Some residents of the Hidden Village Mobile Home Park in Orofino, Idaho are worried they are being priced out of their homes. The new park owners are raising rents and said they have made improvements to the community, but people fear they won’t be able to pay.
Floyd Eyneart’s manufactured home has a big white porch. Inside, the walls are covered with art and photographs.
“ I’ve lived here for 27 years and I’m a veteran, my wife passed away four and a half years ago, and I can’t afford to live here if they keep jacking the rent up,” he said.
Most residents of mobile home parks own their homes, but not the land beneath them. About two...
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Here's what the resident said:
"They raised the rent by $75 last year, and the latest increase will come this May. Rent is going up by $100 for a total of $550 per month. They figure they got you over a barrel because there's no way to go anywhere, I mean, you're stuck," said Eyneart.
Here's what the park owner said:
His Burien-based company has invested more than $130,000 into the park, he said. That includes hauling away abandoned cars and trailers, installing new mailboxes and putting in new plumbing.
Here's what the journalist said:
Residents acknowledge improvements have been made. But that doesn't change the circumstances for people who can't afford the rent hikes.
Clearly, there are many points of view here, but let's explore what's true from what's false.
- A $550 per month lot rent in Orofino, Idaho is insanely cheap. The median single-family home price is $348,000 and the average apartment rent is over $1,675 per month. Let's stop pretending that a mobile home park lot rent that is 70% less than all other forms of housing is somehow too high.
- No resident is "stuck" in a mobile home park any more than they are "stuck" in a house or condo. If you have a better living option then sell your home and move to it. Nobody ever bought or sold a mobile home with the expectation of moving it at a cost of $10,000+. And most of the cost of moving mobile homes is the result of HUD requirements!
- New owners always seem to put significant capital into fixing aging infrastructure and bringing the property "back to life". Living conditions – without exception – are superior under professional management.
- What is NOT a part of owning any property in the U.S. – regardless of single-family or multi-family – is inheriting some type of governmental responsibility for marginal tenants. That's the job of the U.S. government. Can you imagine an article on McDonald's where they are criticized for eliminating the "Value Meal" because they are not worrying enough about customers who can't afford to eat in a modern America. The reason this topic always comes up is simple: the government cannot afford the massive size of Section 8 programs. So everyone's trying to pin this responsibility on private owners because the government has defaulted on their obligation.
I wish that everyone – owners, tenants and the media – could agree on the basic truths of life in America. You can plead your point, but don't insult our intelligence.