.   They collect rent—-maintaining the property in YOUR park or keeping MHP living affordable is NOT one of their goals.  We know park owners and municipalities have a moral and legal obligation to obey state MHP maintenance statutes—-but the state refuses to enforce the law, and none of us have demanded enforcement—-unless you do. 

When the MH Task Force voted in 2001 to transfer ATCP 125 from Consumer Protection to Commerce (a probusiness agency), the industry thought they would finally get their wish.  However, they tried to sneak it into the budget process, and because this transfer was not an economic issue, the Joint Committee on Finance (!!) threw it out.    So ATCP 125 (our little bible) remains in DATCP.    However, with the Joint Committee cutting the law enforcement budget, even for Dept of Justice, don't expect much—if any—consumer protection.    YOU need to register your strenuous objections by calling or writing your legislators ASAP!!   Your legislators must hear from you more than once--call and write numerous times!    Please tell as many of your neighbors as possible.

Incompetent people work in the MH industry—can you trust them?

Wisconsin (and the Industry here via HUD) has finally coded into law  certification of MH installers of homes in MHPs.   However, when WIMHOA brought up the issue of certifying MHP Managers, the Commerce Committee blew us off as though our question had no relevance.  Therefore, YOU NEED TO BROWBEAT YOUR LEGISLATOR TO GETTING THIS PROVISION ONTO THE LAW BOOKS.   Otherwise, this means you must trust  the dealer and/or park owner or manufacturer (expensive mistake) to hire competent employees.    The majority of Park Owners are too cheap to hire competent help.   So  VERIFY for yourself just how competent any installer is by checking it out at www.commerce.state.wi.us .   And—ask tenants around any park.   Find out if current residents are satisfied with living conditions in their park.   Avoid any MHP like the plague that its residents don't rave about!

***HUD - Money Penalties for Multifamily and Section 8 Program Violations

Under Docket No. FR-4399-F-02, HUD has published notice of a final rule to implement sections 561 and 562 of the Multifamily Assisted Housing Reform and Affordability Act of 1997. These sections concern HUD's ability to impose civil money penalties to enhance enforcement against multifamily mortgagors and Section 8 owners that violate program requirements. Section 561 expands the list of parties and violations subject to civil money penalties related to multifamily properties. Section 562 authorizes HUD to impose civil money penalties for violations of Section 8 project-based housing assistance payments contracts. Of particular interest to tenants and tenant advocates, the notice announces clarification under the final rule that an owner's failure to respect tenants' right to organize is subject to the penalties. Tenants and tenant advocates had sought such a clarification for some time.  All notices are available at www.hudclips.org

"Keep in mind that HUD has been corrupted by the Mfd. Housing Industry, so you will get the royal runaround if you file a complaint."