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WKOW: 'Respect us': Mobile park residents upset over approved development project

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MADISON (WKOW) -- People living in a mobile home community near Dane County Regional Airport are upset about a new development project that will add more homes to their area. They feel their concerns are being ignored by the property owners.

People who live at Oak Park Terrace are worried that 80 more homes could be added, making their already crowded community even tighter. They believe this move is driven by corporate greed.

“It’s just not the same. When I moved here 30 years ago, I had a larger lot. When they put the double lot in next to me, it shrunk my lot but didn’t shrink my rent,” Pat Huxtable, a homeowner at Oak Park Terrace,...

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People who live at Oak Park Terrace are worried that 80 more homes could be added, making their already crowded community even tighter. They believe this move is driven by corporate greed. “It’s just not the same. When I moved here 30 years ago, I had a larger lot. When they put the double lot in next to me, it shrunk my lot but didn’t shrink my rent,” Pat Huxtable, a homeowner at Oak Park Terrace, said. “It’s all about expansion. They just want to keep growing. More money, more money, more money, but that’s corporate for you.”

Now here’s a new one. Instead of the regular “raising rent is evil” narrative now it is apparently “evil” to simply fill your vacant lots. Never mind that the residents are only paying for one lot and yet have strewn their stuff across the vacant ones without paying a penny of rent for all these years, but now that the owners are filling those vacant lots with homes they claim it has injured them because they liked that extra free space.

Only a liberal U.S. media would support this logic. Using this same argument I could also complain that Southwest Airlines is “evil” because their ridership is up and the middle seats are now filled. What a pile of rubbish.

The Business Journals: Risky mobile home market still a pain point in Florida as St. Pete insurer retreats from state

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The mobile home insurance remains a pain point in Florida despite the market's progress toward stability.

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All the insurance companies will ultimately leave Florida unless they can make a profit there. The state would be smart to immediately pass some type of law in which the state guarantees profitability for any insurance company crazy enough to underwrite policies in Florida. Instead, Florida keeps heaping on new laws that only end up with more litigation and liability claims, which accelerates the end of insurance in that state.

Ron DeSantis has done a terrible job on this topic, happily signing into law such bad ideas as the “$100,000 per condo regulatory safety surcharge” as well as a new law that gives mobile home residents the ability to force mediation for raising rents even $1. What happened to that guy?

News Channel 3-12: Del Cielo Mobile Estates residents fighting to keep their senior community

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ORCUTT, Calif. -- Del Cielo Mobile Estates residents are fighting back against new owner Harmony Communities changing the senior park to an all ages community.

The mobile home park has been open as a senior community for people 55 and over since the 1960's.

Many residents say they bought their mobile homes at Del Cielo Park to retire due to the peace and tranquility.

Currently, the neighborhood have 185 spaces, but residents say there aren't enough parking spaces to accommodate all residents and their guests.

Others say the clubhouse is not accommodating for people with disabilities and the pool has recently had renovations.

Although the...

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At Harmony Communities we don't believe in housing discrimination.  We believe a single mother with two kids should have the same affordable housing opportunities as people over the age of 55.  We believe our community is well suited to accommodate struggling families and this change will help open housing opportunities for all, and in a non-discriminatory manner. 

Am I the only one that has always found it odd that HUD allows you to discriminate based on age? It seems to be completely inconsistent with HUD’s mission and I can’t help but wonder what really happened behind the scenes for it to come about. I also wonder how they picked “55” as the age of a “senior” since retirement begins at “62”.

You’re going to see more of these cases in the years ahead, because Baby Boomers are shrinking as a demographic and Millennials are growing in stature. When you run ads offering mobile homes for sale in mobile home parks, 9 out of 10 callers are younger than 55. That’s who really needs the bulk of the affordable housing stock in the U.S.

It will be interesting to see how this problem – which HUD created – gets resolved.

CBS 19 News: Habitat offer for mobile home park accepted

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville has learned its offer to buy one of the last mobile home parks in the city has been accepted.

Just a few weeks ago, Carlton Mobile Home Park residents were informed that the property's owner had received a $7 million offer to buy the land.

Habitat teamed up with the Piedmont Housing Alliance, the Legal Aid Justice Center and the city of Charlottesville for a counteroffer, because state law requires any sale of a trailer park to be contingent on the owner considering any offers from a tenant group as long as that group represents at least 25 percent of...

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On Monday night, the Charlottesville City Council voted on and unanimously approved providing funding to help Habitat for Humanity and its partners make a counteroffer to purchase the Carlton Mobile Home Park.

You probably remember this story from last week, in which Habitat for Humanity is going to buy this mobile home park and promises the residents they won’t tear the park down and build apartments on it for three years (but no commitment after that). Clearly there is more going on here than meets the eye. Habitat owns most of the surrounding apartments. My bet is that the city council was willing to provide the money for Habitat because it gives them the ability to get the park torn down without leaving any fingerprints on the demolition, using Habitat as the hit man

WNEM: Mobile home park facing warrant, fine for operating without valid license

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GENESEE CO., Mich. (WNEM) – A mobile home park in Genesee County’s Thetford Township is facing a misdemeanor warrant and a fine potentially up to $100,000 for allegedly operating without a valid license.

Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton made the announcement against North Morris Estates on Thursday afternoon, Aug. 1.

Leyton said on Nov. 29, 2023, the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs issued a notice to the mobile home park it was without a valid license.

The initial penalty for operating without a valid license is up to one year in jail and/or a $500 fine, but when calculating back to the notice in November,...

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Awfully interesting that this mobile home park has operated just fine for decades and suddenly the state and city will do absolutely anything to get it shut down immediately. Another “more than meets the eye” story and I think any rational person would be suspicious of the sudden change in bureaucratic direction without any apparent desire to work together in a transparent and inclusive manner.

WENY: Southport Town Board to hold Hearing on Cherry Lane Mobile Home Park's License to Operate

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SOUTHPORT, N.Y. (WENY) -- It has been five days since the Town of Southport issued a Notice of Violation to the Cherry Lane Mobile Home Park. On Thursday, August 1st, a special town board meeting was held to discuss what comes next for the park.

The board decided to hold a hearing to determine whether the park should keep its operating license. Cherry Lane Park could lose its license to operate as early as the second week of August.

The town board discussed whether the park's owner had remedied the violations, and they concluded the violations remained unaddressed.  As of July 1st, 2024, the park no longer had management,...

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It has been five days since the Town of Southport issued a Notice of Violation to the Cherry Lane Mobile Home Park. On Thursday, August 1st, a special town board meeting was held to discuss what comes next for the park. The board decided to hold a hearing to determine whether the park should keep its operating license. Cherry Lane Park could lose its license to operate as early as the second week of August.

If a homeowner didn’t mow their yard the city would have to go through a lengthy process that could take months to resolve simply to force the property owner to get the grass length corrected. The system is built that way to make sure that all the rights of the homeowner are respected. So doesn’t it seem odd that the city wants to skip the same formalities that they would on lawn mowing so they can suddenly shut this mobile home park down before anyone can even file a legal challenge? I think this park owner needs to find a good municipal attorney who can hit the brakes, sift through the facts, and get to the bottom of it all – the whole scenario seems suspicious to me.

KIMT: Neighbors react to fencing going down at old Bob's Trailer Court and RV Parking

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ROCHESTER, Minn.- Neighbors across from Bob’s Trailer Court and RV Park on Marion Rd were sad to see fences go down on July 28 without further development on a planned affordable housing project.

The trailer park which closed back in May of 2023, was slated to be the site of a new affordable housing project, but instead it will be going back on the market.

Carl Kane, who lives around a block away from the trailer park, says the sale itself doesn’t bother him, but the lack of progress on cleaning up the site since it closed does.

I wish they'd clean it up, take away the trailers. I see they took the fence down. I thought they were getting...

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Another park bites the dust. Same old story: “LOW LOT RENTS = REDEVELOPMENT”.

Charlottesville Tomorrow: Habitat for Humanity will try and buy Carlton Mobile Home Park before it’s sold to an unnamed buyer Aug. 6

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A reporter from Charlottesville Tomorrow was not allowed into a meeting where Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville asked Carlton Mobile Home Park residents’ permission to try and buy the park.

But she could hear the shouting from outside.

Within the first hour, a few residents stormed out, shouting criticisms. But by the end of the three-hour meeting, the 40 or so remaining residents reached an agreement with the nonprofit staff: They gave the group permission to put in an offer to buy the park. And shortly after the meeting ended the group announced it will do just that.

The agreement provides hope of at least some short-term...

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Our thoughts on this story:

A picture tells a thousand words. Look at how out-of-place the park is surrounded by new multi-story apartment buildings. And then look at what Habitat for Humanity promised the residents if they let them match the developer’s offer of $7 million for the land:

The agreement says that Habitat for Humanity and Piedmont Housing Alliance commit to allowing current residents to continue renting their trailer pad (also called a lot) for at least three years from the date of purchase, as long as residents follow community rules. The organizations also commit to not increasing lot rents more than 5% or $15 per year, whichever is smaller.

Clearly, all Habitat is going to do is to get the land bought, use three years to get their plans approved, get their financing worked out, and then demolish the park to build more of these apartments you see in the picture. The story references that they have done that on former park purchases, too.

Habitat simply doesn’t want another developer to buy the land as they don’t want any competition.

As always TENANTS DON’T BUY MOBILE HOME PARKS: NON-PROFITS DON’T. Or in this case, the non-profit is buying the land for their own use – not the tenants – and then cutting them loose.

larongeNOW: Town council adopts new mobile home park bylaw

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La Ronge council passed a new bylaw at a regular council meeting on Tuesday regulating the local mobile home park (MHP).

The changes come after a review of other communities with trailer park bylaws found that municipal rates are considerably low by today’s standards, which can be expected given the fees have not been changed for 35 years.

The park along Bedford Drive was purchased in December 2021 by Tia Watt through Mid-City, a company she co-owns with her husband, Jonathan Watt.

Major changes include utilities and environmental fees would be on the same schedule as all residents and allow for automatic billing, which increases accuracy...

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Oh, I see. It’s OK for the city to jack up the rates for water/sewer for the park owner but when the park owner raises rents to accommodate these cost increases the media will no doubt go berserk. I’m so sick of all this hypocrisy. 

Union Leader: Mobile home parks, condo owners face higher monthly rent, fees

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As if increased housing costs, higher interest rates and skyrocketing insurance premiums weren’t enough, many in New Hampshire also are grappling with higher monthly payments to their manufactured-home park or condo association.

When real estate agent Crystal Bullerwell helped broker the sale of a manufactured home in Belmont last year, the monthly rent for the lot and a share of the housing community’s expenses had gone up more than $130 a month between the time the parties signed a contract and when they finalized the deal.

The seller agreed to make up the difference to ensure the buyer “didn’t walk away,” Bullerwell said last...

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I loved this example from the article, which might qualify as the dumbest case study of all time:

Someone buying a $185,000 manufactured home with 20% down would pay around $960 in principal and interest a month on a 30-year mortgage…

They engineered this scenario to prove that a mobile home in a park costs more than a $2,000 per month apartment. Here’s the problem: THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A MOBILE HOME IN THE HISTORY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE THAT HAS EVER COST $185,000. Maybe more like $85,000 new. And 99% of them cost more like $25,000 new. And probably 90% of every used mobile home in New Hampshire sells for less than $10,000.

Either the reporter is an idiot or is hoping the readers are.

WLRN Public Media: 'We lie to ourselves about progress': Exhibit laments the loss of South Florida's trailer parks

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Over the last decade, mobile home parks — or trailer parks, as they are commonly known — have become something of a rarity in South Florida. As the price of land has creeped up to unprecedented heights, investors have increasingly targeted these sites and the acres they sit upon as being ripe for development.

As WLRN has extensively reported those land purchases often immediately lead to longtime residents being evicted from their homes. The result is that one of the most affordable housing options available is disappearing. In their place, luxury developments far out of the reach of local salaries have gone up.

The harsh reality of the...

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Over the last decade, mobile home parks — or trailer parks, as they are commonly known — have become something of a rarity in South Florida. As the price of land has creeped up to unprecedented heights, investors have increasingly targeted these sites and the acres they sit upon as being ripe for development.

The harsh reality of the situation has forced many to question the very foundations of the region’s socioeconomic foundation, as decades-long residents are forced to leave the region.

Several residents WLRN spoke to who faced eviction from a Hialeah trailer park in 2018 said the experience made them consider returning to Communist Cuba, faulting the lack of tenant protections in the US for their plight. “We live in a capitalist country,” Carlos Hernandez, the then-mayor of that city, explained at the time. “This is a trailer park where the owners of the land sold it to another company.”

So apparently now even the re-development of mobile home park land is evil. Although mobile home parks represent .000000000000000000000000000000001% of all American land mass, the mere concept of building an apartment complex on the old park site is more evil than “Communist Cuba” (their quote, not mine).

Since LOW LOT RENTS = REDEVELOPMENT, maybe this reporter should instead write an article urging park owners to raise their rent significantly to stave off the wrecking ball?

Montrose Press: Country Meadows residents seek park ownership again

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Country Meadows residents are trying to purchase the mobile home park for a second time.

On June 21, owner Ski Town Village LLC put the mobile home park up for sale, just two years after it was purchased. The notice followed months of unresolved electrical outages at a number of homes in the park. The incident is still under investigation by the state’s Division of Housing.

This month, the Gunnison County District Court granted the Division of Housing’s request for a temporary restraining order against Ski Town Village. It requires the landlord to obtain a state electrical permit, provide alternative housing for the affected homes...

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The previous owner first put the mobile home park up for sale in 2021. Fearing an investor would buy the park and force them out, residents banded together to try and purchase the property. They formed a new homeowners association, called Organización de Nuevas Esperanzas (ONE). But the timeline was too tight, and after spotty communication with the former owner, the deal fell through.

So let me get this straight. The residents tried to buy this park just two years ago and failed miserably on meeting the required timetable of 90 days. Now the price has doubled and they expect anyone to believe that they can pull it off again? The problem on these deals is that the tenants are NOT buying the park, non-profits are and – just like last time – the residents are never going to find non-profits to cough up the down payment and personally guarantee the mortgage. My new saying for this nonsense is: TENANTS DON’T BUY THEIR MOBILE HOME PARKS: NON-PROFITS DON’T. That’s the sad truth.

News4JAX: ‘Taking from people that can’t afford it’: Jacksonville mobile home community comes together to dispute 30% rent hike

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ACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Most people expect their rent to increase yearly, but what would you do if it increased by as much as $300?

That’s the reality for a group of people who live close to Jacksonville Beach.

Instead of moving elsewhere, they’re petitioning against the rent increase.

Residents at Portside at the Beaches, a manufactured home community, were hit with a drastic lot rent increase in June. Some people like Dylan Olson will have their rent increase by as much as 30%.

“I knew that it was gonna go up a little bit, but I thought it would be factored in, you know, 3 to 5 percent a year. I was definitely not expecting a $258 [monthly]...

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‘Taking from people that can’t afford it’
 
I’m not sure who they’re talking about here. Are they talking about the residents who can’t afford to pay more rent or the park owner who can’t afford to lose more money on their asset? Because the latter has a better argument that the former. The housing cost in Jacksonville, Florida is $280,000 and the average three-bedroom apartment rent is $1,720 per month. The article does not give the specific lot rent amount for this park but it sounds like less than $1,000 per month – which is an outrageous bargain.
 
And taking that a step further, why is it that only mobile home park residents are always the “people that can’t afford it”? The American “middle class” are actually the subset that is the most cash-strapped at the moment, and apartment Section 8 residents have technically the lowest disposable incomes. It also seems odd that when mobile home park owners raise rents it’s abhorrent but if it’s gasoline, food, utilities, cars, insurance, property tax (and every other good or service in the U.S.) that goes up it’s OK.
 
So let’s just be honest about it. The mobile home park residents don’t like paying higher rent at their park in Jacksonville and are hoping that the media can stop the rent from going up. It’s not going to happen. They need to budget for the increases, just as they have for higher gas, food, utilities and every other cost. If they can’t afford to pay the higher amount they need to sell their home and move somewhere cheaper. Florida has become one of the most expensive places to live in the U.S. and it might be time for many people to consider relocating to the west into states like Louisiana in which prices are less than 50% as high. It’s called common sense and personal accountability. And a quick trip to Realtor.com unlocks a land of opportunity.

Marin Independent Journal: Marin Voice: Novato council deserves credit for passing mobile home rent control

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Sometimes it feels as if it’s hard to find any good news about affordable housing in Marin County. But there is and it’s coming from Novato.

On July 9, buried in the Novato City Council agenda with 10 other items that were bundled together and passed unanimously, was final approval of what may be Marin County’s most progressive and balanced rent-control law for an often-overlooked affordable housing option: mobile homes.

What passed included a 4% cap on annual base rent increases. That’s as low as any North Bay municipality. All new leases are covered. Those provisions protect residents – who own their homes, but rent the land – from...

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Sure, put a 4% rent cap on the park. Ignore the simple maxim that LOW LOT RENTS = REDEVELOPMENT. Then sit back and watch this park get torn down in the days ahead. It’s a given.

Residents and bureaucrats don’t want to accept the laws of gravity, much to their own detriment.

WJCB: Ocala RV park Belleview Hills sold, residents ordered to vacate properties

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BELLEVIEW, Fla. (WCJB) - Residents at an RV and mobile home park in Ocala received a rude awakening last week.

Belleview Hills RV Park residents said the original owners of the property informed neighbors that it had been sold. Residents were told they had until August 19 to vacate the premises.

Residents first received a letter on their front doors last week that stated the property would be redeveloped.

Then, they received another letter from the new owners telling the RV owners that only lots 16-46 must be vacated.

Some RV owners are not fazed by the sudden eviction, because they’ve faced situations like this before.

“I just looked out...

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Residents at an RV and mobile home park in Ocala received a rude awakening last week. Belleview Hills RV Park residents said the original owners of the property informed neighbors that it had been sold. Residents were told they had until August 19 to vacate the premises. Residents first received a letter on their front doors last week that stated the property would be redeveloped.

Maybe these residents could cut out the middleman and talk to the ones that live in the Novato park referenced earlier before they end up with the same fate. While the Ocala residents now know that LOW LOT RENTS = REDEVELOPMENT the Novato ones have not figured it out yet. They will.

White Mountain Independent: Local opposition leads to reversal on Springerville mobile home development

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In a public hearing on July 17, the Springerville Town Council voted to revoke a previously approved conditional use permit for a proposed mobile home park at 64 North D Street, after hearing strong community resistance. The hearing, filled with concerned citizens and impassioned speeches, emphasized the town’s divisions over the development.

Local resident William Gleason led the charge against the mobile home park, which was to be developed by Robert Graves. Gleason criticized the project for potentially exploiting local resources and damaging the aesthetic and environmental quality of the area. “This is not just about a mobile home...

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In a public hearing on July 17, the Springerville Town Council voted to revoke a previously approved conditional use permit for a proposed mobile home park at 64 North D Street, after hearing strong community resistance. The hearing, filled with concerned citizens and impassioned speeches, emphasized the town’s divisions over the development.

Gee, what a shocker. Never saw that one coming, right? Anyone who tells you that there will be new mobile home parks built in America in the years ahead is as out-of-touch with reality as the folks that refuse to accept that LOW LOT RENTS = REDEVELOPMENT. Nobody wants a new mobile home park anywhere near their property.

I will add that we have now entered the third week of my challenge for someone – anyone – to send me the address of these supposed new parks that are being built somewhere in the U.S. (that’s all you hear from attendees at various industry conferences, right?). To date I have received not one single address to research.

Castanet: Despair at West Kelowna mobile home park as holdouts fight 'development stigma'

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Amid excavators and partially demolished homes, a handful of residents of the Shady Acres mobile home park in West Kelowna are holding on in the desperate hope of getting more for the homes they have lived in for decades.

The mobile home park at 2355 Marshall Road is being redeveloped into a light industrial park, a process that has been paused twice by city council over concerns about how residents of the park were being treated.

The park is now mostly empty and partially razed, with the exception of four homes occupied by longterm and disabled residents who are terrified at the prospect of homelessness.

“This is the worst thing that's...

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Amid excavators and partially demolished homes, a handful of residents of the Shady Acres mobile home park in West Kelowna are holding on in the desperate hope of getting more for the homes they have lived in for decades. The mobile home park at 2355 Marshall Road is being redeveloped into a light industrial park, a process that has been paused twice by city council over concerns about how residents of the park were being treated.

Did you get the message yet? LOW LOT RENTS = REDEVELOPMENT.a

Ocala-News: Mobile home park in Marion County tells residents to vacate property for new development

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The owners of a mobile home park in south Marion County say they have sold the property to be redeveloped, telling residents they need to vacate the premises this week.

Belleview Hills residents were informed of the sale earlier this week in a letter from the organization’s management team.

“This letter is to inform you that the property has been sold and will be redeveloped,” reads the letter from the organization.

Located at 10366 S Hwy 441 in Belleview, the “new owners” of the property say they need “help to vacate the park.”

“Your RV’s do need to be moved this week,” reads the letter from management. The management team goes on to...

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Our thoughts on this story:

The title says it all. Once again, there’s no escaping the reality that LOW LOT RENTS = REDEVELOPMENT.

Littleton Independent: Meadowood residents close in on buying their mobile home park in Littleton but still need $4 million

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Sandy Cook has never had to keep a calendar in her life. Now, at age 74, she does. Full of Zoom meetings and phone calls, her schedule is busier than ever before.

“Some days, we have four Zoom meetings a day with different people,” she said. “I’m glad the calendar is full because that just shows the effort we’re making.”

That effort is one she has been making for months, ever since she and her fellow residents at Meadowood Village in Littleton decided to try to purchase the land beneath their mobile homes.

Earlier this month, the group celebrated a massive success when the landowner accepted their $18 million offer on the park. They...

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Is that all – just $4 million? When will people accept the fact that the whole “residents buy the mobile home park” fad is over? The tenants never bought them to begin with, non-profits did. Or actually didn’t, as these deals are falling apart faster than Biden at the debate. What a waste of time.

Federal Way Mirror: Rent increases rattle Belmor Mobile Home Park residents

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Other issues at the mobile home park were noted, including concern about homeless individuals causing issues within the park.

Residents of Belmor Mobile Home Park spoke out against rent increases July 16 at the Federal Way City Council meeting.

Former Belmor homeowners association president Mike Nugent shared during his public comment that the monthly rent is increasing by $150 per month in October. Nugent pointed out that for many who are living on Social Security, a rent increase like that can have a huge impact.

“What’s going to happen to the people that they price out and have move out of there? They’re going to become homeless,”...

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While residents weren’t specific about what type of support they need from the city, one commentor suggested a rent cap, like those proposed by President Biden the same day. According to a news release from the White House, “President Biden is calling on Congress to pass legislation presenting corporate landlords with a basic choice: either cap rent increases on existing units to no more than 5% or lose valuable federal tax breaks.”

I hate to rain on the parade, but Biden’s “5%” proposal cannot possibly make it through Congress. If it did, it would not – in any way – change rent increases since it’s an “optional” concept with the only carrot being tax breaks that few operators actually use. And then, of course, it would obviously be held up in litigation through the court system for years and then overturned by the Supreme Court. Remember the “student loan forgiveness” promise?

But here’s something that all residents need to remember: LOW LOT RENTS = REDEVELOPMENT. And that does not need any Congressional Act – it’s already the simple law of economics.

Maine Public: Brunswick residents may be the first to use a new Maine law to purchase their mobile home park

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The windows of Janet Fournier’s single-wide mobile home in Brunswick are open on this warm summer day. Fournier and her neighbor Tom Benoit point to the wild blueberry fields that can be seen at the edge of Linnhaven Mobile Home Center.

"You can really see them well from — well, I'd say from my street — because it's completely open," Benoit said. "It's beautiful."

Like many of their neighbors, Fournier and Benoit moved to Linnhaven wanting something affordable and easy to maintain as they got older. When they learned that the park's long-time owner wanted to sell, they feared the worst.

Benoit said residents worried that a new owner would...

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Of course, it’s only logical that the residents are going to come up with $28 million to buy their park, right? Besides the basic issues of how they’re going to get a hand-out for an $8 million downpayment and a non-profit personal guarantee on the mortgage of around $20 million comes this very alarming statistic:

Maine has more than 700 manufactured and mobile home parks. Ten are resident-owned communities.

Are you serious? I hate to rain on the tenant-owned-community concept, but that’s a ridiculously small rate of success. Assuming that the resident-owned concept has been around since the 1980s (which it has) and there are only 10 tenant-owned parks in the state of Maine, that’s an average of less than one deal per half-decade. AND THAT WAS BACK WHEN PARKS WERE MUCH LESS EXPENSIVE.

These concepts simply don’t work – and everyone in the industry knows this. I wish the bureaucrats that pass these stupid laws would research the actual facts. It would blow their minds.

KSL: Layton mobile home park residents mull future as 6-story apartment building takes shape

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LAYTON — With an apartment building taking shape on the parcel abutting the rear of her mobile home, Vilma Puente gets nervous.

When might she have to leave to make way for the expected redevelopment on the parcel where her unit and 50 or so others sit at Cedarwood Mobile Home Park in Layton?

"If they take me out of here, I don't have money or anyplace to go," she said. Her husband is dead, she said, and she doesn't have family or friends in the area who can take her in.

What's more, though some of the scuttlebutt circulating among Cedarwood residents suggests redevelopment may be three to 10 years off, no one knows for sure. Back in...

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Our thoughts on this story:

When they build a 253-unit high-rise apartment complex next to a 50-space mobile home park, it’s pretty clear that the park is going to be redeveloped in the near future. The fact that nobody will tell these tenants the truth is all part of our new “politically correct” America, but common sense should already communicate that the park is doomed. While there is typically a lot rent that could economically stave off redevelopment, in this case there’s no way that 50 mobile home park lots can match the economic firepower of 250+ new apartment units at $2,000 per month, regardless of how high the lot rent is.

At the same time, people have to accept that redevelopment is a positive thing. It’s called progress. In the pyramid of real estate, mobile home parks are near the bottom of land use, and high-rise buildings are near the top. It’s a natural progression. It’s not evil or wrong.

WTOL11: 'Unconscionable' conditions of mobile home park in sight of downtown Toledo draw ire of city and state | 11 Investigates

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TOLEDO, Ohio — The flies appear to be mutants – large, annoying and fierce.

Water bubbles and flows from beneath two mobile homes, flooding a field that drains into the nearby Swan Creek.

Riverside Mobile Home Estates sits yards from the Anthony Wayne Trail, within sight of downtown Toledo. But the conditions are comparable to those of a slum in a Third World country.

Trash is piled beside the vacant park office. Much of the park appears to be vacant. Some of the homes are split open or have doors ajar beside home security stickers.

Feral cats skitter from beneath abandoned structures, darting off to hide in the waist-high grass...

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Over the past thirty years we have turned-around dozens of “heavy-lift” mobile home parks just like this one. It’s the logical product of mom-and-pop neglect and the modern, professional owner is the only solution to bring these things back to life. That’s why it’s endlessly annoying when the media portrays professional owners as evil when they are the only possible thing standing between parks like these being demolished or put back in service.

9NEWS: Mobile home owners hope to be top bidders for Littleton property

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LITTLETON, Colo. — For all 92 homes with more than 100 residents, people at the Meadowood Village mobile home park said they live in a picture-perfect neighborhood.

"There’s always someone to help you, cut your branches down," Sharry Diquinzio said. "It’s just a great place to live." 

At one point earlier this year, the future of the park was uncertain. Diquinzio explained a buyer out of Utah made an offer on the park in January. She said she knew she had to organize an action plan in response.

"From the get-go, it was like, 'Okay, we have to mobilize. We have to do something about this. We can’t sit around and wait for this...

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"We got 60 days to raise $4 million," Cook said. "That’s where we’re at right now."

No, the problem is WAY bigger than that. You see, at $18 million that’s over $200,000 per lot. There’s no way on earth that you are going to find a non-profit to personally guarantee a loan that big. Sure, the city tossed in $50,000 to give the optics that they are really devoted to this concept (why are the folks that pay the taxes not in an uproar over this use of their money?), but even the bureaucrats that threw that money in the trash know that there’s not one chance in a billion that the residents are going to raise $4 million cash or obtain the financing.

What a monumental waste of time.

The Maine Wire: Angus King Backs Tax Credit Incentivizing Owners of Manufactured Housing Parks to Sell Land to Residents Instead of Investors

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Sen. Angus King (I) announced Thursday that he has signed onto a bill encouraging owners of manufactured housing parks to sell their land to residents instead of a developer or different landlord.

According to Sen. King’s press release, Maine has the highest number of manufactured housing communities in New England, coming in at more than 600.

King goes on to explain that while ten of these facilities are owned by resident housing cooperatives, as many as one-fifth of these properties are owned by out-of-state investors.

If approved, this legislation — known as the Manufactured Housing Community Sustainability Act — would establish a 75...

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You saw the earlier statistic: only 10 out of 700 Maine mobile home parks have EVER been successfully purchased by the tenants over the past 40+ years. With that in mind, this well-meaning concept has zero chance of ever being of any practical use. However, if they repealed the “sell to tenants” provision – and simply made the tax credit contingent on the park not being redeveloped – you might really have something.