WATSON: And they will rapidly price out people who came to those parks because it was affordable housing.ĬASEY: Back in Illinois, residents like Terry Baker are worried that more rent hikes are coming.īAKER: And if I wanted to move this place, it's going to cost me $5,000 to $7,000 to move it and set it back up. But Watson, who moved to a mom and pop park in Fort Pierce, says the downside is rents become less affordable when corporate owners take over. They aren't looking to simply displace you and send you on your way.ĬASEY: In larger cities, mobile home communities are increasingly redeveloped as more profitable real estate. RUSSELL WATSON: These guys keep the parks as parks. Russell Watson is with the Federation of Manufactured Home Owners of Florida. The largest is Michigan-based Sun Communities. Just five of the biggest mobile home real estate companies now own nearly 300,000 sites. So they're far below market.ĬASEY: It's unclear how many mobile home parks remain family-owned, but they're an increasingly popular investment. Well, raising the rent is simply part of the Day One purchase because often, the mom and pop has not raised the rent in years. Frank Rolfe wouldn't return a request for an interview, but in this video from 2015, he laid out his business strategy. They're just happy to have a roof over their head.ĬASEY: The investor who bought the park where Baker lives and 12 others in the county has steadily increased rent and fees. And the customers are relatively easy to please. This is from a promotional video on their website.įRANK ROLFE: You only rent the land when you own a mobile home park.
#LAND PRICE VENTURE TOWNS HOW TO#
Frank Ralph works at RV Horizons and something called Mobile Home University, a so-called investors' boot camp that teaches people how to buy mobile home parks. Its business model is to buy up mom and pop parks and raise the rent. It owns mobile home parks in more than 25 states. She describes a letter that residents got.īAKER: Dear Wilson's resident, Dennis and I are writing to inform you we have made a difficult decision to sell Wilson's on University.ĬASEY: The local owners sold the community to Colorado-based RV Horizons. Where else was I going to live for that kind of money?ĬASEY: Baker's rent has doubled now. When I moved in here, my rent was $142 a month. TERRY BAKER: I could not get over the rent. Baker is a retired home health worker and a proud grandmother who was looking for a place of her own after her divorce. Here's Anna Casey of Illinois Public Media.ĪNNA CASEY, BYLINE: Terry Baker has lived at Wilson's mobile home park in Urbana, Ill., for more than 20 years. About 20 million Americans live in manufactured or mobile homes.