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.

Think twice.   It now costs more to live in a MHP in the larger metropolitan areas  than it does to own a house on your own land.    Here's the Affordability Index for the Midwest:    In 1999, a person needed qualifying income of $27,442 to buy a mfd home and live in an MHP. The median price of a mfd home was $41,850, with an interest rate of 10.93%.    NOW, in 2007, mfd. homes sell for as much as $100,000.   Never put a home with WORTH $50k-100k  on leased land--WISCONSIN HAS NO LANGUAGE ON THE BOOKS TO GUARANTEE YOU WON'T LOSE EVERY CENT IF THE LANDLORD SELLS THE PROPERTY OUT FROM UNDER YOU.

Pitfall for consumers

Over the long haul, you will spend more on mortgage interest and climbing rents that give you little-to-no return on your money.    MHP rents in Dane County, Kenosha County, and the Fox Valley are significantly higher than in any other counties of the state, ranging between $350 to $500 per month—hardly a bargain.   And any improvements you make to the home will never be recoverable at sale.  Because homes in MHPs are a very hard sell.   You will lose money just to get out of the MHP.

 (On top of regular rent increases, a number of park owners do minimal-to-no maintenance, or try to get residents to do it for them for free.  This is a violation of state statute, but it has yet to be enforced anywhere.   You should never make improvements to the real property that you cannot take with you when you leave.    This includes streets, trees, driveways, water or sewer connections and anything attached to the dirt.)

Dept of Commerce has in 2007 updated Administrative Code pertaining to installations and other MHP matters involving Park living conditions.   However, high rents in corporate-owned MHPs reduce the value of your mfd home, and make selling a real hurdle—provided you can get the park to approve your new buyer.   (Park owners can require minimum income levels of new residents.)  Although it is illegal, it is common for MHP owners/managers to cause you to lose buyers.  IF that happens, keep ALL documentation for future contact of a lost buyer/s in case you want to file a complaint in Circuit Court.

Rents elsewhere in the state are closer to the $200 to $300/month range. There is no ceiling on rent increases—state law prohibits rent control in this state.    However, rent withholding or rent rebellion is still an option for any COHESIVE group of homeowners.    If you are interested in RENT ABATEMENT local ordinances,  or presenting this idea to your legislator, see the tenancy Statute 704.    Also, ask for WIMHOA's instructions on escrowing rent with a third party.

No help from any state agency if you're a victim of fraud

When purchasing a mfd home, you should be aware that you will get LITTLE to NO protection from the state, for example, if you have an incompetent installer (critical) or any setup problems with the manufacturer, dealer, or park owner.   That is why it's important for you to get your LOCAL ORDINANCES UPDATED.   Download the Ordinances from the City of Madison http://www.ci.madison.wi.us/ -- the BEST in Wisconsin and tell your local officials they should use them as a template.    Contact WIMHOA for other language protocol.    

Be prepared to get a good attorney to help you fight the industry's stranglehold on state agencies and some legislators.    Why?  Because manufactured housing has never been adequately regulated in this state; however, since 2006, that may be changing.   And Consumer Protection (CP) has budgeted zero dollars to defend MHP residents.    The state spends nil dollars to defend MH consumers against predatory business practices by the MH Industry BECAUSE they assume there is no need because they DON'T HEAR FROM ANY OF YOU WITH PROBLEMS.  They keep stats on number of complaints.

Consumer Protection has no positions, no budget, no spending authority, and no program dedicated to manufactured housing violations (2003).  Nothing has changed since then.   We want the same consumer protection afforded every other taxpaying citizen in this state—not special privileges—just fairness.  MHP residents versus the industry do not and never have been on a level playing field in this state.