Mobile Home Parks | The Economics of Everyday Things | Episode 18

[@AZsunflower]

They used to be a decent home. Now you MUST own the land. If you rent a space in a "park" corporations are buying them up and charging huge monthly rent for the space. A friend of mine has one here in Arizona and the lot rent is $1800 a month! The home cannot be moved.

[@Rick.Fleischer]

Mobile homes have all of the problems of motor vehicles, all of the problems of houses, and none of the legal consumer protections of either. Let's do more of that.

[@chevtruck1000]

Raising the rent is fine if the work is done to the park. There are a lot of park owners who are happy to raise the rent and just pocket the money.

[@Angelina-xj5zd]

I bought my trailer for $5,000. It's still worth $5,000, 24 years later. Trailers are just the cheapest abode with hot water and bathrooms.

[@Ryanrobi]

I live in Northern NY state and about 50% of home are trailer's not really in parks because the zoning allows it and I am from MA where there are almost no trailers and only a few parks and the avg home cost is literally 10x higher in MA than my county in NY so in my opinion I am all for trailer's they really help keep housing supply up.

[@OrasSelection]

3rd time around for me in a Mobile Park - now we have a 3rd owner in 5 years. Interesting that this new owner has on the fill out this paper for new owner - at the bottom on paper they want to know "who" we have our "Insurance" with? They are going to be slowly or even quickly raise the rent to move us out for whatever reasons the have. Their "welcome us" had a lot of how they are going to IMPROVE the park. Up Up Up our rent goes. We in the park don't own the land. Damn if if only knew then what I know now. Oh well... this is life. They want the land, all well planned. Pinellas Pitts St. Petersburg Fl /

[@mastpg]

The Shkreli factor in mobile home parks is just too high. In general, I wouldn't want to share a dinner with someone who owned one, due to the assumptions of how they are run. This is another place where religious organizations drop the ball...along with health insurance.

[@X9523-z3v]

"Is buying into anything in modern America a good investment? Citizens say 'no'. Back to you, Tonya"

[@quartytypo]

Mobile homes are wonderful except in hurricanes where they throw aluminum all over the park.

[@bernardzsikla5640]

Ok, I'm a Reagan Republican (absolutely despise Trump) and more importantly and a firm believer in the work of Milton Friedman and even I would NOT touch that business. It smells of desperate people clinging on to society and the individuals that feed off of their difficulties. I am really financially troubled and starting over at 60 but I need to sleep at night, and I wouldn't touch that business with a 10 foot pole.

[@xchanchanx]

Are you sure that when you buy a house, you buy the land as well? I haven’t found information showing that to be true in the USA at least. Would love to hear perspective on this, thanks!

[@OrasSelection]

Not sure but I do believe as long as we have to pay "property taxes" we never really own the land. We can be thrown off our land if we don't or can't pay the "property taxes"

[@Epidian]

In England and Wales there's a form of tenure called leasehold where you own the bricks and mortar but not the land. It used to be only for flats really but in the last 20 or so years spiv developers have been extending it to stand alone houses. This is very unpopular and the Tory government's promised to do something about it but never did. Let's hope the new Labour administration will finally sort it out. There was a similar thing in Scotland called feuhold which the SNP got rid of.

[@Epidian]

@JimAllen-Persona WTF is a stick house? Is it made of sticks?

[@realMacMadame]

Yes, I'm sure. I've bought 5 homes and the land is included in all of them.

[@blaydCA]

For the most part, when you buy a home in the USA, the land is included. HOWEVER, there ARE some that you lease the land from Native Americans and pay a yearly lease fee above and beyond the local taxes.

[@AtalixZero]

Same old story. Wealthy people come in and make housing unaffordable for poor people. No government intervention. This is what people keep voting for

[@ericdolby1622]

NPR? I gotta tune out.