Saving Florida's Trailer Home Communities

My Idea serial ID: 00411

Saving Florida's Trailer Home Communities
Trailer and recreational vehicle parks in Florida for generations have provided hundreds of thousands of homesites for full-time residents and vacationers alike. A large percentage of the "affordable" housing stock in Florida is provided by trailer parks and recreational vehicle parks.

This useful housing stock is under attack. In fact the purge is well under way. Although not coordinated, the elimination of this type of housing is under attack from counties and municipalities (who would prefer increased tax ratables), state and local health officials, lenders, insurers, and most significantly, developers. While the attack is underway throughout Florida, the Florida Keys have been most severely and persistently attacked. In five years there will be virtually no mobile home and recreational vehicle parks extant.

In some mobile home parks the parcels upon which the trailers sit are owned by the trailer owners. Many mobile home parks, however, are operated as a business venture and are operated as such by the owners of the park. It is this latter large group of parks that are most vulnerable to the wrecking ball of the upscale builder. This article is addressed to developing a methodology whereby mobile home/trailer owners can acquire their park and retain permanent ownership of their trailer sites.

This article will cover the following major areas:

I. Discussion of applicable Florida statutes;

II. Formation of a mobile home owners Association in strict accord with Florida statutes. Suggested forms will be provided.

III. Organizing the mobile home owner-Members as a financially meaningful group. Separately working with recreational vehicle owners.

IV. Locating a sympathetic financing institution.

V. Negotiating with the park owner to purchase the park.

VI. Converting the park to a condominium or cooperative

Frank F. Harding