Back before Zappos founder Tony Hsieh died in a tragic fire his personal assistant gave me a tour of his Airstream Village community in which he lived in downtown Las Vegas. She told me the story of how he originally wanted to make Airstream Village out of shipping containers (it ended up being Airstream RVs and tiny homes) but found them to be unsuitable from a utility cost standpoint (“they were like tiny ovens” she said). So that’s problem #1. But the bigger issue is that I don’t think that anyone will pay $200,000 to live in a shipping container in Indiana – and then pay lot rent on top of that. This is a product that might work on the beach or a mountaintop. But maybe I’m wrong.

“I have lived at the San Roque Mobile park for over 30 years now. I have seen many changes – some good, and far more bad ones. We have big potholes in our streets. Our park has become a trash mesh. Things get started and never get finished. Now they have closed off some of our streets, and the stupid gates are so silly indeed. This is not a nice place anymore for us!”

Translation: “You increased our rents, brought the old park back to life, and installed classy security gates – and we hate you for it!”. For every one of these type of residents there are 100 that are thrilled with the improvements and don’t mind paying higher rent to have a nicer property.

Wow, economics must be hard to grasp in the Bay Area. The owners are trying to save the park by raising the rents to market levels. Otherwise, as they explained to the residents, they will simply close the park and redevelop the land. But any way you cut it there’s no way that folks are going to continue to live in the San Francisco area at 1980s pricing. It’s really up to the residents how this movie ends – and the owners have been more than transparent.

Let’s be honest: these are not celebrities – these are “has-beens”. Nobody is leaving Bel Air for the trailer park if they are doing well in their movie careers. Tom Hanks should not even be on this list as he only used an RV on-set. The others would dump their “tiny” home in one second if they could amass enough cash to buy a decent house in the Hollywood Hills. I know that there is so much media out there today that writers struggle for content, but these type of articles insult our intelligence.

Sure, the headline is misleading. This quote from the owners is very sensible on an Act of God they had no control over:

Maine Real Estate Management has been working daily to coordinate with experts to resolve the problem and anticipate a new well being installed very soon. In the meantime, we have arranged for regular deliveries of water to fill the holding tanks, as well as supplemental drinking water deliveries,” the company wrote.

So what’s the problem here, other than the considerable expense to the owners until the new well gets drilled? Well, apparently, none of this is good enough for the residents who claim they don’t like the taste of the “imported water” and it messes up their washing machines (which I’m sure is a complete falsehood). If the residents don’t get a better attitude I’m sure there’s a land re-development plan in the making for this tract – and who would blame the owners?

I guess the residents did not read the fine print. But it’s right there in the article:

In years to come, residents, with the help of the land trust, intend to redevelop the park by removing the trailers and transforming the units into homes. The co-op and land trust are currently in the early stages of redeveloping the park, and residents are leading those discussions.”

So all the trailer park folks are going to be going bye-bye and replaced with single-family homes which they will never qualify for or afford. And they voted for it! What would you call this: “political suicide”?

I don’t know anything about this park or its water and sewer problems, but I do know the fundamental laws of economics and I’m sure that the heirs will simply condemn that park and sell the land off at a huge profit. 1,500 individuals will then be left homeless. It would have been much smarter for the government to make the required repairs for the late owner’s estate and then bill the park monthly until repaid in full. But, once again, it exemplifies that the most terrifying words in the English language are “I’m from the government and I’m here to help’. In this case the quote would be “I’m from the government and I’m here to help you be homeless”. Does nobody from the government realize that there’s no way the heirs are going to do any of this incredibly costly cap-x work when the land is worth more than the park in all likelihood and they probably just want to settle the estate?

Every time I drive across America I am confronted by those hideous wind turbines that make scenic vistas look like industrial graveyards. And now suddenly people are waking up to the fact that all this wind and solar energy is really, really ugly to look at? I could have told them that 20 years ago.

This non-profit is spending $60,000 to build an 8’ x 20’ house? That’s $375 per sq. ft. A mobile home costs around $40 per sq. ft. So my first thought is why are they reinventing the wheel when they can just call up any mobile home park dealer and do this for a fraction of the price using a HUD-code home? But the bigger issue is that it’s just plain dumb to think that the key to ending youth homelessness is by sticking them in a 8’ x 20’ hut and getting them on the nation’s welfare dole starting at 18. A better plan would be to take the $60,000, put them into trade schools, and teach them how to make a decent living. Those who want to take advantage of that program would become successful citizens. Those who refuse are going to trash these 8’ x 20’ shacks and run off. I just can’t make any sense of this initiative given the realities of life.

I’m afraid these residents are in for a rude awakening:

“The county has a collection of four mobile home parks that are up for sale right now. If they sell, new owners or property managers could raise their rents, or try to build on those properties and remove their homes altogether. That being said, those parks are potentially eligible for help from the state or county, if they can find grants to have the county purchase the parks and keep rents low”. 

Most bureaucrats talk a big game until you ask them to write a check and then they hide under their desks. Similarly, any new buyer will surely raise the rents significantly as these parks look to be mismanaged from the photo and will require new professional leadership and capital expenditure, and that will almost certainly require higher rents. And, of course, they are also in a prime position for redevelopment.

Any way you cut it, the probable outcome is that the parks will either be torn down or the rents will go up. I see little chance of the bureaucrats rushing in to save the day as you could make the same argument that they should buy the local apartments, too, and the list goes on and on.

Nobody really appreciates mobile home parks until they are on the verge of going away – kind of like some sad country western song.

OK, do you spot the scam going on in the media right now:

“It occurred to me that 90% of the questions in this four-page survey were satisfied by my local community, Marin Valley Mobile Home Country Club (MVMCC). It is a close-knit mobile home park of over 400 residents, owned by the city of Novato since 1997, with competent oversight from an elected group of residents. Novato doesn’t provide these healthy living activities, such as yoga or book clubs, as recommended in the survey, but the residents themselves provide them through volunteer commitments.However, the city has provided security and stability by serving as a nonprofit entity-owner, with reasonable, affordable rents. A defined 40% of the lots are reserved for low-income residents.”

There are only around 300 resident-owned mobile home parks in the U.S. out of 44,000 parks. So this is all nonsense and not worthy of this much media time.

So why are there suddenly a ton or articles on how great life is when residents own their own communities? Clearly, this is a big media push that is being promoted by a number of non-profits behind the scenes that are trying to brainwash Americans (and politicians) that this is the greatest idea since sliced bread.

Smart people will spot that this is a scam and not buy it. But unfortunately, idiots will.

I really like this idea. I have long thought that affordable housing (yes, including mobile homes) are not nearly as attractive as they could be. The industry needs some fresh ideas and I have no doubt that a gifted college student may well contribute the idea that revolutionizes the way housing looks. I see all these cool designs in European design magazines at the bookstore and wonder why the U.S. can’t come up with its own fresh ideas. Maybe this contest will make something happen. It can’t hurt.

Read this article closely as it’s nothing but smoke and mirrors. The public spends $1 million to build 8 housing units that are as small as 395 sq. ft. and which equates to $125,000 per unit. All this to save people $100 per month in rent using this goofy coop structure. The free market is good at this stuff and bureaucrats are not – so please stop with this stuff as you are embarrassing yourselves.

Before you get worked up, go to the end of the article that sheepishly mentions that the bill only restricts lot rent increases to one time per year and with no limitation. The writer kind of hyped up the rest including the title.

Basically, more pandering and virtue signaling to their voting base – with more than a little help from the media.

Thank heavens that most PA legislators know that actual rent control dooms all mobile home parks to almost certain redevelopment over time.

A 1,300 sq. ft. home for $130,000 plus the cost of the land is not exactly a big deal. You can attain that in pretty much every city in the U.S.

But remember that Jackson is also the city that can’t even keep their public water system working for months now. I was there recently and the hotels have “boil water” signage at the registration desk (not sure how you do that in a hotel). Read about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson,_Mississippi,_water_crisis

Realizing it’s Jackson they probably messed up the decimal and it’s $1,300,000 for a 130 sq. ft. house. That’s more likely.

Great news Austin residents! City Hall is proposing to build next to your subdivision:

·         Accessory dwelling units

• Rezoning manufactured housing communities
• Low-income housing.

Better call your realtor and put your house on the market before more people find out what’s about to happen.

OK, this is virtually cut-and-paste #4 this week on the topic of how great the world would be if the tenants owned the parks:

After months of fundraising and working with the Denver-based nonprofit Elevation Community Land Trust, Westside made a successful offer and formed a housing co-operative. Now owned jointly by its residents and Elevation, the park operates as a community land trust, which removes land from the real estate market and transforms it into community-owned property. Two decades after she first arrived in Durango, Chavez, a DACA recipient, is now the park’s property manager and the co-op’s vice president.Their voices will be heard now. They weren’t listened to before.

Are you brainwashed yet?

Wait a minute … are you saying that a city hall might have violated the law and now won’t hand over any of the notes or minutes from the meeting? That they are refusing transparency regarding their actions? Welcome to the new U.S.A.

“I am also concerned about housing justice. There is a significant shortage of affordable, accessible housing in Cleveland and across Northeast Ohio. Therefore, I am concerned about the destruction of existing affordable housing at the Euclid Beach Mobile Home Community in favor of the expansion of Euclid Creek Reservation. Cleveland Metroparks could play a key role in keeping the Euclid Beach Mobile Home Community open.”

Gee, not another article about how great it would be if residents owned their own parks? What a coincidence!

Reminds me of the story of Esther Sullivan, the Associate Professor in Boulder, CO who took credit for causing virtually every negative industry article for a several year period (including John Oliver). It’s amazing that U.S. media is so lame that single individuals can pervert the entire media conglomerate to take the wrong position on a macro scale – and that Americans are dumb enough not to spot this manipulation.

There’s one item completely left out of this article:

Less than two years ago, Claudia had never heard of Bermuda Estates Mobile Home Park, and the Bermuda Estates residents she now shares easy chatter with were at that time fearful of being forced out of their homes. The owner, J&J Equities, LLC, was selling the park, and the prospective buyer planned to redevelop the land and build townhomes. This meant the nearly 40 families living at Bermuda Estates would be displaced, their homes, meticulously tended rose gardens and memories plowed under to make way for new homes that would not be affordable to them.

That item is what did they pay?

My bet is that they paid $100,000 per lot or more. And then you have to ask yourself “wouldn’t these people just be better off if they took the $100,000, relocated to a cheaper place than Virginia, and bought a nice stick-built house for cash?”

This whole “let’s buy the park to fend off redevelopment” nonsense is really nothing more than virtue signaling by bureaucrats and non-profits who want acclaim for saving 40 households housing when, for the same money, they could have paid for 160 people to go to college, or 800 people to renovate their homes and lower their utility costs.

Last winter, the residents of Whippoorwill Hill Mobile Home Park in Wiscasset struggled with continuous shutdowns of its water supply and the park’s failure to maintain its roads and ditches. This problem continues today..Meanwhile, during the past two years, Maine Real Estate Management and its anonymous owner have raised the park’s lot rents by nearly 66%, all while failing to fix the problems that are causing physical harm to all of our residents at the park.

Well, I guess we all know what comes next. Goodbye mobile home park and hello new apartment complex. And the resident who wrote this letter to the editor will get top billing for causing the park to shut down. If you read the article, the owner is trucking in water until the repairs are completed, which costs a fortune. Yet they get zero respect from the residents. There are two sides to every story, and I’m betting $50 that the park owner is in the right here. They are trying to save the park and bring it back to life, and a few loud residents are fighting them every step of the way.

I don’t know any of the facts on this story, but the optics to me, the reader, is that Douglas County succeeded in their mission to get rid of these mobile home parks:

“Justag LLC was one of the bidders rejected in July because plans for the properties included creating a mobile home park or manufactured home community with 59 sites.Creating a mobile home park on the sites again would require a zoning change, which is unlikely to gain support from Parkland town officials or the county, Liebaert said. The mobile home parks preexisted zoning regulations adopted in the 1970s, he said. The property is currently zoned for residential development and a mobile home park would require commercial zoning, he said.”

As I recall the county took over these properties claiming they were in substandard condition. Then they were going to sell them off, but the only bidder wanted to operate them as mobile home parks. So they killed that off as fast as they could.

This is the reality of city/county attitudes regarding affordable housing. They don’t really want it at all, but to say that might trigger cancel culture so they instead come up with these absurd stories of how it wasn’t really their fault.

A mobile home is a parking lot. If your car burns down you still are responsible to remove the car and pay the rent until it’s gone. It’s not rocket science. But instead, here’s what the residents are saying:

"We're very frustrated because we've been left in the streets. We've been left on the street, nothing left. If I haven't been able to find a home because I have no money, how am I supposed to pay for this?" said Martin Verduzco, a resident who lost his home due to the fire. 

What the park owner is doing is following the legal methodology to remove the burned homes themselves. Somebody’s got to do it. Obviously, the residents are not going to. The park owner ends up paying the bill, as usual.

Instead of the writer of this article pointing out that the park owner is the good guy who is actually taking it on the chin, they portray the residents – who are neglecting their legal responsibility – as the heroes. When will the U.S. fixation on lack of personal accountability ever end?

The state has been extremely clear about the steps to get people back on their feet:

State leaders Tuesday laid out the next steps for mobile homeowners like Christie -- register with 211 and FEMA, ask for a certificate of condemnation from your town, and don’t demolish your home until the FEMA award process is complete.

The problem is that – despite getting between $20,000 and $50,000 on average – the residents don’t want to wait. This kind of reminds me recently of the article in which the park residents were going to file a class action lawsuit against an owner because the power was off for three hours.

I have had my own electricity lost in a storm for a week when it was 100 degrees out. I have had my water knocked out for days when a pipe ruptured and it was too cold to dig. It’s called life. You can’t deal with life without some degree of patience and apparently Vermonters don’t have a lot of it at the moment.

No, I don’t buy into this viewpoint. Although there’s no question that rents have gone up, $400,000 homes and $2,000 per month apartments are only in giant cities. Nobody ever talks about the alternative. Here’s the actual stat from Wikipedia on life outside of the city:

Rural areas in the United States, often referred to as rural America, consists of approximately 97% of the United States' land area. An estimated 60 million people, or one in five residents (17.9% of the total U.S. population), live in rural America.

So if you move out to the 97% of America that is outside major cities, you can get a nice house for $100,000 and a nice apartment for $500 per month. I know, because I live in a town of 4,500 an hour outside of the big city. These “transient” people described in the article need to give up on their “big city” obsession, move to rural areas, get stable jobs, and provide a nice home for their families. This entire “I can’t afford the real world” nonsense is the opposite of personal accountability and the truth is that there’s absolutely no reason for anyone to live in a Winnebago in a WalMart parking lot. If that’s your lifestyle then the problem is you and not the U.S. housing market.