Fema To Sell 160,000 Trailers By April 3
The Federal Government is auctioning around 160,000 trailers on or around April 3. And they are being sold for any use other than a dwelling. These are the RVs and mobile homes that the government acknowledges contain not only formaldehyde, but also mold, mildew and propane gas leaks. All units sold will have large stickers on them warning that they are not suitable for any type of housing.
Despite criticism by many groups claiming that the government is creating a nightmare by allowing these trailers to be sold without any oversight as to what they are actually used for, the government has decided to move ahead with the sale, since it has spent $220,000,000 in storage fees on these units over just the last three years.
Building inspectors in Fenton, Missouri recently found Katrina units, sold to be scrapped, being used for housing at a mobile home park. “What if Toyota ordered a recall, then simply put a sticker on its vehicles saying that they were “unfit to drive” before re-selling them?” said Becky Gillette of the Sierra Club.
The sale is under review by the Justice Department.
Frank & Dave’s Analysis of This Story:
You have to hand it to the U.S. government. Where else can you find people dumb enough to spend $220,000,000 just to store trailers. That works out to $40 per month per trailer, which is what a normal retail self-storage facility would charge. Do you think they might have asked for a volume discount? That’s $40 per month for a vacant field with no infrastructure. too. We remember when Katrina hit and the government was renting every available lot in Louisiana for about $600 per month when the market rent was $150 – and then never used most of the lots but kept paying anyway. Now you know where the federal deficit came from.
You will need to be especially observant, after the auction is completed, to make sure any park-owned home you buy does not have the “sticker” and is O.K. to be used as a dwelling. We imagine some special designation will be made on the title. But it’s one more thing to worry about when you are looking at trailers to buy.
Tags: Manufactured Home Loan, mobile home investment, mobile home park and US Recession, mobile home park business, mobile home park business operations, mobile home park city inspectors, mobile home park investing, mobile home park tenants, mobile home park vacancies
Uncategorized | Frank Rolfe | 
March 14, 2010 11:01 am
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By Mike Gisondi, March 14, 2010 @ 1:45 pm
The goverment should fiz the problem before selling the mobiles. It will bring up the price at auction.+Think of the jobs for people crying for work. The people buying the mobiles would really be paying for the labor. Another way is to put a trace on each moble sold and let it be known that it will be inspected after sixty days; if problem is notsolved, a fine will be given.