manufacturedhomelivingnews.com Manufactured Home Living News
‘The best argument against Christianity are the bad behavior of Christians,’ so goes an old saying. It is an understandable notion. But it is based on a false premise, as Jesus himself picked 12 apostles, one of who betrayed Jesus and ten more fled the stark scene of his crucifixion. Christians can behave badly, because they and all have free will. By God’s grace, a Christian may return to their senses and end up doing what is right and good when they’ve done something wrong. That noted, Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), the owner of Lakeside Park Estates RV, mobile home, and manufactured home community has at least initially stepped into a hornets nest. Their announcement just days ago via a letter to their residents that “Lakewood Estates” is being permanently closed sent numbers of residents in that Pembroke Park, Florida location in to shock.
At least one resident interviewed by Local 10 News said she bought her home at Lakeside Park Estates about two weeks before the announcement. Why didn’t management advise her before closing on that purchase of what was about to occur? As another relevant editorial aside, that vexing scenario is a reminder to shoppers of new or pre-owned manufactured homes in a land-lease community to get written assurance BEFORE buying. Determine in advance if the property owner will commit to not selling the property out from under residence after a purchase. Or if there is a sale, what will the terms of compensation be to residents?
Both local mainstream media and MHLivingNews have reached out to Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) and to Lakeside Park Estates management for information beyond the media reports, with the video and info linked and cited below. Thus far, other media and MHLivingNews have not as of the time this report is published received or reported a response from either Lakeside management or TBN.
Needless to say, residents there are upset.
Apparently, RV residents are being given less time to relocate the those who live in mobile or manufactured homes, but that is somewhat of a gray area in reports to date. But even if every mobile home or manufactured home resident is given until November 2022, as the video above seems to suggest, that may not be sufficient time for numbers of residents there. Relocating a mobile or manufactured home is not always an easy thing to do. The costs are routinely in the thousands of dollars per dwelling. Some homes, due to room additions or other factors may be either costly to move or it may not be practicable to move them.
From the Local 10 News report linked below are the following pull-quotes.
- “Some families told Local 10 News they have called the community home for decades and now have less than 30 days to leave, with no explanation given.
- “There’s rumors going around that it’s being sold,” said resident Walter Jaramillo.
- Lakeside Park Estates community is owned by Trinity Broadcasting Network, a Christian organization.
- Fernando Acuna and his family have lived there for 20 years.
- “This is horrible man, this is just one sob story out of a 100,” said Acuna.”
- “Local 10 News has been reaching out to Trinity Broadcasting Network for several days to find out why they’re evicting all of those families and if they sold the property.
- The county commissioner who represents this community told Local 10 News that county staff did show up to offer relocation services but were not allowed to enter. They are working with the administration to provide extensions on those evictions.”
From WSVN is the following video and pull quotes from their report, linked here.
- A Christian network has only given some residents a two-week notice to move.
- Everyone has been told they have to leave.
- “I have to go with my family at 68 years old. I have nowhere to go, but I have no choice. What else am I going to do? Be out on the street and be homeless? That’s not going to happen,” said Raymond Lopez.
- “Everything we have we put into these trailers [sic], and now it’s going to be taken away,” said Fernando Acuna.
- “We have no plan, work as much as possible, gather as much money as possible, hope that someone gives us a decent amount of money for the trailer [sic] we have,” said Acuna.
- They bought it for $50,000 and have to be out by November.
- “Our life’s savings is in this home,” said Acuna.
- A woman spent $8,000 on a trailer [sic] just two weeks ago. She too has until November.
- “Tuesday, we were notified that the park is closing,” said a resident in a khaki cap.
- Others have less time. Nancy Sanderson has lived in the neighborhood for 10 years and has to be out by April.
- The park is owned by Trinity Broadcasting Network – a Christian organization. Their letter to residents said only that “Lakeside Park Estates is closing permanently.”
- “I kind of have faith that everything will be OK. I trust God,” said Sanderson.
In fairness, the community seemed to previously have a good reputation, based upon online reviews. But comments last with four-letter words posted on the video reports that demean Christians and Christianity due to this step may reflect possible problems for TBN. The question now becomes will they modify the plans in a more equitable and Christian fashion?
For those who are shopping for a manufactured home to buy, and are considering a purchase in a land-lease community, it is recommended that shoppers get a written and signed statement from management that is agreeable to a buyer prior to closing on a manufactured home. See related reports for more insights for shoppers. Residents in that property, or others like it, should explore tips from legal authorities that are outlined in our report linked below.
MHLivingNews plans to monitor this issue and report do a follow up report as circumstances seem to warrant. Hopefully, TBN and whomever they apparently are selling that property to will work with mobile home and manufactured home residents to fairly compensate them for this surprising and shocking disruption of their lives. ##
###
Closing Thoughts
MHLivingNews and our MHProNews sister site have been pulling back the curtain to expose the behavior of the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) and some predatory firms that operate in manufactured housing. As in any profession, there are ‘white hats’ and there are black hats.’ It is necessary for shoppers to carefully research a firm you are considering doing business with before you give a dime or sign on any dotted line.
Stay tuned for more on your source for authentic “Intelligence for Your MHLife” © here on Mobile and Manufactured Home Living News (MHLivingNews.com).
We lay out the facts and insights that others can’t or won’t do. That’s what makes our sister site and this location the runaway leaders for authentic information about affordable housing in general, the politics behind the problems, and manufactured homes specifically. That’s a wrap on this installment of “News through the lens of manufactured homes and factory-built housing” © where “We Provide, You Decide.” © ## (Affordable housing, manufactured homes, reports, fact-checks, analysis, and commentary. Third-party images or content are provided under fair use guidelines for media.) (See Related Reports, further below. Text/image boxes often are hot-linked to other reports that can be access by clicking on them.)
By L.A. “Tony” Kovach – for MHLivingNews.com.
Tony earned a journalism scholarship and earned numerous awards in history and in manufactured housing. For example, he earned the prestigious Lottinville Award in history from the University of Oklahoma, where he studied history and business management. He’s a managing member and co-founder of LifeStyle Factory Homes, LLC, the parent company to MHProNews, and MHLivingNews.com. This article reflects the LLC’s and/or the writer’s position, and may or may not reflect the views of sponsors or supporters.
Connect on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/latonykovach
Recent and Related Reports:
The text/image boxes below are linked to other reports, which can be accessed by clicking on them.
