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BNN: Pittsfield and West Stockbridge Face Staggering Manufactured Home Rent Increases

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In the quiet corners of Berkshire County, a storm is brewing over the proposed rent hikes for manufactured home communities in Pittsfield and West Stockbridge, Massachusetts. At the heart of this controversy are the residents of Lake Onota Village in Pittsfield and the Residences on Mill Pond in West Stockbridge, who are facing potential rent increases of up to 64 percent and 230 percent, respectively. These proposals shine a light on the broader issues of affordability, regulation, and the sustainability of living in manufactured homes.

The Case for an Increase

Represented by attorney Jeffrey T. Scrimo, the owners of Lake Onota Village...

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Our thoughts on this story:

Represented by attorney Jeffrey T. Scrimo, the owners of Lake Onota Village have laid out a plan to hike monthly lot rents by $210 over the next three years. This adjustment would catapult rents from their current range of $330-$380 to $540-$590, marking a significant financial strain on the community's residents. The justification behind this steep increase is attributed to a significant rise in operational expenses since the last rate adjustment in 2012, with the owners aiming to achieve a 'fair rate of return'. The proposed hikes are not just numbers on a page; they represent a looming affordability crisis for the residents of these communities. Manufactured homes, often praised for their affordability and accessibility, are becoming less so as rental costs for the land they occupy skyrockets. Common Sense Translation: The rents have not been increased in twelve years. Going from $330 per month to $590 per month over twelve years equates to around a $22 increase annually. That’s ridiculously low. Stop whining about this more-than-reasonable increase and be thankful that you have found the lowest cost housing in the city.

Virginia Mercury: General Assembly offers new hope for aging mobile home parks

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While many of the costs that have contributed to inflation over the past three years have begun to moderate, there is one that hasn’t: housing. Over the past year, housing and related costs account for two-thirds of the increase in the core Consumer Price Index. Pick up any newspaper or follow news feeds online and you are certain to see reporting on the housing crisis that we are facing in most of our communities.

A report issued last month by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University found that the extended period of rising rents during the pandemic has put unaffordability at all-time highs for renters. For the first...

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Our thoughts on this story:

Manufactured homes, including those located in parks, represent one of the largest components of unassisted affordable housing in the nation. In Virginia, mobile home parks provide some of the most deeply affordable housing in many of our communities. But these parks are increasingly at risk as many long-time, traditional park owners are aging and looking to sell as they retire. At the same time, large, national real estate investors are increasingly interested in purchasing these previously ignored assets. When parks are purchased, rents rise and frequently tenants also become responsible for water and sewer payments as well as other fees. Since 2020, Virginia’s Department of Housing and Community Development has received 146 notices of Intent to Sell or Purchase Offer from park owners, indicating how active this market has become. Park residents face challenges that typical apartment renters do not. If they own their mobile home, as many do, they have little choice but to pay higher lot rentals and absorb utility bill transfers since they are unable to move their homes. The term “mobile” is a misnomer; these homes are mobile only to the extent that they are transported to their initial location. After that, the cost and impracticality of moving them means that they stay put. Legislation is pending in the General Assembly that offers some relief. Del. Paul Krizek’s House Bill 1397 offers local governments, tenants and nonprofit organizations the opportunity to purchase parks when sales are pending to preserve affordability and improve living conditions. There is evidence that this approach can work. Common Sense Translation: To bring old mobile home parks back to life, the new owners must increase rents significantly. Residents don’t like to pay higher rents. They don’t need to move their homes if they have a better deal as they could just sell the homes where they sit, just like any other single-family home. The real reason they don’t move is because the cost of every other form of housing is significantly higher than living in a mobile home park. When bureaucrats opine on giving the tenants the first option to buy the park they know full well that the success rate for that concept is something like .0000000001% but it gives them an out to pretend like they really do care and to then shift the blame to non-profits who won’t co-sign the mortgage.

The Berkshire Edge: West Stockbridge trailer park rent hike issue heats up as February hearing nears

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West Stockbridge — A proposed monthly rent increase that would more than triple the current rent for residents at The Residences on Mill Pond, a West Stockbridge mobile home community, has riled a former resident as well as an official of a nearby town who weighed in on the potential effects of such a fee hike.

On November 27, Tom Lennon, corporate agent for Lennon Capital Group LLC, as the owner of the 35-lot mobile home community at 40 Albany Road, West Stockbridge, filed a Petition for Rent Adjustment, requesting the West Stockbridge Select Board—that sits as the West Stockbridge Rent Control Board—approve a surge in rent from $241 per...

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“The fact that the owner decided to purchase a park that was in such poor condition is not the problem of the residents of the park,” Kerswell said. “The cost of fixing the utilities is not on the residents, it’s on the owner. Because the park was in failure—the septic and the water and all these systems are in failure—he cannot pass that cost along to the tenants.” Common Sense Translation: Well, if that’s the attitude of the tenants then they better not be shocked when the new owner shuts the park down and turns it into a different use (probably apartments). There are two ways to go through life namely 1) win/win and 2) win/lose. If the residents think there’s a win/lose option (in which they hold all the cards and the property owner holds none) then the tenants are going to probably soon learn an important life lesson when the eviction notices go out. They should instead be sending “thank you” cards to the new owner and happily paying a higher rent that fends off redevelopment.

SoMd News: Lord Calvert trailer park residents hear potential timeline

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As she left Cornerstone Church on Sunday, Carla Mattingly felt a little bit better about the situation she and her fellow residents from Lord Calvert Mobile Home Park are in.

Developers Cherry Cove are mulling a 2012 plan to turn the Lexington Park site into housing, and residents have recently become fearful of eviction.

But a 45-minute presentation by St. Mary’s Commissioner Mike Hewitt (R) at the California church helped ease some of those fears.

“It’s very unsettled,” said Mattingly, who has lived in the trailer park for the past several year, “but I feel a little better.”

“I feel in peace, I feel good, I feel better,” said...

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Hewitt said the owner of the park must fix the water and sewer, so one option is to repair that and “leave the trailer park like it is, and that is the primary option right now.” Another possibility is to close the park, replace the water and sewer and build new apartments and townhouses, though Hewitt added “this option is becoming very expensive”. The final option would be to sell the trailer park to a new owner and the new owner would decide what to do.  Common Sense Translation: There is zero probability that the park owner is not going to tear the park down and build apartments and townhouses.

“They have not presented any plans to the county for approval, and they won’t do that for at least another six months,” Hewitt stressed. “Once they do that, the process to approve whatever plan will be 6 to 12 months. So if they intend to do this it will be at least 18 months to 24 months until anybody is impacted.” Common Sense Translation: You better start packing because this thing is coming down in 18 to 24 months – and the zoning department will fast-track the plans for the redevelopment faster than a hypersonic missile.

“St. Mary’s County does not want to have people homeless, so we have land that the county owns,” Hewitt said, referring to parcels on Pegg Road and on FDR Boulevard near Route 4. “These two pieces of property we intend to build townhouses and apartments.” Common Sense Translation: We are going to charge $2,000 per month for these apartments and townhouses so don’t bother to apply.

Hewitt said residents can show property owners that “you are committed to your community and committed to keeping the neighborhood nice.” Common Sense Translation: If you were dumb enough to believe the earlier statements then we thought you might even buy this one.

Post Bulletin: Future of Bob's Trailer Court continues to unfold

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Answer Man, 

I am by nature a curious person who wants to know what is really happening, not one to rely on conjecture nor conspiracy. 

So, what is happening with Bob’s Trailer Court? We watched as the park emptied and window smashers took root and created a blight on our neighborhood. What is in store for this space and when?

Just call me curious.

Curious,

Great timing on the question. It appears a new plan for the site is emerging.

Rochester Community Development staff met late last week with representatives of Pennsylvania-based TSJ Parks, which purchased the 3-acre site for $1.3 million in 2021 and moved to close it two years...

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Bob's Trailer Court's owner plans to create a different type of housing park along Marion Road after the trailer park closed amid a variety of struggles. Common Sense Translation: How happy do you think Bob is to ditch the dilapidated trailer court and convert it into apartments? He’s the happiest guy in town.

Bartool Sports: The Rock Calls Salt Lake City A Buncha Inbred Trailer Park Trash In His First Heel Promo On SmackDown In Years

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Roman Reigns and The Rock just headlined SmackDown together in a great segment - their first together since aligning at the WrestleMania press conference in Las Vegas last week - where Salt Lake City just got torn to shreds the whole time.

Roman came out first, made everyone acknowledge him (duh), and announced that tonight would be the first night The Rock could be officially considered part of The Bloodline. 

Then came The Rock, dressed in a Versace vest reminiscent of some of the crazy $500 shirts he used to wear back in the day and he just played that crowd like a fiddle. He built up this big attendance record they broke that night,...

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Our thoughts on this story:

Interesting to see how the old “trailer trash” term is making a resurgence in American culture. Wait, I thought that such hurtful slogans were off-limits in the new woke America. I guess not. Once again, mobile home park residents get no respect because they have no political clout.

The U.S. Sun: LUXE LIVING Inside a tiny home community offering a ‘level of luxury’ with scenic views, spa and rent starts at $795

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It is the first-of-its-kind village in the area, offering lots and pre-built tiny homes.

"Carefree low-maintenance tiny luxury homes in the sunshine, plus the privileges of a resort-style living," reads the website.

"Ownership includes access to resort-style amenities including a central swimming pool, clubhouse with gym and activities room, outdoor community BBQ area, lounge, plus more."

There's also a hot tub spa, dog park, putting green, and Pickleball court.

"Our goal is to create a model for tiny home villages across the nation," reads the website.

"We're here to redefine the concept of community living by offering a wealth of...

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Our thoughts on this story:

Could this be more cringe-worthy and insane? This park looks to be located (based on the photo), literally, in the middle of nowhere. Tiny homes are hot with Millennials but not retired folks. Where would a Millennial get a job in this location – on a farm? I hope there’s a Plan B since working remote is getting repealed by employers. If you could put this in the heart of a city, then it would work fine – but zoning would never allow for that. That’s the basic problem with all greenfield development.

Adirondack Explorer: The promise of modular homes

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Unlike Rome, the Adirondack home of tomorrow will be built  in a day, or at least set up. It will use scant energy, and what it does need will be generated from rooftop panels or a community solar farm. The money normally spent on electricity, gas or oil bills can be redirected to the mortgage instead, increasing the affordability of these homes, which will already be cheaper than than traditional stick-built counterparts. Each house will be custom built and specifically sized, not just for the customer, but to fit efficiently on lot or land.

The houses will be built in the Adirondacks by Adirondackers using locally sourced lumber and...

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Our thoughts on this story:

Here’s the quick answer: modular has zero promise unless it sells at a bigger discount than just 10% (stick-built $300,000 vs. modular at $270,000 according to the author). Until you get to at least 40% off, forget it. Nobody is going to buy a fake Ferrari for roughly the same price as a real Ferrari.

Sea Coast Online: North Hampton mobile home owners face soaring tax bills after reval: 'We're struggling'

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A hot real estate market led to soaring property taxes in two towns. Find out why some homeowners saw their property values double after a...

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Our thoughts on this story:

A couple observations:

  1. So much for the argument that mobile homes don’t appreciate (when they are sitting in a nice mobile home park) as the tax assessor found that the average mobile home sale went up 87% in price over the past few years.
  2. If residents find this tax situation so bad, maybe they should have more empathy for park owners who are seeing the same escalation in property tax on the land only on a massive scale, and that’s why lot rents must continue to go up significantly.

KBZK Bozeman: HRDC stepping up to purchase Belgrade mobile home park, residents relieved

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BELGRADE — In 2023, the Belgrade Trailer Court was put up for sale, leaving many residents wary of the future. But now, the HRDC has stepped in to prevent the displacement some of these residents could’ve faced.

“This whole park is one community, and you can tell the worry is spreading,” said Crystal Wendt.

Wendt has lived here in the Belgrade Trailer Court for six years. She says when she first heard the news of the property going up for sale, she was devastated.

“Because you can just see it coming, new development coming to wipe you out,” said Wendt. “Many of us would face homelessness if anything like that were to happen.”

But now that...

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Our thoughts on this story:

I’m not sure why the residents thought this park was a future development site – just look at the map for evidence – but if they want to conspire with non-profits to buy something then why not? I hope they have a plan on that 2-year debt, however, as it will be coming due right at the peak of the “commercial real estate apocalypse” when $2 trillion of worthless office building and shopping mall loans comes due (they probably should have used an advisor from the real world when structuring the deal and not an academic). If they ultimately default on the loan two years from now, then they would have been much better off with a professional investor that would never have agreed to those loan terms.

Spectrum News: Tampa mobile home owner says lot rent increased three times in a year

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TAMPA, Fla. — Natasha Velasco juggles raising her family with small children and the tasks involved in maintaining her mobile home.

“This is my husband’s work clothes,” she said. “I wash and dry regularly because I have a big family.”

Velasco says the cost of doing so has gone up since the park’s owner now adds water to their bill.

“It costs a lot to wash clothes and take showers,” she said.

She says they also had three rent hikes for their lot since new management took over.

“At first, it was at $795," Velasco said. "Then they bumped it to $843 within a few months, and then in August, they bumped it up again."

Velasco said her family...

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Our thoughts on this story:

Information from the NMHA indicates that changing public policy to incentivize park owners to sell their property to mobile homeowners, HUD properties and other nonprofits would create more housing security.

Wow, looks like MHAction has a new non-profit competitor called the “NMHA” (which stands for the “National Manufactured Homeowners Association). They support the same woke “free rent” movement and have pledged to annoy park owners and respectable bureaucrats throughout the country. Can’t wait to see this turf war escalate. I’m picturing the rumble from Will Farrell’s “Anchorman”.

WTVG: Residents still concerned after Ohio EPA reports bacteria free water at Swanton mobile home park

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SWANTON, Ohio (WTVG) - Residents in a mobile home park are still concerned that the water they use in their daily lives is not safe despite promising results from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

Just 13 days ago, the Ohio EPA inspected the water at the Arrowhead Lake Mobile Home Park in Swanton. Results of the inspection show that there was no bacteria in the water but a residents tells 13 Action News the water is still questionable.

The inspection came after a recent water main leak where Kyle Nicholson lives, and the results say there is no bacteria in the water, however, Nicholson still says he can’t trust the water.

“Will I...

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Our thoughts on this story:

Residents in a mobile home park are still concerned that the water they use in their daily lives is not safe despite promising results from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. Just 13 days ago, the Ohio EPA inspected the water at the Arrowhead Lake Mobile Home Park in Swanton. Results of the inspection show that there was no bacteria in the water but a residents tells 13 Action News the water is still questionable.

Another case of residents knowing more than the experts. Sure, I’d take the word of a trailer park resident over the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency – wouldn’t you? What kind of idiot news station would run this stuff?

Portland Press Herald: The Maine Millennial: On mobile homes, let’s move with the times

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There’s no logical reason to ban mobile or manufactured homes from the same plots of land that allow stick-built single-family housing; I fully support Rep. Cheryl Golek’s bill, L.D. 337, to amend local zoning laws to allow mobile or manufactured homes on single-family lots.

When asked about their opposition to the idea, most people will hem and haw and maybe say something about safety – even though modern manufactured housing is built to strict safety standards. Or they’ll say something about “neighborhood character.” As if mobiles aren’t, what, pretty enough?

I think what it boils down to is property values – the idea is that living in...

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I know that a lot of people will be worried about taking “home rule” away from towns, but that’s one of the issues that brought us into a housing crisis in the first place. If everyone focuses on a very narrow view of what is in their immediate best interest, municipalities tend to end up with, well, with the current housing crisis.

What a frightening woke narrative. Communities definitely need zoning in which the $1 million mansion is protected from having a mobile home move in to the vacant lot next door. Sure, the woke writer of this article could care less because they have nothing to lose – they’d be the one in the mobile home. But you have to protect property values with strict zoning and Houston proved once-and-for-all that a lack of zoning was a bad idea.

Ark Valley Voice: POLIS ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCES MODULAR HOUSING LOANS TO CREATE UP TO 4,755 MORE HOUSING UNITS PER YEAR

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Fading West Among Eight Modular Home Recipients of Funding Support

On Tuesday, Gov. Jared Polis, the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT), and the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA) announced funding to support the growth of eight modular housing manufacturers across Colorado. Collectively, these manufacturers are projected to create 4,755 housing units per year.

“Colorado needs more housing now, and these manufacturers will help us build over 4,700 more units per year so more people can live closer to the jobs and the communities they love,” said Polis. “This is an important part of our work...

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Our thoughts on this story:

This article is mostly stupid but hidden inside of it was a 3-D printing company name and I went to their website and I was blown away by the product https://www.azureprintedhomes.com/backyard-studio/. THIS is the future of pre-fab housing. Take a look for yourself. Consumers would buy this product even if it cost MORE than stick-built.

Bloomberg Law: Mobile Home Park Can Bring Pre-Enforcement Suit Over Rent Law

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A California mobile home park owner can move forward with its challenge to a state rent control statute after the Ninth Circuit reversed the dismissal of its lawsuit.

Peace Ranch LLC alleged in a pre-enforcement challenge that Assembly Bill 978—which applies to mobile home parks subject to jurisdiction under two or more incorporated cities—was specifically designed to target it after it tried to raise rents on its Rancho La Paz mobile park property by more than five percent. Judge M. Margaret McKeown, of the US...

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Our thoughts on this story:

How do they find people to own businesses in California? I would go nuts if I had to deal with B.S. like this. They can’t charge enough in lot rents to make this compelling.

South Florida Business Journal: Fort Lauderdale mobile home park could be rezoned for development

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The new zoning would permit more than 1,200 residential units.

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Our thoughts on this story:

Yes, that’s what happens when lot rents don’t make the property more valuable as a mobile home park than as a different use. As I have said in every week’s news review: low rents = redevelopment.

Yahoo! Finance: ‘Shark Tank’ Star Barbara Corcoran: Why I Live in a Mobile Home (and Why I Paid $1 Million for It)

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Living in a mobile home or trailer probably doesn’t always have a positive connotation among the wealthiest class. But, that perception apparently didn’t stop “Shark Tank” businesswoman and real estate entrepreneur Barbara Corcoran from buying a double-wide trailer in Los Angeles.

She recently showed off her mobile home to TikTok star Caleb Simpson in a video tour. Corcoran previously walked the TikTok star through her Manhattan apartment about a year ago, which she also owns.

The Pacific Palisades trailer cost Corcoran $800,000 and she said she put another $150,000 into it.

For comparison, the average price of a new double-wide trailer...

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Our thoughts on this story:

PLEASE GIVE IT UP, BARBARA! Nobody is buying any of this nonsense. Look, obviously there are cash-flow reasons for moving into the Malibu mobile home park vs. the stick-built homes that cost ten times more (Pam Anderson and Hillary Duff have done the same thing when their careers headed south) but it’s not because it was a financially genius investment opportunity. 

The Reminder: Tenants fight rent hike, poor living conditions at Ludlow mobile home park

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LUDLOW — A 150% rent hike has caused residents of a mobile home community in Ludlow to cry foul, not just about the cost, but also the conditions.

On Feb. 5, state Sen. Jake Oliviera (D-Ludlow) and state Rep. Aaron Saunders (D-Belchertown) toured the West Street Village Mobile Home Community, a neighborhood of 44 mobile homes, most dating to the late 1950s and early 1960s. For about an hour and a half, resident after resident told the officials about faulty electrical infrastructure, poorly maintained roads and homes being sold with leaks and inadequate insulation.

The homes were purchased from and financed through Tom Lennon, owner of...

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Our thoughts on this story:

This is one of the dumbest news stories floating around out there. This rent increase was formally approved by the Boad of Rent Control. Now the residents are claiming they know better than the Rent Control Board on what rents should be. That’s not how the law works. There is a legal methodology to life and you can’t later try to relitigate them. It’s like a 49ers fan trying to reopen the Super Bowl days later because the refs made a bad call. The Rent Control Board approved the increase and now you move on. Period.

WTVG: I-TEAM Neighborhood Nuisance: Sewer issues at Toledo mobile home park fixed after I-TEAM gets involved

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TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - A Toledo woman can finally go to the bathroom inside her own home now that a sewage problem inside the Deep Lake mobile home park is resolved.

“Ah, it feels wonderful! It does,” Bonnie Russell, who rents a trailer at the park, said.

Russell reached out to the I-TEAM in January about the problem. She claimed her trailer’s sewer line wasn’t connected when she moved in.

“There’s feces under my trailer because the sewer was never connected,” Russell said in January. “We don’t have any plumbing, and we’ve been told to pee and pour it in the yard. We’ve been told to go potty in sacks.

Despite notifying park management...

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Our thoughts on this story:

There are two sides to every story, but the modern media only provides one. Personally, this story sounds pretty fishy (“the owner told them to go to the bathroom and pour it in the yard”) but it would not be the first time a television crew failed to fact-check in their rush to fill dead time on the news.

NBC Montana: HRDC to purchase Belgrade mobile home park to preserve affordable housing

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BELGRADE, Mont. — The HRDC in Bozeman is buying up the Belgrade Trailer Court to preserve important affordable housing.

The nonprofit is purchasing the property at 315 W. Main St. this month. It was listed for sale last year for $1.5 million.

HRDC is taking on mortgage debt and two years of temporary financing to see the deal through.

The organization could maintain ownership or the residents could form an owners cooperative.

HRDC’s president and CEO says they are pleased to preserve another affordable housing option in the community.

HRDC released the following information:

Belgrade Trailer Court was listed for sale in 2023 for $1.5...

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Our thoughts on this story:

So the non-profit is buying a 19 space park for $1.5 million? That’s around $80,000 per space. The seller had no known intention of shutting the park down, but the non-profit was adamant that they had to buy the park to save it from the wrecking ball. Here’s a quick fact-check for these non-profits: nobody is going to pay $80,000 a space for a park in Belgrade, Montana to shut it down. Basically the seller is a lucky guy because the non-profit probably overpaid and did zero due diligence, as they were simply obsessed with a public relations opportunity for more fundraising. They bought this park with a two-year interim note. I can’t wait to see how this thing appraises two years from now and how much more money they have to dump in just to get it into permanent financing.

AZ Mirror: Some mobile home owners aren’t allowed to install air conditioners. A proposed law would change that.

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Heat deaths hit a record in Maricopa County in 2023, and 40% of those occurred in mobile homes, even though mobile homes make up just 5% of Arizona housing.

Spurred by that staggering statistic, the Arizona House of Representatives unanimously approved a measure to give residents in mobile homes more freedom in how they cool down their homes.  

“Protecting these communities and the people that live in them is a way we protect and support affordable housing in our communities,” Wildfire Arizona’s Maxine Becker told lawmakers. “No one should die from heat in their own home.”

Maricopa County confirmed that 146 people died indoors from the...

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Our thoughts on this story:

I’m sorry but I do not believe for one second that any park owner would block residents from having air conditioning. In fact, the article cites not one actual example of this, only the theoretical concept that the reason that around 140 people per year die of heat stroke in mobile homes in Arizona must be because evil park owners won’t let them install A/C. The truth is more likely that the tenant does not want to spend the money, or their home does not have big enough wiring to handle the load of the A/C and they then seal their own fate.  But that simple reasoning is not part of the new U.S. “victim mentality” that declares that nobody is actually accountable for anything they do and, instead, it’s always the landlord’s fault.

BoiseDev: Mobile home park sale notification bill heads to House floor

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A bill giving Idahoans living in mobile home parks a better chance to buy their park is heading to the House floor.

On Monday, the Idaho House Business Committee held a public hearing on HB 424 from Rep. Elaine Price, R-Coeur d’Alene, a bill that would require owners to give 15 days of notice to a mobile home park association before a park is sold. Currently, if residents organize into mobile home park community associations in the hopes of owning the community themselves they must notify their owner once a year about their intent to buy the property. This bill would require the owner to also give notice in return if they plan to sell to...

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Our thoughts on this story:

Price said this bill doesn’t require landowners to sell their property to mobile home park associations or stop any sales, it only gives residents a chance to make their own offer to preserve low-cost housing options in Idaho. She said this is helpful because often mobile home park owners sell these properties privately, so there is no notification to residents when it is posted on the MLS. “The whole idea behind this is to prompt the land owner to take into consideration the association and their wishes,” Price said. “It’s just adding language to try to get the land owner to participate in the association’s wish to purchase the land.”

We have sold several parks to the residents over the years. However, let’s get serious on how that works. The residents have to organize into an association with formal officers, then vote to buy the park, then conduct due diligence, then find a non-profit group to work on the project, then find another non-profit that will personally guaranty the loan, then have a final vote by all residents to more forward and, if successful, then put the whole thing together with attorneys and get it closed. The total elapsed time for all of the above is six to twelve months. Those type of deals only get done with the endless tolerance and patience of the seller. There’s no way that any resident group will ever be able to match the speed of a normal buyer, who typically closes in around 90 days.

Bangor Daily News: Old mobile home stigmas are leading to higher housing costs

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A real estate agent recently asked a client whether they would consider a manufactured home.

The person said no, so the agent then asked the same question in a different way: Did they want a custom-built house that would be ready in four months?

“They’re like, ‘That would be great!’” state Sen. Matt Pouliot, R-Augusta, who runs his own realty firm in his home city, said.

The story illustrates the stigma around manufactured homes, which are often known as modular or mobile homes, depending on how or when they were constructed. Policymakers are trying to dispel the negative perception of homes built off-site to drive down housing costs,...

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Our thoughts on this story:

20% is simply not enough discount for a consumer to choose a modular home over a stick-built home. It would have to be more like 50% off to get any traction. Every time I go to the annual mobile home show and walk these $150,000 modular homes I think how crazy it is for manufacturers to think that those are going to sell when you can buy a stick-built – without the stigma – for nearly the same price. I must be correct because all of this misplaced “CrossMod” excitement has amounted to nearly nothing in actual sales.

NewsNation Now: Manufactured homes are more affordable. Why aren’t we producing more?

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Manufactured homes have historically been considered a solution to affordable housing shortages, but ballooning rent and financing costs are creating new barriers.

Sometimes referred to as mobile homes, they are built entirely in manufacturing plants and transported to the property where they’ll stay. It’s an option that’s 35% to 47% cheaper per square foot than traditional housing, which is built on-site on a permanent foundation, according to data from the Urban Institute.

“The puzzle is why there’s so little (manufactured housing) being shipped when it’s a much better product than it used to be,” said Laurie Goodman, an Urban Institute...

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Our thoughts on this story:

“The puzzle is why there’s so little (manufactured housing) being shipped when it’s a much better product than it used to be,” said Laurie Goodman, an Urban Institute fellow.

Here’s the reason they’re not selling more new mobile homes:

  1. The prices are too high.
  2. Nobody has put together financing programs that consumers can qualify for without park owners having to participate in the default process.
  3. The outside of the homes are not appealing to the eye.
  4. The HUD installation guidelines add $10,000 to $20,000 to the already too high pricing.

Solve those issues and you might sell more homes. Until then, forget it.

ABC 5 Cleveland: Residents start to leave Euclid Beach Mobile Home Park

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The deadline is rapidly approaching for residents to vacate the Euclid Beach Mobile Home Park in Cleveland's North Collinwood neighborhood.

Their final day is set for August 31, 2024.

It's been an ongoing legal battle, as they fought to stay.

But the plan according to property owner and non-profit Western Reserve Land Conservancy is to ultimately expand it into the Cleveland Metroparks in the near future.

News 5 returned to the site of the park and captured multiple empty lots, some leftover parts from the prior mobile homes that once stood and many boarded up windows.

For as many who have moved out, there are just as many folks that are...

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It's been an ongoing legal battle, as they fought to stay. But the plan according to property owner and non-profit Western Reserve Land Conservancy is to ultimately expand it into the Cleveland Metroparks in the near future.

I’ve been following this story for a while now, and it’s interesting how private owners can’t close a park to develop it into something else without the media getting out flaming torches and pitchforks while a non-profit can seemingly do anything they want as long as they attach some B.S. reasoning to it. In this case the Cleveland park system suddenly needs this lousy chunk of grass to promote the healthy outdoor experiences of nearby residents (as opposed to wanting to get the eyesore out of the city). You know, private owners could make up similar nonsense but they don’t because they think it’s so stupid that nobody would believe it. I guess that to shut a park down today the key is to say that you are “working to reduce America’s carbon footprint and restore the natural habitat for birds and small animals”.