Creating Affordable Homes: The Role of Manufactured

Housing in Georgia

Skipper G. StipeMaas KnowledgePlex Presentation

August 23, 2005

Georgia at a Glance

• Georgia’s entire population is 8,186,453

• Of the 159 counties in Georgia over half the population (4,111,198) live in the 20-county Atlanta Metropolitan Statistical Area.

• This means half of the state’s population lives in rural Georgia.

Poverty in Georgia

• 12.99% of Georgians live in poverty.

• 91 of Georgia’s Counties are considered Persistent Poverty Counties. All 91 Persistent Poverty Counties are rural.

• The median household income in Georgia is $42,433.

Housing in Georgia

• In 1997, the average price for a 1,680 square foot MH was $44,000 whereas the average price for the same size stick-built house was $109,000.

• A worker earning $8.00 an hour could qualify for a house valued at $42,000.

• Only 24.1% of households in the US can afford to purchase an average site-built home.

Manufactured Housing in Georgia

• 1 million Georgians live in Manufactured Housing

• 84.6% of Georgia’s Manufactured Housing units are located outside of the 20-county Atlanta Metropolitan Area.

MH as Affordable Housing: Opportunities

• MH can be secure, affordable housing when placed on secure land.

• MH in Georgia is the one major source of affordable housing for 0% to 50% median family income residents.

• MH Parks can be financially lucrative.

MH as Affordable Housing: Obstacles and Barriers

• Dependency on MH for housing: Residents in Georgia have become increasingly dependent on MH Parks because they do not have the resources to access other non-subsidized housing and are often without the necessary documents or credit to qualify for traditional housing or other forms of subsidized affordable housing.

• MH Park residents are often treated as second-class citizens by absentee landlords.

Why Preserve Manufactured Housing Parks: The Cost of Loss

• Garden Springs: 108 families were displaced when the land beneath their mobile homes was sold for 1.7 million.

• To relocate the 108 families, $500,000 was raised over 9 months.

• The replacement cost of the mobile homes families lost when they moved has not been tallied.

Why MH Housing Parks:The Cost to Rebuild

• Displaced residents formed People of Hope, Inc. with the mission to build Georgia’s first permanently affordable, resident-controlled mobile home community.

• 17.2 acres have been purchased for 40 homes.

• Hard costs for this new park is 1.3 million.

Compare the Costs

• Garden Springs: A Park for 108 Families sold for $1.7 million. Note: The Families paid $17,000 per month in lot fees ($165 per lot) to an absentee landlord.

• People of Hope: A Park for 40 Families being built for $1.3 million. Note: The Families will pay lot fees to service a $400,000 construction loan ($200 per lot—the maximum of what they can afford) with the remainder hard costs paid by subsidies.

What is the solution to Georgia’s Affordable Housing Crisis?

• Georgia’s Manufactured Housing Initiative: Capturing, protecting, and stabilizing existing Manufactured Housing Parks as a community asset by transforming them into resident-controlled, permanently affordable housing.

Georgia’s Manufactured Housing Initiative: A Four Part Solution

• Community-based Non-Profits: Residents of parks can use MH as base for Affordable Housing through resident-controlled non-profits in mobile home parks

• Community Land Trusts: CLTs can hold the land in trust as a means to preserve long-term affordability and capture and grow subsidies.

• Finance: CLT owned and resident-managed MH Parks can use current finance mechanisms and create opportunities for low-income individuals to have resident-controlled, permanently affordable homes.

• Research: Examine possible solutions for MH Park residents to purchase parks and have better financing options.

Four Part Solution: Pilot Project

• Resident Driven Non-Profits: People of Hope, Inc.: The housing pads, streets, community center, and amenities will be owned and managed by People of Hope. PoH’s board is comprised solely of future residents of the Park who are low-income.

• Community Land Trusts: Athens Land Trust, Inc.: The land is owned by the Athens Land Trust with a 99 year ground lease to PoH.

• Finance: Georgia Community Loan Fund, Inc., Grants, Resident Fundraising.

• Research: Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP is conducting research on policy.

Georgia Manufactured Housing Initiative:

Current Partners’ Web Sites

• www.glsp.org

• www.gaclf.org

• www.peopleofhope.us

• www.sablaw.com

• www.athenslandtrust.org