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Maryland Coast Dispatch: Site Plan Approved For Mobile Home Park Expansion

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SNOW HILL– Plans for the expansion of a West Ocean City mobile home park moved ahead last week following approval by county officials.

The Worcester County Planning Commission last Thursday voted unanimously to approve a site plan for Salt Life Park. The project consists of a 34-lot expansion of an existing manufactured home park on Old Bridge Road.

“It’s really a nice continuation of the old park,” attorney Hugh Cropper said.

Cropper told the commission his client, Mark Odachowski, had purchased the existing park and started working to improve it. The 34-lot expansion is part of that improvement effort.

“It was really an eyesore,”...

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Our thoughts on this story:

This is exactly the way to get a park expansion approved – tie the expansion into an overall improvement in the original park. Then the trade off for the neighbors is that they can have a smaller but ugly property, or a slightly larger one that is not embarrassing to live nearby.

South Congaree landlord arrested for renting mobile home without a business license: South Congaree landlord arrested for renting mobile home without a business license

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SOUTH CONGAREE, S.C. (WIS) - A scrutinized South Congaree landlord was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly renting out a mobile home in a park that’s closing in two months.

Landlord Naomi Halter faces the misdemeanor charge of operating without a business license.

Tuesday morning a Lexington County judge granted her a personal recognizance bond, allowing her to await her court dates outside of jail without putting down any money.

The Town of South Congaree pulled her business licenses last August and her appeal failed in November.

In denying the appeal, the South Congaree Town Council triggered an ordinance-mandated eviction process for the...

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Our thoughts on this story:

The city takes the park owner’s license away because her properties are a “drain on city resources” (translation: those kids in the park are costing $8,000 per year in tuition each) and then have her arrested when she is kind enough to rent a vacant home to a guy and his mother who need a cheap place to live. She needs a good attorney and then should sue the heck out of these bureaucrats – maybe personally and not just in their city capacity. Sure, the homes could be nicer and there’s no excuse for a leaking sewer connection from a home, but I see nothing in this video that would suggest anything that has occurred is in any way appropriate or proportional.

NBC 2: Lee County mobile home community still without water & electricity after Ian, 1,500 displaced residents awaiting answers

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LEE COUNTY, Fla. — Since Hurricane Ian, the Indian Creek RV Resort and Manufactured Home Community in Lee County still has zero water and zero electricity access in the park. 

“We moved here two weeks before Hurricane Ian and now we can’t move back in,” said resident Mike Jablonski. 

The park, according to residents, houses about 1,500 lots that were mostly full before the hurricane. 

“That’s 1,500 people now displaced,” said resident Clara Maggio.

The people in the park own their homes or RVs for the most part, but lease the lots at the park located on San Carlos Blvd, just over three miles from Fort Myers Beach. 

“That means they (Sun...

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Our thoughts on this story:

And this is why you don’t want to buy a mobile home park in a hurricane zone …..

News 5 Cleveland: Retirement communities' fears over rising rent prompts letter from senator

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STARK COUNTY, Ohio — Neighbors in several Northeast Ohio retirement communities are grappling with drastic rent hikes after a company took over properties in Navarre and Elyria. The seniors, many of whom are living on fixed incomes, worry how they’ll afford to stay in their homes.

News 5 stories highlighting the concerns are now being cited by Congress in a demand for answers.

Monday, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown issued a letter to Legacy Communities, LLC about the steep rent hikes at Navarre Village and Twin Lakes. He also sent one to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, better known as Freddie Mac, requesting a review of its...

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Our thoughts on this story:

Let me get this straight. The residents are mad because the new owner doubled lot rents for NEW residents moving in only but NOT for the existing residents. They claim this makes their existing homes harder to sell with the higher lot rent a new owner would have to pay. Perhaps the Senator would like to cover the rent differential if he feels that strongly about this ridiculous complaint. The residents could just pay the old rent and the Senator should pay the increase, right? If not, then he needs to shut up because he’s making a fool of himself.

Cape Cod Times: Judge makes decision in Pocasset mobile home park trial. Here's the latest

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BARNSTABLE — A Superior Court judge found on Wednesday that Crown Communities LLC is the rightful buyer of a Pocasset mobile home park.

The 15-page decision comes after a years-long legal battle between the Wyoming investment firm and the Pocasset Park Association, with both sides seeking ownership of the Bourne park, which is home to about 170 people at its prime location off Barlow's Landing Road.

"The Association lacked sufficient support (and authority) to exercise lawfully its right of first refusal and to purchase the park," wrote Judge Michael Callan, who decided the jury-waived trial.

In a statement to the Times, Walter B....

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Our thoughts on this story:

Another classic tale of park residents wanting to buy their mobile home park and failing miserably. They apparently cheated on the number of votes necessary to even start the process and the real owner and real buyer sued the tenants and the judge agreed that the tenants were wrong. Of course, in cases like these the tenants have no money to pay any of the legal fees involved or damages to the other parties. Had the roles been reversed, you know that the tenants would have sued the owner and buyer for $1 trillion.

Washington Post: In a trailer park, boxes deliver fresh produce and a sense of belonging

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His shoulders hunched against the raw wind and freezing rain, Gerson Lima trudged through puddles earlier this month with his 6-year-old son, Cristian. But they didn’t have far to go: It was just a few minutes’ walk from their trailer to the parking area where the food truck was parked. Every two weeks it brings ingredients for meals for the family of two adults and two children, who arrived seven months ago from Guatemala.

“It’s made a big difference,” said Lima, 28, one hand gripping a black umbrella, the other holding his son’s hand. “It’s helped a lot. It’s everything, especially now, because we just arrived and have no other...

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Our thoughts on this story:

Finally, a story with a purpose.

Voice of San Diego: Another South County City Is Regulating Mobile Home Parks

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On Tuesday, the National City Council moved forward with a new ordinance that will provide a temporary rent cap for all mobile home parks within city limits. The ordinance goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2023, and is good through the end of 2024. 

The decision to intervene in mobile home parks, which typically fall under state jurisdiction, comes after the Keystone Trailer Park increased its rent by 20 percent on July 1. Elected officials said the ordinance was a good first step but acknowledged that more work needed to be done to keep the cost of housing low. 

“It is long overdue,” said City Councilman Jose Rodriguez. “We need to make sure...

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Our thoughts on this story:

How dare this mobile home park owner raise rents by 20%! Sure, the rents are about 90% less than every other housing option in San Diego even after the increase, but that’s not the point apparently. I wonder how long it will take for the park owner to start calling land brokers to find someone to redevelop this parcel? Answer: not long.

WBUR: Big investors are buying mobile home parks — and upending the lives of residents

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John Piazza remembers when he first moved to Lee’s Trailer Park in Revere in 2000, after his rent skyrocketed in Boston.

Piazza fell in love with a 720-square-foot mobile home, finding it more spacious and affordable than his small apartment in the North End.

He said the park owners charge him just $575 a month for the lot under his home — a fraction of what he would pay in rent for an apartment in Greater Boston. He also paid $20,000 for the mobile home itself, far less than the cost of a traditional single-family home or condo.

The 84-year-old planned to spend the rest of his days at Lee's Trailer Park. But last year, the park was sold...

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Our thoughts on this story:

Another take on Lee’s Trailer Park, discussed above. And once again it makes the critical point that either rents go up or the wrecking ball comes in.

Salem News: Mobile home owners struggle to find insurance in 'dysfunctional' market

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ORMOND BEACH, Florida — The problems at Peggy Childress’ mobile home started in May when a tree from the vacant lot next door crashed through their carport, the first damage she or her husband, Mike, could recall in 15 years of living there.

Having the tree removed cost $600, all the money they had in savings. “It wiped us out,” said Childress, 61.

Then Hurricane Ian tore off their roof.

“It was like it was raining inside,” Childress said. Rooms filled with water, then mold.

Childress said she’s gotten estimates of more than $22,000 for repairs, “more than this place is worth.”

As is the case with many owners of manufactured and mobile...

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Our thoughts on this story:

A mobile home park resident has $22,600 in damage from two back-to-back storms and can’t figure out why nobody will give her another insurance policy. It’s called economics – not that complicated.

The Daily Star: Mobile home requests on rise in Hammond

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Conditional variance requests to place mobile homes in areas where zoning does not permit are creating a juggling act for Hammond leaders as they try to accommodate land owners and adhere to zoning regulations.

Two more requests for mobile homes to be placed in non-compliant areas were presented this past Tuesday night during a council meeting and were met with mixed results. One was granted, the other denied.

Typically, the council has been favorable to granting the majority of such petitions.

The requests were only the latest that continue to pop up on council and Planning and Zoning agendas, a fact not lost on city council...

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Our thoughts on this story:

What single-family home owner would not object to a mobile home going on a lot next to their neighborhood? It’s a simple scientific fact that single-family homes next to mobile homes show a sharp decline in value. You can’t argue it – simply look on Zillow. Don’t make the case that these people are wrong for trying to preserve their home values.