At the request of the Washington State Department of Commerce, state Rep. Cindy Ryu, D-Shoreline, is sponsoring a bill aimed at improving consumer protections for buyers of manufactured homes. A Seattle Times investigation into manufactured housing company Clayton Homes, owned by investor Warren Buffett, suggested that the firm's predatory sales practices left many low-income people trapped in loans they can’t pay back. Manufactured homes are usually sold under different contracts than regular homes, and buyers aren’t protected by the deeds of trust act. Without this state protection, buyers may be vulnerable to exploitative business practices.
The new bill would let the Department of Commerce come up with recommendations for improving protections for buyers of manufactured homes, including longer times to deal with defaults and mediation before foreclosures.
