Gov tells manufactured home owners to take a hike

Gov. Blagojevich quickly used his veto this week to nix the most benign of bills.

This is nothing less than a David and Goliath story. Little guys vs. the big boys. And so far, let me tell you, the little guys are losing big-time.

This all centers on what are called manufactured-home communities, something we used to call trailer parks back when those dwellings were truly mobile. They are not anymore. Manufactured homes are simply more affordable than conventionally built homes. They are prefab buildings that can be transported and assembled on a foundation. About 300,000 people in Illinois live in such communities and most of them are senior citizens who have worked all their lives and are trying to stretch their retirement dollars.

I know this sounds bad, but couldn't they have moved the home to another park?

That should be within their rights, and I'm sure there are parks that would have taken them in for a lower rent.

It's interesting that in Malibu there are mobile home parks where people sell their mobile homes, not including land, for amounts up to half a million dollars. That includes no permanent rights to the space, which is rent-controlled. This, of course, tilts all the way over to being highly unfair to the landlord, who can't raise the rent nor participate in the appreciation.

Of course if the rent control is ever cancelled, or if the status of the park changes, there could be a world of hurt for people who bought mobile homes for outrageous prices. I know the status of the park has been under considerable dispute, so I would watch out. In fact, the owners of the park cannot afford routine maintenance due to the rents being so low.

Really, buying a mobile home and putting it in a mobile home park where you don't have an ownership share in the land is just plain dumb. Since it's usually perfectly legal to put a mobile home on your own plot, I think that's the best idea in almost all cases. And of course you would participate in land appreciation then.

D

This was a well-written letter to the editor in yesterday's Modesto Bee (California).

Seniors are at risk of losing homes

Rising rents at mobile home parks have caused concern for seniors living on fixed incomes.

The time has come for Stanislaus County to deal with the large number of senior citizens at risk of losing their homes because of the rapid escalation of mobile home space rental fees.

These folks are told the rapid increase in space rent is, in part, because of the threat of rent controls, something in place in more than 100 California cities and counties. Park owners are using this excuse to hike rents quickly.

Residents are living on fixed incomes. They own their mobile homes, but when they no longer can afford the high space rent, where do they go?

Park owners offer to buy the homes, but at ridiculously low prices. They then rent or sell at quite a profit. When mobile home owners try to sell the homes, park owners reserve the right to approve or deny the sale if the home is to remain in their park. Many homeowners have no choice but to walk away.

An astronomical number of elderly and disabled residents are losing their homes. Each additional rent hike will force more from their homes. These folks most likely will end up in convalescent homes or on the doorsteps of the community. I don't think the community can handle the numbers coming if this situation remains unchanged.

LYNDA C. RIGNEY

Modesto

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