Neglect, Deterioration, Water Shutoffs, Landowner Facing Foreclosure All Leave Mobile Home Park Residents Fearing The Worst

In Glenview, Illinois, the Chicago Tribune reports:

• After his wife died, retired plumber Leonard Selinsky tried to simplify his life by moving into Sunset Village, a mobile home park in Glenview with tidy homes and friendly neighbors. His new home is no trailer — it's a two-story Cape Cod with three bedrooms and an attic. "I love my house," he said. "This is ideal for me."



• But in recent years, Selinsky and other residents say, the park's streets have been crumbling, water service has cut out for days at a time and they can't drink the water because it's contaminated. Now, the situation has worsened: Sunset Village is in foreclosure, and residents fear it could be sold and demolished, leaving them with homes they can't afford to move.

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• Once derided as trailers, mobile homes are now commonly called "manufactured homes." Most stay on one site for good. Moving such a structure can cost $10,000 or more, so most residents can't afford to leave, according to Terry Nelson, president of the Mobile Home Owners Association of Illinois.



• Unlike real estate, which is expected to appreciate in value, manufactured homes often lose value, Nelson said. Homeowners at Sunset Village have bought new homes for up to $118,000 but can't sell them for half that. They don't pay property taxes but say they do pay about $950 a month in rent for the ground beneath their homes.



• Anita Noel, secretary of the residents association, said years of neglect at the park have made it impossible for those who live there to sell their homes. The lack of maintenance has brought lawsuits from the village and the state in recent years.

For more, see Residents of foreclosed mobile home park fight to control their future (If their efforts fail, the families might be priced out of Glenview).