Mobile Home Park News Briefing

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

STUPIDITY INDEX RATING: DESYAT (10 IN RUSSIAN)

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

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 Unless you can get that one item repealed from HUD’s rules there’s no chance of any public embrace of this “almost single-family looking” product. Since the Supreme Court just repealed the Chevron Doctrine, this issue needs to be immediately litigated by the manufacturers and fixed.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.

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.

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).

"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.

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”.

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.

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. 

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.

ALL IDIOCY:

“It’s not my job as a legislator to legislate the morality of people, but my goodness, I’ve never seen this type of greed,” said state representative Aaron Saunders, whose district includes Ludlow. “I can’t get past that type of thing happening to folks in our community.”

Yes, this is the same old story about the park that legally filed to raise their rent and the rent control commission agreed. Now the residents are wanting to re-litigate the same thing all over again. You can’t. At least not in the real world. And trying to publicly shame the owner is ridiculous because the rent control board already agreed with the owner that the rent should be raised. The end.

FACT VS. IDIOCY

IDIOCY:

“I think one of the biggest challenges that I've been hearing throughout the last couple years has been the maintenance of roofs and ceilings, and some of the decay over the years,” Addison said. “These are not meant to be permanent housing.”

FACT:

When asked if mobile home repairs are included in their responsibilities as landlords, the company said: “We do not own the mobile homes, and have never owned any of the mobile homes. The tenants own their own homes and are solely responsible for their upkeep as well as their yard and driveway.”

IDIOCY:

Addison, who is running for Richmond mayor this November, said poor living conditions also expose that landlords might not be taking care of infrastructure around the home.

FACT:

The Dressler Corporation, the Florida-based company that owns Mobile Towne, told VPM News via email: “We replaced all the water lines, sewer lines, roads, mailboxes and most of the electrical hookups. Cost over $1.? [sic] Million.”

EXTRA CREDIT IDIOCY:

Note that the mayoral candidate is claiming that mobile homes are not intended to be “permanent housing”. I’m not sure that HUD – or the law -- would agree with her theory.

ALL IDIOCY:

Because they would need to take on a mortgage for the purchase, Fry explained that there would be a significant jump in monthly rents immediately after the sale. However, after that initial jump they could expect to see rent increases of less than 1% per year, he said. If the property was bought by someone else, they didn’t know what could happen. And if the buyer was a big corporation, Fry estimated they could see annual increases of 10% or more.

These residents certainly blew it. Now their rent is the same – or higher – than a third-party would have charged them and the only way they can rationalize it is the delusion that their future increases will be smaller. But here’s a spoiler alert for them: it won’t. As the park ages it will need more infrastructure repair and now, they’ll have to not only raise the rent but figure out how to get the money to pay for those repairs up-front. I’ll bet $50 this park goes make on the market in the future as the tenants realize what a horrible mistake they made.

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.

ALL IDIOCY:

If you’ve ever even considered buying a mobile home park in California, read this article and that should put an end to the discussion. What a bunch of lunatics.

JUST IDIOCY

Another vulnerability the residents face is the homes themselves; many were built in the 1970s and '80s and have exceeded their lifespan and have repair/ maintenance issues. The residents are often responsible for having to pay out of pocket for the repairs, Porter noted. HED determined that 62% of mobile home structures were 42 years or older.

I kind of thought that HUD’s 1976 takeover of manufacturing ensured that mobile homes are safe for continual residency and didn’t have “lifespans” like a dog or cat. That’s why they proudly have the HUD seal on the back – the government blessed them as forever homes. Right?

JUST IDIOCY

The law requires that when mobile or manufactured home park owners prepare to sell their properties, they notify the residents. The residents then have the opportunity to form a homeowners association and purchase the park.

The association has the right to match existing offers and negotiate with the park owner to find mutually beneficial terms. If the owner finds another buyer, residents are supposed to be given the opportunity to match any substantially different offers.

The Shady Acres Mobile Home Park in Danbury went up for sale late last year, triggering the start of this process. Residents formed a homeowners’ association and made plans to purchase the property from owner Cajo LLC, but the deal fell through after inspections showed serious problems with water waste disposal systems that would be expensive to fix.

OK, the tenants had their shot and they blew it. You can’t ask later for a do-over. That’s not how the real world works.

ALL FACT AND NO IDIOCY:

While Point Dume Club is a bit of an outlier, mobile home communities are finding new favor among retirees and losing some of the negativity previously associated with these types of communities. Because getting a new community approved can often be challenging, existing properties are highly desirable. Communities can be solid moneymakers for investors because tenants rarely pick up and move their homes so vacancies are low.

"Some of the most profitable investments are in industries where demand is outpacing supply," Kristin Millington, director of manufactured housing and self-storage at Dallas-based Crow Holdings Capital, told Bisnow earlier this year. "That's the exact dynamic we see present in the manufactured housing space and we don't really see that changing."

Yes, that’s all correct.

COMMON SENSE ALERT: THE RENT GOES UP JUST AS FAST WHEN THE RESIDENTS OWN IT – OR FASTER.

We once sold a mobile home park in Austin to the tenants. Years after the sale calls still came in from the local media wanting to know why we were shamelessly gouging the rents. I explained to them that we had sold the park years earlier and the residents were simply learning the harsh realities of ever-increasing utility costs, insurance, property taxes and all the real-life things that park owners must pay.

All that really happens when a park sells to the residents is that the debt becomes dependent on non-profits that have to personally guarantee it – typically on short balloons – and when they no longer want to stick their necks out it goes back on the market for a normal landlord to purchase. Has a single resident-owned deal ever made it to full 25-year maturity of the mortgage?

COMMON SENSE ALERT: WITH MORE REGULATION COMES HIGHER PRICES WHICH BENEFITS NOBODY.

People buy mobile homes simply because they are inexpensive. When HUD adds on more regulations it simply makes the price higher, while providing nothing of real value to the buyer. Nobody goes around the mobile home park trying to outdo the neighbor by saying “my home saves $4 per year on my energy bill due to my unique window design” but instead says “I sure am glad I bought my mobile home before HUD raised the prices by $15,000 with those new regulations”. I know the nation has gone nuts for ecology and virtue-signaling but the reason you buy a mobile home is not with a concern about energy efficiency. Let rich people worry about all this nonsense and don’t punish those on small budgets with unnecessary add-ons.

COMMON SENSE ALERT: THE CHASSIS RULE WAS DESIGNED TO MAKE MOBILE HOMES NON-COMPETITIVE.

There's some debate about whether HUD's chassis requirement is primarily responsible for a massive, post-1970s drop in manufactured home production…

Gee, I wonder why HUD would have made it illegal to remove the mobile home from its hideous boat trailer foundation, thereby requiring it to sit 3’ off the ground and brand it with the “trailer” stigma? Let me think. Do you think it might be the well-funded single-family home lobby that could get their political allies with influence over HUD to derail the threat of $20,000 homes that look like $100,000 stick-builts back in the day? Nah, they’d never do that, right?

COMMON SENSE ALERT: NOBODY BUYS A MOBILE HOME BECAUSE THEY THINK THEY CAN MOVE IT.

All that is great, but the fundamental flaw of manufactured housing remains. Owners of these units typically don’t own the land under them; they rent space in trailer parks. And mobile homes, despite their name, are hardly mobile. Relocating one can cost $10,000 — more than most of their residents can afford.

People buy mobile homes because of their one big strength: THEY’RE INCREDIBLY INEXPENSIVE. Nobody, in real life, ever has the desire to move a mobile home. It has always – and will always – make much more sense to sell it where it sits. Let’s just model that out for a minute for those who are truly common sense challenged. If you buy an old mobile home for $5,000 already set up in a mobile home park in Kansas and then get a new job in Oklahoma, you could move the $5,000 home at a cost of $10,000 (net loss of $5,000) or just sell it to somebody else – exactly where it sits – for $5,000 (so you get all your money back) and then buy another one for $5,000 in Oklahoma. It’s not rocket science. These articles attempt to make you feel that being deprived of your ability to move your housing choice is what makes it a bad buy. The last time I checked you could not move a single-family home or condo either. Give me a break.

COMMON SENSE ALERT: NOBODY WANTS A $2 MILLION MOBILE HOME. BETTER KEEP DROPPING THAT PRICE.

Sarah Paulson brings her Malibu mobile home down from $2 million to $1.8 million

I guess she has friends in the media who keep hyping this up like it’s a great buy or something – it’s been floating around every week for like a month. Give it up.

COMMON SENSE ALERT: DO YOU THINK TWO YEARS AND $20,000 IS MAYBE OVERKILL ON A $1,000 HOME?

Only in bureaucratic America can it make sense to delay a development for two years and spend $20,000 per home for four holdouts in a mobile home park. The homes in the photo appear to be 1980s models in poor condition and probably worth $1,000 each. Unbelievable.

After about nine months of back and forth, a West Kelowna mobile home park has officially been rezoned to allow for industrial uses. After being deferred twice this year, West Kelowna councillors were satisfied that four remaining residents of Shady Acres Mobile Home Park would be given adequate notice to move out and access to compensation from the developer, Kerr Properties. Brent Magnan, director of development approvals, said that once the zoning bylaw amendment is adopted, that will trigger the 12 month notice period for tenants to vacate as well as the $20,000 compensation for their homes.

I’m sure the poor developer regrets getting involved with a city this out of touch with reality.