Mobile Home Park Weekly News Briefing - Mobile Home University

Newswires: Despite DOE Delay Manufactured Housing Energy Standards Remain Unacceptable as Costs Continue to Increase, per MHARR

Originally released by Newswires on May 25th, 2023
Commentary made on June 2nd, 2023

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Manufactured Housing Association Updates MHI-TMHA v DOE Case # 1:23-cv-00174 in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.

By mandating IECC as the base energy code for manufactured housing, section 413 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) would fundamentally undermine the manufactured housing market”

— Mark Weiss, J.D., President and CEO of MHARR.

WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES, May 25, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ -- In a statement to manufactured home industry professionals, affordable housing advocates, public officials, and others following the affordable housing crisis, the Manufactured...

Our thoughts on this story:

If you haven’t been following this story, the U.S. Government is trying to cram down crazy environmentalist rules on mobile home manufacturing that will make the cost of mobile homes go up and the energy savings to customers go down an incredibly tiny percent that in no way justifies that extra home cost. We all know that the mobile home manufacturers will lose this battle (as all industries have in the Biden era) and then the rules will be reversed by the next administration before they even come into effect. So it’s just hard to get too worked up over it.

Visual Capitalist: Modular Housing vs. Traditional Housing: How Do They Compare?

Originally released by Visual Capitalist on May 26th, 2023
Commentary made on June 2nd, 2023

Preview:

Modular Housing vs. Traditional Housing: How Do They Compare?

The U.S. needs new houses. Lots of them.

With housing prices nearing six times annual incomes, increasing supply is a must if there is any hope of bringing down house prices, and modular housing could be the solution.

This visualization is the third and final piece of the Reimagining Home Series from our sponsor Boxabl, where we compare the benefits of modular housing against traditional construction methods. Let’s start with the basics.

What Is Modular Housing?

Modular homes are built offsite, in standardized sections, usually in a factory setting. They are then transported...

Our thoughts on this story:

The big problem with modular homes is found right in the article: they only cost 25% less than traditional stick-built homes.That’s just not a big enough discount to outweigh the stigma. I think you’d have to be at around 50% off to make the average American consider it.

The Aspen Times: El Jebel land among U.S. Forest Service sites eyed for potential workforce housing

Originally released by The Aspen Times on May 30th, 2023
Commentary made on June 2nd, 2023

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As lawmakers address housing shortages in the West, U.S. Forest Service properties are being eyed for their potential to provide residences for local workforces, including in El Jebel.

Signed into law in December 2018, the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 — otherwise known as the Farm Bill — gave USFS the authority to lease its administrative sites for affordable housing. But the act has yet to result in the construction of affordable housing on those sites, and that’s in part “due to their lease terms,” said U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, “which are not long enough to provide certainty to local communities.”

A new bill being introduced by...

Our thoughts on this story:

In a Colorado world in which bureaucrats are worried about “the ecological impact on a variety of riparian species” it’s easy to see why not a single one of these projects has been approved since 2018. I’m betting that it will be 2118 before all parties can agree to a plan that has no “riparian” impact. Until then this concept will be used for endless virtue signaling that they care deeply about affordable housing but that newts and darter snails take higher priority.

WFLA: Surviving the storm: How safe is your mobile home?

Originally released by WFLA on May 25th, 2023
Commentary made on June 2nd, 2023

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IONA, Fla. (WFLA) —People who live in mobile homes, especially older ones, and choose to remain at home when a major storm threatens are at a much greater risk for damage and personal injury.

Bonzy Galor chose to ride out Hurricane Ian, with its 150 mile per hour winds, and 10-to-15-foot storm surge, in her mobile home. “We could not move,” she recalls, “all the totes started floating, everything was under water.” Wind and water tore their home apart.

The insurance institute of business and home safety tests mobile homes, and concludes new building techniques to make buildings safer, but how new? “IBHS tests prove newer manufactured...

Our thoughts on this story:

I’m sorry but there’s no form of real estate that can survive 150 mph winds – which is the benchmark in this article. Mobile homes do just about as well as most things, but a windowless concrete bunker is the only way you’re going to survive a 150 mph sustained wind without ending up being thrown a couple miles.

Explorer: Town seeks opinions on housing needs

Originally released by Explorer on May 24th, 2023
Commentary made on June 2nd, 2023

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Town officials are urging Oro Valley residents, nonresidents who work in Oro Valley, and owners of businesses within the community to take one of two 10-minute online surveys about the town’s current and future housing needs.

The surveys, conducted by consultant WestGroup Research, are part of the town’s first comprehensive housing study. Surveys opened May 9, and remain available online through Wednesday, May 31. Oro Valley wants to “ensure everyone has an opportunity” to share their views, it said in a release.

“We need all folks to participate in the survey,” said Bayer Vella, the town’s planning manager. “There are so many folks in...

Our thoughts on this story:

I love it when bureaucrats waste time and money on studies like this. Here’s the answer for free: the people of Tucson want 7,000 sq. ft. mansions on a budget of $30 a month. What a bunch of idiots. That’s like asking 4th graders what they want for lunch at school.

Delaware Public Media: Delaware Manufactured Home Relocation Authority extends benefits to residents of immobile RVs

Originally released by Delaware Public Media on May 25th, 2023
Commentary made on June 2nd, 2023

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A legal battle over evictions at the Pine Haven manufactured home park in Lincoln prompts Delaware’s Manufactured Home Relocation Authority to refine some of its policies regarding residents of recreational vehicles — a less-common form of housing in Delaware's manufactured home communities.

The Authority is responsible for managing a trust fund, paid into by both the owners of manufactured home parks and manufactured homeowners, which is used to provide financial assistance to cover the cost of moving or demolishing a manufactured home.

For residents of Pine Haven, some of whom received eviction notices from the park's new owners last...

Our thoughts on this story:

This wins the prize for dumbest article of the week: What in the heck is an “immobile” RV? Even the bureaucrats can’t actually define it as it doesn’t actually exist. They might just as well offer housing assistance if you provide a photo of Big Foot.

Denver Post: The battle to keep Colorado’s mobile home parks in local hands

Originally released by Denver Post on May 28th, 2023
Commentary made on June 2nd, 2023

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STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — Peter Frombgen tries not to take this for granted.

Every morning for 20 years, the former ski bum and bike mechanic peers out the window of his mobile home tucked alongside Lincoln Avenue, basking in a full view of the town’s famed ski area and lush Emerald Mountain before him.

The ramshackle trailer might represent the most unique living arraignment in Routt County: A 1953 silver airstream cut in half, with a standard mobile home haphazardly welded in the middle. The kitchen floor slopes at odd angles and water sometimes leaks through ceiling cracks during heavy rainstorms.

But the home allows Frombgen, 70, to...

Our thoughts on this story:

Reality check: in the entire United States there are maybe 300 resident-owned communities. There are around 44,000 mobile home parks in the U.S. That’s around .006%. Pretending that the simple fix for all mobile home parks is to have the residents buy them is as absurd (and statistically untruthful) as claiming that the solution to all Americans hating commercial air travel is for them all to go buy a private plane.

The only thing that’s not stupid about this article is found in the blog beneath it in which somebody wrote: “Um, no. That just feeds into the leftist narrative. What they can do (and should do if they’re smart) is hike rents to what the market supports. That’s what market price is. Seller’s objective is to get the most they can, buyer’s objective is to pay the least they can. Market price is the point in-between where both sides agree.”

The Roanoke Times: With rents rising, Virginia mobile home residents have 'nowhere to go'

Originally released by The Roanoke Times on May 26th, 2023
Commentary made on June 2nd, 2023

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MINERAL — Last December, Lucille Waddy went to the tiny office at the entrance to Six-O-Five Mobile Home Park with a money order for her rent, as she has done for nearly 20 years. Only then did she find out that the monthly cost of renting a lot for her mobile home had jumped from $445 to $625, an increase of more than 40%.

Waddy, 77, is living on Social Security retirement benefits, but she’s paying the increased rent, although other residents are refusing and taking the issue to court.

“I didn’t want to get put out,” she said. “I don’t have anywhere to go.”

Waddy doesn’t understand why the rent shot up. “I still don’t know who...

Our thoughts on this story:

Now connect another set of dots. This is the second article in which the tenants claim the rents went up and the quality of life went down. “They want the profit, but they don’t want to take care of the property,” said Yvonne Maldonado, a former mobile home resident in New York who serves now as co-director of Manufactured Home Action, an advocacy group for residents of manufactured homes”. That’s a lie and they know that. The rents did go up but so did the quality of the park, as capital was poured back in. I have never, ever, seen an institutional buyer that provided a lower park quality after purchase. Never. I don’t believe it for one second.

So let’s stop the lying in these stories and stick with the basic truth: tenants don’t like higher rents. But they will have to accept that reality or they will be homeless. The MHAction person summed that up when they unwittingly said “there is literally no other place to go.” Bingo. Even at the higher rents the mobile home park is still the cheapest option in town.

For those who cannot pay the higher amounts, they need to come up with a Plan B. There are federal programs offering housing assistance, or maybe they should move in with a family member. But there’s no way that park owners – particularly new ones – are going to keep the rents ridiculously cheap going forward. That era has ended. And if rents don’t go up significantly, there will be a huge number of parks re-developed for more profitable uses.

My Record Journal: Housing advocates say Connecticut is lagging in small home development

Originally released by My Record Journal on May 30th, 2023
Commentary made on June 2nd, 2023

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MERIDEN — As Carabetta Companies wind down conversion of an obsolete trailer park into a small home development on Broad Street, housing advocates say the state lags behind others in this type of development.

Realtor Alexa Kebalo Hughes of the Connecticut Realtors Association lives in a small cabin in Colebrook. The property has several small cabins on 350 acres. Kebalo Hughes said she doesn’t expect the attraction to tiny homes to slow down anytime soon.

“There’s a massive trend towards smaller homes and storage unit conversions for both residential and commercial throughout the nation,” Kebalo Hughes said.

“The best approach to solve...

Our thoughts on this story:

Connect the dots from the articles so far – this is the second one in which a mobile home park is being demolished and replaced with an equal number of tiny stick-built homes. If that concept heats up, then you will see a lot more parks be bulldozed as this is a win/win for all involved. I looked at doing this myself to my park in Grapevine, Texas 25 years ago, but sold the park instead. As the demand for smaller, affordable stick-built homes heats up, this is a quick development fix as all the utilities are already there and all you have to do is start pouring foundations and getting the mobile homes out. The big problem is that you can only rent – rather than sell – these stick-built homes, so the “parking lot” business model is out the door. However, some cities have allowed the park to be re-platted into individual lots and they then can be sold off.

I thought it was interesting how the developer has coined a new name for this type of development, calling it “innovate housing” and eliminating any reference to tiny homes. Nobody wants to be reminded that they live in a tiny home – it’s kind of insulting.

Star Tribune: Residents at Lake Elmo mobile home park say owner has forgotten them

Originally released by Star Tribune on May 24th, 2023
Commentary made on June 2nd, 2023

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Faced with what they describe as steep rent increases, a drop in services and poor management, the residents of a Lake Elmo mobile home park say it's too much: They want help.

The renters and homeowners in the 450-site Cimarron Park and Golf Course have formed a Resident's Association and teamed up with an attorney from the nonprofit Housing Justice Center to explore legal options in the face of worsening conditions, said resident Brey Mafi.

"When I moved in, I quickly realized I got sold a bill of goods," Mafi said, echoing other residents who say the owner, Chicago-based Equity Lifestyle Properties, has squeezed the park's operations...

Our thoughts on this story:

Look, I understand that the residents don’t like the rent going from around $700 per month to $900 per month over a five-year period (which is actually only about the rate of inflation) but NOBODY IS GOING TO BELIEVE THAT EQUITY LIFESTYLE IS NOT PROPERLY MAINTAINING THE PROPERTY. ELS is one of the best operators in the industry – and the largest owner – and they are known for exemplary property condition. I’m willing to bet $100 that if I flew out to that property right now it would be immaculate and everything the residents claim is completely false. This would be like a Kansas City Chiefs fan claiming that ticket prices have doubled (which is true) and the Chiefs are a lousy team that don’t deserve those higher ticket prices (clearly not true). Why can’t these people just be honest and say “I’m mad because my rent went up $40 a year for the past five years”? And then, if they are that mad, just move someplace cheaper and stop whining about it? As soon as the people named in this article get both sides of the story (and visit the property) they will know who’s telling the truth (ELS) and who is not (the residents).

Health Affairs: The Environmental Justice Challenge No One Is Talking About

Originally released by Health Affairs on May 30th, 2023
Commentary made on June 2nd, 2023

Preview:

The past few years have witnessed a societal reckoning with income, class, and racial disparities, particularly as they relate to health and well-being. A number of multisector collaborations with a focus on environmental justice and social determinants of health have sprouted up and are leveraging advocacy, philanthropy, and governmental policy to address these intersectional issues. While these efforts are far-reaching in their pursuit of addressing historical inequity, one particularly vulnerable group has been overlooked—residents of manufactured home communities (MHCs).

Colloquially known as mobile home parks or trailer parks, MHCs...

Our thoughts on this story:

I’m hoping that this was written by AI as it contains more inaccuracies than a mere mortal could assemble. Here are just a sampling of the facts that are incorrect:

Berkshire Hathaway does not own any mobile home parks – they only own manufacturing and financing.
There are not 22 million Americans living in mobile home parks. With only 44,000 mobile home parks in the U.S. that would be an average of 500 lots per park. The actual stat is around 22 million people living in mobile homes which includes those living in parks and (as an even larger group) those who live in mobile homes on their own land.
The majority of mobile home parks are not built on floodplain – those that are represent a minority.
And on, and on, and on

Then, after all this incorrect nonsense that is portrayed as fact, the purpose of the article is apparently to complain that mobile home parks are environmentally goofy … and you just lose interest and go to the next article. It’s kind of like a movie that is advertised as an action flick but turns out to be a documentary on AOC.

Kitsap Sun: Assistance pledged to Poulsbo Mobile Home Park repairs now dedicated to rent relief

Originally released by Kitsap Sun on May 30th, 2023
Commentary made on June 2nd, 2023

Preview:

North Kitsap Fishline plans to refocus $30,000 initially intended for property improvements at Poulsbo Mobile Home Park toward rent relief for individual households.

Just more than a week after a community meeting that was set up to discuss the distribution of funds for home repairs and ease fears of eviction for residents at the park, North Kitsap Fishline announced the assistance will be used to reduce July rent payments.

The May 18 meeting, which followed a Poulsbo City Council vote to allocate $15,000 in city funds to help residents with physical repairs, revealed not all park residents had received inspection reports from park...

Our thoughts on this story:

Spending $500 per household is hardly worthy of this much fanfare – most mobile home park buyers spend far more than this on home renovations and clean-up. Only most park owners never get credit for it.

YourGV: Project to makeover Westside Mobile Home Park advances

Originally released by YourGV on May 29th, 2023
Commentary made on June 2nd, 2023

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Potholes in the roadways, trash scattered around dumpsters and abandoned mobile homes, demolished trailers sitting in piles amid occupied mobile homes, and overall blight once plagued Westside Mobile Home Park in South Boston.

Today, the 42-acre subdivision with 26 current residents has been cleaned up, the potholes patched, and the town is embarking on a long-term project to completely redevelop the Westside subdivision. The plan is to develop a total of 40 buildable lots, comprised of both new rental and first-time homebuyer units.

“The intention is to eliminate the substandard, non-conforming mobile home park and develop new...

Our thoughts on this story:

Removing the mobile home park and then replacing those mobile homes with stick-built structures has been done before (a large development in North Ft. Worth did it twenty years ago) but it’s interesting that there is no push-back on this from the media, unlike the Grand Canyon University project. That’s because they have neatly wrapped this up in a clever P.R. campaign that claims they are actually increasing the supply of affordable housing. They are not. It’s a lot-for-lot replacement of $10,000 mobile homes for $200,000 stick-built dwellings. They just did a better job of B.S. than GCU did.

12 News: Residents of GCU-owned mobile home park remain without a new home a day after move out deadline

Originally released by 12 News on May 29th, 2023
Commentary made on June 2nd, 2023

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PHOENIX — A day after Periwinkle Mobile Home Park was set to close, some families remained without a place to go.

On Monday 12News spoke to some residents who have lived near 27th Avenue and Camelback Road for years, but after May 28, which was the move-out date, have yet to stabilize a new home.

Grand Canyon University purchased the land in 2016 and decided on a land change to develop new student housing, which meant all 46 households on the property were forced to relocate.

As of last Tuesday, 11 families remained at the property. No updated tally on the number of families still at the mobile home park was available on Monday.

Our thoughts on this story:

Grand Canyon University apparently has little real-life experience with mobile home park residents. They allocated $500,000 to removing the roughly 60 households in the mobile home park they are demolishing yet are getting nothing but grief from the residents who refuse to take any action to help themselves in relocation. GCU spokesperson Bob Romantic (what a name) said “if there is someone saying they have no place to go … we can’t help unless they are willing to be helped”. Some residents, of course, are threatening pointless litigation and others refuse to answer their door or phone. If GCU offered every resident $1 million to move, they’d probably refuse and say it’s not enough. It’s hard to have compassion for people who will not lift a finger to help themselves, and instead want to wallow in self-pity and take the position that they are victims and deserve more. The media is somewhat to blame as they empowered these people to think they have more power than they do. As they will find out soon, they have none and should have worked with GCU when they had the chance.

Florida Today: How Brevard can tackle its affordable housing problem | Opinion

Originally released by Florida Today on May 20th, 2023
Commentary made on May 26th, 2023

Preview:

Are there solutions to a Space Coast housing situation where many believe a shot at decent, affordable housing slips further away?

That was the main issue this week at Brevard County’s inaugural “Affordable House Summit: Foundations for the Future of Housing on Florida’s Space Coast.”

Community leaders opened a countywide public discussion on what to do about a housing condition ― and one not unique to the Space Coast ― that price low-income, and even moderate-income, individuals and families out of a stable and decent place to live.

More than 200 people attended the all-day summit in Cocoa Village, where a roster of speakers,...

Our thoughts on this story:

Amber Caroll, director of the Brevard Homeless Coalition: “There is hope. There is hope. And the hope is here in this room.”

Maybe these folks should read the military officer handbook titled “Hope Is Not a Method”. The army found that one of the worst leadership traits is spouting out “hope” as opposed to reality-based action plans.

You cannot build an affordable home in the U.S. today, because construction costs plus lot costs equals $300,000 and up. “Hoping” you can accomplish that is just a waste of time. The only way to provide a detached dwelling at under $300,000 is a mobile home park. Period.

KTVB7: Mobile home owner seeks compensation after getting eviction notice

Originally released by KTVB7 on May 22nd, 2023
Commentary made on May 26th, 2023

Preview:

BOISE, Idaho — For more than a decade, Gary Gallipeau has called Dee Mar Mobile Home Park home.

The Garden City park was established in the 70s. Fifty years later, developers are reimagining and revamping the land into multi-family housing apartments.

Gallipeau said everyone living at the park got eviction notices in January.

“[The developers] even offered us a deal,” he said. “For every month early that we moved out, they would refund us two months of rent, but we had to take our trailers.”

But Gallipeau said moving those mobile homes is more difficult than it seems. Only about three or four of Dee Mar’s mobile homes were built...

Our thoughts on this story:

Here’s a new take on the “victim” mentality that all American appear to share. In 1976 HUD kidnapped the mobile home manufacturing industry and declared that any home that did not have a HUD seal could not be brought into a mobile home park. Now they’re closing down Dee Mar and the pre-HUD homes can’t be relocated and the tenants are blaming the park owner for this.

At the end of the day, Gallipeau is less concerned about moving out and more concerned about not getting compensated. He said some of the trailers are valued at upwards of $80,000. “There’s no fair or just compensation for property that we own,” he said. “The developers own the land, we own the trailers.”

The fact that owners of pre-HUD homes do not know (or even research) the ability to relocate a pre-HUD home is not the responsibility of the park owner. If this tenant wants to sue anyone, the appropriate party would be HUD. Good luck on that.

Because of this reality, that’s one more reason that mobile home park rents need to go up in-line with market forces as the problems at Dee Mar on relocating homes will be shared with any park that is redeveloped.

One final note: don’t try to tell me a pre-HUD home is worth $80,000. Nobody is buying that.

Sea Coast Online: Portsmouth board allows new mobile home without city director's process

Originally released by Sea Coast Online on May 18th, 2023
Commentary made on May 26th, 2023

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PORTSMOUTH — The city Zoning Board of Adjustment voted to allow the owner of a 1960s-era mobile home in the Oriental Gardens park to replace it with a new home without getting a variance.

The board’s vote came late Tuesday night, after city Planning Director Peter Britz recently declined to grant a building permit for the new mobile home.

Britz had also ruled the owner of the mobile home at 210 Oriental Gardens would need to get a variance from the board first, before replacing the existing home.

John Kuzinevich, the attorney representing Salem Manufactured Homes LLC, the company seeking to sell the new home to the park resident, said the...

Our thoughts on this story:

Classic tale of a city bureaucrat not understanding zoning law and, when a lawyer goes above their head, is immediately overruled and the mobile home is approved.

Anna Maria Island Sun: Pines Trailer Park purchase offer accepted

Originally released by Anna Maria Island Sun on May 19th, 2023
Commentary made on May 26th, 2023

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BRADENTON BEACH – A May 8 letter Largo-based attorney David Luczak sent to the Pines Trailer Park Homeowners Association board members addresses the sale of the waterfront mobile home park. The accepted purchase offer appears to give the Pines Trailer Park’s permanent and seasonal residents at least five years to remain in their mobile homes and make their future plans.

The pending sale follows the Pines Trailer Park residents’ unsuccessful efforts to form a co-op and raise enough money to purchase the mobile home park owned by Richard and William Jackson’s Jackson Partnership LLLP.

Luczak’s letter begins by saying, “As you know, this...

Our thoughts on this story:

As I recall, this was the park in which the residents tried to buy it under their first option and only raised $4,000 of the $16 million purchase price over a period of months. Was anyone surprised? To match the offer the tenants would have had to put up $1 million in earnest money on day one. Give me a break.

Kitsap Sun: Meeting with residents changes timeline of aid distribution, reveals rent increases

Originally released by Kitsap Sun on May 20th, 2023
Commentary made on May 26th, 2023

Preview:

North Kitsap Fishline will postpone the distribution of $30,000 in funds pledged last week to help residents Poulsbo Mobile Home Park conduct repairs, after dialogue between residents and property managers revealed a delay in distributing inspection reports to tenants.

Intending to provide relief to residents who recently received violation notices requiring them to complete a series of external repairs within an initial 20 days, the City of Poulsbo organized a community meeting, held Thursday at Poulsbo Mobile Home Park on Lincoln Road, to start the process of distributing funds. Poulsbo's city council committed $15,000 from an...

Our thoughts on this story:

At the May 3 Poulsbo City Council meeting, Councilmember Gary McVey told Josh Brooks and Shah, “We will take you at your word that you are not sprucing the place up to raise rents exorbitantly or to evict people who don't deserve to be so. We will hold you to that…”

And with those words the IQ of the entire room fell 10 points. Obviously, making the property nice should result in higher rents. Mobile home park lot rents are ridiculously low and until you break the $1,000 per month barrier in most markets (but not LA, Denver and others) you are not exorbitant. And park owners never evict people who do not need to be removed, as it costs a park owner about $5,000 in costs to evict a tenant when you factor in vacancy and home renovations.

San Antonio Report: City Council poised to approve 14 more affordable housing projects funded by 2022 bond

Originally released by San Antonio Report on May 18th, 2023
Commentary made on May 26th, 2023

Preview:

The City of San Antonio has selected another 14 affordable housing projects to receive $32.1 million from the local housing bond and some federal grants.

If approved, the funding would be used toward building or rehabilitating more than 2,100 housing units in the coming years. The projects were presented to City Council on Wednesday.

“I would argue there’s only one thing that supersedes excitement of the Spurs getting the No. 1 draft pick — and it’s this presentation,” Councilwoman Teri Castillo (D5) said. “Everyone deserves access to quality, safe, affordable housing.”

City Council is slated to vote on the latest batch of projects on...

Our thoughts on this story:

There are 44,000 mobile home parks in the U.S. The residents own 300 of these. That’s .0068 of all parks. Focusing on that initiative is hardly the way to accomplish the goal of helping affordable housing. Devoting millions of dollars for 55 residents to buy their own park is not nearly as smart as spending that same money to act as grants to fix roads, pipes and other infrastructure at many, many parks. Let’s be honest, this has nothing to do with the public good. This is simply virtue signaling by the City of San Antonio.

Effingham Herald: Guyton to amend code regarding manufactured and modular homes

Originally released by Effingham Herald on May 19th, 2023
Commentary made on May 26th, 2023

Preview:

The City of Guyton issued a press release May 18.

To quell the rumors and misinformation surrounding the potential changes to the City Zoning code regarding manufactured housing and modular homes, The following information is important:

1. The City is not making manufactured or modular homes illegal.

2. The City is not taking away existing manufactured or modular homes.

3. The City will not prevent homeowners from replacing an existing manufactured or modular home.

4. The City will not prevent homeowners from repairing their property or require approval to do so.

The current proposed changes to the code will do the following:

1. Property...

Our thoughts on this story:

Guyon, Georgia has a new idea. They will require a Special Use Permit for each and every new mobile home to enter any mobile home park in the city. But this should not be considered a way for them to keep mobile home tenants from moving in but instead because “It allows the community the opportunity to participate in the future of their neighborhoods”.

Yeah, right.

Let’s see how that holds up in court.

The Press Democrat: Problems at your mobile home park? Here’s how to alert California officials

Originally released by The Press Democrat on May 19th, 2023
Commentary made on May 26th, 2023

Preview:

Mobile home parks offer some of the cheapest housing to the most vulnerable Californians. But advocates say these parks often fall into disrepair because of their old age, vulnerability to climate hazards and lax oversight.

The California Housing and Community Development Department monitors health and safety at most of these parks, and depends largely on mobile home residents to file complaints to find out about problems and urge owners to fix them.

A five-month CalMatters investigation found most park residents don’t know how to file a complaint or fear what could happen if they do. We took the most common questions we heard from park...

Our thoughts on this story:

Here’s how it works in the real world: 1) file your complaint with the State of California 2) get some bureaucrat to go out to the park and find 1,000 problems with every square inch of it 3) notify the park owner that they need to do 160,000 repairs 4) park owner calls the local real estate broker and puts the land on the market for redevelopment 5) buyer makes an offer 5) park owner accepts it 6) developer requests mutli-family zoning and gets it immediately 7) park owner terminates all leases 8) park becomes 100 high-end apartment units and 9) the tenant who filed with the State of California cries and says “I don’t know how this all happened”. The winners in this story: 1) the park owner 2) the developer 3) the new 100 apartment residents 4) the city government and 5) the neighboring community. The loser: the tenants in the park.

The scariest words in the English language are “I’m from the government and I’m here to help”.

Ideastream Public Media: Euclid Beach Mobile Home Park supporters stage another protest to save homes

Originally released by Ideastream Public Media on May 19th, 2023
Commentary made on May 26th, 2023

Preview:

Holding protest signs including “Fund our community, not our displacement,” about 10 supporters of the Euclid Beach Mobile Home Park demonstrated outside of a Western Reserve Land Conservancy fundraiser at the conservancy’s Moreland Hills headquarters Friday morning.

The conservancy, which owns the land where the mobile home park sits in Cleveland’s Collinwood neighborhood, announced in February that more than 100 mobile home residents would have to move to make way for a new public park. Since then, United Residents of Euclid Beach (UREB) — a resident’s union with about 40 members — and the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless...

Our thoughts on this story:

Do you seriously think that Cleveland needed this piece of land so bad to make way for a city park that they just had to evict those 100 park residents? Obviously, the truth is probably that Cleveland wanted to get this park torn down because it’s unsightly and costing the city a fortune in school tuition, hospital stays, and public programs. That’s like when the hotel says that it’s not going to wash your towels or sheets to save the environment from toxic chemicals.

The Durango Herald: How Lightner Creek tested Colorado’s Mobile Home Park Act

Originally released by The Durango Herald on May 21st, 2023
Commentary made on May 26th, 2023

Preview:

When about 85 residents lost water for two months in the Lightner Creek Mobile Home Park earlier this year west of Durango, there was little anyone could do.

Two days after the Feb. 13 outage, the park’s owner, Darlene Mann, received a cease-and-desist order from Christina Postolowski, manager of the Mobile Home Park Oversight Program. The order compelled Mann to comply with the various sections of the Mobile Home Park Act by repairing the water system, providing water to residents until service was restored, repairing a blocked sewer line and fully cleaning up a spill of raw sewage on park property.

When Mann did not comply with the...

Our thoughts on this story:

The average park owner does not have access to the $30 trillion credit line of the U.S. government. Asking an elderly park owner to chip in $5,000 per day, for water alone, for 60 days totals $300,000. And that does not even cover the cost to replace the water lines. So what’s the solution? Do you think there’s a higher use for this land in Durango, Colorado? Are you serious? In this case, a park buyer took the property over and saved it from the wrecking ball. But in 9 out of 10 cases, this park would be torn down and made into a more profitable use. What should have happened differently? The state should have supplied the water and fixed the water lines and prayed that the stress of the situation alone would not have coerced the seller into calling a land broker. The article confirms that if the park was resident-owned the state would have provided grants or low-cost loans immediately to do just that. Since tenants own nearly zero parks in Colorado, the state might want to think about changing that program requirement.

Democrat Gazette: Trailer park razing a concern in U.S.

Originally released by Democrat Gazette on May 22nd, 2023
Commentary made on May 26th, 2023

Preview:

PHOENIX -- The razing of older mobile home parks across the United States worries advocates who say bulldozing them permanently eliminates some of the already limited housing for the poorest of the poor.

A recent survey by the National Low Income Housing Coalition showed a U.S.-wide shortage of 7.3 million affordable rental homes for extremely low-income renters, defined in Arizona as a three-member household making $28,850 or less.

"Mobile homes are a much bigger part of our affordable housing stock than people know," said Mark Stapp, who directs Arizona State University's master's degree program in real estate development. "Once it's...

Our thoughts on this story:

Bingo.

At least six such communities have been torn down in Arizona in the last 18 months, he said, adding that Grand Canyon University "bent over backwards" to help residents more than other park owners."A lot of these parks are 70 years old," said Anderson, noting an uptick in demolitions of older communities for redevelopment. "It's going to be a big problem down the line."

So people are starting to have second thoughts about the importance of making sure that more parks don’t get town down. Easy solution. HIGHER LOT RENTS. You don’t need an academic study.

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