House Passes FHA MH Program Revamp

The House has passed a bill by a 412-4 vote that revamps the Federal Housing Administration program for manufactured housing loans and makes this form of affordable housing lending more attractive to lenders.The bill (H.R. 4804) authorizes the FHA to insure individual manufactured housing loans, but the lender is on the hook for 10% of losses. Currently, the FHA provides pool insurance for these house-only loans, which are not secured by real estate. FHA Commissioner Brian Montgomery said the "outdated and problematic" pool insurance forced Ginnie Mae to stop securitizing manufactured housing loans in the early 1990s. Ginnie officials have indicated that they would reconsider MH loans if Congress passes an acceptable bill. The average cost of a manufactured home was $58,000 in 2004. About two-thirds of manufactured homes are placed on a relative's or the owner's property, and the other third are on placed on leased lots. Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., has sponsored a similar FHA manufactured housing bill in the Senate.