Thursday, September 19, 2024

Roberts Resorts Plans Tiny Home Community for East Austin

Village Farm Tiny Home Community Includes Group Gardening, Music, Transportation, Cooking and Meals

Just east of Austin, Texas, a group of housing and “community experience” professionals will incorporate a tiny home community into the mix of what will mark 50-plus years of manufactured home and RV park success.

“We are talking to people about lifestyle, sustainability, community and like-mindedness,” said Scott Roberts, owner of Roberts Resorts. “Oh, and they’re affordable.”

Affordable housing is in great demand, especially in the larger and warmer metro locations throughout the country. However, Roberts and his sales team anticipate very little of selling the affordability. That’s because they expect the key lifestyle amenities for the tiny home community to carry the conversation.

“The houses are going to back up to the community’s organic garden and face an open green space,” Roberts said. “There will be a rustic barn, too, for culinary projects. We’re going to have hay in the barn and white linens on the table.”

Roberts Resorts Enters Arena of Tiny Home Community

Roberts Resorts has RV parks and manufactured home communities in Alabama, Arizona, Colorado and Texas. An addition to Village Farm’s neighbor, the Roberts Resorts-owned Oak Village, will be the company’s initial foray into tiny homes. It will include 42 RV sites re-designated for tiny homes.

The complete tiny home village to open in early 2020 will be a 112-space all ages community with homes from Athens, Clayton, Platinum and Wheelhaus tiny homes.

Most homes at the tiny home village will cost about $82,000, with the potential for some models to reach $150,000. Additionally, residents will be responsible for monthly payment of lot rent at about $600.

Village Farm residents will get a slate of programmed activities, a general store in the community, parking spaces at the edge of the community, a water-harvesting program, sharable meals with an “Austin Authentic” menu, as well as community transportation that could include a shareable zip car.

“There’s a full amphitheater off the barn, and we’re going to program this for 300-plus seating and a regular schedule of music and entertainment events,” Roberts said. “That component will include the hiring of a full-time event coordinator and community programming professional.”

In addition, Village Farm may feature an annual artist in residence, whether that is a musician, potter or painter, or a theatrical performer.

How the Tiny Home Community Concept Came About

As Roberts and Vice President of Sales and Marketing Ernesto Iglesias engaged in conversation about what Village Farm might be, they landed on an interesting question.

“Why aren’t we developing towns and neighborhoods like they did 300 years ago in Europe?” Iglesias reiterated. “That’s what we want to do, but we’re doing it with park models that look like tiny homes.”

The park model tiny homes will be built and placed to RV standards. However, they will have a look and feel of the tiny homes many people see on HGTV shows. Each home will be energy efficient, not just for the individual, but for the the tiny home and wider community. As a result, overall living expenses will be reduced.

And the central landscaping will create a “pocket park” effect within the community.

“When you go out to get your groceries, you’re going to walk in by your neighbors,” Iglesias said. “This is not the community where you can pull a car into a garage and close the door. The walkable nature will create a real sense of place and destination.”

Affordability of the Village Farm Tiny Home Community

Roberts said research they’ve conducted shows Village Farm and the concept of a complete tiny home community will be attractive to first-time buyers, millennials, single women over the age of 45 and many retirees.

Furthermore, the concept is finding support from the wider community, both for its lifestyle sensibility and affordability, Iglesias said.

“Every single city council person we talk to has some kind of affordable housing initiative,” Iglesias said.

Austin, Texas is the fastest growing city in the country, as reported by Forbes magazine. And in 2017, the city eclipsed the $400,000 mark for average home price, according to a recent report from RealtyAustin.

Staging Your Home To Sell!

Are you staging your home to sell?

We all know that first impressions can make or break a relationship. When staging your home to sell, you want to be sure you are giving your buyer the best first impression you can!

Most home sellers in the professional industry are familiar with the term “Staging”, but if you are a first-time seller or if you are simply not as experienced with home sales, this might be a new term for you.

What does “Staging Your Home” mean?

Staging a home is more than cleaning and organizing your personal belongings. It’s also different than “decorating” your home.

When you decorate your home you are showing the buyer your sense of style and personality.

VS.

When staging a home to sell you are arranging furniture, picking paint colors and changing decor to better show off the home and all of its benefits.

Here are a few tips on staging your home to sell in the most beneficial way for the buyer:

Clean it up and clean it out!

Be it interior or exterior, the ideal outcome is a “move-in ready” level of clean. This means organized cupboards, cobweb-free corners and an”eat off the floor” level of clean. We all lament the de-cluttering of our homes, but when it comes to selling your home you really want to be sure to have as many clean surfaces as possible. This allows the buyer to see the potential for their decor. Of course, ensuring your home is clean is an important tip, but often times when you’re getting ready for an open house or preparing for a showing, it’s worth hiring a cleaning service to come in and help out with the dirty work.

A fresh coat of paint goes a long way!

Not only does a fresh coat of paint give everything a new look, it also forces you to move your furniture in the process. Picking the right color also can be a tricky step depending on what your ideal impression of the home is.

“Home sellers are often advised to slap on a fresh coat of paint before listing their properties, but they shouldn’t overlook the impact of color.” – CBS News

“7 Paint Colors That Can Boost The Value Of Your Home”

The above article is super helpful in this area, since not only will a coat of paint freshen up the home in cleanliness it might also have an emotional impact connecting with your buyer!

Furniture and layout- Less is more!

While you might love all of your furniture, you want to be sure to allow the home buyer to see their furniture in the space as well. You would be surprised how different a room can look and feel with just a few less pieces than you might normally have. It’s important to allow the buyer some physical space to envision themselves in the home.

As for layout, simply placing all of your furniture up against the walls can make the room feel “boxed in”. However, you don’t want to have all of the pieces in the center obstructing the flow of the space either. There are a number of tips online that reference the best layout options for your rooms.

“Square footage is important to homebuyers, so when you’re selling a house it’s important to maximize the space to appear bigger and highlight each room’s dual functionality to enhance buyer appeal.” –Tori Toth, Contributor w/ US News

“A Fool-Proof Plan For Setting Up Furniture When Selling Your Home”

Hopefully these steps will help you in this often overlooked yet crucial part of selling your home!

P.S. Once you are ready to advertise your home, MHVillage offers a one-time fee option for listing the home until you mark it as SOLD. If you have any questions about how you can advertise with MHVillage, contact us!

Holiday Kitchen Safety

Be Safe & Smart During Holiday Festivities, Starting in the Kitchen

The holiday season is fun for many reasons. We get to gather with family, see friends, make great food, relax and appreciate the good things in life.

The holidays, especially holiday cooking, also can be risky. We’re not talking about Aunt Donna’s Jell-O casserole here (though, be warned!). We want to ensure that hot surfaces, open flames and sharp graters, carvers and openers are safely managed, keeping those kids and distracted adults in good holiday spirit.

So let’s start with holiday kitchen safety!

OK, let’s get this out of the way. Please, if you’re deep frying your bird, make sure that beauty is completely thawed and patted dry. You’ve probably seen the safety demonstrations, but just in case, the result of dipping dinner in a deep frier results in a bit more than a flare up. See the video here.

If possible, create some type of barrier between the food prep/cooking areas and the surrounding tumult of holiday fun. Get out that old dog gate, or get a partner to watch your back while you cook. Anyone not helping to cook should be at least three feet away from the hot and sharp items in the kitchen and cooking areas. In particular, keep young children and pets at bay.

Anyone assisting in food prep and cooking should roll up the sleeves and generally avoid baggy clothing; it’s too easy for the comfy holiday clothes to catch a flame, the handle of a hot pan, or brush across and send a knife air born.

Keep the Kitchen Clean

Hey, we’re not saying you can’t make a mess! That’s half the fun of cooking. But make sure any slippery spills to the floor are wiped away. Any grease or oil close to flame should be soaked up and tossed. Paper products and other flammables, including the recipe on your smart phone, should be kept away from boiling pots. The last thing you need is Aunt Donna’s disparaging look because she’s injured herself AND because you refuse to try her “delicious dessert” dish.

Holiday kitchen safety is about common sense, so if you’re a novice, don’t be deterred. Just do what you’ve always been told about keeping a fire extinguisher handy and ensuring smoke detector batteries work. This is year-round residential safety, of course, but a central component to holiday kitchen safety.

Be Thankful for Teamwork

It’s hard to do everything yourself. And no one wants a Festivus martyr. Get the responsible teen to lend a hand, or the best pal who needs to stay away from shouting football fans. Even if your teammate is doing less than the heavy lifting, it’s good to have some company. If you need to take a break, grab something from the pantry or check in again on Aunt Donna, you have someone standing by to watch the timer, keep the kids at bay and turn down a flame as needed.

And, remember, “too many cooks in the kitchen” is a cliche for a reason. Make your team small. In other words, keep the beer and wine station somewhere outside the work area, for everyone’s benefit.

Holiday Kitchen Safety Means Good Planning

Avoid trying to do everything at once. There will be some items you can get started, or even complete, before the house fills up. Space is always at a premium, especially in many manufactured homes.

When you go to soak your beans on celebration eve, think about baking a pie or two. Make a soup. This will free up the oven and countertop space. The goal is to create an easier process and more safe cooking environment. If your ingredients are in large containers, perhaps find something to decant and downsize; even pre-mix ingredients you know you’ll need to add at once to a particular recipe. More space, less time spent in those final hours and fewer complications will make for a better experience and better food!

Post Meal Safety

Ok, you’ve done all the cooking. Friends and relatives have cheered your name! Now, just turn off the oven and range, and clear out the sharp objects so you can enjoy your meal and your holiday. Let someone else clean up the rest. A little bit of soapy water never hurt anyone.

MHVillage Free Seller’s Kit!

Selling a manufactured home?

We offer a Free Seller’s Kit!

Selling a manufactured home for the first time can have challenges. MHVillage is here to help in any way we can. When you list your home with us we offer you The MHVillage Free Seller’s Kit toward the end of the process. This kit will include all you need to know to get started on the home selling process.

What is in the MHVillage Free Seller’s Kit?

A step-by-step guide designed to walk you through the process of selling your manufactured home
A full list of the “Dos and Don’ts” of selling your home for the first time
Sample selling forms to protect both you and the buyer throughout the process
A comprehensive checklist of what you will need before you start the process of selling
A full “For Sale By Owner” window sign that will include your MHV listing number. (This is great to display in your window for in-person traffic)

Not sure how to list your home on our site?

Here is a video to walk you through how to list your home on MHVillage!

Ready to list your home?

Not yet? You can still order your Free Seller’s Kit here.

Not only do we offer this free selling kit via mail, you can always access the easy- to-download options from the “Solutions” menu left of our website.

Still have questions?

Contact us! Our friendly customer experience team is always ready to help when it comes to listing and advertising your home on MHVillage.

Ring In the Holidays with Oaks of Rockford

Michigan Community Provides 49 New Home Sites to Potential 55+ Residents

Just in time for the holiday season, Rockford’s premier 55+ active lifestyle community, Oaks of Rockford, has announced the recent completion of its Phase 3 expansion, providing potential residents with 49 new home sites from which to select.

The community also features fully decorated tour models for each of its available home styles. These include the Pine, Spruce, Aspen, Birch and Willow. Potential residents also can use a design center that features a variety of customized options. There future residents can create the home of their dreams by customizing tile, carpet, flooring, countertops, and more.

In addition, each new construction ranch-style home comes complete with a free flowing open floor plan. They have soaring nine-foot ceilings, decorative trey ceilings and crown molding, and modern stainless steel Whirlpool appliances.

“What better way to celebrate the holiday season than by welcoming friends and family to your brand new Oaks of Rockford home? By offering a variety of home models and customization options, your home can be as unique as your individual personality. Meanwhile, our diverse array of on-site amenities and activities ensure a fit and active adult lifestyle,” stated Brian Fannon, Developing Partner of the Oaks of Rockford.

Near the cuisine and entertainment of Grand Rapids and Rockford, the Oaks of Rockford is perfect for 55+ residents. It’s ideal for the active lifestyle while downsizing their current home and minimizing upkeep. Lawn maintenance, access to a million-dollar clubhouse, on-site customer service and countless planned activities appeal to buyers. These are just a handful of the features that make the Oaks of Rockford a high quality place to live.

About Oaks of Rockford

The community is conveniently located within minutes of downtown Grand Rapids, Mich., Oaks of Rockford is a premier manufactured home community for residents 55 and older. With a variety of home options available and a wealth of on-site amenities and activities, Oaks of Rockford has become the community of choice for active seniors. For more information and/or to schedule a tour, please contact the management team at (616) 951-5885 or visit OaksOfRockford.com.

Andrew Morrison on Tiny Home Appendix Q

Tiny House Appendix Q is the first residential legal description for an emerging American industry.

The tiny house movement takes shape

Veteran builder and noted tiny house aficionado Andrew Morrison took the stage recently at The National Tiny House & Simple Living Jamboree to talk about the new tiny home Appendix Q, the first ever and little-known legal description of the dwelling style that has captured the American imagination.

Ever since he and his wife Gabriella built and moved into their sub $30,000 tiny house, paid for out of pocket, the pair has been providing insight on the ins-and-outs of tiny homes to the droves of enthusiasts who will pay to listen.

Now, Morrison and associates have managed to install the tiny house Appendix Q into the 2018 International Residential Code.

This is more than a movement within the movement. More than a clarification in black and white. This is the stamp of approval for the birth of an industry.

“I travel all around the country and there are so many people who have yet to hear about the tiny house appendix,” Morrison said during his talk at the Jamboree in Arlington, Texas. “The tiny house code is, I think, the most important thing we have going on in the industry.

“We have a pathway, so let’s start using it. Let’s go with it. It’s a big deal,” he said.

How Tiny House Appendix Q Was Built

Morrison is a 20-year veteran of the building industry who in a 2015 TEDx talk provided insight toward compromised nature of traditional housing and home finance in the United States. The popular platform boosted his public profile. However, the real trick may have come in late 2016 when Morrison’s team managed to get language passed by the International Code Council in a single try.

“A friend of mine named Martin Hammer, an architect, saw a tiny home building code that was put together and it was… awful,” Morrison said.

The proposed language was deemed unusable. But its entry allowed Morrison’s team to engage the International Code Council in a two-month comment period, which, if handled well, would allow for consideration of new language.

Appendix Q Establishes Rules for Tiny Homes as a Permanent Residence

Morrison, along with Appendix Q co-author Hammer, got to work on building tiny house Appendix Q with a focus on establishing the rules for a permanent residence, a home on a foundation that is built to stay as local planning allows.

“That’s one of the things we want to attain, is a house that meets health and safety code and is affordable,” Morrison said. “Housing is becoming less and less available to us, and that has to change.”

A team of 10 presented in Kansas City, Mo., during October 2016 in front of hundreds of building officials and fire marshals. They took questions, defended their position and made changes to the language as needed. When approved by a two-thirds vote, the same language needed the same approval from more than 20,000 registered professionals nationwide.

“We were vetted, and we won,” Morrison said. “We got it done in two months and approved in the first try… it usually takes six to nine years for something this massive to be approved.”

Next Steps on Tiny House Appendix Q

While approval of the tiny house language is a massive leap forward, much work remains.

Tiny homes have gained popularity in recent years because of increasing housing costs, stagnant wages and a what Morrison views as a “grassroots movement towards minimalism”. Builders need a code for residential tiny homes. However, the code also allows local building officials to offer guidance.

On that latter point, now that Appendix Q is part of the 2018 code, it’s up to individual states & municipalities to adopt the updated 2018 code, which often lags. Most governments are working under the 2015 code, and some continue to site the 2012 code.

“It’s the code that gets approved, not the appendix,” Morrison said. “These governments need to then choose which appendices they want. Do we want the straw bale, do we want the manufactured home, do we want the tiny home code? So we need to get out there and advocate for our code.

The Morrisons meet with state representatives to talk about Appendix Q as they travel in their moveable tiny house. They teach and they do presentations on tiny living, and encourage people to live an inspired life.

Added Language for Tiny House Appendix Q

Tiny House Appendix Q has no mention of how to incorporate wheels in the build-plan.

But any incorporation in a build-plan of a trailer would require an application under Section R104.11 “Alternative materials, design, and methods of construction and equipment”.

“This allows people to supply engineered plans that will work for something not specifically addressed in the code itself,” Morrison said in comments following his presentation.

Tiny house experts now refer to anything that uses a chassis as a “moveable tiny home”. This replaces the phrase “tiny home on wheels”. The “on wheels” reference immediately makes inspectors and others in the validation process want to call the home an RV, which is a vehicle under the RVIA/ANSI codes. The “moveable” phrase means the home can be moved but is not stationed on wheels.

Movability of a home also becomes a difficult proposition for financing. This is primarily because a lender needs to know where to find a home, if needed, for financial recourse.

Darin Zaruba, founder of the Tiny House Jamboree, views Appendix Q with tempered enthusiasm.

“This certainly is a big step in the right direction, but given that the language was unable to address tiny homes on wheels, there remains a lot to be decided,” he said. “Tiny house Appendix Q addresses the residential code, but it’s anyone’s guess the direction homes on wheels will go. Will it be RVIA or ANSI? Will we be able to write something into the appendix? Everyone has opinions and preferences, but the question hangs out there.”

However, Morrison maintains that a tiny house can have a chassis, axles and wheels and still be a permanent residence. The home must be built to the approved IRC code for the area.

The heavy lifting has been be done

“We will meet the code as it’s written right now,” Morrison said.

“This was done because all of the people on the other side of the table had droves of people coming saying they want to build a tiny home, but they couldn’t do anything. There was no code,” Morrison said. “So, they needed this, and that’s important to recognize.”

New Homes Featured at MMHA Home Showcase

MMHA Home Showcase Emphasizes Flexibility of Manufactured Housing

OKEMOS, Mich. — The Michigan Manufactured Housing Association (MMHA) recently put on its second MMHA Home Showcase. It presented six manufactured homes to nearly 5,000 attendees at The Novi Home Show.

Adventure Homes, Champion Home Builders, Skyline Homes, Clayton Homes and Manufactured Housing Enterprises brought news homes to the show. Each home highlighted an array of styles, sizes and prices available from MMHA members.

The show homes ranged in size from a 746 square-foot single-section to a 2,100 square-foot multi-section. Attendees were able to see open floor plans, built-in entertainment centers, gourmet kitchen islands, fireplaces and porches.

Each home at Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, Mich., was well-appointed and staged for the show.

Professional, Consumer Feedback Affirm Direction of Design & Feature Options

“The MMHA Home Showcase, held in conjunction with The Novi Home Show, was the perfect setting to highlight these stylish, beautiful homes,” said Darren Ing, show director of MMHA. “To hear so many people complimenting the homes, designs and styling was exciting and encouraging.”

Prior to the opening of the MMHA Showcase Oct. 13, the MMHA hosted an industry-only reception where more than 125 MMHA members, legislative representatives and others involved in the business of manufactured housing mingled in the displayed homes.

Social Media Tour Garners Wide Attention

Additionally, a 5-minute Facebook Live tour of the new Catena home garnered more than 7,000 views, reached 22,000 people and had nearly 450 post engagements.

“After the positive responses from manufacturers, community operators and the general public regarding the MMHA Home Showcase last year, the association decided it was definitely worth the time and effort to bring these homes to the public again,” said Richard Winkleman, director of community operations for AJR Development and MMHA board of directors president.

The Michigan Manufactured Housing Association educates the public about the benefits of manufactured and modular home living, and connects people interested in a community or home with MMHA members.

MMHA is one of Michigan’s oldest trade associations, founded in 1941. MMHA is a nonprofit association that represents the manufactured home industry in Michigan. For more information, visit the Michigan Manufactured Housing Association.

This Novi Home Show/MMHA Showcase recap was provided to MHVillage by Gretchen A. Monette of All Seasons Communications.

Florida Manufactured Housing Post-Irma

MH Pros Go in Search of Answers on Florida Manufactured Housing Post-Irma

In the days following Hurricane Irma, a team of unlikely documentarians hit the soggy ground in South Florida searching for answers on manufactured housing post-Irma.

They handed out water and rations, called when they could to notify emergency workers of stranded or distressed residents, and offered plenty of blessings and well wishes too.

However, the line of questioning most often, and where the cameras were trained, had more to do with homes that remained rather than those wiped out.

Leading the team was Jim Ayotte, Executive Director of the Florida Manufactured Housing Association.

“The industry fared much better than we anticipated,” Ayotte said following the visit to six communities in Naples and Bonita Springs, Fla. “There were fewer damaged and destroyed home than expected.

“The new product performed extremely well,” he said. “We did not find one home that was built and sited after 1994 that suffered any significant damage. Maybe a roof shingle or two that had come loose, but that was about it.”

A roof shingle or two, amid the piles of rubble, splintered lumber and debris that continues to fill front yards and line streets in some areas.

A Report from Storm-Damaged South Florida

An estimated 77 people died in or from the aftermath of the storm. Area emergency rooms a month later continued to see double the normal traffic; storm victims with severe dehydration, slip and fall injuries, or trauma from working to move debris.

“A lot of site-built homes had roofs missing, holes in roofs, blown windows,” Ayotte said. “There were boats and RVs stacked up on the side of the road. The amount of destruction in general was amazing.

Manufactured Housing Post-Irma — An older home adjacent Jenkins’ residence

Older manufactured homes, Ayotte said, sustained damage, most often from attached structures pulling up from high winds, and ripping away siding or roofing fascia. But even those sustain only minor damage to the primary structure. FMHA continues to ask for input from residents, community managers and owners.

Ayotte said he saw two homes that shifted on their foundations.

“We had a good cross-section of the industry, and we met with a lot of community owners and home owners,” Ayotte said. “I was amazed at how upbeat and resilient these people were.

“We really believe that we have a great product, and these storms give us the opportunity to assess the industry and affirm that we’re building and siting the homes that we want to have out there. These homes are performing just as we want them to perform.”

How One Couple Survived Irma

John Jenkins is one of the homeowners Ayotte and his team ran across during their first tour of Florida manufactured housing post-Irma.

Jenkins, his girlfriend Susie and their dog BO, waited nervously in their 2017 Destiny home, which had been delivered and installed at Riverwood Estates in Naples only a few months prior. They watched the reports as the storm shifted and hopped west. And then they went from nervous to concerned, or something just shy of scared.

The couple placed a call to Jeff Wagner, from GTS Homes. Wagner had installed the home, and answered the call. Wagner assured Jenkins that the home was sturdy and anchored tight.

“There was nowhere to go,” Jenkins said. “If you go north, that’s the track for the hurricane. If you go east, all of those people were coming toward us. It really surprised us. We were supposed to be out of the way. But Jeff assured me that everything was new and in place. He thought we’d be OK.

‘Serenity inside this home’

“We watched that thing come up on us, we stayed in it as the eye came over top of us, then it hit again and scraped right across before swinging northeast again,” Jenkins said. “The fierceness of the outside made the relative calm and serenity inside this home very surreal. It was very much in contrast to what was going on outside.”

Jenkins said his home shook a little. He saw a small leak atop the back door, which has since been replaced. His primary concern, he said, was getting hit by flying debris from other structures, automobiles and large trees.

Many homes in his community, he said, though older – from the ’70s and ’80s – stayed on the ground. That’s because of government-funded tie-downs handed out to residents following deadly Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

Even without electrical and other municipal services for 10 or more days following Irma, which made landfall on Sept. 10, Jenkins and his girlfriend felt relatively fortunate.

True, they had damage to the skirting. But, the home and all Jenkins invested in it is intact.

“You can look out the back of my house and right through the front and through what used to be the living room of my neighbor’s home. That’s the typical story down here, of older built homes,” Jenkins said. “It was definitely an age thing… there’s no comparison.”

Implementation of health and safety standards for Florida manufactured housing:

1976 HUD code: Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards – Amended/updated several times including most recently in 2015.
1999 Florida Installation standards
1994 and updated in 2010 High-Velocity Hurricane Zone (HVHZ) —
FAQ on the safety of Florida manufactured and mobile homes

Manufactured Housing Post-Irma

Bob Qurnell is co-owner of Destiny Home Builders.

“I didn’t have any house that I know of destroyed from this storm, and we sell all the way down to Key West,” Qurnell said. “Our goal is to give the customer the best possible product. I think we did that in this case and in most cases. And the industry as a whole is building and siting quality homes. We can stand to have more people understand that, particularly in the face of media reports that often paint a different picture.”

Qurnell points out that factory-built homes like his have the benefit of weekly inspections from fire marshals, something few site-built homebuilders experience.

“We can’t cut corners even if we wanted,” Qurnell said. “We build a high-quality home with the same shingles, siding, shudders and many other materials used for site-built homes. Those are the points where you can get wind lift in there and the damage can begin.”

To review manufactured housing post-Irma, Ayotte traveled with a videographer/photographer, a member of the marketing team and two representatives, including Qurnell, from noted home manufacturers. FMHA presented the video produced from the first and two subsequent trips to South Florida during the recent National Communities Council in Chicago.

The video features Jenkins and his story.

“When we approached him about the storm, he said ‘I felt good.’,” Ayotte said. “We couldn’t have asked for a better testimonial.”

What is Enough?

Writer Tammy Strobel asks ‘What is enough?’ and finds answers that lead to happiness

Tammy Strobel has been asking “What is Enough?” of herself for several yeas, a means of adjustments for someone who used to “really liked to shop”, and had a real hankering for large diamonds.

“I was surrounded by people who drove BMWs and had large houses,” Strobel said. “I was striving for that, and I associated it with being happy, but it became evident that it was really making me nuts.”

Strobel told her story of downsizing to a room of about 150 attendees at the National Tiny House & Simple Living Jamboree in Arlington, Texas.

They lived in a 1,200 square foot apartment exploding with stuff.

She and her husband Logan talked about downsizing, saving money, possibly view a career change and search for real happiness.

“I was like, ‘What the heck are you talking about?” she recalled saying.

But over time, she began to move in his direction. Though she had questions about its viability.

They cleaned out this room one room in the house. Made it bare and simple. Closed the door, and lived in it.

“HUH! This is kind of awesome. I started feeling better, and stopped shopping as much, and began focusing on more of less,” she said.

The couple rid themselves of unneeded items, and moved to a smaller yet apartment. That was when they saw their first moveable tiny house, in a video on the web. They had wanted to buy, but housing prices in Sacramento, Calif., were out of reach for them.

“We’re going to go for this tiny house,” she said. “We really felt it was right for us.”

How Tammy and Logan clawed their way to simplicity

When to ask 'What is Enough?' — Strobel’s tiny home.

She began to blog about their changes. Tammy and Logan latched on to a program called “The 100 Things Challenge” by Dave Bruno, which helped them get rid of more unneeded belongings. They went car-free and pocketed the $550 per month they were spending. And, they moved to Portland, Ore.

“It took time and did not happen over night,” she said. “But we had heard the city was tiny house friendly.”

They had saved enough to pay cash for a tiny home, and rented a backyard and moved in.

“We were able to prioritize around the important relationships, spent more times with loved ones,” she said. She learned her dad was sick, and dying. Logan’s job was in transition to Boston.

“Again, we were asking ‘What is enough?'” she said. “When I think back, having that time and space to be with my dad when he was dying, it’s the most valuable aspect of what we’ve done.”

They declined the job change, and decided to put the moveable home on the road and lived in four different places, ending up on a ranch in Northern California. Now they live between a 400 square-foot apartment, using the tiny house as a getaway.

“A tiny house isn’t required to live simply,” she said. “I love tiny house are cute. I love them, but they’re not a requirement to ask yourself ‘What is enough’.

“It’s a cliche, but less is more,” she said. “We have more money, sure, but fewer things and less stress.”

Finding New Manufactured Homes on MHVillage

Business man hand hold the house model saving small house. House insurance

Looking for a New Manufactured Home?

MHVillage has some specific search tools that can help!

Looking for new manufactured homes typically starts with shopping through mobile home floor plans or model homes. Then the next step is working with the on-staff professionals.

“How do I get started finding a new manufactured home?”

MHVillage has a few options!

One option is to use our “On Dealer Lot” search results. This page of home results will show the homes that are currently on the lot of the manufactured home retailer/dealer. This will show some previously owned homes, but it also will include any new models they have.

Another benefit of this search result, is the new manufactured homes included are typically available for a walk through at your earliest convenience.

To get started on MHVillage, all you need to do is choose the “Find Homes For Sale” from our left menu.

To see the homes on the dealer lots, you would then choose the “On Dealer Lot” tab from the top of the search page.

Each one of the listings you see, will have a contact section for any additional questions about the home.

If you prefer to work with a specific mobile home dealer or retailer you also can try a “Dealer” search on MHVillage. This will let you shop their specific inventory.

These results will show if you select the “Dealers” tab after entering your location.

Our third option is to take a look at the mobile home floor plans on MHVillage.

We have a page on MHVillage that shows some of the latest models Champion Homes has to offer.

To see these models, all you would need to do is enter the location you are looking to move and then choose the “Models” tab from the top of the results.

This will show you the models available and the retailers/dealers in your area who can help!

If you’re in the market, you’ll want to check out some of the most popular, brand new manufactured homes available today. If you have any other questions about searching for new manufactured homes on MHVillage contact our customer service department!

1...394041...45 Page 40 of 45

EVENTS