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The Bellingham Herald: Bellingham mobile home park’s affordability uncertain after residents’ land purchase attempt fails Read more at: https://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/local/article287110085.html#storylink=cpy

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The future affordability of a Bellingham manufactured home park is uncertain after an attempt by the park residents to buy the land was unsuccessful and the community was sold to a new owner.

Lakeway Mobile Estates is a senior community made up of 218 individually owned manufactured homes on more than 28 acres in Bellingham’s Puget neighborhood. Residents pay a monthly fee to lease the land that their homes are on.

In December residents were notified by letter that the property owner intended to sell the community. Per city and state law meant to maintain affordable housing and prevent manufactured home park residents from being displaced...

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“We are sorry to hear that Lakeway Mobile Estates (the ‘Park’) is being sold for approximately $41 million,” the city stated in an email to a constituent about the sale. “We understand that the purchase price could result in a significant increase in lot rent, which many low-income residents at the Park will be unable to afford.”

OK, so let me get this straight. The residents were unable to pull off the purchase of the property for $41 million. So somebody else bought it for $41 million. The city was willing to cough up $7 million down payment. The private-sector buyer probably put down a little more than that, but close. With either party buying the property for $41 million there would be an identical note with identical interest rate and identical monthly payment. So then how exactly would the non-profit be able to buy it without raising lot rents just as high – or higher – than the private sector group would? The answer, of course, is that they can’t.

STUPIDITY RATING ON A 1 TO 10 SCALE: 9

Daily Montanan: Building stability through resident-owned mobile home parks

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In 2011, it was chance that took Marjory Gilsrud and her husband, Mike, to a home in the Madelia Mobile Village Cooperative. But it’s choice that has kept them in the resident-owned mobile home park in rural Minnesota.

Before her move to Madelia Mobile Village, the Gilsruds lived in a private mobile home park that got sold to an investment firm. Rent started rising while the home was in a terrible state of disrepair.

“We were paying $450 a month by the end,” Gilsrud told the Daily Yonder. “And the rents were increasing every six months like clockwork.”

The Madelia cooperative, located in the town of Madelia in Watonwan County, Minnesota,...

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This one quote sums up the article:

“We’ve increased lot rent only once in the last four years,” said Gilsrud. “And that was by $6.”

If the resident-owned property had a rent of $400 per month and raised it only $6 over four years, then that’s quite a feat since inflation went up over 20% in the past three years alone, which means they would have had to raise the rent by $80 a month just to cover increases in water, sewer, electric, property tax, insurance, etc. So, assuming the park was trying to keep the rent as low as possible when it was purchased four years ago, the park is now $80 per month per lot short on money. That means the park is probably not making any of the perpetual capital expenditures that need to be performed due to lack of funds. So by depriving the park of $80 per month per lot of income the property will eventually fall into complete disrepair. This is the problem when you have a bunch of tenants voting to increase rents – they never will.

STUPIDITY RATING ON A 1 TO 10 SCALE: 10

Bangor Daily News: Out-of-state investors own 1 in 5 of Maine’s mobile home parks

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More than a fifth of Maine’s mobile home parks are owned by out-of-state investors, with one of the nation’s biggest such companies becoming the major player here over the last decade.

It is part of a national trend that accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic and the housing affordability crisis that followed. Long ago, these parks were generally owned by the family owners who built them. Many of those owners are hitting retirement age and selling to corporate investors eager to scoop up some of the last bastions of affordable living.

Sun Communities, a Michigan-based real estate investment trust with a $16 billion net worth that says...

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Bradstreet and Becker think the solution mostly lies with state and local lawmakers. Earlier this month, Democratic Governor Janet Mills signed a bill into law that would force cities and towns to allow mobile homes on any lots zoned for single-family homes. That could alleviate cost pressure over time. “Supply will eventually keep the prices down,” Bradstreet said.

Here’s a reality check. A new mobile home costs around $80,000. The average residential lot in the U.S. costs $80,000. Add them together and you’ve got a $160,000 mobile home offering. So forcing cities to allow mobile homes on single-family home lots (which is never going to happen) and then putting $160,000 mobile homes on the market (as popular as selling dog poop sandwiches) is going to eliminate the affordable housing crisis in Maine?

STUPIDITY RATING ON A 1 TO 10 SCALE: 10

Antelope Valley Press: City ponders mobile home park rents

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PALMDALE — The Housing Authority — which includes all members of the city council — on Wednesday will consider a proposed system for increasing rent at Palmdale’s three city-owned mobile home parks, as well as a method for assisting those most impacted by the increase.

The Housing Authority and City Council meeting begins at 5 p.m. at City Hall, 38300 Sierra Highway. It may also be viewed online via the city website, cityofpalmdaleca.gov.

The three parks — Boulders at Ranch I, Boulders at Ranch II and Boulders at the Lakes — have a total of 787 spaces, with three of these set aside for managers, according to the staff report.

Rents...

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To aid those for whom any rent increase is too great a burden, the department is proposing an aid program that would use funds from the operations budget. Tenants would have to qualify as low-income, not be receiving other aid and reapply annually. The number of tenants aided each year would depend on available funds, according to the staff report.

OMG, not another non-profit owned park going bust? They now have to DOUBLE the rents on new residents to break even since they didn’t raise the rents annually to match inflation for over a decade. Are you spotting a trend here? And now the city is trying to turn this into some type of quasi-Section 8 mess. Do the voters in Palmdale realize how their money is squandered by these idiots on a daily basis?

STUPIDITY RATING ON A 1 TO 10 BASIS: 8

Planetizen: Out-of-State Investors Buying Up More Mobile Home Parks

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Over 20 percent of mobile home parks in Maine are owned by out-of-state investors, reports Zara Norman of Bangor Daily News, sparking affordability concerns among residents and housing advocates.

“Long ago, these parks were generally owned by the family owners who built them. Many of those owners are hitting retirement age and selling to corporate investors eager to scoop up some of the last bastions of affordable living,” Norman explains. “Almost always, they immediately increase lot fees on the residents that typically own their homes and steadily raise rent thereafter. New parks are almost never built, keeping rents high.”

While the...

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In a trend that has accelerated since the pandemic, over one in five mobile home parks in Maine are owned by out-of-state investors.

How exactly is an “out-of-state” owner any different from an “in-state” owner? Let’s look at America’s largest retailer: Walmart. Except for Arkansas, every single Walmart store is an “out-of-state” owner. Same is true for every McDonalds not located in Illinois and every Hilton Hotel not located in Virginia. The truth is that where the owner lives means absolutely nothing.

STUPIDITY RATING ON A 1 TO 10 SCALE: 8

Marin Independent Journal: Novato mobile home park explores forming cooperative

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Residents at the Marin Valley Mobile Country Club in Novato might form a limited-equity housing cooperative to purchase the city-owned lots their homes sit on.

“The residents are exploring options for self-ownership while we await the opportunity to get in the room to negotiate the ownership outcome with the city,” said Mary Currie, a board member of the Park Acquisition Corp., the community’s resident-led, nonprofit operator.

The city purchased the Marin Valley Mobile Country Club property for $20 million in 1997. Forty-one percent of the spaces are required to be occupied by low- or moderate-income residents, although a much higher...

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The city purchased the Marin Valley Mobile Country Club property for $20 million in 1997. Forty-one percent of the spaces are required to be occupied by low- or moderate-income residents, although a much higher percentage of the current residents have low incomes.The city intended the neighborhood to be financially self-sufficient with revenues coming entirely from tenants’ pad rental fees. However, a Marin County Civil Grand Jury report last year questioned the organization’s solvency.“Novato’s 2022-2023 adopted budget shows that in the past four fiscal years MVMCC’s expenses have exceeded revenues by a total of more than $3.6 million,” the report said.The grand jury said the city was paying about $200,000 a year to help cover the neighborhood’s utility costs. The grand jury also noted that in 2022 the city allocated $3 million of its American Rescue Plan Act funds to help pay for a sewer system project in the community.

Wow, what a shocker. The resident-owned community can’t pay its bills without ongoing subsidies that were not approved by taxpayers. Never saw that one coming.

STUPIDITY RATING ON A 1 TO 10 BASIS: 10

Marketplace: These mobile home residents decided to buy their park to combat rising rents

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Mobile homes are an often overlooked but crucial part of this country’s affordable housing stock. While residents may own their manufactured home or trailer outright, they usually have to pay rent for the land it sits on. 

In California a group of mobile home park residents have done something that might seem impossible. They purchased their park from their corporate landlord, securing stable affordable housing for themselves. But the road to get there wasn’t easy. 

When Juanita Perez Sierra was seven years old, her parents moved their family of eight from San Miguel Cuevas in Oaxaca, Mexico, to the U.S. After weeks of living out of their...

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SUGGESTED HEADLINE: “Non-Profits Squander $7 Million for 60 Families to Own a Trailer Park”.

The Berkshire Eagle: Manufactured homes across state face steep rent increases, residents push for stabilization

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If Jeani Warish won the Powerball, she would buy Rocky Knoll Estates in Taunton.

Warish, a 10-year resident of the manufactured housing community, more commonly known as mobile home or trailer parks, doesn’t play the Powerball, but she and other residents have long wished they could own the 158-lot park.

“We would buy the park and then we’d be able to keep the rents down, because any profit is not going to someone else, but back into the park,” Warish said. “That’s a dream for a lot of us.”

The residents of Rocky Knoll Estates have faced yearly rent increases. The monthly rent in 2013 when Warish moved in was $401. In 2024, it is $696...

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SUGGESTED HEADLINE: “Residents Hate Rent Increases Regardless of How Minimal They Are”.

Connecticut Public Radio: New Maine law will allow manufactured homes on same lots as single family homes

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A new state law will permit manufactured homes to be placed on any lot that single family homes are allowed.

Advocates for the measure say they believe the law could reduce the stigma associated with manufactured and mobile homes and allow more Mainers to achieve homeownership for the first time.

State Rep. Dick Bradstreet, R-Vassalboro, also the director of the Manufactured Housing Association of Maine, said he believes the law will create more affordable options for more people.

"It's the quickest way for people to bring about personal wealth, build up equity in their homes," said Bradstreet, who also serves on the Legislature's Housing...

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SUGGESTED HEADLINE: “If You Own a Home in Maine -- And Are Next Door to a Vacant Lot -- You Better Sell Fast.”

Iowa Capital Dispatch: DNR: Davenport mobile home park has excessively polluted creek for years

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An aging mobile home park on the north side of Davenport has for nearly two decades avoided upgrading its wastewater treatment system and excessively polluted a creek that flows through the city, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

The DNR recently fined the Mt. Joy Mobile Home Park and its owner Daniel Peeters $10,000 for failing to comply with a 2016 court order to remedy the situation, failing to monitor and report the ammonia and bacteria it was discharging, and for not reporting wastewater that bypassed the system in 2023, a department order said.

The “failure to implement necessary improvements and report the...

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Jones said the project might cost more than $1 million. “The treatment system is old,” said Terry Jones, a senior environmental specialist for the DNR. “It was installed in the ’70s and can’t meet the more stringent ammonia and E. coli limits that were put in their permit several years ago. They were supposed to upgrade the system so that they could meet those limits, and they never did.” In 2019, an attorney for Mt. Joy sent a letter to the state “stating the cost for wastewater improvements were beyond what his client could afford,” DNR records show. In early 2020, Mt. Joy submitted a plan to the DNR to demolish its treatment facility and replace it. The department Mt. Joy has sought unsuccessfully to connect to the wastewater systems of Davenport and Eldridge, he said.

SUGGESTED HEADLINE: “Changes to Wastewater Laws May Put This Mobile Home Park Out of Business Unless $1 Million Can Be Found from an Out-Of-State Buyer”. 

Petaluma Argus-Courier: Arbitration leads to $118 rent increase for Youngstown mobile home residents in Petaluma

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An arbitrator has issued a long-awaited decision on proposed rent increases at Petaluma’s Youngstown Mobile Home Park, raising rates more than residents had hoped, but not nearly as much as the owner had sought.

The arbitrator granted park owners a permanent monthly rent increase of $118 per mobile home space, retroactive to Dec. 1 last year.

The rent hike was unwelcome news to residents, who say they are already squeezed by climbing monthly charges. But it was far below the more than $900-per-month increase the park owners sought going back to January 2023.

"We feel it’s a loss for everyone in the park and everywhere else,“ said Jodi...

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SUGGESTED HEADLINE: “Park Owners Work Hard to Maintain the Lowest Rents in Youngstown”.

The New York State Senate: Senator Helming and Senate Republican Conference Unveil Legislative Package to Expand Availability and Access to Affordable Housing

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Senator Pam Helming, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Housing, Construction and Community Development, with Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt and members of the Senate Republican Conference, today unveiled a comprehensive legislative package to increase homeownership opportunities and improve access to affordable housing options.

The package proposes tax credits and incentives, reduces regulatory burdens, and facilitates new construction as well as improvements to existing housing stock.

“Housing affordability is one of the biggest issues facing our state. Our conference has a plan to revitalize our existing housing stock by...

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“Housing affordability is one of the biggest issues facing our state. Our conference has a plan to revitalize our existing housing stock by removing blight from our communities and replacing it with good quality housing units, to work with local communities on what housing strategies are best for them, to expand and create incentives for development, and to establish means-testing for rent-regulated housing to ensure that affordable housing units are occupied by those who truly need them. The legislative package we are putting forward today under the leadership of our housing ranker Senator Pam Helming will deliver affordable homeownership for the state of New York”.

SUGGESTED HEADLINE: “Big Talk in New York Yields Zero Results”.

autoevolution: Fabulous Mobile Home Merges Old Southern Elegance With Hotel-Style Luxury

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Few concepts in the world of tiny living are as unique and ingenious as the Kew West capsule collection created by O'Hara. This prestigious mobile house company in France drew its primary inspiration from a very unique source – the architecture of the classic houses we see in the southern states of the US. It happened in a very personal way. Annette and Louis-Claude Roux took a memorable trip to America in the early '90s and were deeply impressed by the local mobile home phenomenon.

They also happened to be the founders of one of the most luxurious boat-building companies in Europe, currently operating as Groupe Beneteau. An auspicious...

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In other words, the O'Hara mobile homes look like Old Southern mansions and feel like ultra-expensive hotels.

SUGGESTED HEADLINE: “Over-Exaggeration Runs Rampant in Mobile Home Sales Materials”.

Detroit Free Pass: 'We're human beings': Michigan mobile home residents fight rent hikes, worsening conditions

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If Carla Kinsey's rent keeps rising, she worries she'll end up homeless.

For more than a decade, she has lived in Avon on the Lake, a community of manufactured homes for older adults in Rochester Hills. When she moved there in 2010, Kinsey was looking to settle in what she called her “final home.”  

But now, her rent, including the cost of the land where her home sits, consumes more than half of her monthly income. She pays more than $700 every month, up 57% since she moved in. 

If it wasn’t for food assistance benefits, she said she wouldn’t be able to eat. Kinsey — who is on a fixed income — is also juggling the cost of car and health...

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If Carla Kinsey's rent keeps rising, she worries she'll end up homeless. For more than a decade, she has lived in Avon on the Lake, a community of manufactured homes for older adults in Rochester Hills. When she moved there in 2010, Kinsey was looking to settle in what she called her “final home.” But now, her rent, including the cost of the land where her home sits, consumes more than half of her monthly income. She pays more than $700 every month, up 57% since she moved in. If it wasn’t for food assistance benefits, she said she wouldn’t be able to eat. Kinsey — who is on a fixed income — is also juggling the cost of car and health insurance and utilities. There’s not much left over. She can’t pick up a job because of a rare heart condition that forces her to wear an oxygen machine. “I feel trapped,” Kinsey, 71, said. “I can’t afford to move and I can’t afford to stay.”

SUGGESTED HEADLINE: “Despite $408,000 House Prices, Avon on the Lake Mobile Home Park Charges Only $700 Per Month!”.

Bangor Daily News: Rents skyrocketed after out-of-state investors bought Maine mobile home parks

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WISCASSET, Maine — Twin mobile home parks sit on opposite sides of Route 27. They were once owned by two local brothers who kept the rent stable and performed timely repairs.

The McMorrow brothers paid at least $616,000 to buy the Whippoorwill and Maplewood Hill mobile home parks in 2006 and 2016, respectively. They aged into their 70s during the COVID-19 pandemic as the housing market peaked. That led them to sell the parks for at least $1.9 million in separate 2021 and 2022 transactions, real estate documents show.

A man from Idaho bought Whippoorwill, and a small team of Colorado investors with Maine ties bought Maplewood Hill. Both...

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From early 2021 to this year, 73-year-old Tom Kurtz’s monthly rent in Whippoorwill has nearly doubled — from $285 to $540. Maine home values have risen by 22 percent over that time, according to Zillow data. The new owner hiked Kurtz’s rent 32 percent when he took over and has raised it regularly. Similar hikes have come at Maplewood Hill.
What a manipulation of the facts! Of course the residents miss the old mom-and-pop owners as the rents were absurdly low, yet the new rents are still ridiculously low. Stick-built houses in Wiscasset, Maine are $306,000 so that 22 percent increase is $60,000. That 32 percent increase in mobile home lot rents is around $250 per month. What idiot can compare those two stats and say the mobile home one is way worse?
I’m sick of these articles written by obviously young, woke journalists that do not present facts but simply try to manipulate data to make their case in their weak attempt at persuasion.

SUGGESTED HEADLINE: “Out-Of-State Owners Bring Mobile Home Parks Back to Life and Maintain Rents At Ridiculously Low Levels”.

The Coast News: Escondido OKs rent hike at third mobile home park

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ESCONDIDO — For the third time since late February, the City Council has increased the rent for residents of a local mobile home park. 

As a result of the council’s unanimous March 20 decision, nearly half of the residents at Greencrest Mobilehome Park will see an average increase of about $20.45, averaging between $13.74 and $27.51. The increase will apply to 69 of the park’s 129 spaces, subject to rent control.

Before last week’s decision, the council approved rent hikes at Casa Grande Mobile Estates and Town and Country Club Mobilehome Park, both of which are age-restricted to seniors only. 

The city’s Proposition K, which voters...

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ESCONDIDO — For the third time since late February, the City Council has increased the rent for residents at a local mobile home park. As a result of the council’s unanimous March 20 decision, nearly half of the residents at Greencrest Mobilehome Park will see an average increase of about $20.45, averaging between $13.74 and $27.51. The increase will apply to 69 of the park’s 129 spaces, subject to rent control.

SUGGESTED HEADLINE: “Mobile Home Park Rents Go Up Less Than Every Other Form of Housing in Escondido”.

Bridge Detroit: Thrive: Michigan mobile home residents feel ‘trapped’

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Hey BridgeDetroit readers! 👋🏼

Residents living in manufactured homes and advocates are fighting back against rent hikes and ‘deplorable’ conditions. 

One woman doesn’t let her son play outside in the summer because of the stench of sewage. 

Another worries that if her rent keeps rising, she’ll end up homeless.

They both live in manufactured housing — the largest source of unsubsidized affordable housing in the country, particularly for seniors and low-income households. But advocates say that type of housing is quickly becoming unaffordable as private equity firms buy up parks and hike up rents.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been...

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They both live in manufactured housing — the largest source of unsubsidized affordable housing in the country, particularly for seniors and low-income households. But advocates say that type of housing is quickly becoming unaffordable as private equity firms buy up parks and hike up rents.

SUGGESTED HEADLINE: “Mobile Home Park Rents Increase to Market Levels Yet Are Still the Least Expensive in the U.S.”.

WTSP: Mobile homeowners in Pinellas County still deciding what to do after being told raise homes or leave

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PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — There are about 80 mobile homes at the Twin City Mobile Home Community and nearly as many opinions from residents who are figuring out what to do after Pinellas County sent them “substantial damage” letters after Hurricane Idalia flooded the park in August 2023.

Some have already moved, others are attempting to sell for as much as they can, but most are just going to stay and see what happens after a June 1 deadline. That’s when the new hurricane season begins and is when their temporary occupancy notices expire.

Only one resident we talked to wanted to go on camera, however, they say they feared harassment...

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Well, you basically raise your home up in the air or you leave. There’s no salvation coming from the city as they no doubt will delight in getting the park removed. That was probably the intention from the start. Don’t forget Ronald Reagan’s classic quote “the nine most dangerous words in the English language are “I’m from the government and I’m here to help”.

Midland Daily News: Frustrated mobile home residents advocate for new legislation

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Alpine Village resident Ann Premo says frequent rent increases and a decline in services have made it difficult for her to continue to live in the mobile home community in the northwest part of Midland.

These concerns have also driven her to become active with the national group, Manufactured Housing Action (MHAction). 

Premo is an advocate for state legislation that would make it more difficult for mobile home park owners to raise lot rents. She hopes the bills, in committee in the state Senate in Lansing, would hold mobile home park ownerships more accountable, including Havenpark Communities, which owns Alpine Village.

"They...

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Best quote of the week:

"There are plenty of codes and regulations in place that can crack down on bad actors in the housing space," he continued. "If we really want to get serious about solving affordable housing for seniors, we need to increase our housing stock, which means reducing barriers to new construction and finding ways to renovate existing properties."

It has been proven over and over that less government regulation yields better economies and greater quality of life for Americans. Those who refuse to accept this fact can only be classified as complete idiots – or work for the government. Or both.

The Colombus Dispatch: Indian Lake tornadoes expose vulnerability of one type of affordable housing: mobile homes

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A tornado that touched down near Indian Lake in Logan County on Thursday night tore through communities where many people live in mobile homes, which are especially vulnerable to storm damage.

Mobile homes, also known as manufactured homes, are at high risk of being rolled or thrown in hurricanes and tornadoes if they are not properly anchored, experts say.

Nationwide, about 53% of all people killed at home by a tornado between 1996 and 2023 were killed in mobile or manufactured homes, according to an AP analysis of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data.

"This is a common theme that we see in tornado deaths, is if you're...

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The same reasons that make mobile homes are the most inexpensive form of housing on earth makes them more susceptible to damage from a tornado. That’s the trade-off. Do you prioritize 79 years of affordable day-to-day living (the average life expectancy in the U.S.) over the one-in-a-million risk of a tornado or do you live in an underground bunker for 79 years so that if you get hit by a tornado you’re prepared? Everyone takes risks every day and have to weigh the risk vs. the reward. If you drive a car you are a zillion times more likely to get killed than in a tornado so maybe we should discourage that, too. I like walking so I’m fine with that.

County Line: Building Stability Through Resident-Owned Mobile Home Parks

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In 2011, it was chance that took Marjory Gilsrud and her husband, Mike, to a home in the Madelia Mobile Village Cooperative. But it’s choice that has kept them in the resident-owned mobile home park in rural Minnesota.

Before her move to Madelia Mobile Village, the Gilsruds lived in a private mobile home park that got sold to an investment firm. Rent started rising while the home was in a terrible state of disrepair. 

“We were paying $450 a month by the end,” Gilsrud told the Daily Yonder. “And the rents were increasing every six months like clockwork.”

The Madelia cooperative, located in the town of Madelia in Watonwan County,...

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In conventional mobile home parks, residents own the home but rent the lot. In a resident-owned community, residents own and manage the property cooperatively. Residents get a say in setting rent and investing in upkeep and improvements. There are many advantages to this system, advocates say, but the biggest is stability: Residents must approve lot fees, and generally they stay fairly stable. “We’ve increased lot rent only once in the last four years,” said Gilsrud. “And that was by $6.” 

Oh no, not this story again. Look, I know that American math skills are at an all-time low, but if the residents – who own the park – raised the rent only $6 in the past four years at a time when inflation is up 20% over just the past three years, then this park cannot possibly survive financially. Although the residents can buy a park with the help of a non-profit that guarantees the debt, operating costs are the same for corporate owners as they are for resident owners. Since the residents vote to increase rents, then they never will because the majority will refuse. And the only one with skin in the game is the non-profit that guaranteed the loan. I hope those guarantors don’t read articles like this because they will soon figure out that they are screwed.

Globe St.: Manufactured Homes Get Improved Access to Financing

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A relatively new plan of the Biden administration should improve financing for manufactured homes though an update in Title I of the Fair Housing Act.

On the last day of February, the White House released a document on boosting housing supply and lowering costs. One part was about manufactured homes, the “largest form of...

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If you set aside $165 million for mobile homes for the whole U.S., that’s only $3.3 million per state. That’s absolutely nothing. 8% of Americans live in mobile homes. There are 300 million Americans, so 8% is 24 million people. Assuming 3 per household, that’s around 8 million mobile homes. So the government has allocated literally $20 per home for help. Ouch. This story sounds much grander than the reality. When you actually look at the numbers it’s … nothing.

NCM: Old Orchard Beach residents hope to buy mobile home parks after learning they're for sale

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A group of people who live at Old Orchard Village and Atlantic Village are attempting to form a tenants' cooperative to try and buy the parks for themselves. 

But it's no small task. 

Before the end of March, 51 percent of tenants need to support the co-op. After that, they need to secure financial backing. 

Residents say there are rumors an out-of-state company is offering more than $40 million for the property.

"Nothing is guaranteed, but we’re hopeful," Laurie Staebler said. "We're willing to work and we've been going out knocking on doors, talking to people to see if we can move forward with this."

Residents like Staebler...

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A group of people who live at Old Orchard Village and Atlantic Village are attempting to form a tenants' cooperative to try and buy the parks for themselves.
But it's no small task.

The accent needs to be on the words “no small task”. That’s an understatement. The seller wants around $40 million. The tenants probably have collectively around $1,000 in cash between them. So the only way this deal happens is if a non-profit guarantees the debt. That’s the problem with all these resident deals – they forget the one small thing which is they have to find the “rich uncle” to actually secure the financing. And nobody wants to personally guarantee this stuff in non-profit land. So that’s why these articles are so infuriating as they suggest there is the remote possibility of success when, in fact, there is none. That would be like articles suggesting that homeless people could make big money by renting out their shopping cart wth a tarp roof as Air BNBs.

ABC 15: Rising mobile home rent is a major concern for many seniors

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Rising rents at mobile home parks in Arizona are squeezing residents, particularly seniors on fixed incomes.

"It's a problem, no doubt, because there is no rent control on the lot, so they can keep making it go up and up and up,” said Sabrina Walters, who owns SLW Realty Group.

While residents generally own their manufactured homes, they rent the land underneath — which in many places across the state is going up in price.

Debbie Suits, who lives at a mobile home park in Tempe, said when she and her husband moved in five years ago, the lot lease was $700. Now it’s $1,000, but she said they have nowhere else to go.

“Go where? My husband...

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Debbie Suits, who lives at a mobile home park in Tempe, said when she and her husband moved in five years ago, the lot lease was $700. Now it’s $1,000, but she said they have nowhere else to go. “Go where? My husband and I have talked about it — that's enough, we’re out of here, tell me where else I can go,” Suits said.

Arizona is one of the 15 most expensive states in the U.S. to live in. Unfortunately, a whole bunch of seniors moved there for the weather back when the state was cheap. Times change. If you are a senior who cannot afford to pay $1,000 per month lot rent, let me suggest you look into the other 35 states which are MUCH less expensive, such as my home state of Missouri where lot rents average around $300 per month.

As for the non-profit which promoted this article – “Love From Above” – the problem persists that the only way that tenants can buy parks is with the help of a non-profit that personally guarantees the loan. And that’s about as likely on a large scale as finding people to volunteer to set themselves on fire.

State of Michigan: Study finds ways to improve efficiency, lower costs for manufactured home heating

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You might call it a worst-case scenario: Residents of manufactured homes have some of the lowest incomes and highest energy burdens in the U.S., with limited ways to make their homes more energy efficient.

But it’s also an opportunity for innovative solutions: A new study of Michigan manufactured housing proposes reducing utility bills by pairing clean community solar power with programs to weatherize manufactured homes – especially in combination with efficient electrification upgrades.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) defines community solar power as any solar project or purchasing program within a geographic area that benefits...

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But it’s also an opportunity for innovative solutions: A new study of Michigan manufactured housing proposes reducing utility bills by pairing clean community solar power with programs to weatherize manufactured homes – especially in combination with efficient electrification upgrades.The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) defines community solar power as any solar project or purchasing program within a geographic area that benefits multiple customers, such as individuals, businesses, nonprofits, or other groups. Typically, an off-site solar array generates the energy.

I was renting a car in Austin recently and they were out of cars – except for Tesla electric cars. They had about 30 of them and nobody would take one. This whole electric craze has got to end as nobody wants the stuff and it’s way too expensive without subsidies. Every time I read an article like this it reminds me of some fashion trend that years from now people will say “gosh, that’s stupid, what idiot would wear an outfit like that” and everyone who was around at the time says “I don’t know, they’d have to be insane”.

Just ask the former CEO of Hertz about the electricity craze – I’m sure he’ll have a strong opinion.