Coming to Mobile Home Park Near You

VaughanJB

VaughanJB

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I wonder how many of you have read about the take over of mobile home parks across the US?

Essentially, privately owned Mobile Home Parks are being bought by private equity. Once the investors own it, they set out to maximize profit, which has led to many cases of astronomical raises in ground rents.

It seems these investment groups now own 1800 such parks. The consequence can be devastating:

"Over 22 million Americans now live in mobile homes, drawn by lower upfront costs and simpler construction (1). But that refuge is increasingly under threat. Mobile home parks across the country are being snapped up by institutional investors who see them as low-risk, high-return assets. It’s a shift that’s often followed by sharp rent increases for residents who can’t easily move.

That reality hit home on January 1 for residents of a Louisville mobile home park in Blount County, Tennessee. One tenant, Sherry Russell, said she was notified that her lot’s rent would jump 70% starting February 1.

“It’s been a little over a week now, and I’m still trying to wrap it around my head,” Russell told WATE 6 On Your Side (2)."

SOURCE: Woman shocked by 70% rent hike at mobile home park as investor takes over. And she can't reach anyone to ask questions

Anyone here been affected?
 
Same thing happening in Australia ,many caravan parks are built on prime land overlooking oceans / rivers / lakes
sadly many seniors are being left homeless and loosing transportable type small homes that many have added extensions / carports to so the only option they have is to walk away it’s sad and cruel many are in their 80’s have serious health issues but developers are ruthless they just want the land and dont care what they have to do to get it to make more $$$
 
My take on this subject is completely different. Growing up I only lived in a trailer (they weren't called mobile homes then). My family moved very often as a result of construction work being my father's trade. Typically we lived in trailer parks that were usually located in less desirable areas. We were what you might imagine trailer trash to be.

Years later my wife told me she really couldn't imagine what that life was like. I found a trailer park on the wrong side of town with pretty run down conditions. One evening after we had gone out to dinner I drove through that trailer park. I told my wife this was very much like the areas I grew up in. It was one of those things that you could describe but it had to be seen to really understand.
 
  • Many states (like Illinois and Tennessee) have passed laws that actually prohibit local cities or towns from enacting their own rent control. These are often pushed by real estate lobbies to ensure a "free market."


  • The 12-State Reality: Currently, only about 12 states have meaningful "rent reasonableness" or rent justification laws. In the other 38 states, there is often zero legal limit on how much a landlord can raise ground rent, provided they give notice.

Private equity firms have identified that mobile home parks are a "low-risk, high-return" asset specifically because the legal barriers are so low.

  • Institutional Leverage: A "mom-and-pop" owner might not have raised rent for 20 years. When an institutional investor buys the park, they use sophisticated software to identify the absolute maximum "market rate" they can charge before people are forced to abandon their homes.
  • Lack of Enforcement: Even in states with some protections (like Wisconsin), state agencies are often underfunded and rarely inspect parks. This allows new owners to raise rents while letting the infrastructure—like roads and water—crumble.
Me and Fred (AI)
 
Not surprised at all. They probably bought one of them near me. Old owner sold right after things started to open up after the virus.

Not only did they give every a person a full sales pitch with take home reading material they raised the prices on lot rent with guaranteed yearly increases. Also raised prices on sale homes that were sitting for at least 2 years. One home was a fixer under $50K/a 1971. Still needed to be fixed but they put another 10k on the ask price and said they'll take care of it

Big national corporate storage companies also buying up regional or local storage facilities to the point of anti trust as far as I'm concerned. I've seen them sell to each other in less than a year.-
 
Private equity firms have also purchased hospitals around the country. Their goal is primarily to cut costs, so services have been reduced or hospitals have closed altogether.

I admire Warren Buffet, and here is his take on private equity firms.

Warren Buffett dislikes private equity (PE) because he believes the industry uses excessive leverage, charges high fees, and employs misleading performance metrics, often resulting in returns that are "not as good as it looks". He argues that PE firms load companies with debt, lack transparency in valuation, and prioritize short-term profit over the long-term health of the business.
1777944836244.jpegYahoo Finance +4
 
I don't know anyone living in a mobile home park, but remember seeing something about this on the news. People who have been paying for their mobile homes have been forced to abandon them because they can't afford the news costs that have been imposed on them. I think the PE practices are despicable!
 
Insane. They should forbid them to buy.

Here are the primary strategies residents and activists use, based on recent developments and legal options:

1. Collective Purchase: Residents become owners. The most effective method is to purchase the park before the investor does.
Resident-Owned Communities (ROC): Residents unite in a cooperative and purchase the park. Organizations such as ROC USA assist with this.
Right of First Refusal (ROFR): In some states (such as Maine), residents have the legal right to bid first when a park is offered for sale.

2. Legal Action and Rent Protection
Investors seek to make quick profits by drastically raising rents.
Rent Control: Activists lobby for local laws that limit annual rent increases in mobile home parks (e.g., max. 3-6% in parts of New York).
Eviction Procedures: Tenants' associations take legal action when investors carry out illegal evictions, for example, by violating the Fair Housing Act.
Use of Local Legislation: In states like California, owners must apply for a permit and submit a "Closure Impact Report" when changing zoning (from residential to tourism). This can delay the process or make it costly.

3. Public Pressure and Political Lobbying
Investors are often sensitive to reputational damage.
Media Attention: Exposing the practices of these "predatory investors" through local media can exert pressure on local politicians to intervene.
Zoning Restrictions: Municipalities can amend zoning plans so that the land remains exclusively designated for permanent residence, thereby prohibiting tourist development.

4. Alternative Financing and Support
Non-profit support: Organizations such as MHAction help residents organize against private equity firms.
Financial assistance for relocation: In some cases, residents use legal action to force the investor to reimburse the costs of relocating the trailer, which undermines the investor's "business case."
 
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I read about this sort of thing happening years ago with sleepy little mobile home parks in Florida that had over the years become prime waterfront real estate that was ripe for development.

It’s sad for those displaced but in the end, it’s just business.

I wouldn’t want the government to tell me which properties I’m allowed to buy, how much rent I’m allowed to charge, etc…

Leave it alone and let the market sort it out.
 
Aunt Bea said:
I read about this sort of thing happening years ago with sleepy little mobile home parks in Florida that had over the years become prime waterfront real estate that was ripe for development.

It’s sad for those displaced but in the end, it’s just business.

I wouldn’t want the government to tell me which properties I’m allowed to buy, how much rent I’m allowed to charge, etc…

Leave it alone and let the market sort it out.
Click to expand...

What do you think should happen to the displaced? Looking at some of the rates being mentioned, you'd not likely find a new home for the similar money (don't people tend to live in such places because they're less costly?) Where would those people who can't find a new home go? Or does it even matter, after all, the market rules?
 
The game of Monopoly was originally invented to highlight the toxic greed of capitalism and the dangers of land monopolies. Created in 1903 by a progressive feminist and writer named Elizabeth "Lizzie" Magie (born in 1866), the game was originally patented in 1904 as "The Landlord's Game".

Key Facts About the Original Design:
Purpose: Magie designed the game as a warning against how "landlords" could monopolize land and crush tenants. She wanted to show that wealth concentrates in the hands of a few while others struggle.

Two Sets of Rules: Magie created two sets of rules to contrast the economic systems: Monopoly: Players competed to bankrupt their opponents (the version commonly played today). Prosperity: All players benefited and shared the wealth when one person earned something.The Message: Magie believed that the "Prosperity" rules were morally superior, hoping to educate people on the unfairness of land ownership.

Original Anti-Greed Rules: The original board included a space called "Labor Upon Mother Earth Produces Wages" and even proposed a land-value tax to combat greed.

How the Game Was Stolen
The game was popular among college students for years, but in the 1930s, an unemployed salesman named Charles Darrow played it, copied it, and claimed he invented it.Parker Brothers bought the rights from Darrow, making him a millionaire, while Elizabeth Magie was paid only $500 for her patent and received no royalties.

Parker Brothers promoted the "Monopoly" (greedy) rule set and erased Magie's "Prosperity" alternative, transforming her warning into a celebration of ruthless accumulation.

Magie’s story of being stolen by a major corporation ironically mimics the very topic she was warning about—how monopolies and excessive greed function in a capitalist society, as noted by Evonomics.
 
VaughanJB said:
What do you think should happen to the displaced? Looking at some of the rates being mentioned, you'd not likely find a new home for the similar money (don't people tend to live in such places because they're less costly?) Where would those people who can't find a new home go? Or does it even matter, after all, the market rules?
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Sadly, it’s a cold cruel fact of life if you can’t pay you can’t stay, it doesn’t matter if you own or rent.

Every well intentioned government law or program intended to help one person hurts another while creating an ever larger and more expensive bureaucracy that creates an ever increasing burden on the average tax payer.

If people are truly indignant we have an obligation to provide some form of basic assistance but I absolutely believe that the government shouldn’t get involved in every aspect of our lives.

“You can't be for big government, big taxes and big bureaucracy and still be for the little guy.”
- Ronald Reagan
 
Aunt Bea said:
Sadly, it’s a cold cruel fact of life if you can’t pay you can’t stay, it doesn’t matter if you own or rent.

Every well intentioned government law or program intended to help one person hurts another while creating an ever larger and more expensive bureaucracy that creates an ever increasing burden on the average tax payer.

If people are truly indignant we have an obligation to provide some form of basic assistance but I absolutely believe that the government shouldn’t get involved in every aspect of our lives.

“You can't be for big government, big taxes and big bureaucracy and still be for the little guy.”
- Ronald Reagan
Click to expand...

I hear you.

The issue in this case, as I understand it, is that this is really not how the housing market works. That is, Private Equity represents $1tr portfolio's, and they buy specifically to rinse maximal profit from their investment. But through their buying power, they control the environment in which that happens - a monopoly. Whereas local markets will always have their own engines driving them along, these usually shrink in comparison to what a fund brings to the market.

Not only that, but by buying up 100's of such places, they de facto end up deciding what the market is, with no personal stake in the local market at all, rather than the simple demand and supply of old. These are people with deep pockets and plenty of time to wait you out. They distort the market.

One might say, well, the ground rent is the ground rent, if you can't pay, you have to move. That may have been feasible in the past, but today, it's just as likely the very same people own all the other local alternatives too. As you'll see in the videos, this does local social cohesion no good at all. Some people are simply too late in their lives to either a) Earn money; b) to pay for a move.

Of course, basic assistance at the state or federal level might be a solution, but then what you're essentially doing is shifting tax dollars into the banks of these funds. And when it comes down to housing, that's a different beast than say, not being able to afford a new car.

This is what has happened in the UK. Essentially, we have a housing crisis, which affects those on the lower social/financial rung of the ladder. Social housing, such as it is, has been eroded. So, I can go buy a home, and then rent it to these people, knowing that a) I can charge whatever I deem is the market rent; b) that the tab for the rent - and therefore the mortgage payment - will be covered by tax payers money. I know in my current market that private rents around me are just about 5X the social housing cost.

This is particularly emotive because we're talking housing, and like it or not, we all need a place to put our heads. I can't imagine waking up one day to find the cost of that roof just grew by 70%.
 
I remember growing up it was quite common for seniors to spend their retirement in mobile homes in well kept parks.
My grandmother and grandfather did and it was lovely.
You don't see them around here. Just your low income trailer parks. Possibly at one time they were nice.
 
Factoid time. Looking into this topic I found an interesting stat:

[....]data indicates that investors—including large institutional firms and private equity—purchased roughly one-quarter to one-third of homes in the early part of 2026.

"Investors accounted for 32% of single-family home purchases in early 2025, with that share remaining elevated, potentially peaking around 33% in some markets by late 2025 and into 2026."

Invested properties will then fall into being rentals.

"Private equity firms have increasingly focused on multifamily, owning roughly 10% of total US apartment stock."

So I guess the market is saying - housing is a valued asset for these funds. As to what effect this has on the overall market, and costs, is another question. I mention it because I'm not sure how aware everyone is of these funds getting into housing big time.
 
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