Mobile Home Park News Briefing

Some of Harbor View is still without power and much of the trash is still piled up. “When I first moved here this was a beautiful mobile home park and now we are living like trailer trash. It’s ridiculous. We pay way too much money to this big corporation to not have any consideration,” said Heffelfinger.

This Park was wiped out in Hurricane Helene and the residents are blaming the park owner for that. Good to see that even in a national crisis the “free rent movement” is going strong.

AND THE GUILTY PARTY REALLY IS: HURICANE HELENE

According to Kuschel, current residents of the mobile home parks pay around $500 in lot rent, but new residents will now need to pay an increased rent of $895. On top of this, the residents' lot rentals for next year will face a 10% increase.

Let me get this straight: a current tenant who pays $500 per month in lot rent is complaining because all new residents moving in will have to pay $895 per month. That would be like me complaining that I used Hotels.com to get a $100 rate while other people (who I don’t know) are paying full retail for the same room.

The new park owner even pointed this stupidity out:

Over the last few weeks, we’ve notified residents about all our improvement projects, which will result in an average rent increase of $52 that will go into effect on January 1, 2025. New residents moving to Southern Hills will receive landscaping services and be paying a rate that is more in line with the local market.

What’s really going on here? Some random ‘free rent movement” advocate wants to complain about things that are none of their business because, clearly, landlords are inherently evil.

AND THE GUILTY PARTY REALLY IS: LONELY TENANTS WHO WANT THEIR 5 MINUTES OF FAME

Webb said the purpose of the regulations, specifically the 2-acre lot size requirement, was to ensure wastewater and sewer hookups were adequate.

Sure, it makes complete sense that single-family homes are fine on a quarter-acre lot but mobile homes require 2 acres under the new ordinance. And I’m sure that it’s to ensure wastewater hookups are adequate. No way it could be a way to make sure there are no more mobile homes brought into Tupelo, Mississippi, right?

AND THE GUILTY PARTY REALLY IS: THE NEGATIVE STIGMA AGAINST MOBILE HOMES.

So, the city has decided to unilaterally make 12 of the 16 parks in the city “seniors-only” without any authorization, process or approval from the government. Never mind that the city is fully aware it will never hold up in court. Sounds like they need to hire Letitia James as she doesn’t typically let the law stand in her way. Doesn’t It remind you of the scene in Blazing Saddles in which the outlaws are deputized by the corrupt governor and then given badges to which they shout “badges?... we don’t need no stinking badges!”

Flint can’t even provide safe drinking water but somehow, they view a mobile home park as the most dangerous thing on earth. It would appear the city can’t get the park torn down fast enough – or at least before anyone questions why it can’t just be fixed up. Gee, I wonder why? After all, I thought that cities love affordable housing. That’s what they’re always saying, right?

Manufactured houses, widely known as mobile homes, are one of the most affordable options for homeownership in the United States, but they typically come with a big risk: You own the house; you don’t own the lot it sits on.

That has made mobile home parks ripe targets for investors, who buy communities and then increase the lot rents to boost profits. It’s a massive industry: manufactured homes account for approximately one in 10 new single-family homes in the United States, according to a 2023 report by the Manufactured Housing Institute trade organization.

To curb investor involvement, the state of Maine ushered in a new law last year that requires mobile home park owners to give advance notice to residents if they intend to sell, giving the community members a chance to buy it themselves.

Let’s break this typical “free rent movement” narrative into the three positions presented.

Paragraph 1 says that mobile homes have one HUGE risk: the tenant doesn’t own the land. Well, that’s why mobile homes are so inexpensive to begin with. The average detached dwelling in the U.S. is $400,000 and the average mobile home is probably $10,000. By not owning the land under the home it becomes actually affordable for the bottom third of Americans that can’t afford $400,000. It’s not a risk or a problem – THAT’S WHAT CREATES THE OPPORTUNITY TO LIVE IN A DETACHED DWELLING FOR AROUND $500 PER MONTH IN LOT RENT. They DO sell mobile homes that come with the land. They are called land/home deals. They cost around $150,000 and up.

Paragraph 2 says that “private equity groups increase lot rents to boost profits”. All businesses – large and small – raise prices, when possible, to maximize profits. It’s called the free market system. It’s part of our economic structure called “capitalism”. The issue is not that private equity groups want to increase lot rents – everybody does – but what’s important to note is that this is possible because mobile home park lot rents are ridiculously low. Owners of office buildings and shopping malls would also like to raise rents but there’s no demand so they can’t do it. And so would airlines, car dealers and every other business on earth. But mobile home parks could double existing lot rents and still be the cheapest housing on earth. And stay completely full. And that’s why private equity groups are buying mobile home parks, because they’re a bargain. That’s also why investors bought Apple when it was a dollar a share and gold at $300 an ounce.

Paragraph 3 says that Maine’s new law gives residents a chance to buy the park. But the problem is that residents have no money, so that’s not who’s buying the park. Instead, this concept requires a non-profit to provide the down payment and another non-profit to personally guaranty the loan. And there are not too many non-profits wanting to do that which, as a result, makes the successful purchase of the park by the residents about as rare as a documented sighting of Big Foot.

From the same Letitia James that brought you Trump’s bizarre victimless fraud case, she is now turning her legal prowess to solving the problems of some mobile home park residents who stupidly think they are using her to get rent reductions when, in fact, they will simply end up homeless once she fines the owners $3 million and shuts the park down. Smart.

In the complaint, Parkland Inc. alleges that former company employee Todd Storey, who the company says was in charge of reading the meter and reporting the readings to the city, resigned in November 2022 and vowed to “take (Gregg) Pardieck down for $250,000.” Pardieck is identified in court filings as the company’s president. Collectively from June 2021 to August 2023, Parkland Inc. reported using around 62.83 million gallons more water to IDEM than what it reported to Seymour’s water utility, according to records included in the complaint.

So let me get this straight. The park owner fires the manager and he “vows to take the owner down” by reporting that he under reported to the city 62.83 million gallons of water that had been dumped down the sewer line without any supportive evidence of any type.

For those who are complete idiots (apparently the city and the reporter qualify) 62 million gallons of water would equate to filling 62 football fields 10’ deep in water… and that’s how much this little trailer park supposedly used… and the city believes that… yeah right.

I hope the city has a really good attorney because the judge will have to be smoking crack for them to win. 62 million pounds of crack to be exact.

This after their landlord’s 90-day notice to move their homes, stated the land was being sold and the new owner has other plans for the space.

I think I’ve been very clear for years now that there is a universal axiom that LOW LOT RENTS = REDEVELOPMENT. Contrary to what the “free rent” nitwits may tell you, mobile home park owners always have the option of simply cutting the park loose and building something else on the land. This trend is accelerating as apartment rents skyrocket and park owners are too insecure to match market numbers and, instead, simply elect to redevelop. Every single resident in every mobile home park would be smart to go to the owners and say “I’ll happily pay whatever the lot rent needs to be in order to keep the doors open”.

STUPIDITY INDEX RATING: 10

Another park bites the dust.

STUPIDITY INDEX RATING: 5

First of all, it’s extremely disingenuous for this article to start with a photo of a home destroyed in Hurricane Katrina and then put this caption in small print:

Your mobile home probably doesn’t look like this, but it might feel that way sometimes.

As for the California program mentioned, I won’t hold my breath until we see actual work done on the homes. California is notorious for promising things and never delivering on them. If they cough up the money and actually fix old homes for free, that’s great. But more than likely they’ll just study them, have committee meetings, and let the press die down before abandoning the concept.

STUPIDITY INDEX RATING: 5

Even Karl Marx would read this article and say “these California people are nuts!”

STUPIDITY INDEX RATING: DESYAT (10 IN RUSSIAN)

Residents have described the living conditions as dangerous, citing and reporting problems such as rodent infestation, mold growth, and deteriorating floorboards in many units. These ongoing issues have made Cherry Lane Park a frequent topic of discussion at the Town of Southport's monthly meetings. Over the past two months, town officials decided to revoke the park's license to operate, which legally prohibits any residency on the property.

So the residents complained to the city and the city used them as pawns to get the park shut down and make them all homeless. When will mobile home park tenants realize that the city government is never on their side, but simply using them to find an opening to get the park torn down and a higher use put on that land?

STUPIDITY INDEX RATING: 10

The beyond-hopeless feeling at Gulf Breeze Mobile Home Park isn’t going anywhere unless more help arrives.

The government has miserably failed in their approach to Helene, having no more than $750 to give out to those impacted by wiping out their budget before hurricane season. This is not specific to mobile home parks but to literally every single person who lost their homes. The incompetence is appalling.

STUPIDITY NDEX RATING: 10

First, let’s look at the improbability of the tenants buying the park:

O’Banion says federal grant money is needed to move forward with the $41 million land purchase — something she is unsure they will secure by Nov. 1.

There’s no way on earth that the tenants are going to find a federal grant of at least $10 million in three weeks for the down payment, and everyone knows that. This is the same government that can’t even get a $750 check to the victims of Hurricane Helene.

But there’s an even more worrisome part to these tenant-first-option pitches and that’s the way that the media frames it as a life-or-death predicament:

“History has shown that when an investor purchases a manufactured housing community there is economic eviction because the residents are not going to be able to afford the lot rent that the investor charges,” said O’Banion. 

Here’s where that argument falls apart. There are hundreds of mobile home parks that change hands each year and residents buy somewhere around 10 of those. That’s all. And I don’t see any uptick at all in the vacancy rates in those parks bought by professional investors. In fact, it’s the exact opposite. When a professional investor is the buyer they typically improve the park’s infrastructure, bring in homes to sell to occupy the vacant lots, and install professional management. This leads to a better living experience for the residents and makes detached affordable housing attainable. It’s a total contradiction to the claim that the residents are saddled with “economic eviction”.

The truth is that – and I urge you to research this – many properties that have sold to the residents have had nothing but declining conditions coupled with higher rents than even the professional buyer would have charged. The reason? Committees of residents are terrible managers of the property, having no desire to evict each other for non-payment as well as being incompetent stewards of the property.

STUPIDITY INDEX RATING: 10

On Sept. 15, the homeowners organized a community support fundraiser called SOS, or Saving Our Steamboat One Neighborhood at a Time, with music and some 100 donated silent auction items. The fundraising is intended to support any legal costs and a down payment fund. Carter said the fundraiser was well supported by community donations and raised more than $11,000. “The fundraiser went fantastic,” Carter said. “It helped lift the spirits of Milner. It was so nice to see how many people are supporting us and cheering us on. We had so many donations from local businesses. It was truly amazing how many people donated to our fundraiser. We are so thankful to have such wonderful people support us.”

Let’s look at the actual numbers for a minute (yeah, I know that I’m a party pooper). The park is $10 million. That requires at least a $2 million downpayment. The residents have raised $11,000 so far – that’s around $1,989,000 short of the goal. So, let’s just give this idiotic mission up and move on to something else. As the U.S. Army says “hope is not a method”.

"Unfortunately, due to rising costs and limited revenue, Evergreen Village will need to be sold," it read.

I guess the “free rent movement” has some problems out there, such as the landlord’s ability simply to redevelop the park into something more profitable. Ouch.

The media loves to pretend that mobile home parks are somehow inferior in severe weather events than all other forms of housing. I’m sorry but 5’ of water destroys everything in its path – it’s an equal opportunity destruction mechanism. To pretend that a single-family home does better when the water is touching the ceiling is ridiculous.

I’m sorry but $600 lot rents in a city with $1,750 average apartment rents and $375,000 home prices seems ridiculously cheap. Based on the old axiom of mobile home park lot prices being roughly 50% of apartment rents (which has circulated throughout the industry since at least the 1990s) the actual lot rent should be around $900 per month to be at market levels, not $600. The fact that an amateur mom and pop were charging $300 is not a very convincing testament as to what rent levels should be. In the end, supply and demand is what sets prices, not park owners.

Of course, no reasoning helps when you’re arguing with members of the “free rent movement” who would be unhappy with any rent, regardless of the amount.

There’s an old Chinese curse that goes “may you be highly visible in times of political uncertainty”. Well, that’s the case here. A simple mistake by a home demolition company (which accidentally hit a propane tank) is launching the same Congressman that wants to expand the Supreme Court to demand that mobile home park residents be protected from “evil landlords”. The problem is that the “evil landlord” in question is none other than RHP, which is arguably one of the best operators in the business. To say that RHP does a poor job of management of their properties is like saying that Patrick Mahomes does a poor job as QB. Of course, even though RHP presents the facts to the media refuting all of Blumenthal’s assertions, the reporters don’t want to hear them since their clientele wants to hang all landlords from the nearest tree. It’s called the “free rent movement”. How could Blumenthal get sucked up into that nonsense? How embarrassing. 

So far this year, Havenpark has kicked-off $20.6 million of its planned improvement projects, with $2.9 million in upgrades already completed.  Additionally, Havenpark expects to begin and complete an additional $9.5 million in upgrades at its properties, surpassing their 2024 investment goal by $2.2 million, totaling $30.1 million in investments across its communities in 2024.

So much for the “free rent” narrative that “out of state landlords are evil”. I’d like to see a local person write a check that large to make necessary improvements. Big outfits are the only ones who have the capital to bring old mobile home parks back to life at this scale, and without them you’d see a fraction of the progress in the affordable housing sector. And all the adults in the room know it.

The lawyer argues that while third reading was passed by West Kelowna city council on Sept. 10, the rezoning bylaw needs final adoption before evictions can be triggered.

The park is nearly abandoned and they are ready to bulldoze what’s left. Just look at the photo and tell me who’d even want to live in this mess? The attorney is simply delaying the inevitable. Who’s paying him to do this? Can’t be the residents as they all claim to be destitute. You know there’s some “free rent” advocate funding this incredible waste of time. I know this is a Canadian park, but you see this same perversion of the justice system all the time in the U.S. and it’s appalling.

You are never going to get traction in pretending that mobile homes are site-built until you get them off the boat trailers and down on the ground. Unless you can get that one item repealed from HUD’s rules there’s no chance of any public embrace of this “almost single-family looking” product. Since the Supreme Court just repealed the Chevron Doctrine, this issue needs to be immediately litigated by the manufacturers and fixed. When you can put a mobile home on the ground – like all its housing competitors – then you really have something as far as trying to take on the single-family construction market. Until then, forget it.

The seller is under no obligation, but in this particular case, the seller really did work with the residents, and it’s a pretty exciting outcome," MaineHousing Director Dan Brennan said.It's an exciting outcome with another historic first: the co-op is getting $3 million from the governor's supplemental budget to help close the sale.

Probable Translation: the residents paid $3 million more than the park appraised for and the Governor had to kick in $3 million to close the deal. I think we all know that. Just wait until you see how high the lot rents now have to go to cover the mortgage and the tenant’s inability to manage it properly. My bet is that it will be back on the market in 5 years or less. Maine can’t even get L.L. Bean right anymore (they’re no longer open 24 hours).

TOTAL IDIOCY:

The current U.S. housing system creates tremendous profits, but it doesn’t work for everyone. Half of the nation’s 45 million renters pay more than a third of their paychecks to landlords. Every year, landlords file 3.6 million evictions, and 6.7 million live in substandard housing — realities that disproportionately affect people of color. Homeownership doesn’t guarantee protection either, with almost 20 million owners in a similar boat, paying more than 30 percent of their incomes to banks for mortgage payments and other costs.  

This theory that the government should take over the U.S. housing industry came from AOC – need I say more? For anyone who thinks the government can do a better job of things than private industry, I would remind them that the U.S. government just spent $7.5 billion on only 8 EV charging stations. Then there’s the $1 million army toilet story. The list is endless.