Latest news with #HomesofAmerica
26-07-2025
Michigan led on safe water after Flint, but mobile home parks are stubborn rough spot
After the Flint water crisis, Michigan became a national leader on safe drinking water, requiring the removal of lead pipes and the reduction of harmful 'forever chemicals' years before the federal government acted. But the state has a blind spot when it comes to the hundreds of thousands of people who live in its mobile home parks. Regulators say they have little power to enforce the rules in the state's estimated 100 or more unlicensed parks when owners fail to provide safe water. The problem is compounded by private equity firms that have been buying up parks over the past two decades and now control about 1 in every 6 parks in Michigan — among the highest rates in the country, according to the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, a group that advocates against such purchases. Officials say it can be a struggle to even contact those park owners, let alone get them to comply with regulations. 'With private equity moving into this space, the goal these companies seem to have is to return the absolute highest return they can to investors even if that means providing inadequate service or engaging in exploitative practices, or unsafe practices for the residents,' said state Sen. John Cherry, a Democrat who sponsored legislation to strengthen enforcement in the communities. But the state doesn't attempt to track unlicensed parks. And an industry spokesperson said Michigan officials — particularly law enforcement — have the power to do more if they choose. At North Morris Estates where Theo Gantos lives outside Flint, conditions got so bad that the state refused to renew the park's license to operate. Water often flowed weakly from the tap because the wells that service the park didn't produce enough, Gantos said. Sometimes the water was discolored. It could stain laundry and destroy appliances. He installed a multistage filter system just to be able to use it. Eventually, local law enforcement investigated. In March, the owner pleaded guilty to a criminal charge for operating without a license, agreeing to pay a fine and sell the park. That might not have happened if Gantos had not been so pugnacious. He spent years battling Homes of America, an affiliate of private equity group Alden Global Capital that local prosecutors said owns North Morris. That included filing a public records request for emails on officials' handling of problems at his park, pushing regulators to enforce rules and speaking out to media over what he calls blight conditions. 'These guys, they don't care,' Gantos said about complying with the rules. Representatives of North Morris and Homes of America, including an attorney who appeared for the park in legal proceedings, did not respond to messages seeking comment. The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, called LARA, has the authority to inspect and investigate complaints at licensed mobile home parks. But it's typically fallen to law enforcement to pursue criminal charges against unlicensed parks. The North Morris conviction for operating without a license is likely the first such under the state's mobile home law that has been on the books since 1987, the county prosecutor said. John Lindley, president and CEO of the industry group Michigan Manufactured Housing Association, said the rarity of such cases is evidence that state and local law enforcement are choosing not to enforce the rules. 'This whole notion that, 'There's nothing we can do about this.' Clearly there is, or that prosecution wouldn't have taken place,' Lindley said. 'Not having the authority to go after communities that don't have a license is completely different from choosing not to go after those. And what we've seen so far with both the state and local units of government is they've elected not to.' Mobile home parks without a license are 'essentially operating unregulated,' Cherry said. One of the state's few options is to shut down a park, a rarely used last resort that can mean throwing people out of their homes. Mobile home parks have long been an important affordable housing option. But that affordability is fading. A study by Lending Tree, a lending marketplace, found new mobile home sale prices rose more than 50% nationally from 2018 to 2023 — new single-family home price averages, by contrast, rose 38% over that period. Last year, LARA supported legislation that would have given the department more power to penalize unlicensed parks, force parks to provide owner contact information and limit rent increases. That failed. This year, Democratic Sen. Jeff Irwin has proposed a narrower law that would give state drinking water officials more power to make sure water in all mobile home parks is drinkable. Right now, they only have direct authority over parks that provide their own water. But it's common for parks to take city water from a pipe connecting to the nearby town. That water is usually safe when it reaches the park, but if the park's water pipes crack or fail, water protections won't apply on the private property. That keeps officials from stepping in and forcing change except in limited situations when there's a public health threat. It can leave residents unsure where to turn when the owner refuses to fix problems. 'We take those issues very seriously,' said Eric Oswald, director of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy's drinking water and environmental health division. He said they try to work with licensing officials to ensure water is safe, though 'the problem is, I'm not resourced for that.' The Michigan Manufactured Housing Association opposed last year's legislation, arguing it would make mobile homes less affordable. The group says it supports extending water protections to within parks, as called for in this year's legislation. It passed the state Senate in late June and is now in the GOP-controlled House.
Hamilton Spectator
26-07-2025
- Hamilton Spectator
Michigan led on safe water after Flint, but mobile home parks are stubborn rough spot
After the Flint water crisis, Michigan became a national leader on safe drinking water, requiring the removal of lead pipes and the reduction of harmful 'forever chemicals' years before the federal government acted. But the state has a blind spot when it comes to the hundreds of thousands of people who live in its mobile home parks . Regulators say they have little power to enforce the rules in the state's estimated 100 or more unlicensed parks when owners fail to provide safe water. The problem is compounded by private equity firms that have been buying up parks over the past two decades and now control about 1 in every 6 parks in Michigan — among the highest rates in the country, according to the Private Equity Stakeholder Project , a group that advocates against such purchases. Officials say it can be a struggle to even contact those park owners, let alone get them to comply with regulations. 'With private equity moving into this space, the goal these companies seem to have is to return the absolute highest return they can to investors even if that means providing inadequate service or engaging in exploitative practices, or unsafe practices for the residents,' said state Sen. John Cherry, a Democrat who sponsored legislation to strengthen enforcement in the communities. But the state doesn't attempt to track unlicensed parks. And an industry spokesperson said Michigan officials — particularly law enforcement — have the power to do more if they choose. Rare pursuit of an unlicensed mobile home park At North Morris Estates where Theo Gantos lives outside Flint, conditions got so bad that the state refused to renew the park's license to operate. Water often flowed weakly from the tap because the wells that service the park didn't produce enough, Gantos said. Sometimes the water was discolored. It could stain laundry and destroy appliances. He installed a multistage filter system just to be able to use it. Eventually, local law enforcement investigated. In March, the owner pleaded guilty to a criminal charge for operating without a license, agreeing to pay a fine and sell the park. That might not have happened if Gantos had not been so pugnacious. He spent years battling Homes of America, an affiliate of private equity group Alden Global Capital that local prosecutors said owns North Morris. That included filing a public records request for emails on officials' handling of problems at his park, pushing regulators to enforce rules and speaking out to media over what he calls blight conditions. 'These guys, they don't care,' Gantos said about complying with the rules. Representatives of North Morris and Homes of America, including an attorney who appeared for the park in legal proceedings, did not respond to messages seeking comment. The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, called LARA, has the authority to inspect and investigate complaints at licensed mobile home parks. But it's typically fallen to law enforcement to pursue criminal charges against unlicensed parks. The North Morris conviction for operating without a license is likely the first such under the state's mobile home law that has been on the books since 1987, the county prosecutor said. John Lindley, president and CEO of the industry group Michigan Manufactured Housing Association, said the rarity of such cases is evidence that state and local law enforcement are choosing not to enforce the rules. 'This whole notion that, 'There's nothing we can do about this.' Clearly there is, or that prosecution wouldn't have taken place,' Lindley said. 'Not having the authority to go after communities that don't have a license is completely different from choosing not to go after those. And what we've seen so far with both the state and local units of government is they've elected not to.' Shutting down a park is a bad option Mobile home parks without a license are 'essentially operating unregulated,' Cherry said. One of the state's few options is to shut down a park, a rarely used last resort that can mean throwing people out of their homes. Mobile home parks have long been an important affordable housing option. But that affordability is fading. A study by Lending Tree, a lending marketplace, found new mobile home sale prices rose more than 50% nationally from 2018 to 2023 — new single-family home price averages, by contrast, rose 38% over that period. Last year, LARA supported legislation that would have given the department more power to penalize unlicensed parks, force parks to provide owner contact information and limit rent increases. That failed. This year, Democratic Sen. Jeff Irwin has proposed a narrower law that would give state drinking water officials more power to make sure water in all mobile home parks is drinkable. Right now, they only have direct authority over parks that provide their own water. But it's common for parks to take city water from a pipe connecting to the nearby town. That water is usually safe when it reaches the park, but if the park's water pipes crack or fail, water protections won't apply on the private property. That keeps officials from stepping in and forcing change except in limited situations when there's a public health threat. It can leave residents unsure where to turn when the owner refuses to fix problems. 'We take those issues very seriously,' said Eric Oswald, director of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy's drinking water and environmental health division. He said they try to work with licensing officials to ensure water is safe, though 'the problem is, I'm not resourced for that.' The Michigan Manufactured Housing Association opposed last year's legislation, arguing it would make mobile homes less affordable. The group says it supports extending water protections to within parks, as called for in this year's legislation. It passed the state Senate in late June and is now in the GOP-controlled House. ___ The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP's environmental coverage, visit
San Francisco Chronicle
26-07-2025
- San Francisco Chronicle
Michigan led on safe water after Flint, but mobile home parks are stubborn rough spot
After the Flint water crisis, Michigan became a national leader on safe drinking water, requiring the removal of lead pipes and the reduction of harmful 'forever chemicals' years before the federal government acted. But the state has a blind spot when it comes to the hundreds of thousands of people who live in its mobile home parks. Regulators say they have little power to enforce the rules in the state's estimated 100 or more unlicensed parks when owners fail to provide safe water. The problem is compounded by private equity firms that have been buying up parks over the past two decades and now control about 1 in every 6 parks in Michigan — among the highest rates in the country, according to the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, a group that advocates against such purchases. Officials say it can be a struggle to even contact those park owners, let alone get them to comply with regulations. 'With private equity moving into this space, the goal these companies seem to have is to return the absolute highest return they can to investors even if that means providing inadequate service or engaging in exploitative practices, or unsafe practices for the residents,' said state Sen. John Cherry, a Democrat who sponsored legislation to strengthen enforcement in the communities. But the state doesn't attempt to track unlicensed parks. And an industry spokesperson said Michigan officials — particularly law enforcement — have the power to do more if they choose. At North Morris Estates where Theo Gantos lives outside Flint, conditions got so bad that the state refused to renew the park's license to operate. Water often flowed weakly from the tap because the wells that service the park didn't produce enough, Gantos said. Sometimes the water was discolored. It could stain laundry and destroy appliances. He installed a multistage filter system just to be able to use it. Eventually, local law enforcement investigated. In March, the owner pleaded guilty to a criminal charge for operating without a license, agreeing to pay a fine and sell the park. That might not have happened if Gantos had not been so pugnacious. He spent years battling Homes of America, an affiliate of private equity group Alden Global Capital that local prosecutors said owns North Morris. That included filing a public records request for emails on officials' handling of problems at his park, pushing regulators to enforce rules and speaking out to media over what he calls blight conditions. 'These guys, they don't care,' Gantos said about complying with the rules. Representatives of North Morris and Homes of America, including an attorney who appeared for the park in legal proceedings, did not respond to messages seeking comment. The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, called LARA, has the authority to inspect and investigate complaints at licensed mobile home parks. But it's typically fallen to law enforcement to pursue criminal charges against unlicensed parks. The North Morris conviction for operating without a license is likely the first such under the state's mobile home law that has been on the books since 1987, the county prosecutor said. John Lindley, president and CEO of the industry group Michigan Manufactured Housing Association, said the rarity of such cases is evidence that state and local law enforcement are choosing not to enforce the rules. 'This whole notion that, 'There's nothing we can do about this.' Clearly there is, or that prosecution wouldn't have taken place,' Lindley said. 'Not having the authority to go after communities that don't have a license is completely different from choosing not to go after those. And what we've seen so far with both the state and local units of government is they've elected not to.' Shutting down a park is a bad option Mobile home parks without a license are 'essentially operating unregulated,' Cherry said. One of the state's few options is to shut down a park, a rarely used last resort that can mean throwing people out of their homes. Mobile home parks have long been an important affordable housing option. But that affordability is fading. A study by Lending Tree, a lending marketplace, found new mobile home sale prices rose more than 50% nationally from 2018 to 2023 — new single-family home price averages, by contrast, rose 38% over that period. Last year, LARA supported legislation that would have given the department more power to penalize unlicensed parks, force parks to provide owner contact information and limit rent increases. That failed. This year, Democratic Sen. Jeff Irwin has proposed a narrower law that would give state drinking water officials more power to make sure water in all mobile home parks is drinkable. Right now, they only have direct authority over parks that provide their own water. But it's common for parks to take city water from a pipe connecting to the nearby town. That water is usually safe when it reaches the park, but if the park's water pipes crack or fail, water protections won't apply on the private property. That keeps officials from stepping in and forcing change except in limited situations when there's a public health threat. It can leave residents unsure where to turn when the owner refuses to fix problems. 'We take those issues very seriously,' said Eric Oswald, director of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy's drinking water and environmental health division. He said they try to work with licensing officials to ensure water is safe, though 'the problem is, I'm not resourced for that.' The Michigan Manufactured Housing Association opposed last year's legislation, arguing it would make mobile homes less affordable. The group says it supports extending water protections to within parks, as called for in this year's legislation. It passed the state Senate in late June and is now in the GOP-controlled House. ___
Winnipeg Free Press
26-07-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
Michigan led on safe water after Flint, but mobile home parks are stubborn rough spot
After the Flint water crisis, Michigan became a national leader on safe drinking water, requiring the removal of lead pipes and the reduction of harmful 'forever chemicals' years before the federal government acted. But the state has a blind spot when it comes to the hundreds of thousands of people who live in its mobile home parks. Regulators say they have little power to enforce the rules in the state's estimated 100 or more unlicensed parks when owners fail to provide safe water. The problem is compounded by private equity firms that have been buying up parks over the past two decades and now control about 1 in every 6 parks in Michigan — among the highest rates in the country, according to the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, a group that advocates against such purchases. Officials say it can be a struggle to even contact those park owners, let alone get them to comply with regulations. 'With private equity moving into this space, the goal these companies seem to have is to return the absolute highest return they can to investors even if that means providing inadequate service or engaging in exploitative practices, or unsafe practices for the residents,' said state Sen. John Cherry, a Democrat who sponsored legislation to strengthen enforcement in the communities. But the state doesn't attempt to track unlicensed parks. And an industry spokesperson said Michigan officials — particularly law enforcement — have the power to do more if they choose. Rare pursuit of an unlicensed mobile home park At North Morris Estates where Theo Gantos lives outside Flint, conditions got so bad that the state refused to renew the park's license to operate. Water often flowed weakly from the tap because the wells that service the park didn't produce enough, Gantos said. Sometimes the water was discolored. It could stain laundry and destroy appliances. He installed a multistage filter system just to be able to use it. Eventually, local law enforcement investigated. In March, the owner pleaded guilty to a criminal charge for operating without a license, agreeing to pay a fine and sell the park. That might not have happened if Gantos had not been so pugnacious. He spent years battling Homes of America, an affiliate of private equity group Alden Global Capital that local prosecutors said owns North Morris. That included filing a public records request for emails on officials' handling of problems at his park, pushing regulators to enforce rules and speaking out to media over what he calls blight conditions. 'These guys, they don't care,' Gantos said about complying with the rules. Representatives of North Morris and Homes of America, including an attorney who appeared for the park in legal proceedings, did not respond to messages seeking comment. The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, called LARA, has the authority to inspect and investigate complaints at licensed mobile home parks. But it's typically fallen to law enforcement to pursue criminal charges against unlicensed parks. The North Morris conviction for operating without a license is likely the first such under the state's mobile home law that has been on the books since 1987, the county prosecutor said. John Lindley, president and CEO of the industry group Michigan Manufactured Housing Association, said the rarity of such cases is evidence that state and local law enforcement are choosing not to enforce the rules. 'This whole notion that, 'There's nothing we can do about this.' Clearly there is, or that prosecution wouldn't have taken place,' Lindley said. 'Not having the authority to go after communities that don't have a license is completely different from choosing not to go after those. And what we've seen so far with both the state and local units of government is they've elected not to.' Shutting down a park is a bad option Mobile home parks without a license are 'essentially operating unregulated,' Cherry said. One of the state's few options is to shut down a park, a rarely used last resort that can mean throwing people out of their homes. Mobile home parks have long been an important affordable housing option. But that affordability is fading. A study by Lending Tree, a lending marketplace, found new mobile home sale prices rose more than 50% nationally from 2018 to 2023 — new single-family home price averages, by contrast, rose 38% over that period. Last year, LARA supported legislation that would have given the department more power to penalize unlicensed parks, force parks to provide owner contact information and limit rent increases. That failed. This year, Democratic Sen. Jeff Irwin has proposed a narrower law that would give state drinking water officials more power to make sure water in all mobile home parks is drinkable. Right now, they only have direct authority over parks that provide their own water. But it's common for parks to take city water from a pipe connecting to the nearby town. Wednesdays What's next in arts, life and pop culture. That water is usually safe when it reaches the park, but if the park's water pipes crack or fail, water protections won't apply on the private property. That keeps officials from stepping in and forcing change except in limited situations when there's a public health threat. It can leave residents unsure where to turn when the owner refuses to fix problems. 'We take those issues very seriously,' said Eric Oswald, director of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy's drinking water and environmental health division. He said they try to work with licensing officials to ensure water is safe, though 'the problem is, I'm not resourced for that.' The Michigan Manufactured Housing Association opposed last year's legislation, arguing it would make mobile homes less affordable. The group says it supports extending water protections to within parks, as called for in this year's legislation. It passed the state Senate in late June and is now in the GOP-controlled House. ___ The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP's environmental coverage, visit
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Private equity is turning mobile homes into health hazards. What can governments do?
Four years ago, Valeria Steele's West Virginia mobile home park was purchased by Homes of America, a subsidiary of well-known 'vulture fund' Alden Global Capital. The private equity giant has become infamous for buying distressed newspapers, cutting staff, offloading assets and loading them with debt. 'They don't make any attempt to sell them,' Steele says. 'They don't make any attempt to repair them. And that's the norm among a lot of their properties.' Sure enough, after Homes of America's purchase, lot rents jumped and tenants reported major problems like collapsing floors. The park has rapidly been emptying, maintenance has stalled, and rent checks have been lost. According to a new report, tenants in manufactured housing parks like Steele's are also facing serious health hazards. Tenants have reported poor quality drinking water, frequent water shut offs, plumbing failures, and debris from vacant homes that were never emptied out. The new research, published by Human Impact Partners and advocacy group Manufactured Housing Action (MHAction), is based on 20 interviews with Homes of America, tenants across five states and information from public records. The private equity company owns about 144 manufactured housing communities across the United States, according to estimates by the Private Equity Stakeholder Project and Manufactured Housing Action. Homes of America did not respond to a request for comment. Researcher Will Dominie tells Next City that partnerships between tenant organizers and government are vital to reigning in abuses of power by private equity firms in housing. 'These companies are so powerful. They have so much money. They have so many lobbyists. They have so many lawyers,' Dominie says. 'It's going to take the combined power of residents organizing [and government].' Paul Terranova, an organizer with MHAction who collaborated on the report, tells Next City that tenants organizing against Homes of America have made 'very important but still partial' victories over the company. Tenants near Flint, Michigan, have seen Homes of America plead guilty to criminal charges carrying a $25,000 fine and agree to sell their park. In Elkins, West Virginia, Steele and her fellow tenants are awaiting a settlement from their class action lawsuit against the company. While tenants in manufactured housing face unique challenges, the report's policy recommendations apply to the housing crisis at large. These recommendations include strengthening housing standards and tenant protections, supporting community ownership and limiting corporate speculation. When Elena Smith signed her lease for a trailer in Lake Suzanne Mobile Home Park in Shiloh, Illinois, management told her the property had new owners and that changes would be made. Over the course of two years, she experienced conditions that lead her to two 'mental breakdowns,' she says. In a trailer with poor insulation, the air conditioning would go out in the height of summer or the heat in the dead of winter. When maintenance finally came to fix it, they found that the duct had been torn open by an animal burrowing inside. Management would shut off water in the park with no notice and give vague replies when asked when it would return. When the water did work, she still drank bottled water because the shower irritated her eczema. 'I used to think I had dandruff. I don't have dandruff,' Smith says. 'Because I moved somewhere else and my scalp is fine. It doesn't flake anymore.' In the report, researchers documented water quality violations at five Homes of America parks that included heavy metals, nitrates and fecal contaminants that could be linked to skin and gastrointestinal issues. Interview participants in four states reported sporadic water cut offs. All 20 residents interviewed bought bottled water for daily needs, spending up to $200 per month. Smith says she and her sister paid out-of-pocket for ant traps, gallons of water for cooking and flushing the toilet, a window AC unit and motel stays when the conditions got too hard to manage. Finally, Smith's sister took out a loan so they could afford to move. While she lived at Lake Suzanne, Smith says she saw trailers disappear as city inspectors condemned them. The report cites inspection records listing 20 units 'unfit for habitation.' 'I left a very dangerous situation and so to live like that … it was almost like 'why did I leave if I'm going to live like this?'' Smith says. The stress of her living situation drove Smith to contemplate suicide because it felt inescapable. 'It's degrading to live that way,' Smith says. 'It's degrading to not be able to flush your toilet every time you use it and to let your mess sit in the toilet because you have to ration out the water to flush your toilet—to only be able to flush it once a day or not at all.' Smith tells Next City that tenants in her old mobile home park still live the way she used to and don't speak up because they're afraid to lose their homes. While she no longer lives at Lake Suzanne, Smith stays connected to Terranova to help with the tenants' fight and use her experience to bring attention to the situation. Terranova and Dominie say manufactured housing doesn't have the same regulations as traditional rentals and tends to get less attention. These parks are often in rural places with few protections and house populations that are vulnerable to exploitation, such as low-income, elderly, disabled and immigrant tenants. But there are a few states that have more robust legislation for how to regulate manufactured housing. Researchers frequently cited Colorado regulations—a state with no Homes of America parks—as policies that could be adopted in other jurisdictions or on a national level. Colorado has a right to counsel for mobile home residents, protection from retaliation, tasks its state health department with testing and enforcing water quality standards at mobile home parks, and registers parks in a database. A registry of mobile home parks may seem inconsequential, but researchers note that 'enforcement depends on accurate ownership data, which can be difficult with corporations that often hide behind multiple shell LLC companies.' After her park changed hands, Steele had to dig into public records and connect the dots between different Alden Global Capital affiliates to find out who owned it. Steele has also seen the importance of tenant protections from retaliation. After taking part in a class action lawsuit and informing her neighbors about unlawful eviction, Steele was sued by Homes of America and countersued for retaliation. Colorado also has a way researchers say governments can limit corporate speculation on manufactured housing communities. Manufactured homes can be attractive investments to speculators who want to close them and repurpose the land for other uses—and local governments can prevent this. Boulder, Colorado, uses preservation zoning to make it harder to reclassify and convert park land to different uses. As more and more of the trailers around her become vacant, Steele thinks Homes of America plans to empty out her park and redevelop the land. If the area becomes popular for different kinds of housing or vacation rentals, 'they'd be on the forefront,' she says. The report's policy recommendations only highlight protections that exist in states where Homes of America does not operate and which can serve as posts for regulating manufactured housing. 'The most predatory companies tend to choose to operate in the states that have the least protections,' Terranova says. This story was produced by Next City, a nonprofit newsroom covering solutions for equitable cities, and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
