Manufactured Home Community Resident Education Advocacy League
Manufactured Home Communities are often misunderstood by the communities around them. They have unique issues that are not addressed well by local and state government. They are often owned by large Private Equity corporations that see them as nothing but a source of cash to be strip-mined. After many decades, the terms “Trailer Park”, “Mobile Home” or “Trailer Trash” carry an unfair stigma that causes significant problems. Because the communities can be fairly inexpensive, they are often attractive to seniors, people with disabilities, and young families looking to get out of apartment living. Veterans are also a significant part of the community with their own set of problems.
We bought a house in this community for several reasons. One was to be close to an elderly parent who passed away not long after. We stayed because we liked the house and the neighborhood. The lot rent and mortgage were reasonable. But then things started sliding. We kept hearing from our neighbors in the community we live in that there were problems the office wasn’t fixing. Management refusing to live up to their side of the lease, while simultaneously clamping down in an arbitrary fashion on residents. We started hearing about actual violations of health codes at a sister community. When we started asking local government to get involved, we found out that a lot of things were allowed to go unchecked because we were a “private community”. It was then that we started getting punitive ‘violations’ added to our rent.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are we?
We are residents of a manufactured home community that have been struggling with a number of problems, many of which come from the corporate, private equity owner of our community. We are also dealing with problems caused by a lot of misunderstandings about these communities and our relationship with the surrounding communities and authorities.
How can I join our community blog?
When the Blog gets going, we will require visitors to register to be able to comment. This is just to make it easier to deal with SPAM and offensive comments. We will be setting up a mailing list to keep people updated, especially if something urgent needs to be known. We will not be bothering you a lot.
Who can become a member?
While we are not a membership organization, we are focused on residents, (homeowners or renters) who live in Manufactured Home Communities. At the moment, we are focused on the Winnebago and Boone county areas of Illinois.
What are we doing?
We are creating a place where people can learn their rights and responsibilities; a place to share resources, advice and help for people who live in Manufactured Home Communities. We will have links to relevant services, legislation, tips, and anything else that can help.
What are we Not doing?
We are not lawyers. We can’t offer specific help, merely advice from our shared experience. At some point we hope to have a number of professionals we can refer residents to.
What do we need?
We are all in this together. We need people to show up with support, ideas, time and energy. Calling legislators, filing witness slips for legislation, getting the word out to neighbors who aren’t online, looking out for each other.