Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Loans help rescue mobile home parks

The county's ParkSaver Loan program is just one tool mobile home owners are using to keep their homes by buying their communities.

By SHANNON TAN
Published August 8, 2005

As developers gobble up mobile home parks throughout Pinellas County, residents are turning to a little-known program to help them save the land under their homes.

Under Pinellas' ParkSaver Loan program, residents can apply for loans of up to $10,000 to buy into their parks.

Only 18 loans have been processed since the program's inception in 2002. Back then, it was just another tool to market the county's down payment assistance program.

Not many people know about the program, said Pam Bell, community development programs division manager for Pinellas County.

But with real estate values skyrocketing, developers looking for land to build pricey townhomes or condominiums are increasingly turning to mobile home parks. Residents, who own their mobile homes but pay the park owner rent for the land under them, are having to scramble to match the developer's offer.

The county recently received an influx of 16 loan applications, Bell said.

Most of the applications are from residents of Stella Del Mar mobile home park in unincorporated Largo. The others are from Harbor Lights park in Seminole, which is in danger of being developed in to townhomes, condominiums and single-family homes.

After developers offered to buy Stella Del Mar for $26-million, the residents managed to pony up the money needed to secure a contract with the park owner. More than a few of them had to borrow the $49,000 required from each participating homeowner to cover the down payment, closing costs and an initial operating reserve.

Betty Jamail, vice president of the homeowners association, said she passed out information about the ParkSaver Loan to residents. They might run in to difficulty getting a loan from the bank and need help, she said.

"It's about the only way to preserve your park anymore," she said of homeowners buying their park.

ParkSaver loans are interest-free, there's no repayment for five years and the debt can be paid off over a 10-year period.

To qualify, income for a family of two, for example, cannot exceed $32,750, and the maximum purchase price limit is $151,000.

The money can be used for parks anywhere in Pinellas County except St. Petersburg, Clearwater or Largo. Those cities have their own housing programs.

In the past, the average ParkSaver Loan was about $7,000. The money comes in handy when mobile home owners can't borrow enough money to pay for their share of the park.

Still, Bell admits, "it's not a cure for the issue with mobile homes now."

A growing number of mobile home owners are buying their parks. There are more than 600 resident-owned parks statewide, including about 100 in Pinellas.

Marty Pozgay, president of Florida Community Services Group, was hired by Stella Del Mar and has helped residents of Chesapeake Point Mobile Home Park in Tarpon Springs buy their park.

"It's more than a trend," he said. "It's turning in to another lifestyle for them because so many folks are interested in owning their communities."

--Shannon Tan can be reached at shtan@sptimes.com or 445-4174.

[Last modified August 8, 2005, 02:45:22]