Housing.com News, Analysis & Opinion: Hurricane Housing: View from the trailer park

And one thing that is absolutely essential--which I think a lot of pundits are going to overlook--is that the people buying these homes need to have the right to dispute if they turn out to be lemons. Binding arbitration clauses can rob a homebuyer of any chance to have a case heard in court, and the expensive fees for arbitration put it well beyond most cash-poor homeowners' reach. Now, if this happens in a healthy, booming housing market, imagine what's happening in a maelstrom of chaos and money like the Gulf Coast.

Now, obviously, both sides have their inherent biases which I shouldn't need to spell out. What bothers me is that manufactured or prefab homes may not just be the only hope of ownership for disaster victims, but that they're increasingly becoming the only avenue for middle-to-low-income-buyers who are being priced out of a still-boiling market in some areas.

And yet, the New York Times reports that people are buying smaller homes. Perhaps this will entice a greater oversight of the pre-fab industry, where space and economy are much more of a consideration. You can change the dimensions of a built house to fit the space you need, but a prefab home comes "ready to order," so you have to get it right the first time.

We can but hope. This could very much be the new dimension our real estate economy has to take in order to survive, and how it helps the survivors of Katrina and Rita will be the acid test.

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The first of the "trailer park communities" for Katrina refugees could be up and running today. I'm sure that the ongoing contracting process will be handled with the same attention to cost and strict guidance as the job so far. If you're going to make people live in trailers, the least you can do is ensure that their (and our) money isn't spiraled down a funnel of no-bid contracts for slipshod work. And one thing that is absolutely essential--which I think a lot of pundits are going to overlook--is that the people buying these homes need to have the right to dispute if they turn out to be lemons. Binding arbitration clauses can rob a homebuyer of any chance to have a case heard in court, and the expensive fees for arbitration put it well beyond most cash-poor homeowners' reach. Now, if this happens in a healthy, booming housing market, imagine what's happening in a maelstrom of chaos and money like the Gulf Coast. Bankrate has a piece that sings the praises of pre-manufactured homes. On the other side of the coin, Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings has a blistering collection of information regarding the dangers of buying a prefab home. Now, obviously, both sides have their inherent biases which I shouldn't need to spell out. What bothers me is that manufactured or prefab homes may not just be the only hope of ownership for disaster victims, but that they're increasingly becoming the only avenue for middle-to-low-income-buyers who are being priced out of a still-boiling market in some areas. And yet, the New York Times reports that people are buying smaller homes. Perhaps this will entice a greater oversight of the pre-fab industry, where space and economy are much more of a consideration. You can change the dimensions of a built house to fit the space you need, but a prefab home comes "ready to order," so you have to get it right the first time. We can but hope. This could very much be the new dimension our real estate economy has to take in order to survive, and how it helps the survivors of Katrina and Rita will be the acid test.