prices have made it impossible.. for many Utahns to buy a new home. Worse,
some who bought homes before
the spike are now -losing them
because the land underneath
them is just too valuable. KSL
Investigator Matt Gephardt has
been looking into the
affordable housing squeeze.
We are talking
about mobile homes. For
decades it’s been seen as a
truly affordable housing
option. But like
everything else in Utah, it’s
not affordable anymore.
music When you think
of "affordable housing..."
music ...you may
think of ámobileá homes.
But that phrase is a misnomer.
big diesel truck starting
up noise Most are not
really mobile... They
can’t be moved cause it costs
thousands of dollars....
Or they are too old. Or
there’s no where for them to
go. Adding to the
housing squeeze. adding
machine noise Ya see,
like everywhere else, the land
under Utah mobile home parks
is spiking in value ...
The people who own the parks
can make a lot more money by
selling to a developer.
It’s a fact that has mobile-
homeowners, like Lindsay
Duncan, losing their shirts.
LINDSEY DUNCAN: "IT’S JUST
HEARTBREAKING" NATS OF
CONSTRUCTION Her mobile
home park in Centerville
closed last year to make way
for half-million dollar
townhomes. She couldn’t
take her biggest investment
with her and was forced to
sell. Only getting about
a third of what she says it
was worth. LINDSEY DUNCAN:
"I WAS ONE OF THE LUCKY ONES.
...many of her neighbors
lost their homes altogether.
LINDSEY DUNCAN:
"overwhelmed. I was shocked. I
was mad. I was upset. A lot of
us were" It was a home
she could afford. Brand
new, trailers cost around
$100,000. Duncan paid cash
for her 3-bed, 2 bath home,
and was only paying $262 a
month for the lot. Now,
she rents. LINDSEY DUNCAN:
"I AM DEFINITELY PAYING ABOUT
SIX TIMES MORE THAN WHAT I WAS
PAYING WHERE I WAS AT"MATT
GEPHARDT: "SIX TIMES MORE. HOW
DO YOU AFFORD THAT?"LINDSEY
DUNCAN: "I WORK A LOT OF
OVERTIME" Lindsay’s is a
story ... HELEN CRAM: "I
IMMEDIATELY WAS TRAUMATIZED."
... which we heard echoed
... LAYTON RESIDENT: "IF I
WOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT THIS
PARK WOULD BE CLOSING..."
... by mobile home owners all
over the state. JASON
WILLIAMS: "THEY’RE REZONING
IT..." Hearing these
stories, the KSL Investigators
compiled a list of every
mobile home park in the state.
We have 248 - for now.
In the past few years, 6
percent vanished.
Affordable housing advocates
fear the squeeze is only going
to tighten. MATT
GEPHARDT: "IS THERE ANYTHING
AGAINST THE RULES WITH
BASICALLY, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY
EVICTING EVERYONE, OR JACKING
UP PRICES AND FORCING THEM TO
EVICT THEMSELVES?FRANCISCA
BLANC: "NO I MEAN ULTIMATELY,
YOU KNOW, THE PROPERTY OWNER
OWNS THE LAND" Francisca
Blanc with the Utah Housing
Coalition says while
redeveloping mobile home parks
is legal - there are rules in
place to protect the moible-
homeowners. FRANCISCA
BLANC: "THEY HAVE TO GIVE
RESIDENTS NINE MONTHS EVICTION
NOTICE AND FOLLOW KIND OF THE
PROPER RULES LIKE OKAY, IF
THERE IS A PUBLIC HEARING, YOU
HAVE TO SEND THEM, YOU KNOW,
CERTIFIED LETTER TO LET THEM
KNOW." But the rules don’t
protect enough, Blanc says.
For example, if the landowner
wants you out, they may slap
big fee increases - FRANCISCA
BLANC: " THE LAW ITSELF DOES
NOT SAY YOU CANNOT INCREASE BY
20% OR 30%." HELEN CRAM: " PUT
1000S AND 1000S OF DOLLARS
INTO THAT HOME." Or as
Helen Cram found out, they can
make you fix things on your
trailer to conform to the
rules. HELEN CRAM: "I SAID, I
CAN’T, I CAN’T COMPLY TO THAT
FINANCIALLY, OR PHYSICALLY"
And when residents can’t pay,
or make those repairs...
HELEN CRAM: "THE PAPERS IN
YOUR HAND ARE EVICTION." A
notice to take your home and
go, or lose your home
entirely. BLANC: "IT’S VERY
VERY DIFFICULT. SOMETIMES I
DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO TELL
THEM. IT’S HEARTBREAKING."
Lindsay unpacking boxes If
something doesn’t change,
expect more Utahns to find
themselves in Lindsay’s shoes
- forced to abandon the places
into which they’ve their life
savings - and start over.
LINDSEY DUNCAN: "IT’S JUST
HEARTBREAKING TO KNOW THAT
THESE BIG DEVELOPERS CAN GO IN
AND JUST TAKE WHAT YOU KNOW,
TAKE WHATEVER THEY WANT."
One thing we heard
from people is developers
offer little to no
compensation when these parks
close. That’s something
some hope to change. There
is a push right now for
legislation that would force
developers to pay for
displacing mobile home
residents.
3
residents. 3
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