Mobile Home Park News Briefing

Mobile Home Park Investing Audios | Mobile Home Park Investing Videos | Mobile Home Park Mastery Podcast



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

Preview:

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...

Read More

Our thoughts on this story:

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.

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’

Preview:

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...

Read More

Our thoughts on this story:

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?

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

Preview:

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...

Read More

Our thoughts on this story:

And another park bites the dust.

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

Preview:

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...
Read More

Our thoughts on this story:

And another park bites the dust.

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

Preview:

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.

Read More

Our thoughts on this story:

And another park bites the dust.

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

Preview:

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...

Read More

Our thoughts on this story:

And another park bites the dust.

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

Preview:

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...

Read More

Our thoughts on this story:

And another park bites the dust.

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

Preview:

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,...

Read More

Our thoughts on this story:

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

Preview:

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...

Read More

Our thoughts on this story:

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.

Petaluma Argus-Courier: Petaluma countersues mobile home park operator, continuing dispute over who can live there

Preview:

In an effort to control who can live at seniors-only mobile home parks, the city of Petaluma is suing Youngstown Mobile Home Park and Daniel Weisfield, co-founder of Three Pillars Communities, which operates the park. It is also suing mortgage company Fannie Mae, as it “holds a recorded interest” in the property, as well as 50 other unidentified individuals.

The city seeks to prevent Youngstown’s owners and operators from unlawfully ignoring the city’s senior mobile home park overlay, which was approved in October 2023 and requires park owners to continue designating Youngstown a seniors-only park.

Its suit contends park officials are...

Read More

Our thoughts on this story:

However, Paul Beard, Weisfield’s attorney, said, "Petaluma is attempting to compel Youngstown to illegally discriminate against families with children. The city's complaint has no merit, because the city's ordinance is patently unlawful ... It purports to force the park to engage in federally prohibited discrimination. The park will continue to serve all members of the community seeking quality affordable housing, including families with children."

I know nothing about this case, but it won’t be the first time that a city tried any and everything to try not to have to pay school tuition on “trailer park” kids. We’ll see how this works out.

Palo Alto Daily Post: City wants to limit mobile home rent increases, but landlords warn of consequences

Preview:

Mountain View City Council wants to help mobile home residents by further limiting how much landlords can raise rents each year, but park owners are warning the new rules will make their operations unsustainable.

Council tomorrow (March 11) will consider limiting rent hikes to 3% or 60% of the consumer price index, whichever is lower.

Existing rent control limits rent hikes to 100% of the CPI or 5% of rent.

The proposed rule change comes after two straight years of greater than 5% inflation, prompting residents to complain that they can’t afford the higher rents.

“For those who can barely afford the expenses now, the future is bleak in...

Read More

Our thoughts on this story:

Mountain View City Council wants to help mobile home residents by further limiting how much landlords can raise rents each year, but park owners are warning the new rules will make their operations unsustainable.

You’ve got to be kidding me. This is Palo Alto, California – one of the priciest residential markets in the U.S. Do these bureaucrats not realize that these park owners can sell the land for more than the parks are worth all day long? If this passes, there won’t be a single mobile home park still standing in Palo Alto.

WDIO: Owner of Hermantown mobile home park plans for closure

Preview:

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...

Read More

Our thoughts on this story:

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

Preview:

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...

Read More

Our thoughts on this story:

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.

BANGOR DAILY NEWS: Warren puts controversial mobile home park proposal on hold

Preview:

Thursday night’s Planning Board meeting in Warren generated strong opposition to a proposed 22-lot mobile home park off of Route 1.

The Planning Board unanimously decided to delay the vote on approving the park to allow the developer time to make changes, including adding in plans to visually block the park from abutters.

While Maine has a number of mobile home parks, few new ones have been proposed in recent years even as the state — and particularly communities along the coast — have taken broader steps to address a critical housing shortage that has made living unaffordable for many residents.

When mobile home parks have gotten recent...

Read More

Our thoughts on this story:

Thursday night’s Planning Board meeting in Warren generated strong opposition to a proposed 22-lot mobile home park off of Route 1. “How are the people that live around this and own property that pay taxes, how are we benefiting from this? Because I pay taxes on waterfront property. And I want to know, like, how am I benefiting from this? What am I benefiting from this?

It’s interesting that Maine – which holds itself out as some type of liberal oasis of original thought – goes berserk with the mere mention of a new 22-space mobile home park.

This exemplifies why virtually no mobile home parks have been built in the U.S. in over 50 years.

Minneapolis Fed: Learning from the first (and only) manufactured housing boom

Preview:

Just over the city line from Minneapolis, Tim Schroeder has some affordable housing to show off—market-rate, no subsidy required. He leads the way into a new, 1,200-square-foot manufactured home. The closing is scheduled for the next day.

“You could imagine kids doing their homework at the counter,” said Schroeder, gesturing to the large kitchen island across from a farmhouse-style sink. “The parents’ suite is in the back.” Schroeder is president of Performance Realty Inc., the California-based owner of Urban Grove in St. Anthony, Minnesota. The realty firm acquired the 100-lot community in 2023 after a controversial prior sale nearly led...

Read More

Our thoughts on this story:

“Our analysis strongly supports those who have argued since the 1930s (at least) that the only chance of building homes that are ‘affordable’ is in a factory,” write Schmitz and his co-authors.3 “Our analysis shows that there is not only a chance, but that it’s possible. It’s been done.”

A rare, positive, factual story about the mobile home park industry. How refreshing.

OPB: Manufactured home park residents pray for relief as lawmakers aim at rent

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 More

Our 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.

WIRED: DOGE Staffers at HUD Are From an AI Real Estate Firm and a Mobile Home Operator

Preview:

On February 10, employees at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) received an email asking them to list every contract at the bureau and note whether or not it was “critical” to the agency, as well as whether it contained any DEI components. This email was signed by Scott Langmack, who identified himself as a senior adviser to the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Langmack, according to his LinkedIn, already has another job: He’s the chief operating officer of Kukun, a property technology company that is, according to its website, “on a long-term mission to aggregate the hardest to find data.”

As is...

Read More

Our thoughts on this story:

Another DOGE operative WIRED has identified is Michael Mirski, who works for TCC Management, a Michigan-based company that owns and operates mobile home parks across the US, and graduated from the Wharton School in 2014.

It’s interesting that WIRED is trying to publicly shame a DOGE worker because he is associated with mobile home parks. Using that argument, I guess Sam Zell was an even bigger loser because he was the largest owner of mobile home parks in U.S. history?

I would love to compare the credentials of this WIRED journalist with those of the “trailer park” guy.

The Colorado Sun: Colorado School of Mines project hopes to warm houses, lower bills in mobile home communities

Preview:

It gets cold in Lake County’s high country, and getting warm when you live in a mobile home is expensive. Just ask Armando, whose monthly utility bill for his two-bedroom manufactured house heads toward $300.

“It’s the biggest bill,” said Armando, who like other residents of the predominantly Latino home park asked to be identified by only his first name out of concerns about the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

That bill, however, is dropping thanks to a pilot project spearheaded by the Colorado School of Mines aimed at bolstering energy efficiency across the community through a combination of improvements to the units and a...

Read More

Our thoughts on this story:

It was all sounding good until the woke scam surfaced:

… and a switch to electric appliances.

While I have written articles on the many ways to improve mobile home energy efficiency for the past two decades (better weatherstripping on doors, more caulk around windows, thermal switch covers, plastic over windows, etc.) there is absolutely nothing to be gained by changing appliances from gas to electric. Zero. That’s the now-defeated mantra of the Biden administration, in which they wanted to mandate that you could not use gas appliances because it did not fit in with their “green agenda”.

The bottom line is that anyone can make a mobile home have lower utility bills with simply a few parts, a caulk gun, and a bit of knowledge. But don’t for a minute think that buying all new electric appliances is part of that program. The cost of the appliances alone would offset the energy saving of all the other common-sense items for the next decade or more.

The Appeal Democrat: Dozens of eviction notices go to Yuba mobile home owners

Preview:

Dozens of mobile home owners in Villa Seville mobile home park in Olivehurst received 60-day eviction notices Wednesday, according to the park owner’s attorney who prepared them.

Sacramento attorney Joseph W. Carroll said his client’s goal is to rescind all the notices and not evict any of the resident/homeowners so long as the residents correct violations identified by the state agency that regulates mobile home parks.

“My client only served the 60 day notices because the (California Department of Housing and Community Development) advised the park owner that its permit to operate would be suspended if any resident/homeowner did...

Read More

Our thoughts on this story:

“My client only served the 60 day notices because the (California Department of Housing and Community Development) advised the park owner that its permit to operate would be suspended if any resident/homeowner did not immediately correct the violations,” Carroll said.

Most Americans think that mobile home park residents rent their units, just like an apartment. But the truth is that probably 90%+ own their units outright and only pay the park owner lot rent. That’s why it’s so annoying when people blame park owners for the condition of the homes in the park, because they have no ownership nor control over them except by filing rules violations. And many states refuse to allow an owner to evict over rules violations so there is literally no way to get things done. In this case, the owner was told to fix the home or lose their license and, with no other options, they filed evictions to get the tenants to either make repairs or leave for the sake of the other residents.

Then to top it all off, the media spins it that the owner is “evil” to file the evictions.

What a screwed-up world we live in.

Duluth News Tribune: Owner seeks to close Hermantown mobile home park

Preview:

HERMANTOWN — The owner of a mobile home park that has fallen into disrepair is now threatening to close the operation rather than execute court-ordered repairs.

Elevated Management LLC and its owner, Steve Schneeberger, have notified residents of Maple Fields Mobile Home Park that they must vacate their homes, a move that has triggered additional legal action.

A Monday court filing on behalf of affected residents asks Judge Shawn Pearson to block the proposed evictions and nullify notices that have been sent. The plaintiffs’ attorney, Peter LaCourse of Justice North, noted that the court, in its Dec. 20 and 27 rulings, had barred Elevated...

Read More

Our thoughts on this story:

And another park bites the dust.

BANGOR DAILY NEWS: A rural mobile home park could be Maine’s 3rd bought by residents under new law

Preview:

Unable to afford the upkeep of her home in Poland, Elaine Therriault sold the house in 2018 and bought a mobile home with the profit.

Life has become a lot more affordable since then for the 62-year-old, who supports herself and her grandson with her disability payments. At West Village mobile home park, the 42-lot community in Monmouth she moved to, lot rents are only $300. That’s a rare find among mobile home parks, which have seen sharp increases in lot rents in recent years.

When Therriault learned last November that the aging owners of West Village planned to sell the park to an unknown buyer, she grew concerned. She had heard...

Read More

Our thoughts on this story:

“The rent will be based on the expenses of the park, not somebody making somebody’s wallet grow bigger and bigger.”

The tenants are buying the park for $1.9 million. There are 42 total lots and $300 lot rent currently. So each lot will be burdened with around $45,000 of debt. Interest rates are currently around 7%. So let’s calculate the real numbers for a minute:

  • The 30-year mortgage payment for each lot will be around $300 per month all by itself. Add on water, sewer, taxes, insurance, management, trash, repair and maintenance, etc. and that’s about another $200 per month. And that leaves no money for cap-x repairs to roads, trees, water and sewer lines, etc.

The article refuses to say what the new lot rent will be under the tenants’ ownership, but it looks to me like around $500+ per month just to break even. And I have no clue how they will be able to pay for any major repairs at all.

Does anyone at the Maine non-profits educate the residents on what the lot rent will rise to after closing? You know the answer is “no”. Because if they did the tenants wouldn’t be buying these parks.

San Jose Spotlight: San Jose says mobile home park owner can’t raise rent

Preview:

A San Jose mobile home park with hundreds of spaces has failed to get city approval for a proposed rent increase.

Officials with the San Jose Rent Stabilization Program have denied the Golden Wheel Mobile Home Park owner’s request to raise rents on low-income residents by $60 per month for at least 12 years. Under the city’s mobile rent policy, property owners can raise rents up to 7% without city approval. With tenants at the mobile home park paying as low as $595 per month, the proposed rent increase would’ve been about 10% for the lowest income tenants, according to San Jose housing officials.

Jeff Scott, spokesperson for the housing...

Read More

Our thoughts on this story:

Nick Ubaldi, regional manager for Harmony Communities, which oversees the 221-space mobile home park, said they don’t agree with the denial because they need to recoup the money invested in recent renovations made to the park. “Over $1 million was recently invested in the park. The ordinance forces rents well below market rate, making it difficult to operate a park of this size,” Ubaldi told San José Spotlight. “By denying this increase, the city has set the business back, discouraged further investment and ultimately put residents at risk as the park deteriorates over time.”

Of all the stupid things that bureaucrats have approved over the decades, the top of the list has to be rent control. All it does is create a lower-quality housing market, eliminate new construction, and makes all property owners perpetually weighing the option of closure. Nobody can intelligently argue that rent control is smart – just look at how many famous economists have blasted it over the years – and, when pressed with explaining how it’s beneficial, they simply try to distract with name calling and old, worn-out Democratic messaging.

At some point the people who live in California and other rent control states are going to have to vote to eliminate this idiocy – or live with inferior housing options for an eternity.

As for this mobile home park, I imagine they will be tearing it down for redevelopment. Who would blame them?

CBS NEWS: Colorado mobile home park residents stop corporate purchase, buy their own park

Preview:

For about seven weeks now the residents of the Meadowood Village Mobile Home Park in Littleton have been in charge of their own destiny after purchasing their park.

"A lot of people did not think we would make it. Us included at many times," said Sandy Cook, President of the Meadowood Village Cooperative. "We're now the proud owners. 92 homes. 139 people of Meadowood."

Meadowood Village was faced with the sale of the property a year ago when a Utah based company offered 18 million for the property. Colorado however has a law that enables the residents of mobile home parks to make their own offers. If they can match a buyout, they can buy...

Read More

Our thoughts on this story:

Once they matched the 18 million dollar offer, the board had to find the money. Meadowood knew they would have to carry a big mortgage. The question was, could they get enough grants and low interest loans from local, county and state government overseeing federal dollars to finance what they needed? The final piece turned out to be a $3.475 million low-interest loan from Colorado's Department of Local Affairs."DOLA was our last piece. When we got our DOLA award, had it not been for our DOLA award we would not have made it," Cook explained.

Let me first say that I am not in any way opposed to residents buying their mobile home park. What makes me mad is that the media tries to make it a "David vs. Goliath" story under which the residents slay the corporate landlord. Clearly, the seller in this story was more than happy to take the $18 million regardless of who gave it to them. But there's no biblical moral here. The lot rent that residents will be paying, however, is THE EXACT SAME AMOUNT as they would under a corporate buyer – perhaps even more. Here's the simple math behind that statement:

  1. All of the operating costs of the mobile home park are the same regardless of ownership (water, sewer, electricity, gas, insurance, repair, etc.). You don't get a "resident-owned discount" on any of these.
  2. The monthly mortgage payment on the roughly $15 million mortgage will be identical no matter who the borrower is.
  3. You add these two together and you come to the same monthly number no matter if the residents own it or a professional investor owns it.

The only difference between the two options is the bizarre concern that somehow the corporate owner is buying it for land development. While that's true in some cases (like last week's $1 million per lot park sale) that's very much a rarity. So what's the benefit to the residents with these transactions?

I would suggest that the lot rent will be HIGHER under resident ownership, as the tenants are lousy managers of these properties and will allow the delinquency to go up and the needed cap-x repairs to go down. It would be like letting the guy in row E fly the American Airlines jet and expect the same outcome as the highly-trained pilot. But when the media pretends that the residents are just as good pilots as the professionals, it demeans those who actually know what they're doing: the corporate investors. And that's simply not true. Go drive a "tenant owned" community and tell me how it compares to one owned by a corporate owner. You won't be impressed.

On the subject of longevity of the park not becoming redeveloped, the worst part of these stories is that they fail to tell the truth about an essential fact: these "tenant-owned" deals are not built for long-term financial survivability. When a corporate owner buys a mobile home park they typically do so with 10-year notes structured at 70% LTV. When the tenants buy the park, the financing is typically cobbled together from short-term notes (typically 3 to 5 years in duration) and other flimsy hand-outs. As a result, the deals will probably go back on the market again since they can't get them refinanced under a traditional structure and the non-profits lose interest and refuse to keep going with personal guarantees and grants.

I wish that, just once, somebody would have the guts to tell the truth about resident ownership! Again, I have no problem with it as a seller, but the lies have had a negative effect on the industry with many state governments and that part of the story has to end. Many blue-state bureaucrats have bought into the false "landlords are evil" manipulation over time, which is just plain wrong.

13 News: Pima County awaits $3 million in federal funding for mobile home repairs

Preview:

TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) - Pima County officials are waiting on $3 million in new federal funding to continue crucial repairs on mobile and manufactured homes in low-income communities, but uncertainty surrounds when the money will arrive.

The funding comes from the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Preservation and Reinvestment Initiative for Community Enhancement (PRICE), a first-of-its-kind $225 million grant competition designed to preserve and revitalize manufactured housing communities nationwide.

The Pima County Home Repair program specifically targets neighborhoods near Benson Highway and in the Flowing Wells area,...

Read More

Our thoughts on this story:

It’s a great idea to repair old mobile homes at no cost to the owners. I hope more states can replicate this initiative.

News Break: Florida Mobile Home Park’s Future in Doubt as Developers Eye Major Project

Preview:

In Florida, plans are underway to transform the Seville Mobile Home Park—a long-standing community asset—into a major mixed-use development. The 8.5-acre site, located at 515 N. Federal Highway and 426 N.E. 5th Street, currently accommodates 130 mobile homes and 35 RV lots, but developers envision a bold new future for the area.

A Vision for Transformation

The proposed project aims to significantly increase the site’s density by rezoning from a Regional Activity Center (RAC) Neighborhood designation to an RAC Corridor classification. This change is intended to allow for a higher concentration of development, paving the way for a vibrant...

Read More

Our thoughts on this story:

Preliminary plans suggest that the new development could include up to 750 residential units, alongside roughly 25,000 square feet of retail and 44,000 square feet of office space. 

So let me get this straight. The choice is either to keep a 130-space mobile home park on that property or replace it with all the items named above. I don’t think the title “Future in Doubt” is accurate, right? There’s no “doubt” about it. Another park bites the dust.