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The Sand Mountain Reporter: Residents speak in opposition of mobile home park

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The Marshall County Commission listened to Mike Carnes; a citizen concerned over the possibility of a mobile home park on Needmore Road.

“I’m here to speak in opposition to this mobile home development we’ve got going on Needmore Road but I’m not here alone. I’m here with a group from my community, I’m here with some 400 names on a petition. These people are made up from anything from elderly people, young families with small children that lives in our area, who are all very concerned about our community. Your taxpayers and your voters are here to voice our concerns on this matter,” Carnes said to the commission.

“It is our understanding...

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“I’m here to speak in opposition to this mobile home development we’ve got going on Needmore Road but I’m not here alone. I’m here with a group from my community, I’m here with some 400 names on a petition. These people are made up from anything from elderly people, young families with small children that lives in our area, who are all very concerned about our community. Your taxpayers and your voters are here to voice our concerns on this matter,” Carnes said to the commission.

Anyone who has ever appeared at a city council or zoning hearing on a proposed mobile home park development or expansion can completely commiserate with how this went. You literally go up to the podium, give your presentation, take your seat and 500 people then speak in opposition. You get greater turnout to a zoning meeting on a proposed mobile home park then you would at a high-school football game. That’s what keeps the “moat” around mobile home parks and protects them from overbuilding (the nemesis of retail, office, industrial, apartment and self-storage niches). Because of the aggressive hatred that the average American has for mobile home parks, this is exactly why so few new ones are ever built.

Denver Business Journal: Manufactured home community sells for $161 million

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The property with hundreds of home lots and amenities in the northern metro area last sold 14 years ago for less than a third as much money.

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The property with hundreds of home lots and amenities in the northern metro area last sold 14 years ago for less than a third as much money.

Making $100 million with a single mobile home park in 14 years is a challenge but fully attainable apparently.

Northwest Public Broadcasting: Orofino mobile home park residents feeling trapped as rents continue to rise

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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.

  1. 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.
  2. 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!
  3. 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.
  4. 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.

Tri-City Herald: WA treats most manufactured homes like cars and trucks. A Tri-Cities Republican has a fix Read more at: https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/politics-government/article302296329.html#storylink=cpy

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Housing has been front and center during the 2025 Legislative session, no more so than in the ongoing battle over a so-called rent stabilization bill that would cap annual increases at 7%. Less noticed is a bill sponsored by Rep. April Connors, R-Tri-Cities, that would treat manufactured homes like real property instead of vehicles. The change could dramatically lower the cost of ownership.

The impact would be limited to start. Connors’ bill would apply to manufactured homes in parks where residents own the land, called “cooperatively owned” parks. There are 30 - going on 31 - such parks in the state, with about 1,700 homes.

That number...

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Connors acknowledged the rent bill is a challenge, but said her legislation offers a small but meaningful step toward addressing Washington’s critical housing shortage by making it easier to buy, sell and finance manufactured homes.

If you reclassify mobile homes as real property they will no longer be able to be financed by the industry lenders of PEP, CASH, Triad, and Zippy. Real mortgage companies will never waste time on “trailer” mortgages (which will be sub-$50,000 in most cases) so the bureaucrats will – in one stroke of the pen – kill off the entire mobile home industry in Washington. Absolute genius, right? Do any of these folks bother doing diligence before they propose such stupidity?

News Center Maine: Across Maine, residents are attempting to purchase their mobile home parks. A new bill would sweeten the deal for sellers.

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BRUNSWICK, Maine — When Celeste Yakawonis was younger, she thought she would spend the rest of her life in her riverfront home on six acres of land in Turner.

But that was before Yakawonis’s husband died, leaving her to live in the large farmhouse alone. 

“Can you see how big that was, for me, one person rattling around?” she said, pointing to a framed photo of the home powdered with snow. “I just couldn’t take care of it.”

Without her husband, Yakawonis said she felt overwhelmed and isolated. But she was advised not to make big decisions too soon after the loss. She kept the home for a year before deciding to sell it. When she...

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State lawmakers are discussing a bill that would encourage the creation of resident-owned communities by providing tax incentives to businesses that sell to cooperatives. The bill would provide a tax deduction of up to $750,000 on capital gains for owners who sell to cooperatives.

In all fairness, this idea was originally floated by Congressman Keith Ellison about a decade ago. Back then, he suggested advantageous tax treatment if you didn’t tear the park down. This time around it’s focused on selling to residents. But it’s a good idea regardless of who proposes it. If you made a compelling economic benefit to selling parks to residents as opposed to corporate buyers then I’m betting every park that qualifies would be sold to residents.

Petaluma Argus-Courier: Owners of Little Woods in Petaluma issue eviction notices to close mobile home park

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The entire population of a Petaluma mobile home park received eviction notices Monday from the park’s owners.

Residents of 71 homes at Little Woods Mobile Villa received notices Monday from Harmony Communities, a Stockton-based company managing the park, stating that “Little Woods Mobile Villa ... is exercising its right to terminate your tenancy for the purpose of permanently closing the park.”

Residents now have one year to find another home and move out, the company confirmed.

“When I opened it and saw the 12-month notice, part of me said, ‘Yeah, that’s just like them to do this,” said park resident Chris Brown about Harmony...

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And another park bites the dust.

Northern California Public Media: Petaluma Argus-Courier reporter on mobile home park closure threats

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Residents of the Little Woods mobile home villa in Petaluma are searching for a way forward after receiving eviction notices en masse recently.

It's the latest move in a protracted fight between dozens of residents hoping to keep an affordable roof overhead; city leaders trying to balance complicated rules and tenant rights; and mobile home park owners who say their right to a fair profit is being violated.

KRCB's Noah Abrams caught up with Jennifer Sawhney of the Petaluma Argus-Courier about the situation.

Noah Abrams: "Jennifer Sawhney, welcome to KRCB. So, can you tell me a little bit just to start about Little Woods?"

"Where is it? How...

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And multiple parks potentially bite the dust.

Governing: States Look to Rein in Rising Costs for Mobile-Home Owners

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Marge Wisniewski moved into Northville Crossing, a large manufactured housing park outside Detroit, a little over a decade ago. A former health-care administrator, now retired, Wisniewski says she was tired of renting and wanted to try something new. She loved the home, a double-wide mobile trailer, and the community, which has a big swimming pool, a gym and a banquet room for residents. And it was affordable: She could build equity in the trailer, and the lot rent was just $425 a month.

A few years after she bought her trailer, Wisniewski says, the park’s corporate owners started steadily increasing the rent even as conditions and...

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The bills, backed mostly by Democrats, ultimately didn’t pass, even with a Democratic trifecta in state government. Republicans regained control of the state House this year. “We were all so disappointed,” Wisniewski says. “I don’t think we’re going to get very far with the Legislature at all.”

Just because a woke state senator proposes rent control does not mean that it will pass. Most bureaucrats are fully aware that rent control is literally the death sentence for housing, as it strangulates needed investment – resulting in no new starts and no capital improvements. That’s why, in over 100 years, only six states and the District of Columbia have embraced it. And they’re all doing terrible as a result.

News Center Maine: Bangor mobile home residents celebrate purchasing their park, expansion plans

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BANGOR, Maine — Residents of Cedar Falls Mobile Home Park in Bangor Monday celebrated successfully buying the land their homes sit on and revealed plans to develop more housing at the park.

The Cedar Falls Resident Cooperative bought the park for $8 million to prevent a corporate sale that could have led to steep rent increases.

They were able to buy the property with grants and loans from the state, the City of Bangor, and local lenders and help from the Cooperative Development Institute.

Ronnie Pinkham, president of the Cedar Falls Resident Cooperative, said the process brought residents closer together.

"We did it, and today...

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The Cedar Falls Resident Cooperative bought the park for $8 million to prevent a corporate sale that could have led to steep rent increases.

With the sale finalized, residents will see a $100 monthly rent increase, but they believe ownership will help keep costs stable in the long run.

"It's such a relief," she said. "I don’t have to worry about losing my home."

So let me get this straight: the residents deliberately bought the park and increased their rent immediately by $100 per month to fend off a professional investor from buying it and maybe raising the rent $50 or so. This is literally a case of cutting off your nose to spite your face. If the park had sold to a professional buyer, the residents would have received a smaller rent increase, capital poured into fixing aging infrastructure, and professional management with proper collections and rules enforcement. But instead the residents now have no money to make repairs, rent that is higher than what a professional owner would have charged, and a management that will never collect or enforce rules correctly.

And the residents are celebrating what exactly? That they blew it?

WILX: Dewitt Township mobile home park closes, displacing residents

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DEWITT TWP, Mich. (WILX) - People who live at Kristana Mobile Home Park in Dewitt Township are in shock after a notice showed up on their front doors saying they have until April first to move out.

The notice appeared on Friday but was dated Monday, March 24.

“We’re completely blindsided by this,” said Jason Eldridge, a resident.

The mobile home park said it’s closing due to declining occupancy rates and its inability to maintain community infrastructure.

 

“Since they haven’t been able to drive everybody out of here by not doing anything now they’re just trying to throw us out,” said resident Steven Snider.

The notice posted on...

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And another park bites the dust.

WLNS: Residents claim mobile home park provides little notice to relocate

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LANSING, Mich.(WLNS)—Residents of a mobile home park say they’ve been given just a few days’ notice that they need to move. 

Residents at Kristana Mobile Home Park in DeWitt Township told 6 News they were given a notice Friday stating the park would be closing on April 1, this coming Tuesday. 

In the letter, management says the park will be closing due to “declining occupancy rates” and the inability to maintain the community’s infrastructure. 

Management did say they would provide temporary housing for 30 days. 

Neighbors say this notice was dated for the 24th but wasn’t put on their doors until Friday. 

Jason Eldridge, a resident at...

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And another park bites the dust.

NJ Advance Media: Rents are spiking in trailer parks. Some relief may by on the way in N.J.

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Private equity firms are buying up land in mobile home parks across the nation, and some New Jersey lawmakers have a plan to stop residents from experiencing double-digit rent hikes.

A bill, S2953, working its way through the New Jersey Legislature would put a 3% cap on rent increases in the state’s “manufactured home” or mobile home communities.

Any annual rent hikes higher than 3% would have to receive approval from the state’s Department of Community Affairs, under the plan. Landlords requesting approval for the rent increase would have to show that current rents aren’t enough to cover the cost of maintenance and tax increases.

The...

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Roughly one-fifth of mobile home parks across the nation have been purchased by large-scale investors in recent years, according to a 2022 study by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, a nonprofit foundation based in Massachusetts.

I’m not sure if the author of this story bothered to do any fact-checking, but there are around 44,000 mobile home parks in the U.S. and if 20% were purchased by large corporate investors in the last few years that would equate to around 10,000 parks. The actual number is probably more like 500 parks tops (ELS – the nation’s largest MH REIT – only owns around 400 in 30 years). And that’s around 1% NOT 10%. But the facts don’t much matter in this case because corporate ownership has nothing to do with higher lot rents.

The real reason rents are increasing across the nation is not because of large corporate owners, but simply because mobile home park lot rents are insanely, ridiculously low compared to $400,000 houses and $2,000 per month apartments. It’s called the free-market system, and it’s the backbone of America capitalism. Price controls are a part of socialism and “can lead to shortages, black markets, and reduced quality, ultimately hindering economic efficiency”. And that’s why the legislature in New Jersey hopefully won’t fall for this nonsense.

WSAW-TV: Former mobile home park getting new life

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Former mobile home park getting new life

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And another park bites the dust.

Lost Coast Outpost: Arcata’s Mobile Home Repair Project is Underway

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Arcata’s program to help mobile home owners repair their houses has begun. 

The Manufactured Housing Opportunity & Revitalization Program (MORE) pays for mobile home repairs, if the homes are in a mobile home park and owned by someone making less than 80% of Humboldt’s median income. Contractors hired by the city do the work. 

The program focuses on repairing violations of health and safety codes, as well as improving ADA accessibility. 

Arcata announced the program last year after being given a $3 million grant to fund the project by the California Department of Housing and Community Development. 

Arcata’s Director of Community...

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The Manufactured Housing Opportunity & Revitalization Program (MORE) pays for mobile home repairs, if the homes are in a mobile home park and owned by someone making less than 80% of Humboldt’s median income. Contractors hired by the city do the work. 

This is a good idea and one that would help preserve marginal residents from being homeless or going into Section 8. Any sane person would support this concept.

VPM: Richmond's mobile homes crumble as city weighs cutting repair fund

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The floors are caving in. The roofs are leaking. The walls that lack insulation invite mold. For residents of Rudd’s Mobile Home Park in Richmond’s Southside, these aren’t just minor inconveniences — they’re daily battles in a place they call home.

Unlike traditional renters, most mobile home residents own their homes. (What they rent is the land or lot under where they live.) That means when things start falling apart, the responsibility to fix them falls on their shoulders. But many say they are barely making ends meet, making expensive repairs out of reach.

Josefina is an older single woman who works only a couple days a week. For her,...

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The floors are caving in. The roofs are leaking. The walls that lack insulation invite mold. For residents of Rudd’s Mobile Home Park in Richmond’s Southside, these aren’t just minor inconveniences — they’re daily battles in a place they call home. Unlike traditional renters, most mobile home residents own their homes. (What they rent is the land or lot under where they live.) That means when things start falling apart, the responsibility to fix them falls on their shoulders. But many say they are barely making ends meet, making expensive repairs out of reach.

I’m sure the author of this article was really mad that they could not find a way to blame the park owner for the residents not maintaining their own homes. Believe me, if they could have, they would have.

MTFP: Residents of Helena mobile home park balk at rent increases

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New management company had pledged no significant changes, residents say 

Residents of a Helena mobile home park face rent and utility fee increases after the park was sold to an out-of-state property management company, according to park residents.

Last October, the owners of the McHugh Mobile Home Park informed residents that they sold the property to Collective Parks Property Management LLC, a Washington State-based management company. 

During the ownership transition, residents received letters from the new management team stating that they shouldn’t expect changes.

“For the foreseeable future, we do not anticipate any significant...

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A resident of the mobile home park told MTFP that their $510 monthly lot rent will increase by $65 and that they will be charged $45 for utilities, totaling an annual $1,320 raise. The increase is due to rising maintenance costs and property taxes, the notice stated. Another resident told MTFP the $1,320 would cover the costs of planned projects for the park, including an office remodel, dumpster and mailbox replacements, road maintenance and community events. Park residents wrote a letter to the company, which was provided to MTFP, stating that they would not comply with the rent and utility-free increases and that the proposal for new mailboxes, dumpsters and community events is “blatantly insulting.”

What’s “blatantly insulting” is that the writer of the article never bothered to spend even 60 seconds of research on the housing market in Helena, Montana. So here are the numbers they ignored:

Single-family home cost: $439,800

3-Bedroom apartment rent: $1,330 per month

So tell me again how $575 per month is highway robbery? Now you know why they avoided the stats.

Money Wise: This Colorado 55-plus mobile home community fought a corporate purchase with their own $18 million counter offer — here’s how the residents turned their homes into a ‘family business’

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A year ago, the Littleton, Colorado mobile home park faced a potential sale when a Utah-based company offered $18 million to buy the property.

Fearing rent hikes from new owners, the park’s board rallied support from nearly all its residents to put together a purchase offer.

Sandy Cook, President of the Meadowood Village Cooperative told CBS Colorado, “The uncertainty of not being able to know where you're going to live within 12 months is so scary for people.”

Overcoming the odds

So how did they swing it? Colorado law allows residents to put together an offer to match a buyout. If they can match a buyout offer, they can...

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So the residents spent $18 million for 92 lots – that’s around $200,000 per space (and probably the most ever paid for a mobile home park in that area). And the deal was cobbled together out of short-term loans. Who wants to place a bet that this deal will be back on the market in five years – or whenever the loans come due?

Bangor Daily News: Controversial mobile home park moves forward in Warren

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The Warren Planning Board approved the development of a controversial mobile home park at its Thursday meeting, according to the Midcoast Villager.

As the housing crisis continues in Maine and hits some regions such as the midcoast especially hard, communities have taken broader steps to address a critical housing shortage that has made living unaffordable for many residents. Advocates say mobile homes can help alleviate the housing crisis while providing better living standards and cheaper rates than similar stick-built developments. Modular homes can cost 20 percent less than a similar stick-built house.

The park in Warren will be off...

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A new mobile home park in Maine moves forward despite the anger of surrounding property owners. Affordable housing has become so severe that people are getting desperate – even city bureaucrats.

Coastal Breeze News: Redevelopment Planned for Old Marco Waterfront Trailer Park

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Waves lap on the Marco River, visible through the bent spokes of a mangled bicycle, flaps of metal roofing clang in the wind, mingling with live music from the Snook Inn restaurant next door. It’s as if life paused at the Port Marco manufactured home community of Marco Island. 

That is all about to change as all that remains of Port Marco — that which was not already ravaged by abandonment and hurricanes— is about to be demolished as new owners, Tailwind Group, propose a five-story redevelopment. In the small community’s place, current property owners told their neighbors of their plans for a mixed-use development with condominiums, two...

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And another park bites the dust.

The Brookings Register: Shady Acres tenants leaving, getting some help from Brookings program

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BROOKINGS — The impending sale of Shady Acres Mobile Home Park in Brookings means tenants must vacate their residences before April 1 — but they aren’t being left high and dry thanks to assistance provided by the Brookings Pathways Program.

Created last year with Shady Acres concerns in mind, a maximum of $350,000 in funding was allocated via a City Council vote in May. It was hoped the Pathways money would never have to be used. Well, that’s no longer the case, at least partially: Of the overall total, $180,000 was specified for three uses:

  • $100,000 for rental assistance
  • $65,000 for a dedicated case manager from Inter-Lakes Community...
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And another park bites the dust.

CiberCuba: Demolition of the Lil' Abner mobile home park in Sweetwater, Miami has begun

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The demolition of the Lil’ Abner mobile home park, located on Northwest 2nd Terrace in Sweetwater, Miami, began this Thursday, marking the start of a process that forces more than 900 families to leave the premises.

The first eviction notices were delivered in November, setting May 19th as the deadline for residents to relocate and make way for new housing projects.

According to NBC Miami, the owner of the park, CREI Holdings, plans to build next-generation housing on the site and has offered incentives to residents who move before the deadline.

In social media posts, heavy machinery can be seen clearing the debris of the demolished...

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And another park bites the dust.

CBS NEWS: Demolition begins at Miami-Dade mobile home park where dozens are fighting vacancy order

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CBS News Miami's Ivan Taylor reports that residents claim the owner of the land did not get the proper permits and their health is at risk, despite the owner saying everything is up to code.

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And another park bites the dust.

Star Tribune: Hermantown trailer park owner begins to close in lieu of fixing life-threatening problems

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Hermantown, Minn., city officials have barred nearly half of the 50-plus trailers in a neglected mobile home park from occupancy because of their threat to human life, as the owner pays residents to move out so he can close the park.

After he pleaded guilty to several misdemeanor violations in early December, he was ordered to immediately make repairs to trailers without water and other essential services and fix all other code violations. St. Louis County Judge Shawn Pearson also ordered him to pay for alternate housing for a handful of residents living in the worst conditions in Maple Fields mobile home park, just outside of...

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And another park bites the dust.

WDIO: Owner of Hermantown mobile home park plans for closure

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Unable to provide repairs needed for city compliance, the owner of as mobile home park in Hermantown announced closure plans. Last week, we got the latest update on what was happening over at Maple Field. The court has ordered the landlord to present himself in person on April 8th for an evidentiary hearing.

54 lots fill the mobile home park known as Maple Field. The location rents 46 mobile homes units with the remainder of the dwellings occupied by owners who pay to lease the space in the park. Recently, tenants have been receiving notices of termination as the owner of the park seeks to close the park because of the hazard living...

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Another park bites the dust. The rents were too low to allow needed capital repairs and make a profit greater than alternative uses. It’s not rocket science.

Local 10: Li’l Abner Mobile Home Park fire raises concerns over security, squatters

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Resident Gudelia Blatt called the situation “horrible,” describing flames and destruction at the park.

Roberto Pullido, who had already vacated his home, broke down in tears upon seeing the remains.

His wife said they didn’t even know about Sunday’s fire until they saw it on the news the following day.

Residents say the sprawling park, once filled with families, has become a haven for intruders, squatters, and vandals as security dwindles.

“There are many people from the outside — people who have no houses, thieves,” Blatt said.

The Pullidos had seen evidence of squatters even before the fire.

“They broke a big window and got in, opening...

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Residents, including Dudleys Herrera, say feel ignored after they’ve repeatedly contacted the city and county about the growing issues, including trash and contamination. City officials said no citations have been issued at Li’l Abner, as they hope to work with developers to address the issues rather than impose penalties.

This park is being torn down. People are still living there who should have already vacated. Why would anyone think that the city would be interested in wasting more time on this? They simply need to leave.

Another park bites the dust.