THE LAST AFFORDABLE HOUSING LIE: RVs, Mobile Homes & the New Face of Homelessness.

Summary

The speaker, a senior living in a 20-year-old camper, describes how rising property taxes and fixed income led him to sell his home and buy an RV. He claims that RVs and mobile homes, once presented as affordable housing alternatives, have become a last resort before homelessness for seniors, disabled Americans, and working-class families. He cites corporate acquisition of mobile home parks, rising lot rents, city zoning restrictions against RV parking, and difficulty obtaining insurance as factors pushing people out of these housing options.

Topic

RV & Van Living · also covers: Housing Crisis, System & Policy, Cost of Living, Personal Stories, Disability & Fixed Income

Laws & ordinances mentioned

• cities — laws banning RVs on streets overnight

  prohibits parking or sleeping in RVs on public streets during nighttime hours

  Impact: forces people living in RVs to find other locations or risk tickets and sweeps

• cities — zoning laws that rezone mobile home parks and prohibit new affordable units

  changes land use designations and blocks construction of low-cost housing

  Impact: eliminates mobile home parks and reduces available affordable housing stock

• cities — expensive building code requirements

  imposes costly construction standards on new or existing housing units

  Impact: makes it harder to build or maintain low-income housing options

Tactics from this video

• Sell your home and use the proceeds to buy an older RV or camper to avoid outright homelessness

  the speaker states this is how he avoided becoming homeless after being priced out

  financial

• Self-insure your RV if you cannot obtain insurance due to full-time occupancy

  the speaker could not get insurance because he lives in his camper full-time, so he covers risk himself

  financial

• Develop a side hustle to supplement fixed income and cover rising monthly costs

  Social Security is not keeping up with expenses, according to the speaker

  financial

Figures cited

• $350 to $450 — former monthly cost of campground spots
• $700 to $1,200 — current monthly cost of campground spots
• $300 to $600 and even higher — increases in mobile home lot rents after private equity acquisition
• $4,000 — what the speaker paid for his camper

Pain points addressed

• I was priced out of my home by property taxes and utility bills while my income stayed the same

• I have to choose between living in a motel or an RV

• Campground rents doubled or tripled and parks added rules to push out long-term residents

• I can't get RV insurance because I live in it full-time

• My mobile home is paid off but I can't afford the lot rent hikes or move it

• I'm a senior woman over 60 and part of the fastest growing group of hidden homelessness

• I work or am disabled but still falling through the cracks

• I got chased out of Walmart parking lots and now cities ban overnight RV parking