Preview:
Neatly trimmed hedges and green Astroturf lawns line the winding streets at Cascade Park Estates in Southeast Vancouver. But the tidy façade in mobile home communities like this one hides the stress of some older residents who worry about being priced out of one of the few places they can afford to live.
Sharon Pevey, 77, moved to Cascade Park Estates seven years ago. She was divorced and needed a place to live quickly. She paid $140,000 cash to buy her pale yellow, 1,400-square-foot mobile home. As with most manufactured home parks, she had to pay rent for the lot her home sat on, priced at $525 per month, plus property taxes. It was...
Read MoreOur thoughts on this story:

Sharon Pevey, 77, moved to Cascade Park Estates seven years ago. She was divorced and needed a place to live quickly. She paid $140,000 cash to buy her pale yellow, 1,400-square-foot mobile home. As with most manufactured home parks, she had to pay rent for the lot her home sat on, priced at $525 per month, plus property taxes. It was expensive but she could manage since she runs a hair salon across the river in Portland.Soon after she moved, the rent increases started. They climbed each year, and today she pays $1,350 each month “for a piece of dirt that this house sits on,” Pevey said.
The Free Rent Movement folks are gearing up for another run at rent control in Washington state. Expect more articles like this shortly. Of course, the one item that nobody wants to address is how long do you think this mobile home park will last if they institute rent control? Not long. It will be torn down quickly and made into a better use with no rent control restrictions. Let’s see how stupid the bureaucrats in Washington really are this time around.