What is DMHOA?

Delaware Manufactured Home Owners Association is the only statewide advocacy organization in the Diamond State representing the interests of owners of manufactured homes on leased land throughout New Castle, Kent and Sussex counties.

It was chartered as a statewide grass-roots advocacy group in March 2002 as a natural outgrowth of the Sussex County Manufactured Home Tenants Association, which had represented owners of manufactured homes in the state's fastest-growing county since 1983.

There are an estimated 8,000 manufactured homes on leased land in New Castle County, 15,000 in Kent County and 30,000 in Sussex County. DMHOA was formed when, through news stories and word of mouth, individual homeowners and community associations in Kent and New Castle counties found out about the Sussex County association and asked to join ... with the homeowners in all three counties realizing they were all facing the same issues and battles in their attempt to maintain an affordable lifestyle.

According to the 2000 Census, nearly 8.7 million homes in the nation are manufactured homes, up from 7.3 million 10 years earlier. The majority of those homes are in leased-land communities. Delaware is 17th in the nation in the number of manufactured homes. Figures from the Delaware State Housing Authority show that manufactured homes accounted for 22.5% of all new home sales in the state in 2000, up from 20.2% in 1999 and 17.8% in 1998. Today, manufactured homes make up about 15% of Delaware's housing stock.

DMHOA and its predecessor (SCMHTA) have been involved in negotiations with a trade group representing the landowners and with individual landowners on homeowners' behalf; in legislative efforts to strengthen existing laws and better protect homeowners' rights; in coordinated efforts with other organizations like the American Association of Retired Persons and the National Association of Retired Federal Employees, and in legal efforts, when necessary.

The group meets monthly at different locations, publishes a quarterly newsletter and has this website to communicate with its constituents. DMHOA has hosted a number of general meetings that featured elected officials and candidates for office, so people could find out where they stood on issues important to homeowners. In the fall, DMHOA hosts "Meet the Candidate" events in each county to make sure voters are informed and get out to vote. It's part of a continuing effort to maximize the collective power of some 130,000 voters who live in manufactured homes.

DMHOA does not have a paid staff. All of the officers, committee chairs, board members and others who work on issues are volunteers. The board is comprised of the presidents of every community association that belongs to DMHOA, and every individual member of participating community associations is automatically a member of DMHOA. In addition, at-large members' annual dues support DMHOA's legislative activities.

The current officers and committee assignments are:

 

President	Edwin Speraw
Vice President	John Walsh
Secretary	Nancy Keyser
Treasurer	Roberta Hemmerich
Members at Large	Beth McGinn
Public Relations	Fred Neil
Webmaster	Richard Maly

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