Mobile Home Parks Continue to be Targets for Greedy Investors By Gary Perry

New Mexico Mobile home parks continue to attract corporations and private equity investors. Why? Because the driving incentives are the ability to increase rents, with no rent caps in New Mexico, minimize or even eliminate services, and operate without any supervision of state authorities regarding enforcement of violations committed by park owners and managers. It's basically anything goes, and all one-sided to the advantage of the park owner.

In many cases residents of mobile home parks are low- or fixed-income individuals already struggling with the costs of living...rent, increased utility bills, higher gas and groceries, and medical expenses.

Alamogordo is not exempt from the corporate and private equity investors looking to "make a deal" on mobile home parks for the reasons noted above... increasing rents solely for increased profitability at the expense of residents.

There is an Alamogordo listing for three parks by a firm who specializes in marketing mobile home parks to potential investors. La Vista Del Cannon MHP, Two Hearts MHP, and Whites MHP' mobile home parks are for sale. The add talks about "increased rent"potential of these parks because rents are "below market value." Market value to what?

Often the parks are sold to new owners without any notice to the residents that they're for sale. They find out when they get their notice of rent increase from the new owner with their only option being to move or pay it. In some worst-case scenario's homes are simply abandoned and the park owner takes them under abandoned property laws.

For over fifteen years bills have been introduced in the New Mexico legislature to implement some controls on corporations and private investors buying parks, increasing rents, and providing additional protections for mobile home park residents. One of those bills included a provision to require residents be notified of a pending sale of the park and even allow the residents an opportunity to make an offer to purchase the park if they chose to. None have passed; all being defeated by the efforts of lobbyist pressuring legislators to vote "NO" on the bills.

I hope the residents of the three parks mentioned above at least know they are "up for sale" and will most likely be facing increased rents once a sale of the parks is completed at whatever point in the future that may occur.
Just another sad example of our legislature, and local government turning a blind eye to what is happening in New Mexico, including Alamogordo.

- Gary Perry
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