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Urban Land: Tiny Houses with a Big Impact: Veterans Community Project Combats Homelessness

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America’s 36,000 homeless veterans, who constitute roughly 5 percent of the homeless population, deserve to move from homeless to housed as much as any affected group. Many homeless veterans have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); and every day, 18 homeless veterans commit suicide. Most are not connected to any support services, indicating that homeless veterans need far better services.

Relatively few homeless veterans—ranging from 25 percent to 40 percent, depending upon the transitional housing facility—move from temporary housing to permanent housing.

Enter the Veterans Community Project, a charitable organization founded in 2016...

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FOR ADULTS ONLY:

I
’m not going to say one bad thing about this concept, because this is a smart strategic plan and they are doing a good job. In my opinion, this is the template for how to truly help these people: merging tiny homes with a sense of shared community. And I’m glad this is devoted to veterans as I think they need to be rewarded for doing some of the tough work that civilians cannot even imagine. That being said, this is not a mobile home story as these units are built on concrete foundations and cannot, by definition, go in mobile home parks.

FOX 5 Alanta: How manufactured homes could solve the housing crisis

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Just over one-third of households in this country rent the home in which they live. And as many as nine out of 10 renters say they hope to one day own their own home.  

But in the past few years, home prices have soared, and loan rates have more than doubled.

So, how do we solve this housing crisis?  FOX 5 real estate expert John Adams says he has the answer.

The median price for a new home in Georgia is $351,000, according to research by Houseo, up more than 6% from a year ago. Under typical conventional financing, a buyer would need a down payment of more than $70,000 and then be prepared to cough up a monthly mortgage payment of about...

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NIMBY - or "Not in My Backyard" - opposition is usually based on misperceptions or misguided information based on rumors regarding a project’s impact on its surrounding area. Old memories of "trailer parks" die hard. The truth is that almost all counties in Georgia have used zoning laws to severely restrict the creation of what we all remember as trailer parks. But today’s manufactured homes are nearly indistinguishable from site-built homes, yet they cost only half as much to build.  

FOR ADULTS ONLY:

Seriously? You really believe that “manufactured homes are nearly indistinguishable from site-built homes”? The author loses all credibility when they make stupid remarks like that. Biden has been pushing for cities to relax zoning for years now – all to zero effect – because everyone knows that a mobile home park near their home destroys their property values.

OPB: Residents will own soon-to-reopen mobile home park that was destroyed in 2020 wildfire

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This past weekend, community members celebrated the official groundbreaking of the first cooperatively owned mobile home park formed in the Rogue Valley. This fall, families will be returning after the 2020 Almeda Fire destroyed most of the park.

Talent Mobile Estates was a tight-knit group of around 100 households. But when the Almeda Fire destroyed most of the homes, that community was scattered.

Alma Rico lives in one of around 10 homes that didn’t burn down. She said she’s looking forward to her community moving back to the park, including her father.

“We’re rebuilding, but it seemed like it was never going to happen,” Rico said....

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Erica Ledesma co-founded the nonprofit Coalicion Fortaleza, the organization that helped turn this park into a resident-owned cooperative. She said that will be a major tool in rebuilding the community because residents will have a say in how the park is operated. Residents will be able to choose whether or not to be a part of the cooperative. But, Ledesma said opting in will likely come with perks, like a slightly lower rent and getting to have a say in park operations. Ledesma said the rent for mobile home spaces will likely start at under $700 per month. Those funds will pay off the state loan used to purchase the park from its original owners and to pay for a management company to help with things like landscaping, utilities and maintenance. She said rent in resident-owned communities typically doesn’t go up and in all likelihood, the rent will decrease as the loan is paid off in the coming years. The modest manufactured homes that are being installed were funded through a state grant. They’ll be gifted to the new homeowners. Ledesma said first priority will be given to survivors who lost their own manufactured home in the Almeda Fire.

FOR ADULTS ONLY:

Taking a nod from the EV industry, this deal has so many subsidies and grants that it’s really unclear who is shouldering the burden and when the bill even actually comes due. As I’ve said for years now, all of these non-profit deals are absolutely dependent on handouts from various groups and everything sounds great until one of them loses interest and then the whole deal goes on the market for sale to a real buyer. It’s going to be really interesting to see how many of these deals – held together with non-profit chewing gum, duct tape and chicken wire – are still in operation a decade from now. As with the resident-owned deal in Palo Alto and San Souci in last week’s issue, none of these transactions should be viewed as a permanent fix.

9news: Denver's first community-owned mobile home park closes on sale

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DENVER — The dedication of a small community, and the tenacity it took to fight for their homes have paid off in a big way. 

Around 80 Westwood families, at one of the last remaining mobile home parks in Denver, are calling this moment historic. They're now the first community-owned mobile home park in Denver, according to the nonprofits Justice for the People Legal Center and Sharing Connexion.

On Tuesday, Sharing Connexion officially closed on the sale of the mobile home park. The nonprofit has a real-estate rescue program and were voted to become interim owners. Together with residents, and Justice for the People Legal Center, they...

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On Tuesday, Sharing Connexion officially closed on the sale of the mobile home park. The nonprofit has a real-estate rescue program and were voted to become interim owners. Together with residents, and Justice for the People Legal Center, they were able to secure the $11.5 million needed to purchase the park, preserving their homes and community. Sharing Connexion will be the interim owner of the park for 1-3 years, until the residents are able to manage and operate it on their own.

FOR ADULTS ONLY:

This deal probably has about a three-year shelf life. Nobody buys a park on a structure this flimsy. All it will take is one of these non-profits to get cold feet or lose interest and the whole thing is back on the market looking for a legitimate buyer. Considering the fact that the residents will never vote to raise rents and will refuse to evict their neighbors for non-payment, the odds of this deal surviving long are not good.

The U.S. Sun: FORCED OUT I’m facing no other choice but to demolish my tiny home of 49 years after eviction threat – I’ve done nothing wrong

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A TINY home resident said she has been forced off the land her family home has been on and could have to demolish it.

Marjorie Begay said residents of a trailer park village in Moab, Utah, by the state border with Colorado, were told they would face eviction by July 1.

The Walnut Lane Trailer Park was built six years ago by the City of Moab as an affordable housing project.

Residents were notified on April 17 that the site would be removed and their leases would not be renewed.

Moab City, through a Facebook post, cited an issue with insuring the trailer park after June 30.

“Our insurance carrier notified us last month that they will not...

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The Walnut Lane Trailer Park was built six years ago by the City of Moab as an affordable housing project. Residents were notified on April 17 that the site would be removed and their leases would not be renewed.

FOR ADULTS ONLY:

OK, here’s what I was talking about in those earlier articles. This supposedly great non-profit-owned community deal lasted a whopping six years before the city pulled the plug on it. Maybe all these politicians and others who promote these non-profit fantasies are unaware, BUT THE AVERAGE MORTGAGE ON A MOBILE HOME PARK LASTS FOR 30 YEARS! If you don’t have your non-profit subsidies locked on for three decades then quit pretending these deals have any future at all!

Langley Advance Times: Residents fear homelessness if Mission mobile home park closes

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Residents of a mobile home park in Mission are fearful for their future with the potential closure of the park looming.

Ken Babichuk has been living at the Grove Mobile Home Park off Lougheed Highway for four years. He said he plans to live there until he dies.

However, his options would be limited should the park close to make way for a new development.

“I’ll become homeless,” Babichuk said.

There are 25 homes at the Grove and over 35 residents — all of whom are seniors. Dave Nash, who has lived at the Grove for three years, says homelessness is a possibility for most residents.

“It’s a very real risk with a good number of people in the...

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The newest owners of the property sent a letter to residents by mail on March 7 informing them of plans to redevelop the mobile home park into a multi-family residential and commercial project. According to the letter, the owners are targeting 2025 for the beginning of construction and have completed a pre-application review with City of Mission planning staff.

FOR ADULTS ONLY:

Absolutely nobody at city hall is going to mind tearing down a dilapidated trailer park to make room for a nice, new mixed-use development. They will give whatever zoning is needed to ensure a mobile home park is torn down. That’s why park residents – and politicians – need to understand that only higher lot rents hold back the wrecking ball. You either get much, much higher lot rents or homelessness. There is no third option.

Kelowna Now: Shasta Mobile Home Park in Kelowna one step closer to being sold after lengthy court battle

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Another mobile home park is up for potential redevelopment after a judge recently approved a sales process for lands, which are valued at millions of dollars.

In a court decision from April 10, 2024, the judge approved a sales process for the property located at 3745 Lakeshore Road.

A variety of issues were addressed in this latest court proceeding, including the nature of the sale process and whether or not to engage with the city and seek any rezoning for the land in question.

Owned by the four sons of Lloyd and Marjorie Callahan, Douglas, Edward, Bruce and Robert, the lands are referred to as the “Crown Jewels” of properties owned by...

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While the Lakeshore Road property has operated as a mobile home park for many years, according to court documents the sons are all in agreement that it “is not the most lucrative use of the lands, and that the lands have significant redevelopment potential. It appears that the Lands are worth tens of millions of dollars.

Yup, that pretty much sums it up. At what rent would remaining a mobile home park have been an option?

KSL TV5: Moab trailer park residents forced into eviction by city after insurance complications

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MOAB — After six years of a promised affordable housing project in a Moab trailer park, residents were notified by the city on April 17 that not only would they no longer receive new housing, but would also face imminent eviction by July 1.

In a Facebook post made by the city, it passed the reason for the eviction to the insurance carrier of the land. The city said it “will not insure the trailer park after June 30; the city cannot carry that liability without insurance.”

A resident of the trailer park, Marjorie Begay, had been hearing rumors of the devastating news beforehand. Begay said she has lived on Walnut Lane since 1998.

She said...

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Our thoughts on this story:

In 2018, the city of Moab purchased the land on Walnut Lane that now houses 26 trailer homes. The city embarked on the project, according to reporting from The Moab Times, which became consistently problematic. The goal was to upscale the land to an 80-unit affordable housing complex which would rehouse not just the current residents, but additional tenants. At one point, the developer selected for the project expected to be able to house 288 people, but the rent prices projected were less than “affordable,” according to the Moab Sun News.Wojciechowski said the city’s current plans consist of tearing the trailers down after the residents leave.Unfortunately, a significant portion of the trailers currently on-site are in extremely bad shape (many of which were in even worse shape when the city initially purchased the property), and likely wouldn’t survive a move without significant structural damage,” he said. “Many of the trailers are also old enough that they contain asbestos.”

Even the City of Moab can’t justify not redeveloping the mobile home park’s land. Low Lot Rents = Homelessness. How’s that for a bumper sticker?

WBIR: 'It's heartbreaking' | Maryville mobile homeowner says eviction left her scrambling

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MARYVILLE, Tenn. — Inge Marie Sands moved to the U.S. from Germany in the 1960s and eventually settled in Maryville. 

Sands, and her late husband, purchased a mobile home and rented a lot off Temple Road for around 23 years. Then, she received an eviction notice in January. 

"It's expensive to move, and it's an expense that, you know, well, there goes my life savings," Sands said. "I had to pay to move, and I hope I can pay last month's bills — let's put it that way."

Earlier this month, 10News spoke to homeowners of the Thorn Hill Mobile Home Community, and they said they received eviction notices right before Easter. In many...

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Landry said in a statement. "Mr. Batz ultimately decided to discontinue the operation of the mobile home park on his property, which he is within his rights to do so.

Was there a lot rent amount that would have convinced the park owner to stay in operation and not develop into a new use? Do you see a trend in this week’s articles?

ABC Action News: Insurance industry leaders say no relief in sight for 'highest risk' manufactured homes in Florida

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LARGO, Fla. — Largo resident Teri Jones emailed ABC Action News after seeing our coverage on Florida's fractured insurance market, wanting to share her experience: seeing those premiums rise every year.

"The owners of mobile and manufactures home are experiencing the same thing," she said. "I live in a 55+ community where it's no longer affordable to have insurance."

She chose to retire in a mobile home four years ago, but now she's worried about her future.

"This is our little home and we want to stay here," Jones said. "I don't want to go anywhere else but I want to live here at least partially affordable."

RATES STILL RISING

However,...

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Our thoughts on this story:

The handwriting is on the wall that a ton of mobile home parks in Florida are going to be redeveloped simply because they can no longer obtain insurance. Nobody is going to own parks in the absence of protection from liability and property damage. Even if owners were that crazy, their lenders will refuse to renew loans or grant new ones without proper insurance. This problem has been building for years, as the U.S. legal system has allowed far too many ridiculous judgement and gaming of the system. Since Florida is tied with California for the second largest number of parks in the U.S., you will start seeing endless articles about mobile home park redevelopment in Florida starting soon – such as the first article in this week’s news stories.

The Real Deal: Developer proposes 978-unit apartment complex on Fort Lauderdale mobile home park

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A developer wants to build a 978-unit apartment complex at the Pan American Estates Mobile Home Park in Fort Lauderdale. 

Saulo Perez, a South Florida-based real estate developer, proposes the project on the 22.8-acre mobile home park at 150 Northwest 68th Street in the Cypress Creek neighborhood, according to city records. 

The Fort Lauderdale Development Review Committee is expected to vote on the project at its meeting on Tuesday. 

Designed by MSA Architects, the project would be developed in three phases. Phase I would have 329 apartments in five five-story buildings and a lake. Phase II would have 290 units in four five-story...

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Our thoughts on this story:

I have been preaching this narrative for years now, and if mobile home park lot rents don’t go up substantially this will be the story of every mobile home park in the U.S. with a good location. Based on a standard mobile home density of 10 units per acre, this park has the capacity of about 220 mobile homes (it’s on 22 acres). But the apartment developer is going to build 5-story towers and that creates 978 apartments on that same tract. At $2,000 per month rent, the apartments are a no-brainer to be a more valuable use of this land. The sooner the American public realizes that the only defense available against re-development of mobile home parks is significantly higher rents, the sooner that residents of parks like this don’t become homeless.

The Colorado Sun: Boulder County’s Sans Souci mobile home park jumped at Colorado’s “opportunity to purchase.” Here’s how it’s going.

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To the west, tree-dotted open space rolls uninterrupted toward picturesque peaks veiled in a spring morning mist. To the east, the intermittent whine of traffic reminds that a thread of busy state highway connects the Sans Souci Cooperative mobile home park to nearby Boulder.

This community of 62 households, largely older and low-income, offers proximity to both nature and convenience — and that, coupled with manageable lot rents, has long made the park a refuge befitting its French translation, “without worry.” 

It has been nearly three years since the park’s residents, bolstered by statewide legislation aimed at preserving such...

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Nearly three years after buying their community, residents find themselves confronting infrastructure, governance and management challenges

I’ve been preaching about the fact that residents owning their own mobile home parks was a recipe for disaster for years. There’s nobody less suited on earth to manage a mobile home park than a committee of residents – they will always vote “no” on raising rents and, as a result, the condition of the park will go down the drain. I’m glad this writer was brave enough to expose the truth, and I’m betting that a bunch of non-profits that have been hit up to personally guarantee the debt on these deals (which is the only way they happen) are breathing a sigh of relief that they refused to sign on.

Boothbay Register: Resident owned mobile home parks - A place to call home

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Nothing's easy when it comes to producing affordable housing in Maine.  It’s encouraging to see the Maine legislature and government at work – creating programs, regulation and tax policy - to protect or build more housing which Mainers can afford and claim as a place to call home. 

One bill sponsored by Senator Cameron Reny (D-Lincoln County) - LD 1276 An Act to Create and Sustain Jobs and Affordable Housing Through the Development of Cooperatives and Employee-owned Businesses – is promising.  It takes a hard look at the potential for mobile home parks to be part of the solution, especially for Resident Owned Communities (ROCs).  With...

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One bill sponsored by Senator Cameron Reny (D-Lincoln County) - LD 1276 An Act to Create and Sustain Jobs and Affordable Housing Through the Development of Cooperatives and Employee-owned Businesses – is promising.  It takes a hard look at the potential for mobile home parks to be part of the solution, especially for Resident Owned Communities (ROCs).

Maybe Senator Reny should call those residents at Sans Souci in the article above before he makes a fool of himself.

Littleton Independent: Hoping to avoid corporate takeover, Meadowood Village residents try to buy their mobile home park

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There was not an empty seat in the Littleton City Council chambers at a recent meeting as over a dozen passionate seniors took turns sharing stories about how they love their mobile home community. Worried that a corporate bid to take ownership of Meadowood Village could break apart their community, they asked the city for money to help them purchase the land instead.

Several dozen residents from the mobile home park — which is located on the west side of Santa Fe Drive just north of Breckenridge Brewery — filled the room. The residents, mostly older folks, recently received notice of a corporation’s intent to buy the park.

“If we are...

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Great business model, right?

“Our goal here is to not let one resident have to move because they can’t afford to stay here,” she said “That’s why it got so critical for us to assure that we stay the community we are.”

Translation: “We’re not going to evict anyone for non-payment and we’re also going to vote “no” on any rent increase so this park will go bankrupt at record speed”.

This is the next Sans Souci just waiting for an idiotic non-profit to guarantee their loan.

Daily Montanan: Manufactured housing advocates skeptical of new development outside Belgrade

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A new manufactured housing development outside Belgrade is calling itself an “affordable housing solution” for Bozeman. But manufactured home resident advocates worry prices are already high and could go up– a reported pattern the developer has done in other locations.

Cameron Crossing, a Three Pillar Development community, was unveiled Tuesday with new manufactured homes starting at $200,000. In a press release, the company said this development would serve as an “affordable housing solution for Bozeman.”

“At the heart of the grand opening event lies Cameron Crossing’s dedication to providing affordable homes tailored for Bozeman’s...

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“We are all aware of tactics like lost rent checks, unfair evictions, harassment and retaliation,” Newman said.

You always see this garbage in most of these articles, and let’s just refute it point by point:

  1. Mobile home park owners have no “tactics” except to rent lots for a monthly rent.
  2. Tenants are the ones claiming that rent checks have been lost and that evictions are unfair – park owners simply want their rent by the due date with no such theatrics.
  3. Mobile home park owners simply want to be a parking lot. That have no desire to get personally involved with any resident and to have “harassment and retaliation” you would have to engage in personal discussions. Have you ever had a “personal discussion” with the airport parking lot personnel? Park owners want nothing to do with this nonsense.

The article is all about how $900 lot rents are unfair in a market in which homes cost $950,000. If you can’t afford $950,000 home prices and $900 rents I have a suggestion: move to a cheaper place to live. Montana is ranked as the 8th most expensive housing cost state. Here it is straight from Wikipedia:

Montana home values are 51% higher than pre-pandemic levels, which is higher than the U.S. average of 40% and ranks eighth highest of all states.

WFMY News 2: Mobile homeowner calls WFMY News 2 after home rips apart during move

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BURLINGTON, N.C. — Margie Van Houten isn’t one for change. This applies to most things, but certainly her living arrangements. She has lived in the same trailer and mobile home park for 18 years.

“It was very memorable,” Van Houten said.

The trailer and park had become home, so it wasn't easy when Van Houten was informed of a change in her living arrangement.

“The landlord sold the property to another person, and he told me I had to move,” Van Houten said.

After searching for a place to go, Van Houten found a nearby mobile home park where she could take her home. The best part of the move was that the owner of the new trailer park...

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Our thoughts on this story:

Can an old dilapidated mobile home break apart in transport? Sure, I’ve had it happen myself on an old home I was moving in to fill a vacant lot. The moral is simple: don’t move old mobile homes in poor condition. When a tenant can’t afford the rent they need to sell their home in its current position and move to somewhere they can afford. Mobile homes were meant to be moved one time only – straight from the factory to the vacant park lot. After that you have to be very careful. Looking at the photo you can see that this home was not in a condition to be moved.

Aol.: Manufactured home community sells for nearly $70 million in Manatee

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A manufactured home community in Manatee County near Palmetto has been sold to a Virginia-based real estate company for $69.9 million, according to property records.

Country Lakes Village and Country Lakes Village II were noted as part of the transaction. The 55-plus community consists of more than 470 lots near the 6100 block of Bayshore Road.

Country Lakes Co-op Inc. sold the property in late July to CS1031 Country Lakes Village MHC, DST.

That holding company uses the same Virginia mailing address as Capital Square, a Virginia-based "national real estate firm specializing in tax-advantaged real estate investments."

Capital Square did...

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Our thoughts on this story:

A 44-story office buildng in St. Louis recently sold for $3.5 million. A 500,000 square foot regional mall just sold for $7 million., And here’s a mobile home park selling for $70 million. How can a mobile home park be worth 20 times more than an office building and ten times more than a regional mall? Several reasons:

  1. Mobile home parks are based on affordable housing, which is the most in-demand form of real estate in the U.S. Meanwhile, nobody wants office space or retail space today.
  2. Mobile home parks have no risk due to technology – you can’t live in the “cloud”. The internet is what killed office and retail.
  3. Mobile home park rents have plenty of room to double and triple in the years ahead as they are ridiculously low ($300/mo. average lot rent vs. $2,000/mo. for apartments). Meanwhile office and retail rents per square foot are plunging.
  4. Mobile home parks never become obsolete or require big capital expenditures as they are just a parking lot for mobile homes. Office and retail properties become dated and need giant, continual investments on such things as roofs and foundations.

Who would have ever thought that mobile home parks would be more valuable than office towers and regional malls? Pretty much any mobile home park owner.

Valley News Live: Jamestown Mobile Home Park Proceeding With Evictions

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FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) - At time of publishing on Thursday, April 11, residents of the Western Park Village mobile home park in Jamestown felt trapped in limbo, not knowing if their eviction notices were going to be enforced.

That doubt seems to have dissipated as of Monday evening, as Pamela Syverson has reached out to Valley News Live to inform us that a follow up notice has been delivered by local deputies that she has three days to vacate the premises.

Syverson is the Jamestown mom that was served her initial eviction notice as it was deemed that her flower beds, which she built out as a memorial to her murdered son, Gunnar,...

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Our thoughts on this story:

Some park residents have a real knack for taking advantage of gullible reporters. When I was filming with National Geographic, a resident saw the camera crew and told them that the evil landlord had turned off their gas. They filmed a segment with that resdient but then had to delete it when, in fact-checking the story, they found that the truth was that the resident had not paid the gas company, not the landlord.

I’m willing to bet $100 that there are some really good reasons these tenants are being evicted and that it’s not just some whim of the park owner – but the reporter did not bother to explore what those issues might be. Shocker.

https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/2024/04/12/pine-haven-mobile-home-park-owners-lied-to-residents-must-pay-damages-lincoln/73294439007/: Lincoln mobile home park owners lied, tried to evict residents. Now they owe $800K

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Blue Beach Bungalows, owner of the Pine Haven mobile home park in Lincoln, has been ordered to pay over $800,000 in penalties and rebates for violating the state's Consumer Fraud Act and other laws, the Delaware Department of Justice said Thursday.

The Justice Department said Blue Beach repeatedly told residents — many of whom lived there year-round — that the park was actually seasonal, and used that false claim to threaten to evict residents and destroy their property. Blue Beach continued to do so even after a cease-and-desist motion was issued by the Consumer Protection Unit on April 3, 2023, according to court documents.

Blue Beach...

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Our thoughts on this story:

I’m sure the park owner will appeal and the next jury may come to a different conclusion. The writer, of course, does not mention that the park owner can appeal until the final sentence. It’s not over until it’s over.

FOX 5 / KUSI: National City mobile home rent control ordinance set to expire this year

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NATIONAL CITY, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) — A rent control measure for tenants of National City’s mobile home parks is set to sunset at the end of this year, but there is now conversations around making the relief for those residents more permanent.

National City has four mobile home parks with about 400 families living within them.

“A lot of elderly people around there and then we live there because we don’t have no choice,” said Socorro Jimenez, a mobile home park resident in National City.

Though it is considered one of the most affordable options for renters, mobile homes are not included state rent control laws.

“Individual cities have...

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Our thoughts on this story:

Classic quote by a resident:

“We live there because we don’t have no choice”

That quote sums up the new “victim” society we live in where everybody is not in control of their life but simply a victim of some other evil individual or group.

As for the article, hopefully the city council will not be swayed by the eloquent tenant quoted above and realize that rent control results in wrecking balls tearing mobile home parks down.

Yahoo!: Seniors living on fixed incomes say they're being priced out of California mobile home park due to rent hikes

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Senior citizens living in a California mobile home park are being forced to ditch their retirement pads due to “unaffordable” rent hikes.

“Nobody wants to move,” Karyn Keyser, a resident at the Skyline Ranch Country Club in Valley Center, told ABC 10 News.

She described the “upscale” mobile home park as a “fantastic place to live” — with its golf course and other luxurious amenities — but sadly, Keyser says she can’t afford to live there much longer.

Keyser owns her mobile home but rents the plot of land it sits on. She says the rent, without signing a new lease agreement, has gone up from $955 to nearly $1,600.

“I'm on disability; my...

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Our thoughts on this story:

The title says it all. As I’ve said every week, if you retire in California, you do so with full knowledge that it’s one of the most expensive places to live on earth. If you can’t afford to pay absurdly high prices for everything from mobile home park lot rent to hamburger meat, you need to sell your home and move to a cheaper state, which abound but mostly not in the American west.

WATE: Notice to vacate leaves Maryville mobile home park residents with few option

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MARYVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Families who own mobile homes at a park in Maryville have been told their property leases will end in three months on June 30. As a result, they will either move their homes or sell them to the property owner.

The lives of about a dozen Blount County families have been turned upside down by the unexpected notice. These homeowners and others have some tough decisions to make. They live at the Thornhill Mobile Home Community in Maryville.

Ann Wade, 85, moved here when the park was new in the mid-80’s. She and others who own their trailers received this expiration of lease and notice to vacate two weeks ago.

“The...

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Our thoughts on this story:

There are two sides to every story and this article only presents one. I’m pretty sure that any sane adult can guess that the reason these twelve leases were terminated is for plenty of factors that are conveniently not discussed (such as the homes being in poor condition, rules enforcement, non-payment of rent, etc.).

When a park owner non-renews a lease it costs them around $10,000+ in lost rent and lot preparation for a new home, not to mention the pain and suffering of bringing in a home and getting it sold. The last thing a park owner wants to do is to non-renew a good, paying tenant. I’m betting these were anything BUT good, paying customers and there’ no way the owner could keep the business functioning with these folks as residents so they bit the bullet and are going to sacrifice around $120,000 to get rid of the people that are ruining the quality of life for all the other residents.

If the reporter had bothered to show pictures of the homes of the people that were interviewed the cause of the non-renewals would probably be clear.

Boothbay Register: Who is taking over Maine’s mobile homes, and why

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Manufactured housing and manufactured housing parks (MHPs) are some of the last truly affordable, unsubsidized housing options in our state. Many older Mainers, people with disabilities, young families, and veterans live in these parks. Additionally, many tenants of MHPs either own the home themselves, or have a rent-to-own agreement, making manufactured housing an important and accessible path to home ownership.

What’s happening across our state to residents of these parks is changing this dynamic. Out-of-state companies, and real estate investment speculators, are buying mobile home parks and increasing lot rents right away, with...

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I’ve seen responses from these companies saying, “If tenants were genuinely concerned with the price of the lot, they would move.” This shows a complete disregard of the cost to move a manufactured home. If tenants try to move, it can be expected to cost anywhere from $1,500 to $10,000 depending on the home, and this is only if they are lucky enough to find an available lot elsewhere.

Wow, this reporter must be reading my weekly news reviews as I’m the person that said “if you can’t afford to live in the park you need to move”. But I never said to “move the home”. In fact, I regularly say that you should NEVER move the home but, instead, sell the home to someone that CAN afford to live in the park (just like all single-family and condo owners do). When I say that you “should move” I am talking about the inherent common sense of moving to a city or region that meets your budget. It blows my mind when people appear in articles complaining that they can’t afford to live in that city, as though it’s society’s responsibility to ensure they can afford to live wherever they want. That’s as stupid as somebody with $10 in their pocket complaining they can’t eat at the local steakhouse – just go to McDonald’s like everybody else does. Maine is an extremely expensive state to live in – among the most costly in the U.S. If you don’t have a large income in retirement you should move to a cheaper state like Arkansas. It’s not rocket science.

Maine Public: Residents' offer to purchase two Old Orchard Beach mobile home parks has been rejected

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An offer from residents of two mobile home parks in Old Orchard Beach to buy the properties has been rejected by the current owner.

Residents of Old Orchard Village and Atlantic Village learned earlier this year that the owner had a pending offer of $40.4 million for the neighborhood. A state law enacted last fall gives residents a chance to form a cooperative and attempt to buy the parks themselves.

The Old Orchard residents formed the Seacoast Village Cooperative and matched the $40.4 million offer but learned Thursday that it had been rejected.

"The residents met every obligation," said Nora Gosselin with the non-profit Cooperative...

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Our thoughts on this story:

The park owner got a legitimate offer of around $40 million for his 370-lot park. The tenants mistakenly thought that simply by saying they would match the price the park owner would opt to sell to them. But here’s the catch:

  1. The park residents have no money.
  2. The park residents have no experience in buying or operating parks.
  3. For the tenants to buy the park will require non-profit subsidies and loan guarantees.
  4. Putting all this together will take a year.
  5. he corporate buyer can probably close in 60 days with no time, effort or risk to the seller.

There is a thing in life called “time urgency” and if the seller waits a year for the tenants to buy the park and they then fail miserably (which is a 99.9999% certainty) the seller will lose the good corporate buyer who will have moved on. Once again, any sane person would understand that.

Crozet Gazette: Crozet Mobile Home Community Owners Hike Rent

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It’s been a little more than two years since Crozet Mobile Village on Park Road—now known as the Crozet Mobile Home Community (MHC)—was sold for $4 million by Richard Hevener, a businessman who had owned and run the place for over 40 years. Though the local representatives of Crozet MHC’s new parent enterprise, Roseland Communities, are rarely seen on the premises, the new ownership has made a strong first impression in one respect: they’ve raised tenants’ rent by 80%. 

While residents say Hevener held steady the amount most tenants paid to lease their lot at $250 per month for the last seven years of his tenure, Roseland immediately...

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 “I watched what was happening [with the recent sale], and I thought—well, this is an investment company, they’re not in it to be your friend.”

Here’s the hard reality: Crozet, Virginia home prices are $498,400 and the apartment rent averages $1,940 per month. And let me get this straight -- $450 per month is unfair? No, the park owner is not in the business of making “friends”, they are in the business of making money. They bought the park because they spotted the rent was ridiculously low at $250 per month just as a smart stock investor buys Apple when the price seems low compared to book value. The former park owner – who held it for 40 years – clearly did not run the park as a business. But any modern buyer is going to make this a sustainable investment-grade asset and that means the rents are going to go up. It’s also interesting to note that, based on any semblance of realism, the rents at $450 are still absolutely, ridiculously low and it’s a miracle the new buyer has not already gone much higher.