Nov 21, 2024
Residents of Li'l Abner Mobile Home Park in Sweetwater, Florida, were recently notified that they'll need to find somewhere else to live and quickly. The community of more than 900 mobile homes, together housing roughly 2,000 to 3,000 people per the mayor's estimate, will close in May 2025 to make way for new affordable and workforce housing.
Mobile home owners usually own the home but rent the land it stands on. The land owner in this case, CREI Holdings, says it will provide a financial incentive of $14,000 to residents who leave by January 31, 2025. Those who leave by March 31 or April 30, will receive $7,000 and $3,000, respectively, though many tenants say it's not enough time or money, according to a NBC6 report.
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Sergio Zamora lives in the park with his wife and in-laws, who've had a home in Li'l Abner Mobile Home Park for more than 30 years.
“They paid off the house to be told you don't have a place to live anymore,” Zamora told NBC6. “Imagine saying you own a property and someone tells you don't.”
Why aren't the relocation incentives enough?
The incentive packages being offered to the park tenants are more than what Florida law requires. According to the Miami Herald, the owner is mandated to offset relocation costs by offering $3,000 and $6,000 for single- and double-wide homes, respectively.
Residents say more than $14,000 would be needed for a down payment on a new home. Mobile parks are also increasingly rare in Florida.
Even if they are able to find a new park to relocate to, it won't be cheap. According to CostHelper.com, full-service mobile home moves of about 60 miles that include disconnect, reconnect and transport will cost about $3,000-$5,000 for a single-wide unit, $4,000-$10,000 for a double-wide and $10,000-$14,000 or more for a triple-wide, depending on size and location.
Hamilton Dos Santos told the Miami Herald he paid $160,000 for his mobile home four months ago using almost all of his savings and now “it’s a completely lost investment.” He said it could cost upward of $10,000 to move his trailer. Many mobile homes, the report says, "are cemented into the ground, making their relocation either structurally impossible or prohibitively costly."
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Melvin del Chiaro told 7News Miami he owns his home in the park but is unable to move it.
“It’s inconceivable. I remodeled my home, and it’s worth $180,000, and they want to give me just $2,750 to leave? Because I can’t move my mobile home,” he said.
“We need more just to be able to leave,” Zamora said. “The incentive is not enough, not for most of these people.”
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Sweetwater's mayor responds to residents' concerns
NBC6 reports that city officials came to residents and promised support.
Sweetwater’s mayor, Jose "Pepe" Diaz, said the notices came as a surprise, he spoke with the mayor of Miami-Dade County, the county commissioner for this district, and he plans to meet with the owner of the park. 7News shared this statement from the mayor:
"As mayor of Sweetwater, I want to express my deep concern over a recent notice received by residents of Lil Abner Mobile Homes, informing them of the need to vacate within six months ... My administration and the city commissioners are diligently exploring every available resource while we continue to stand by our community to help these troubling times and transition."
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Danielle is a personal finance writer based in Ohio. Her work has appeared in numerous publications including Motley Fool and Business Insider. She believes financial literacy key to helping people build a life they love.
