Ohio MHA Responds to Tornado Coverage

The Ohio Manufactured Housing Association (OMHA) responded to the March 17, 2024, news article in The Columbus Dispatch about the Indian Lake tornadoes in Logan County involving manufactured homes.

OMHA Executive Director Tim Williams replied to The Columbus Dispatch as follows:

I am responding to the March 17, 2024, news article written by Peter Gill for The Columbus Dispatch regarding the Indian Lake tornadoes in Logan County involving manufactured homes. First and most importantly, I extend my sincerest sympathies to the families who lost loved ones as well as all who were impacted by the tornadoes in Logan County and elsewhere in Ohio. May God bless them all in their hour of grief and need.

Any site-built home, manufactured home or mobile home directly hit by a tornado will be destroyed. Tornadoes do not target manufactured homes in some mysterious way. As evidenced by tornadoes just a few weeks ago in Hilliard, OH, some site-built structures were destroyed while leaving intact nearby manufactured homes.

“Mobile homes” are older homes built prior to 1976. The reporter failed to distinguish between older mobile homes and today’s manufactured homes. Manufactured homes since 1976 are built to a strict construction and safety code regulated by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. All manufactured homes are inspected in a factory by federal contractors to ensure compliance with the rigorous building and safety code requirements. Those inspections also include adherence to strict wind zone requirements based on the geographic location of the homes.

Furthermore, the previous Ohio Manufactured Homes Commission’s adoption of on-site foundation, and installation regulations including three on-site home inspections which exceed federal requirements in addition to the factory inspections has given Ohio one of the, if not the most, robust manufactured home installation and inspection program of any state in the country. The Ohio Department of Commerce adopted those standards and assumed responsibility for administering, inspection and enforcement in 2018.

The reporter is correct in that manufactured homes are indeed the most affordable housing option today. Moreover, according to a 2023 Trifecta study, “manufactured homes retailing for $100,000 or more are purchased three times as often by households with incomes greater than $75,000 a year and five times more often when you cross the $200,000 purchase price.” Obviously manufactured homes are an affordable home for any income level.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine is to be commended for quickly declaring a state of emergency in the eleven counties impacted by the March 14^th tornadoes. New state-of-the-art manufactured homes with the highest safety and construction standards can be placed in the Lakeview and Russell’s Point areas as well as other impacted counties where homeowners have been displaced. Manufactured homes can be placed in as little as just a few weeks to several months depending on the status of the existing infrastructure and homeowner’s needs.

Manufactured homes are the most affordable form of housing with the strictest building, safety, and wind zone requirements of any form of housing. I encourage Ohio officials to consider utilizing new manufactured homes to provide housing for those left homeless by the March 14^th tornadoes. For further information on home replacements please visit www.ohmanufacturedhomes.com

 

Tim Williams
Executive Director
Ohio Manufactured Homes Association