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South Florida Business Journal: Miami-Dade mobile home park could be replaced with apartments

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The building would rise eight stories in an emerging neighborhood.

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Our thoughts on this story:

And another park bites the dust.

Aspen Public Radio: Mobile home park residents see major traction in donations

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After the school bus swings by Aspen-Basalt Mobile Home Park, kids spill out onto the playground in the center of the neighborhood: kicking around a soccer ball, lobbing a volleyball and narrowly avoiding windshields.

It's been this way for decades, said resident Lorena Vargas. She lives in the park with her husband and their two daughters, right next to her in-laws.

“That's something that you find throughout the mobile home park. It's pretty multi-generational,” she said. “The people we grew up with are now having their kids there, and so our kids are growing up together.”

But in March, residents of Aspen-Basalt and Mountain Valley...

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Our thoughts on this story:

The tenants have to raise $20 million to buy the parks. They’ve raised $12.6 million. They’re $7.4 million short of the goal and the time clock has just about run out. You’re not going to raise the last $7.4 million with bake sales and car washes. Once again, these tenant first options are a gigantic waste of time.

Lookout Santa Cruz: Long-troubled Soquel RV park faces uncertain future under controversial new owner

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A long-troubled mobile home park just up the hill from Soquel Village is facing an uncertain future after it was purchased out of bankruptcy earlier this year by a company with a history of hiking rents and attempting to close parks, raising concerns about a key piece of affordable housing in the community.

Stockton-based Harmony Communities owns or operates dozens of mobile home parks throughout the western United States, most of which are in California and Oregon. It purchased Soquel Gardens Mobile Home Park in February, following years of persistent issues with the park and its facilities, culminating in the state revoking its permit...

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Our thoughts on this story:

And another park bites the dust.

Lookout Santa Cruz: RTC’s rail trail deadline arrives, but mobile home parks haven’t moved, likely spurring at least one lawsuit

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In the regional transportation commission’s ongoing pursuit of a rail and trail system, one of the starkest dividing lines can be found between two Mid-County mobile parks. 

Literally: From above, the east-to-west tracks of the old Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line look like a series of vertebrae bisecting the properties of the Blue & Gold Star Mobile Home Park and the Castle Mobile Estates park. But also politically: Between the two parks, parts of homes or fence lines on 44 lots encroach into the rail line property, which is owned by the Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission. In order for the RTC to build its long-envisioned Read More

Our thoughts on this story:

And another two mobile home parks bite the dust.

Bloomberg Law: Manufactured Home Energy Standard Rule’s Start Delayed by Judge

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Manufactured housing groups won their bid to stop the July 1 enforcement of energy conservation standards expected to be replaced by a new Energy Department rule in the near-but-unspecified future.

That period of limbo for the rule’s compliance deadline will cause irreparable harm, Judge David A. Ezra of the US District Court for the Western District of Texas said Monday.

The Manufactured Housing Institute and the Texas Manufactured Housing Association in 2023 challenged a DOE rule that set conservation standards for duct and air sealing, insulation installation, service hot water systems, and other building... Read More

Our thoughts on this story:

This environmental law is a leftover of the Biden administration and should be flushed down the toilet ASAP. I’m glad that the TMHA took the helm in getting this idiocy stopped.

San Jose Spotlight: San Jose tightens mobile home park rent control policy

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San Jose is updating language in its rent control policy due to mobile home park landlords illegally raising prices on tenants living in RVs.

The city’s decades-old mobile home rent policy states property owners cannot raise rents more than 7% without city approval — but Western Trailer Park disregarded it on the grounds that recreational vehicles are not mobile homes. Housing Director Erik Soliván updated the policy earlier this month to clarify RVs are considered mobile homes on mobile home lots. RV residents live in 15 of the 58 mobile home parks within San Jose.

Jeff Scott, spokesperson for the housing department, said the official...

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Our thoughts on this story:

“Dear San Jose mobile home park owner: please tear your park down immediately and build something else on that land.” I think that’s the basic message that San Jose is sending.

WNDU: Feeling the Heat: People living at South Bend trailer park begin removing window A/C units

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SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) - Find another solution to cool your home — that’s what the owners of trailers at Countryside Village in South Bend have been told since at least September of last year.

And come tomorrow (July 1), people living inside those trailers face a major deadline: get rid of their window A/C units, or face violations and be forced out of their homes.

Many people in the mobile home park own their trailers but pay a lot rent to YES Communities, which owns hundreds of parks across the nation. The company’s community guidelines that tenants are instructed to sign along with their lease states window A/C units are not...

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Our thoughts on this story:

YES Communities is obviously trying to elevate the aesthetics of their property by demanding that window A/C units be removed immediately. All the homes pictured in this article have central A/C systems, which the residents have elected to replace with window units since they probably did not want to spend the money to fix the central system. The journalist does not mention either of these facts but instead wants to harp on the “evil landlord” schtick. Other than public relations challenges, I’m not sure how you can eradicate the window units without banning them and forcing residents to fix their central systems like they should have in the first place. Hard to imagine – at a time when there’s so much news going on – that this is the best use of this TV station’s time.

WNDU: Benton Township eyes senior living community on site of former trailer park

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BENTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WNDU) - The site of a former trailer park is poised to become a senior living community in Benton Township.

A sign buried behind a mangled fence and overgrown grass is all that’s left of Crystal Trailer Park.

Benton Township now owns the 10-acre plot of land.

It is in the process of creating a senior housing complex that would cater to people with a moderate income.

 

There would be 80 to 90 one story apartments and a community center.

Cathy Yates, the supervisor of Benton Charter Township, says the complex is needed.

“Some people are living on second and third floors, and even in some places without an...

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Our thoughts on this story:

And another park bites the dust.

ABC 7 Chicago: Blue Island shutting down embattled mobile home park, residents don't know what's next

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BLUE ISLAND, Ill. (WLS) -- Dozens of residents in south suburban Blue Island could soon be without homes.

The city said it's shutting down an embattled mobile home park after years of unpaid water bills and code violations.

Thursday is the deadline the city of Blue Island has given to the owners of Forest View Mobile Home Park to come up with a plan to shut the property down.

Officials have said the city has spent two years trying to get management to clean up its act. Its residents are now caught in the middle, unsure where they will go.

The park is currently made up of empty lots, broken up streets and abandoned and stripped-down...

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Our thoughts on this story:

And another park bites the dust.

Daily Herald: Provo mobile home park residents fear displacement from proposed mall redevelopment

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A proposed redevelopment of the Provo Towne Centre is sparking a myriad of questions and concerns among Provo residents, most specifically those who live within close proximity of the mall.

In May, the Daily Herald was the first to report that property owner Brixton Capitol submitted an entitlement application to the city that outlines plans to transform the indoor shopping mall into a mixed-use development that would include retail, dining, entertainment and housing.

The project is in partnership with Provo-based real estate development and investment firm PEG Cos.

The plan, which is still in the conceptual phase, was presented for the...

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Our thoughts on this story:

And another park bites the dust.

WBTV: Residents speak out as mobile home community in northeast Charlotte at risk of being rezoned

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - The Forest Park Mobile Home community in northeast Charlotte is at risk of being rezoned.

Developers are wanting to move in and make room for nearly 400 residential units, townhomes, and retail space. Which means each of the families that call Forest Park home, would have to leave.

When you enter the Forest Park neighborhood, you immediately get the allure. It’s quiet, plenty of shade from trees and enough space on each lot to really make it your own.

It sits on more than 19 acres and is less than 20 minutes from center city— that also makes it prime real estate to developers.

According to the people who live...

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Our thoughts on this story:

And another park bites the dust.

realtor.com: Inside Maine’s Push To Let Residents Buy Mobile Home Parks Before Investors Do

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Dawn Beailieu has called Friendly Village, a mobile home park in Gorham, ME, her home for nearly 30 years. It’s quiet, affordable, and a safe place for seniors like her to age in place.

But a letter she received this spring threatened to upend that stability overnight. It revealed that an out-of-state developer wants to buy Friendly Village—along with seven other mobile home parks spread across Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York—for a combined $87.5 million. Friendly Village’s slice of that deal alone is valued at $22 million, and under Maine law, residents have just 60 days to organize and make a counteroffer if they hope to keep...

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Our thoughts on this story:

But a letter she received this spring threatened to upend that stability overnight. It revealed that an out-of-state developer wants to buy Friendly Village—along with seven other mobile home parks spread across Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York—for a combined $87.5 million. Friendly Village’s slice of that deal alone is valued at $22 million, and under Maine law, residents have just 60 days to organize and make a counteroffer if they hope to keep control of their community. “We think we can do it,” Beailieu said in an interview with Fox 23 Maine.

Perhaps the new face of the “tenant-owned community” concept should be Greta Thunberg, the radical idiot who makes outlandish statements that nobody will refute because they’re afraid of cancel-culture. Does anyone seriously think that a bunch of trailer park residents are going to raise $7 million cash as down payment on a $22 million mobile home park, as well as put together the financing in only 60 days? Of course not – it’s absolute lunacy. But apparently nobody in Maine has the guts to say so.

Seeking Alpha: Manufactured Housing: The Ultimate 'Sleep Well At Night' REIT Sector

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Two forces will drive stock market returns over the next decade, and I’m purposely overweighting my investments in these categories.

The first catalyst is AI, which is disrupting many businesses and will generate substantial wealth for those who embrace technology. In a few days, I will be writing a detailed report on the best ways to invest in AI.

The second catalyst is the so-called silver tsunami, or aging population, that’s a huge demand tailwind which stands to benefit from demographics with Gen X (and soon elder millennials) aging into the cohort (ages 50-77), which is expected to gain 6.4 million people (+6% cumulatively) over the...

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Our thoughts on this story:

I'm overweighting investments in AI and manufactured housing, driven by tech disruption and demographic tailwinds from an aging population. Manufactured housing REITs benefit from affordability, limited new supply, and stable rent growth, making them attractive long-term investments.

Finally, an intelligent article.

The Aspen Times: How the Basalt, Aspen mobile home parks purchase will work if successful

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In the past several weeks, four local governments and two private businesses have given written commitments of at least $500,000 or more to two mobile home parks listed for sale in Basalt and Carbondale.

Aspen committed $3 million, as did Pitkin County. Meanwhile, Snowmass committed $1 million, Atlantic Aviation $1 million, Basalt $500,000, and SkiCo $500,000. Between just those five donations, there is $9 million on the table. More Roaring Fork Valley local governments are expected to consider committing money in the coming weeks. 

That substantial sum alone will not be enough to buy the mobile home parks, as the owners are asking for a...

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Our thoughts on this story:

Aspen committed $3 million, as did Pitkin County. Meanwhile, Snowmass committed $1 million, Atlantic Aviation $1 million, Basalt $500,000, and SkiCo $500,000. Between just those five donations, there is $9 million on the table. More Roaring Fork Valley local governments are expected to consider committing money in the coming weeks. That substantial sum alone will not be enough to buy the mobile home parks, as the owners are asking for a total sum of $42 million for the sale of Aspen Basalt Mobile Home and Mountain Valley Mobile Home parks. Residents, municipalities, and businesses in the valley who are interested in helping the two communities have set their sights on a $20 million fundraising goal.

So here’s another Greta Thunberg moment. When you’ve hit every non-profit on earth and only raised $9 million, yet you have to hit $20 million or the effort fails, anyone would say “gee, your odds of pulling this off are just about zero”. But not the “tenant-owned community” folks – they simply don’t know the word “defeat” until, as everyone already knows, they are defeated. 

Click Orlando: Government-backed loans fuel private equity takeover of Florida mobile home parks

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ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Federal mortgage giants are helping corporate investors acquire mobile home communities across Florida, leading to dramatic lot rent increases, a News 6 investigation revealed.

Florida leads the nation with 235 private equity-owned mobile home parks containing nearly 56,000 lots, according to data from the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, a nonprofit research organization.

News 6 has been investigating rising lot rents at mobile home parks across Florida. Residents tell us corporations are buying their communities then jacking up the lot rent. In a lot of these mobile home parks, residents own the home but lease...

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Our thoughts on this story:

Federal mortgage giants are helping corporate investors acquire mobile home communities across Florida, leading to dramatic lot rent increases, a News 6 investigation revealed. Florida leads the nation with 235 private equity-owned mobile home parks containing nearly 56,000 lots, according to data from the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, a nonprofit research organization.

This is an experimental new angle of attack by the Free Rent Movement folks (which is pretty clear because they’re so excited to launch it that there were no less than three nearly identical articles this week – two that I deleted). Under this new woke argument, Fannie/Freddie are in collusion to destroy mobile home park residents’ lives by financing evil corporate landlords to buy the properties and raise the rents into the stratosphere. It all sounds good, right? But there’s just one problem. Those “evil” landlords are, in fact, the only ones that have the money to buy $20+ million mobile home parks in Florida and then pump another $5 million into them to fix aging infrastructure. Without their efforts even more parks in Florida would be biting the dust.

WGME: 'They don’t care': Sabattus mobile home park owners blame new state law for $150 rent hike

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SABATTUS (WGME) — Mobile homeowners at Begin Estates in Sabattus are scrambling to get help after receiving notice that the rent they pay for their lots will increase by $150 per month.

The increase comes just as a new state law aimed at protecting residents from extreme rent hikes is set to take effect.

“They don’t care. They don’t care about the residents,” Suzanne Armstrong, who has lived at Begin Estates in Sabattus for 22 years, said.

Armstrong and her neighbors received a letter last week informing them that lot rent, which covers the land beneath their homes plus water and sewer costs, will increase to $580 per month starting Oct....

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Our thoughts on this story:

In a statement, Begin Estates management said it had no choice but to implement the increase expenses due to a rent control bill recently passed at the State House. The park says they have to anticipate future expenses now, since the legislation could stop them from raising rent in the future.

This is the reality that blue-state leaders create when they dangle the possibility of rent control. Of course, any smart park owner is going to raise their lot rent to market immediately or lose the opportunity forever. Without threatening rent control, the owner might have gone up $50 a year for three years as opposed to $150 in one whack. Who’s to blame? Certainly not the park owner.

Charlotte Observer: Affordable housing at risk as developer eyes Charlotte mobile home park for apartments

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Off Prosperity Church Road nestled near newly built townhomes, apartments and shopping centers sits a community fighting for its existence amid the weight of development pressures.

Last May, Leonel Chavez and many of his neighbors living in the Forest Park Mobile Home Park in northeast Charlotte were shocked when they received a letter from the property owner, Nesbit Oil Company, notifying them of their decision to sell after nearly 60 years.

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Our thoughts on this story:

I would typically say “and another park bites the dust” but it’s important to remind everyone as to why so many mobile home parks are being torn down right now – and this article demonstrates many of those factors. They include the simple facts that:

  1. Mobile home parks are just the right size, in terms of acreage, for apartment complexes.
  2. Mobile home parks have existing water, sewer, gas and electric access.
  3. Mobile home parks have great locations on major roads.
  4. Cities will give out any zoning or permitting required to get mobile home parks torn down.

When you add these four facts together, you can see why apartment developers long ago figured out that an existing mobile home park is the perfect location for a new apartment complex.

Oregon Live: Lawmakers agree to limit rent hikes at Oregon manufactured home parks, marinas

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A bill to further limit annual rent increases in many manufactured home parks and for floating homes in marinas has passed in both chambers and now heads to Gov. Tina Kotek.

House Bill 3054 passed Thursday out of the Senate 17-10 on largely party lines, with three excused votes.

If signed, the bill would restrict yearly rent increases in parks and marinas with more than 30 spaces to 6%. Smaller parks and marinas would still be subject to Oregon’s existing rent control law, which limits yearly increases to 7% plus inflation or 10%, whichever is less.

Manufactured home park residents typically own their homes but rent the land on which it...

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Our thoughts on this story:

Oregon already had rent control. But now they have decided to lower the annual percent cap on rent increases by nearly 50%, which should pretty much signal to every park owner to put their park on the market as raw land to be redeveloped. What a bunch of colossal idiots.

WFAE: Residents urge Charlotte City Council to vote against rezoning petition

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The owner of the Forest Park Mobile Homes has decided to sell the property where 60 trailer homes are located. Developers who submitted the rezoning request hope to build roughly 400 apartments and add 25,000 square feet of commercial space.

It’s not rocket science that 400 apartment units is a higher use of land than 60 mobile home spaces. That’s always been the limitation to the mobile home industry – you can’t stack them.

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Our thoughts on this story:

The owner of the Forest Park Mobile Homes has decided to sell the property where 60 trailer homes are located. Developers who submitted the rezoning request hope to build roughly 400 apartments and add 25,000 square feet of commercial space.

It’s not rocket science that 400 apartment units is a higher use of land than 60 mobile home spaces. That’s always been the limitation to the mobile home industry – you can’t stack them.

Tri-State Alert: The PA House wants to regulate mobile home park fees, but will the Senate agree?

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CHAMBERSBURG — The Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed a bill this week that would regulate fees at mobile home parks in the state. 

Many residents have been seeing surprising increases in rent and other fees in the recent months, seemingly out of nowhere. 

A lot of the owners of the parks are out of state and incredibly difficult to contact.

The bill passed the House 144 to 59 yesterday.

Attorney Clint Barkdoll said, “We were getting calls and emails from all over the country, people that were picking up on that story. The House has now implemented it. It goes to the Senate. This was a pretty wide margin that it passed by...

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Our thoughts on this story:

PA State Senator Doug Mastriano said, “It’s a dangerous trend here. So we’re going to bring in more government control and regulation. It’s always better, and I’m convinced of this here, historically, looking at it, just let the market drive it. There’s going to be abuse and what have you and that’s the problem. We’re going to have the exception make the rule, and that can’t be the case in the housing market or in the military. I mean, in the military, we have some stupid rules because some soldier 80 years ago did something really dumb, and then the rest of us are living with the effects of that rare case. That’s just another example of Democrats having turned this into a way to control the market and to regulate, and we just don’t want that. So what we have currently coming over, is a no go for me.”

It's a simple fact that there has never been rent control passed by any state that did not have the “trifecta” of a Democrat-controlled House, Senate and Governor. Pennsylvania has a Democrat-controlled Senate and Governor, but a Republican-controlled Senate. Let’s hope this 107-year-old track record holds true once again, and that the Pennsylvania Senate Republicans have the strength to repel this stupidity.

Multi-Housing News: Why Manufactured Housing Isn’t the ‘Last Resort’

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Real estate investors are increasingly gravitating toward niche asset classes that offer opportunities for outsize value creation, and manufactured housing communities are a prime example. As the largest source of nonsubsidized affordable housing in the country, MHCs play a vital role in the lives of tens of millions of Americans, yet they remain largely misunderstood and underappreciated.

According to the National Association of Home Builders’ recent report, 76.4 million households, or 57 percent of all U.S. households, are unable to afford a $300,000 home. This reflects a deepening affordability crisis, and one that continues to make it...

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Our thoughts on this story:

Manufactured housing should not be seen as a last resort. It’s a viable, dignified, and scalable housing option that already works for millions of Americans. 

A rare, positive article that is built on common sense. Good job!

Mobile home park owners have always known that the media portrayal that “trailer parks” are the lowest housing option on the food chain has been false. Most parks equate to roughly Class B apartments in tenant quality – but at less than half the monthly cost!

Class C (and lower) apartments are actually the bottom of the housing pyramid and have always been so.

Voice of OC: Stanton Rejects Mobile Home Rent Control Proposal

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Mobile home residents in Stanton won’t see any form of rent control anytime soon, as residents raise concerns over price hikes.   

Instead, Stanton City Council members say they’ll consider other support options.

Last week, council members voted 3-2 against holding a town hall to discuss rent control policies with residents from mobile home parks, with Councilman Donald Torres and Councilman Gary Taylor voting in favor of a town hall. Mayor David Shawver, who opposed the town hall, said it would give residents false hope.

Council members then voted unanimously to explore what other types of support and resources they can give...

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Our thoughts on this story:

Last week, council members voted 3-2 against holding a town hall to discuss rent control policies with residents from mobile home parks, with Councilman Donald Torres and Councilman Gary Taylor voting in favor of a town hall. Mayor David Shawver, who opposed the town hall, said it would give residents false hope.

Common sense – and out of California, no less.

Portland Press Herald: Maine lawmakers give mobile homeowners a leg up in park purchases

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Friendly Village mobile home park in Gorham in April. Residents are attempting to buy the park but face competition from an out-of-state investment firm. Lawmakers sent a bill to the governor’s desk that would make it easier for more communities to purchase their parks. (Derek Davis/Staff Photographer)
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Lawmakers on Wednesday passed a bill to give mobile home residents the “right of first refusal” when their parks go up for sale, but it won’t go into effect quickly enough to benefit Friendly Village, a large park in Gorham awaiting a decision on its multi-million dollar offer.

The bill, LD 1145, was enacted in both the state...

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Our thoughts on this story:

Maine now becomes the latest state to drink the Kool-Aid that somehow delaying legitimate sales to allow residents to take their hopeless shot at cobbling hand-outs and short-term loans to buy their park is a good use of everyone’s time. Non-profits have done a great job of convincing bureaucrats without divulging the simple fact that tenants succeed in buying their parks literally .0000001% of the time. The folks in Maine should probably also pass a first-option for the people in line at the airport to buy the plane they’re flying on in order to provide better snacks.

Spectrum News: Bay area mobile home park residents push back against mass eviction

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BRADENTON BEACH, Fla. — Mobile home park closures aren’t just displacing people — they’re erasing entire communities.

According to The Eviction Lab, each park’s closure further decreases the already scarce supply of affordable housing. Now, 83 families at Pines Trailer Park are experiencing that reality. Still reeling from the aftermath of back-to-back hurricanes Helene and Milton, they’re now battling a new storm — a legal one — as eviction notices appear on their doors.

The park’s owner is proceeding with plans to close the park for good, forcing many tenants, including Jason Woodall, to find new accommodations. Woodall, who just moved...

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Our thoughts on this story:

And another park bites the dust.

WLNS: Kristana Mobile Home Park residents speak out against eviction

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LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Residents of the Kristana Mobile Home Park in Dewitt Township held a news conference earlier today, speaking out against what they are calling an “illegal eviction.”

Mid-Michigan Tenant Resource Center says that residents gathered to publicly oppose the eviction that has left them without running water and at risk of homelessness.

“All of us own our homes. We’ve poured our savings, time, and lives into them. What they’re doing to us is not wrong, it’s illegal,” said Kristana resident Jason Eldridge in a news release sent to 6 News.

“Families are facing an illegal eviction, carried out not through court, not...

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Our thoughts on this story:

And another park bites the dust.