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Three-part series on housing issues in Douglas County - a must read!!!

Article by April Ehrlich reprinted with permission from the Roseburg News-Review, Roseburg, Oregon.



The first in a three-part series on housing issues in Douglas County.


Harvey and Jean Kloos’ home is crumbling beneath their feet.
The couple invested in the manufactured home in a sprawling retirement community in Canyonville because it was nice, spacious — a stark contrast from what most people imagine when they hear the colloquial phrase “trailer park.” Knoll Terrace’s manicured lawns and tasteful landscaping, winding roads and pine-clad hillsides, and friendly potlucks and barbecues completed the Kloos’ vision of peaceful retirement.
Most importantly, it provided a chance at homeownership within the tight budget of their fixed income.
Now, the home is not looking so inexpensive. The evergreen hillsides that make Knoll Terrace so appealing are shifting, melting, causing small landslides and cracking the homes’ foundations.  Click on the link to see full article   http://www.nrtoday.com/news/local/douglas_county/melting-lands-cracking-manufactured-homes/article_29df9411-49ab-5007-bd31-4ab8a9be73a7.html

The second in a three-part series on housing issues in Douglas County.


Mobile home park closures reduce housing supply



Rickety plyboard patios, threadbare awnings, chain-link fences and metal signs surround the ramshackle trailers at Junction Mobile Park in Winston. Knock on a door and someone will yell out, but no one will answer.
Residents here have settled into their spaces over the years. They have built gardens and walls and fences bordering their small homes, protecting them from a world that has deemed them “a collection of old junkers,” as one man put it.
Resident Rosemary Mullins was not surprised when she heard the park would close in a few years to make way for a business complex. At 67 years old, she has gotten used to pulling her recreational vehicle around to any place where she can afford the rent. Things happen, things change.
“I got to move on with my life,” she said.   Click on the link to see full article 
The last in a three-part series on housing issues in Douglas County. -  

State encourages innovation in home ownership


In July, president-elect Donald Trump declared via Twitter that home ownership rates have been their lowest in 51 years. He wasn’t wrong.
At the time, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis showed the U.S. home ownership rate had plunged to its lowest depths since 1965.
Since then, Trump has given housing issues scant attention, even if his signature red hats declaring “Make America Great Again” harken back to a time when a single wage job could buy a home.
Douglas County’s home ownership rate is lower than that of the state and the country, according to 2014 census data. It has a higher level of poverty — about 20 percent of Douglas County people are living below the poverty level, compared to 17 percent in the state.
It also has a significant senior population. Nearly a quarter of Douglas County residents are 65 years or older, compared to 16 percent in the state. Click on the link to see full article 


2 comments:

  1. All the information is great, but what do the homeowners do? They are forced with the continued decline of the value of their personal property (the home) as the lot itself which they are forced to continue to pay rent on, does damage to said property. Who holds the landowner accountable?

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    1. I have asked an active resident at Knoll Terrace to respond to your concern. We would prefer that people who offer comments gives us a name and a location, but I understand if you're reluctant. At this time, about all a person who is being unfairly treated can do is consult an attorney. In Oregon, the loser of a lawsuit pays all costs. I always recommend mediation, which is provided through the county dispute resolution centers and is free to all of us who live in manufactured/mobile homes. You can call MCRC at1-800-453-5511 for the number of your county's mediation center. These folks are highly trained at solving problems. Meanwhile, we still hope to get an enforcement statute legislated to hold landowners (and tenants) accountable for their actions. This will take time, probably a couple of legislative sessions, but to get started, get letters and petitions out to your state representative and senator explaining your problem. If we don't tell them, they won't know that we need help.I think you'll find that your legislators are very willing to work with you.

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