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The manufactured housing industry requires attorneys with knowledge in a combination of areas of law, including: real estate laws, mortgage lending laws, vehicle codes, secured consumer lending laws and in the creation and financing of business organizations. Noonan & Lieberman attorneys have that knowledge. We help manufactured housing lenders, servicers and community owners navigate through the maze of legal issues effecting their operations. Our firm’s focus on small and medium sized financial institutions make us particularly suited for delivering high quality, cost efficient legal services to our manufactured housing industry clients.
For manufactured housing attached to real estate, please see our mortgage lending and servicing page.
For questions regarding our manufactured housing services, please reach out to our Contact Attorney.
Regulatory Compliance
We advise manufactured housing lenders, servicers and community owners on compliance with federal and state regulatory requirements. Our objective is to help clients operate in compliance with these requirements. Our federal regulatory compliance counseling includes the following acts and related regulations, as applicable: Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) including Anti-Money Laundering (AML) rules, Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act), Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA (fair lending)), Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA), Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-Sign Act), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Fair Housing Act (FHA), False Claims Act (FCA), Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), Military Lending Act (MLA), Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 (SAFE Act), Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and qualified mortgage rules (QM), Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts or Practices (UDAAP), and USA PATRIOT Act.
Our state compliance includes advice on state and local anti-predatory lending laws, consumer fraud and deceptive practices laws, debt collection laws, replevin laws, UCC, vehicle codes, interest and usury laws, laws effecting real estate communities, zoning laws and licensing requirements.
Our attorneys work with clients to develop, and conduct periodic reviews of, compliance management system, controls, policies and procedures to ensure they comply with applicable legal requirements. We advise and assist clients in the development, design and review of loan documents, disclosure forms, consumer notices, and default procedures in compliance with applicable regulatory requirements. We work together with clients’ compliance personnel, internal or external auditors, consultants and senior management in conducting periodic reviews or internal compliance investigations. We conduct state law surveys for clients that have multistate operations and provide clients comparative federal and state requirements. Our attorneys provide federal (e.g. CFPB, HUD and DOJ) and state regulatory exam support including, exam preparation, ongoing exam support, assist clients in responding to exam findings and advise on remediation. We also assist clients in responding to consumer complaints, in responding to federal and states regulatory inquiries and in communicating with federal and state regulatory agencies on all matters touching clients’ operations.
Regulatory Enforcement
Our attorneys help clients in responding to federal and state regulators’ inquiries and investigation demands, such as, civil investigative demands (CID) and subpoenas. We also represent clients in administrative enforcement proceedings, including before the CFPB, Department of Justice (DOJ) and other federal and state regulators. We help clients navigate the enforcement process and assist clients in reaching resolution with the regulators.
Transactional Support
Our attorneys help clients in drafting, reviewing and negotiating manufactured housing industry agreements, including:
- Community management agreements
- Home rental agreements
- Home purchase and sale agreements
- Loan agreements
- Lines of credit agreements
- Manufactured home community purchase agreements
- Manufactured home community management agreements
- Portfolio acquisitions of manufactured housing communities or loans
- Private merger and acquisition agreements
- Private offering memorandums and operating agreements
- Repurchase agreements
- Servicing and subservicing agreements
- Site leases
- Warehouse line agreements
Litigation
We provide a broad range of litigation services to manufactured housing lenders, investors and servicers, including judicial replevin actions, prosecute and defense against local zoning ordinances and state laws impacting manufactured housing community owners, prosecution and defense of manufactured housing industry agreements, defense of consumer litigation, class action defense, federal and state appellate litigation (including appeals of administrative decisions), and general commercial litigation. We also represent clients as creditors in consumer bankruptcies. We are able to leverage our attorneys’ knowledge of regulatory compliance and transactional work to augment our representation of clients in litigation prosecution and defense. Click Litigation for more information on our litigation services.
Licensing
Our attorneys advise clients that engage in manufactured housing lending, and servicing clients on state licensing requirements and, where appropriate, identify available exemptions. We assist clients in obtaining state licenses and any required federal approvals to conduct their activities. We help manufactured housing clients comply with SAFE Act requirements and assist with state loan origination licensing rules. Our attorneys conduct multistate licensing surveys, engage in multistate licensing applications projects and assist clients with licensing renewals.
Public Policy
Our firm is committed to engage in public debate concerning policies that affect the manufactured housing industry. We have broad experience representing clients and industry and in participants as amicus curiae counsel in consumer financial industry related cases and help clients provide comment to lawmakers and regulators on proposed rules and regulations.