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CoastalView.com: Solar panel mobile home project rejected again

  •    Originally released by CoastalView.com on September 6th, 2023
  •    Commentary made on September 15th, 2023

Preview:

The owners of Sandpiper Mobile Home Park were again conditionally denied approval for their ill-conceived solar panel project by the Architectural Review Board. We are all supportive of solar power but not to line the pockets of property owners. The options they were given were to terminate the project entirely or present a reduced version to the Carpinteria Planning Commission. I don’t think they will accept either one because of their huge investment in this project. My guess is that they will come back with the original development plan and risk a planning commission denial. If denied, things could become complicated because of their...

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Our thoughts on this story:

Pretty crazy when solar panels are deemed to be uglier than a mobile home park. 

Sonoma County Gazette: Sebastopol takes action: The significance of mobile home rent regulations for community stability

  •    Originally released by Sonoma County Gazette on September 7th, 2023
  •    Commentary made on September 15th, 2023

Preview:

Housing isn't just about buildings and land; it's about the people and communities they shelter. With that in mind, Sebastopol is stepping up by revising its mobile home rent regulations. This move aligns Sebastopol with other cities that recognize the importance of safeguarding the rights of mobile home residents.

Understanding mobile home residents' unique position

Owning a mobile home while renting the land it is on presents a unique challenge. Sebastopol’s city manager, Larry McLaughlin, points out that these residents are both homeowners and tenants, a duality that demands tailored protections.

Key changes and their impact

Sebastopol...

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Our thoughts on this story:

Ronald Reagan was wrong. The nine scariest words in the English language actually are “you now own a mobile home park in California”.

The Durango Herald: As housing prices rise, mobile home park values skyrocket

  •    Originally released by The Durango Herald on September 11th, 2023
  •    Commentary made on September 15th, 2023

Preview:

In May, La Plata County Assessor Carrie Woodson informed property owners of a staggering rise in the value of their assets. Based on sales that took place between July 1, 2020, and June 30, 2022, the median increase in property value was 20%.

But one category of properties stood out: mobile home parks.

The county’s mobile home parks – once a bastion of affordable housing – doubled in value, and rents are following close behind.

And when tenants such as Alethea Morris, a resident of Durango’s Junction Creek Mobile Home Park, are asked if parks are becoming unaffordable, the answer is unequivocal: “For a single mama bear who’s got two...

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Our thoughts on this story:

Here’s the key quote from this article:

Given that prohibitive cost of moving a mobile home – often upward of $7,000 – homeowners find themselves stuck, forced to pay lot rent or abandon their home and asset.

Do you see something missing in that list of options? First of all, you can get another park owner to pay to relocate your home as long as it has a HUD seal (post-1976) and you have the basic verbal skills to ask them to do so, but leaving that aside, why would the only other option be to “abandon your home”? Whatever happened to the concept of selling your home? The article says that the median home price is gigantic and affordable housing is sparse so why would these folks who can’t afford to live there simply put their mobile homes on the market and sell them and then move? In most mobile home parks, homes sell for $5,000 to $50,000 based on age and location, but this bizarre concept that “mobile homes can only be abandoned” is just plain stupid.

The Daily Record: Lawsuit claims mobile home park managers conspired to fix and inflate lot rental prices

  •    Originally released by The Daily Record on September 6th, 2023
  •    Commentary made on September 15th, 2023

Preview:

CHICAGO (AP) — A lawsuit seeking class-action status accuses nine mobile home community management companies and a mobile home market data provider of conspiring to fix and inflate lot rental prices at more than 150 locations across the U.S.

The lawsuit filed last week in federal court in Chicago claims the management companies bought up mobile home parks and used “competitively sensitive market data” provided by Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Datacomp Appraisal Systems Inc. to exchange pricing information and conspire to raise rents.

“In the face of these significant manufactured home lot rent increases, some manufactured home residents...

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Our thoughts on this story:

The more I read about this lawsuit, the more I’m confused. Apparently tha plaintiffs are claiming that the park owners“ used “competitively sensitive market data” provided by Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Datacomp Appraisal Systems Inc. to exchange pricing information and conspire to raise rents”. Every industry group in the U.S. does continual market comp studies to see where they fit into the spectrum of rents and prices including every office, retail, lodging, self-storage and apartment group, right? “Price fixing” is defined as ”competitors that agree to set their prices at the same level”. Simply gathering market information does not seem to fit that profile. Not sure that any judge or jury would disagree.

Their other contention is that “Manufactured home lot rental prices were blatantly inflated at a staggering rate of 9.1% per year between 2019 and 2021.” If you simply go to Google and enter the words “apartment annual percentage of rent increases since 2019” the computer says the following:“Apartment rent growth averaged 11% per year during the rapid inflationary period of 2021 – 2022”. And that does not even count the same response if you enter in ”gasoline prices” which went up a cumulative 45% during that period and “single-family home prices” which went up a cumulative 32%. Once again, makes no sense.

As a result, I must be too stupid to understand this case. Does anyone?

Axios Miami: Miami votes to pilot a unique model for affordable housing

  •    Originally released by Axios Miami on September 12th, 2023
  •    Commentary made on September 15th, 2023

Preview:

The Miami-Dade County commission voted to establish a pilot community land trust (CLT) program last week with the goal of creating 50 units of affordable housing.

Why it matters: A CLT is a unique model of real estate that can help keep homes affordable for generations.

  • Miami is the least affordable metro in the U.S. The median list price for a home was $605,000 as of August, according to RealtyHop.
  • The county has a shortage of 135,000 affordable units for renter households earning half of the area's median income or less, Miami New Times reported.

How it works: In a typical CLT, a nonprofit acquires a piece of land through various...

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Our thoughts on this story:

I’m not sure what to think about this new concept in which the non-profit owns the housing unit and the “homeowner” can’t sell it except at the price the non-profit demands to someone the non-profit chooses. Isn’t that really just a rental agreement disguised as a mortgage? If you take the ability to create wealth out of home ownership then you’re really ruining that person’s future well-being, right? One more case of groups that think they need to control lives because they believe that humans are naturally stupid.

The Free Press: Madelia mobile home park to break ground on storm shelter/community room

  •    Originally released by The Free Press on September 11th, 2023
  •    Commentary made on September 15th, 2023

Preview:

MADELIA — After a 15-year wait, a Madelia mobile home community is finally getting its community room. The space will double as a storm shelter for its 150 residents.

The facility is scheduled for a fall construction start with an anticipated opening of spring or summer of 2024, said Marjory Gilsrud, Madelia Mobile Village Cooperative president.

“This building will act as a gathering place for our residents,” she said.

The primary funding source for the $800,000 building was the state Legislature-funded Manufactured Home Community Redevelopment Grant Program. The grant will provide funds for a facility offering safety from storms and...

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Our thoughts on this story:

Is spending $800,000 to build a storm shelter for 50 lots really a good use of state funds? That’s nearly $20,000 per household – more than their mobile homes are probably worth. I am endlessly amazed at the level of financial waste at the state and national level. Don’t tell anyone but there is a product at most mobile home shows in which you put a solid steel storm shelter under the deck of your mobile home at a fraction of this cost.

The Islander Classifieds: Closure: Island developer declares ownership of Pines Park

  •    Originally released by The Islander Classifieds on September 12th, 2023
  •    Commentary made on September 15th, 2023

Preview:

The new owner of the Pines Trailer Park has spoken.

Louis Najmy of the Najmy Thompson law firm released a statement on Sept. 8 on behalf of island developer and businessman Shawn Kaleta regarding the purchase of the mobile home park at 103 Church Ave., Bradenton Beach.

The announcement was much-anticipated — and the owner highly speculated — since the announcement in January that the park owners intended to sell.

The statement read: “Prime Vacations, founded, built, and run by local entrepreneur, Shawn Kaleta, is proud to announce it has orchestrated the purchase of Pines Trailer Park, one of the most unique island waterfront parks in...

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Our thoughts on this story:

This group paid $16 million for less than three acres. Do you seriously think this is going to stay a mobile home park? I will bet $100 that there is something entirely different on top of this land by the end of the decade (which is about how long it may take to get the necessary permits and approvals to build something else on this land). If you assume a density of 12 units per acre, that would be like spending $450,000 per lot. Not sure how that computes except as a development site.

KUNC: A decade after floods, Lyons mobile home residents haven’t found their way home

  •    Originally released by KUNC on September 11th, 2023
  •    Commentary made on September 15th, 2023

Preview:

The rain fell hard on Lyons, Colorado. In September 2013, it poured for days, soaking the foothills and filling the creeks and streams.

Bonnie Newman wasn’t worried, even though her mobile home was next to the rushing water of St. Vrain Creek. A meteorologist friend told her things would be okay, and nobody had told her to evacuate. But after days of rain, sometime after 1 a.m., something changed.

“Suddenly there was water,” Newman said. “Lots of water. It was a current of water, and it was right through my yard.”

Fire trucks pulled into the aptly-named Riverbend mobile home park, sirens blaring. Over a loudspeaker, a voice told everyone...

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Our thoughts on this story:

When FEMA gave this person $31,000 they should have immediately moved to a more affordable city and not kept beating their head against a wall of impossibly expensive housing (median home price of $800,000). I am forever bewildered by these cases of people who earn next to nothing trying to live in markets that are insanely expensive. “Move to the Midwest and have a good quality of life” is my opinion on this article.

Oxford Observer: Council sinks affordable housing plan to save park

  •    Originally released by Oxford Observer on September 7th, 2023
  •    Commentary made on September 15th, 2023

Preview:

Oxford City Council voted down two ordinances that would have paved the way for an affordable housing development in Merry Day Park off College Corner Pike. 

By a vote of 2-5, council declined to change the designation of the 4.7-acre park from “preserves and greenspace” to “employment corridor” in Oxford’s comprehensive plan. 

Following this vote, council unanimously voted against amending the zoning map for that area. The Oxford Planning Commission recommended against both measures.

“Kids don’t have a place to go, there are no other parks,” said Angela Jones Wright, who lives in the nearby mobile home park. “If they don’t have an outlet...

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Our thoughts on this story:

This is one of those strange cases where the word “park” has two meanings. The land in question is a city park that mostly serves the neighboring trailer park.

Grist: Mobile homes could be a climate solution. So why don’t they get more respect?

  •    Originally released by Grist on September 8th, 2023
  •    Commentary made on September 15th, 2023

Preview:

About 22 million Americans live in mobile homes or manufactured housing, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and as the housing crisis continues to worsen in places like Arizona, California, and New York, that number could go up.

But for some, mobile homes conjure up an image of rusting metal units in weed-choked lots, an unfair stereotype that has real consequences — advocates argue that mobile homes are not only a housing fix but could also help with the climate crisis.

According to Andrew Rumbach, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute, mobile homes are a good solution with a bad reputation. 

It’s unfair, he said, because the...

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Our thoughts on this story:

After the flooding disaster in Vermont recently the government admitted that FEMA has only mapped out roughly 30% of the U.S. for flood exposure and that most of the maps are 15 years out of date. So who can possibly make this claim: “Mobile home parks are disproportionately located in parts of landscapes that are vulnerable to climate risks. So they’re disproportionately located in floodplains. They’re disproportionately located in places that are exposed to extreme heat. …They’re also disproportionately located in places that are close to other environmental harms.” 

The answer is apparently only this woke writer who apparently knows more than FEMA does. I hope he shares his voluminous research with all of us.

Petaluma Argus Courier: ‘Retaliation’: Mobile home tenants say closing park could leave them homeless

  •    Originally released by Petaluma Argus Courier on September 3rd, 2023
  •    Commentary made on September 8th, 2023

Preview:

Residents of Little Woods Mobile Villa on Lakeville Highway worry they might end up homeless if the management company running their mobile home park makes good on its threat to close it.

That was the message of many park residents as they spoke out against a possible closure during a news conference held Tuesday evening at the park and broadcast over social media.

The news conference – organized by members of Littlewoods Neighbors United, a group of residents that formed in response to the threat of the park closure – was the latest in an ongoing saga of upheaval at mobile home parks throughout the county.

In Petaluma, an update by the...

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Our thoughts on this story:

If you didn’t see this sequence of events coming, then you’re an idiot:

In Petaluma, an update by the city capping the annual rent increases allowed by mobile home parks was intended to strengthen protections for renters. But it resulted in upheaval after management at two of the parks – Little Woods and Youngstown – responded with threats of closure last July.

Here’s a refresher on the real world. Every land parcel has a litany of possible uses. It will ultimately become the one that’s most profitable. If you cap mobile home park lot rents then you have set in motion many other more profitable uses that do not have caps on rent increases (apartments being the #1 choice).

I wrote a few weeks ago that the rent control proposed by Petaluma would result in the parks being torn down and redeveloped. Looks like I was 100% correct.

CBS Colorado: Capital City-Montevista Mobile Home Park residents raise $11.5 million to stay in their homes

  •    Originally released by CBS Colorado on September 4th, 2023
  •    Commentary made on September 8th, 2023

Preview:

It's hard enough to afford or rent one home in Denver, let alone an entire mobile home park. The residents of Capital City/Montevista Mobile Home Park in the Westwood neighborhood defeated the odds when they raised nearly $11.5 million to buy the land their homes sit on.

This is a community of hardworking families in Denver, and after the mobile park home went up for sale last year, the community rallied to find solutions.

After ROC also known as Resident Owned Communities pulled out of helping out in February due to safety concerns. The community was worried, but then Sharing Connexion, a nonprofit that connects nonprofits and affordable...

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Our thoughts on this story:

OK, let’s first cut out the theatrics. The residents were at no time at risk of not “staying in their homes”. This is just a story about a non-profit trying to buy the park from the seller after ROC pulled out of the deal. There is still no agreement to the price or the deal even happening so I’m not sure what everyone’s so excited about. I’m also not sure how the non-profit coughing up nearly $12 million does anything other than probably make the rent increases accelerate since the tenants will not be able to manage the property as well as a professional owner could. But, of course, the truth is that people are using this story as nothing more than a virtue-signaling orgy. To that end they forgot to add to the title the words “sustainable, green and zero-carbon emissions’.

Alaska Public Media: After surprise eviction notice, residents of a Soldotna trailer park are wondering what’s next

  •    Originally released by Alaska Public Media on September 5th, 2023
  •    Commentary made on September 8th, 2023

Preview:

The River Terrace RV and Trailer Park is just upstream of the Kenai River Bridge in Soldotna. To the right, there are temporary and seasonal RVs parked along the banks of the river. To the left, about 40 trailer homes house a low-income community, many of them seniors.

On July 27, trailer park residents got notice to vacate by May 3, 2024. The notice says the closure is related to “planned changes in the future use of the land.”

Daniel Lynch has lived in the trailer park since 1995.

“There’s no need for these people to become homeless, and that’s what’s gonna happen to the majority of them,” Lynch said.

He said there are few options for...

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Our thoughts on this story:

There doesn’t seem to be that much left to wonder about:

On July 27, trailer park residents got notice to vacate by May 3, 2024. The notice says the closure is related to “planned changes in the future use of the land.”

It’s a simple formula that mobile home parks + low lot rents = redevelopment. Do you see that as a recurring theme in most of these articles? I sure do.

Reuters: Mobile home park owners accused of rental price-fixing in new US lawsuit

  •    Originally released by Reuters on September 1st, 2023
  •    Commentary made on September 8th, 2023

Preview:

Sept 1 (Reuters) - A group of the country's largest corporate managers of mobile home communities and a market data provider were sued in U.S. court on Thursday for allegedly conspiring to inflate rental prices for older and low-income residents.

Two Illinois residents who rented lots for their manufactured homes filed the prospective class action in Chicago federal court against Datacomp Appraisal Systems and nine other companies that own or have controlling interests in more than 150 housing communities across the country.

The lawsuit alleges that the corporate owners shared competitively sensitive information about lot rentals and...

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Our thoughts on this story:

“Price fixing” is defined by Webster’s as “the maintaining of prices at a certain level by agreement between competing sellers”. I haven’t read the case, but it appears that all the defendants did was to get market comps from the same source -- as well as other input from other sources probably -- to determine what the “fair market value” of rents are in that market. If researching what market prices are is wrong then, using this same argument, every gas station that looks at what their competitors are charging, every grocery store that surveys what the store down the street is charging, and every apartment, office, hotel and commercial building owner in the U.S. are also guilty of “price fixing” but I doubt that anyone will support that argument. When you add the fact that you have many of the largest REITs in the U.S. funding the defense, I doubt it will survive the first round (if it even goes that far).

Bangor Daily: A Houlton mobile home park is getting clean water after 6 years of using bottles

  •    Originally released by Bangor Daily on September 2nd, 2023
  •    Commentary made on September 8th, 2023

Preview:

HOULTON, Maine — After nearly six years of undrinkable chemically contaminated water flowing through their pipes at the Houlton Mobile Home Park, residents will soon get relief, according to the park’s owner.

Once the final piece of financing is approved that is.

State testing showed unsafe levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in the well water almost as soon as Tony Brettkelly purchased the mobile home park off the Old Woodstock Road in Houlton about six years ago, he said.

Park management has been supplying residents with bottled water ever since, although the contaminated water is used for laundry, showers and...

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Our thoughts on this story:

Now hold on a minute – doesn’t the article admit that nearly the whole city has this same problem – including the school district?

Since state mandatory testing of public water systems for PFAS began last year, several County schools tested with unsafe levels of PFAS and lead in their water, including Hodgdon Middle High School and Mill Pond Elementary School, where students have been drinking bottled water since last November. An extensive carbon treatment system is being installed at the two schools, with completion slated for late fall.

Then why is the mobile home park owner being singled out here? Gee, I can’t possibly guess why.

Washington Post: Idalia Shows Need to Protect Manufactured Homes

  •    Originally released by Washington Post on September 1st, 2023
  •    Commentary made on September 8th, 2023

Preview:

Some of the most enduring images of Hurricane Idalia will be the tree-battered and flood-damaged mobile and manufactured homes in the storm’s wake — a sight that’s become all too familiar in the coastal US. As Florida’s communities rebuild, government leaders everywhere must take steps to protect a key source of affordable housing in the age of climate change.

Nationwide, manufactured homes make up around 5% of occupied housing units and about 7% in Florida, according to American Housing Survey data. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is in the business of building them (Clayton Homes), and investors of all sizes (private equity and...

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Our thoughts on this story:

This author is about as woke as you can get, and tries to argue that if the residents owned their mobile home parks then they would fare much better in storms:

The best laws also require sellers to negotiate in good faith with community members and may grant them a right of first refusal. All in all, those steps should help increase the resilience of manufactured housing in the face of the daunting climate change challenge.

The only way this article could get more woke would be if he advocated residents growing sustainable gardens on their roofs.

The U.S. Sun: I built a $25,000 tiny home but couldn’t afford a place to park – now I rent a $350 plot thanks to my ‘letter’ deal

  •    Originally released by The U.S. Sun on August 30th, 2023
  •    Commentary made on September 8th, 2023

Preview:

AFTER building a dream tiny home for $25,000, a person who wanted to live off the grid found out they had nowhere to park it.

But thanks to a clever letter, they now live for $350 a month and zero mortgage on a Christmas tree farm.

L. Gilbert (@_l_gilbert_), who uses they/them pronouns, is an artist living in California who became sick of living with roommates in the nation’s most expensive state.

As a way to make their own affordable home, they built a DIY tiny home using salvaged lumber and new materials like a trailer and solar panels.

In a recent video for Kirsten Dirksen’s YouTube channel, Gilbert gave a tour of their unique tiny...

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Our thoughts on this story:

I really try to understand this whole “living small” thing but frankly it just seems awful to me. If I had to live in the home shown in these photos, I would be extremely depressed.  When I was at Stanford there was this professor that lived in a closet in the engineering department and lived on nothing but ramen. Students thought that was the coolest idea ever but it seemed to me like a really low quality of life. At some point being a miser becomes a sickness and not a virtue.

Journal of Business: Manufactured-home owners get noticed

  •    Originally released by Journal of Business on August 31st, 2023
  •    Commentary made on September 8th, 2023

Preview:

A new state law in Washington aims to give tenants of manufactured housing communities the opportunity to purchase and own the lots they rent from landowners.

“Manufactured home communities are often sold off-market,” says Victoria O’Banion, Spokane-based marketing and acquisitions specialist with Northwest Cooperative Development Center. “When the park wasn’t listed, residents didn’t know what was happening and that the park was being sold.”

The legislation, known by some as the Notice of Opportunity to Compete to Purchase bill, was signed into law on April 6 and now requires owners to share their intentions to sell with residents,...

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Our thoughts on this story:

So the State of Washington has passed a first-option rule for the tenants:

The legislation, known by some as the Notice of Opportunity to Compete to Purchase bill, was signed into law on April 6 and now requires owners to share their intentions to sell with residents, giving residents a fair opportunity to compete to buy their manufactured housing community’s land, she says.

I don’t know of any owner that would not prefer to sell to the tenants as they do not do nearly as thorough due diligence and their projections don’t include making any profit. The reason that 99% of tenants never buy the parks is that they can’t obtain financing. When you consider the fact that of the hundreds of transactions each year only around 24 deals are sold to the tenants exemplifies that this is not worthy of that much focus. But to the bureaucrats of Washington it was one more P.R. opportunity of virtue signaling.

Peninsula Daily News: Sequim approves moratorium on manufactured home redevelopment

  •    Originally released by Peninsula Daily News on August 25th, 2023
  •    Commentary made on September 1st, 2023

Preview:

SEQUIM — To help preserve manufactured home parks as more affordable housing options in Sequim, city council members recently enacted a six-month moratorium on redevelopment applications for those parks if it is for any project other than manufactured homes.

For the moratorium, city staff were directed to consider zoning options, such as a manufactured home overlay to protect park residents from potentially losing their homes in a redevelopment project.

Council members unanimously made the decision for a moratorium on Aug. 14 in response to continued concern from manufactured home residents about losing their homes to potential...

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Our thoughts on this story:

If the city refuses to let any mobile home park to be redeveloped into any other use – yet has no rent control – wouldn’t all of the park owners simply double or triple their rent to match any other development options? Every time bureaucrats think they’re making a virtue signaling initiative, it always backfires.

Colorado OEDIT: Creating More Housing Options: Polis Administration Announces Latest IHIP Grant Recipients and Launch of Innovative Housing Manufacturing Loan Program

  •    Originally released by Colorado OEDIT on August 28th, 2023
  •    Commentary made on September 1st, 2023

Preview:

Today, Governor Polis and the Business Funding & Incentives Division of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) announced three recipients of the Innovative Housing Incentive program (IHIP) grant and the launch of the loan component of the IHIP program. This round of grant funding will directly incentivize the creation of 490 affordable and attainable housing units across Colorado. 

“I am committed to creating more housing for every Colorado budget, and by supporting businesses building more efficient housing options, we can lower housing costs and save Coloradans money,” said Governor Polis. “This...

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Our thoughts on this story:

Apparently, this is what residents really want today:

”greener, resilient, sustainable, and energy-efficient housing.”

I’ve been selling mobile homes for nearly 30 years and not a single customer has literally ever asked for any of those things. I guess they must not have known what was good for them, huh?

KICD: Spencer City Council Votes to Not Fully Restore Electricity to Local Trailer Park

  •    Originally released by KICD on August 28th, 2023
  •    Commentary made on September 1st, 2023

Preview:

Spencer, IA (KICD)– The Spencer City Council met in special session Monday evening to hear an appeal from a local trailer park owner to have electricity fully restored to his property more than a year after it was turned off due safety concerns.

The appeal stems from a decision rendered earlier this year by the city’s Electrical Board that kept power from being fully restored to the trailer park on West 18th Street.

Attorney Anne Quail represented master electrician Lane Schindler and property owner Bill Caskey and asked that the original verdict be overturned citing a section of Iowa code that she says was not taken under...

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Our thoughts on this story:

What an obvious attempt by the city to try and shut down the trailer park:

Quail noted she understands that the city is wanting to improve the community but feels there is also a secondary motive in this case that involves officials wanting to do what they can to do away with the trailer park saying it is being treated differently than any other inspection, a claim the city denies.

And then when it looks like maybe the park owner may sue the city, they’re afraid to even vote:

An initial motion by Councilman Ron Hanson to take the information received under advisement with a decision as to whether or not to uphold the decision made by the Electrical Board at a later date ultimately died for lack of a second. Hanson later abstained from a second motion to stick with the original verdict that passed with four yes votes from the rest of the council.

If the facts of this case are as I suppose they are, I hope the park owner sues each and every one of these council members personally and individually and then we’ll see how much fun they’re having with their bullying.

Marin Independent Journal: Dick Spotswood: Novato’s mobile park political malpractice was avoidable

  •    Originally released by Marin Independent Journal on August 29th, 2023
  •    Commentary made on September 1st, 2023

Preview:

The recent Novato City Council meeting was a textbook example of political malpractice.

The issue was the potential sale of the Marin Valley Mobile Country Club. The facility consists of 325 manufactured homes owned and is occupied by 410 Novato residents . They are all over age 55 and 41% have low or very low incomes.

The balance is working folks who saved to buy a manufactured house on land owned by the city.

Events were precipitated by Marin County Civil Grand Jury’s report, “Novato’s Chronic Fiscal Deficits: A Call to Action.” It focused on the poor state of Novato’s fiscal management. The report was in part based on a misleading...

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Our thoughts on this story:

This is a hard article to understand. Why does Marin County own this mobile home park? How can they possibly be smart in not accepting a $30 million offer for it? Why would the offer constitute a doomsday scenario for the tenants?

Of course the answer is that people think that the county will charge less rent than the market supports, and in this way the county is effectively subsidizing the 400 residents, no different than doling out monthly checks to all of them.

But that then begs the question if Marin County is supposed to be benevolently giving away the tax money of all the other residents in the county without their knowledge or permission?

Obviously, the city should take the $30 million offer, let the new owner raise the rents to market levels, and stop trying to be Robin Hood. If it was their personal money they would be free to gift it, but I don’t think the taxpayers of Marin County have a clue what the bureaucrats are actually doing to them.

Milford Live: Workshop discusses pallet home village

  •    Originally released by Milford Live on August 25th, 2023
  •    Commentary made on September 1st, 2023

Preview:

At a recent workshop, Milford City Council heard from Judson Malone, Executive Director of Springboard Collaborative, about a pallet village constructed in Georgetown designed to address the homeless issue. Springboard Collaborative works in partnership with other agencies, including First State Community Action and others to not only provide housing for those who are experiencing homelessness, but also help them reach goals that could provide them a steady income, housing and a stable lifestyle.

“What would a city council meeting be that you talked about pallet homes and I didn’t have something to say?” Martha Gery, founder of Milford...

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Our thoughts on this story:

If you live in Milford you need to quietly put your home on the market immediately and hope you can sell and get as far away from town as possible before one of these “pallet villages” is announced in your neighborhood.

Daily Mail: Is this the most expensive trailer park home in the US? Humble 2,150 sq-ft house is listed for a record $4.4 MILLION in the Hamptons just 75 feet from the ocean

  •    Originally released by Daily Mail on August 29th, 2023
  •    Commentary made on September 1st, 2023

Preview:

A trailer park home set in the Hamptons has hit the market for an astonishing $4.4 million proving that location really is everything. 

Far from being trailer trash, the 2,150-square-foot dwelling, built in 2015, would set a 2023 record if it sells for the eye-watering price. 

Set within the Montauk Shores 'upscale' trailer park, the property commands a price that rivals that of luxury homes in the area. 

The two bedroom, two bathroom property sits just 75 feet from the Atlantic Ocean and the beach at Ditch Plains - a renowned surfing spot. 

'This outstanding modular home boasts two bedrooms and two bathrooms and is situated right next to...

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Our thoughts on this story:

Look at the photos. Look at the price. Is this not the most absurd waste of money yet at a time when America has an obsession with excess. Between spending millions to fly on Jeff Bezos’ rocket for a couple minutes or $500,000 to see the Titanic (that didn’t work out well) some of America’s top earners have a new pastime: outdoing the Jones’ by wasting more money than they do. Let’s be honest, this home is hideous. And nobody considers this location a surfing mecca. But it does allow you to tell your friends “hey, I own a $4.4 million mobile home on a beach” which will outdo the other guy that says “I own a $1 million coffee maker”

The Porterville Recorder: Council to look at possible significant increase in sewer, refuse rates

  •    Originally released by The Porterville Recorder on August 29th, 2023
  •    Commentary made on September 1st, 2023

Preview:

The Porterville City Council will look at the possibility of a significant increase in sewer and refuse rates during a study session tonight.

The meeting will be held at 5 p.m. today in the City Hall council chambers. At tonight's meeting the council will consider providing direction to city staff on what options should be taken concerning increased rates. A public hearing could then be held at one of the council's regularly scheduled meetings in November in which the council could adopt increased rates.

The meeting can be viewed on YouTube at the following link:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5KuhSrNMNL9nwHJVtnJvvA

Those interested...

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Our thoughts on this story:

So the water department wants to increase all residential water bills by 100% over five years (around 20% per year)? Well, one more reason to sub-meter your mobile home park. And if the residents complain just give them the phone number for the bureaucrats down at the water district who weren’t minding the store or raising rates since 2003 and now want to catch up with a vengeance.