Hon. Congressman Walter Jones Says SAFE Act Wasn’t Meant to Regulate Manufactured Home Industry

July 22, 2010 - PRLog -- RALEIGH, NC— North Carolina Congressman Walter Jones (R-NC) says a bill aimed at regulating the mortgage industry known as the SAFE Act was not meant to cover those working in the manufactured home industry. In an exclusive interview with Manufactured Home Marketing Sales Management (MHMSM) Publisher Tony Kovach and INdustry in Focus Reporter Eric Miller, Jones explains his support for legislation that would exempt manufactured home retailers from regulation meant for the mortgage industry.

The Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 (“SAFE Act”) gave States one year to pass legislation requiring the licensure of mortgage loan originators according to national standards and the participation of State agencies on the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry. As was explained by Congressman Jones, the SAFE Act was not meant to cover sellers of manufactured homes.

“The SAFE Act puts a heavy strain on small mom-and-pop-size manufactured-home-related businesses, but also larger firms as well,” says MHMSM.com Publisher Tony Kovach. “It’s an unintended consequence, but the already struggling industry is facing huge costs of compliance.”

To help remedy the situation, Jones became a co-sponsor of H.R. 5369, the Manufactured Housing Licensing Clarification Act. H.R. 5369 is sponsored by Indiana Congressman Joe Donnelly. The legislation would amend the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act to exclude from the definition of "loan originator" an individual who performs manufactured or modular housing retail sales activities and is licensed or registered under state law, unless such individual is compensated by a lender, a mortgage broker, or other loan originator or by one of their agents.

“To muzzle sales people or a community manager under the guise of the SAFE Act was never the idea behind that law,” Jones says.

With Jones, the bill currently has five co-sponsors including Rep. Ben Chandler (D-KY), Rep. Gary C. Peters (D-MI), Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL) and Rep Charles A. Wilson (D-OH).

In the interview, Jones voices his support and admiration for the manufactured home industry and shares some personal experiences with manufactured housing, including how it has provided affordable housing for military families.

“We are honored to have been able to speak directly with Congressman Jones on this important issue, and the industry is grateful for his support of H.R. 5369,” Kovach says.

The complete interview is available at: http://www.mhmarketingsalesmanagement.com/blogs/industryv...

Note to media: mhmarketingsalesmanagement.com staff and Industry experts are available to discuss H.R. 5369 and the SAFE Act as well as issues related to modular, prefab and manufactured housing, the federal HUD code for Manufactured Housing and other factory built housing topics. Call them at 847-730-3692.

About MHMSM.com: Manufactured Home Marketing Sales Management trade journal, a.k.a. MHMarketingSalesManagement.com or MHMSM.com, is the largest and most popular media outlet that focuses on factory built housing, including top feature writers and industry focused news.

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Manufactured Home Marketing Sales Management trade journal, a.k.a. MHMarketingSalesManagement.com or MHMSM.com, is the largest and most popular media outlet that focuses on factory built housing, including top feature writers and industry focused news.