She Bought Her Home With Her Parents To Enjoy the Florida Winter. Now She Doesn’t Have Money To Live

Melissa Preen moved to Florida with her parents in 2015. After her parents moved back to Ohio, she stayed to take care of the house. But the cost kept increasing to the point where she started donating plasma twice a week to get money to survive.

Homeowners in Florida are being quietly priced out of their communities. People often own their manufactured homes but rent the lot underneath them.

Census data shows lot rent in the state has nearly doubled over the last decade.

That means manufactured housing parks, which are considered the largest source of unsubsidized affordable housing, are now growing unaffordable.

Under Florida law, management can pass along fees, like utility charges and property tax increases, as long as they are considered “reasonable” and are mentioned in a park’s original governing document, which is called a prospectus.

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One homeowner, Melissa Preen, said she can't afford to live at her home at Country Villa Estates in Riverview due to rising lot rent and other fees.

In her words: Melissa Preen

Parts of this interview were edited for clarity.

I moved here in 2015. My dad and I were both on the title and bought the house.

My mom … they wanted to come down. I had lived here since 2007 at another location, and they were going to come here for their winters, you know, enjoy it. And when we moved in, the price was $500.

We didn't pay property tax, we didn't pay water, we didn't pay any of that. We sold the cable, but it's like a bulk deal.

Then my mom got Alzheimer's, so they moved back up. My dad doesn't come often, so I still live here and take care of the house, but it keeps creeping up, and I can't afford it.

It went up $100 just thinking January, February. And so we pay the extra $100, which is $775, and then they added on water, which you had never paid with the prior management. And that was $15.12 a month. Doesn't sound like a lot, but that's money for people. Then they just raised it to $40.59 from $15.12.

You know, I'm going to a food pantry now. I've worked my whole life, and since being on disability, social security, I don't have money for food. So when I first started going, it was humiliating for me. And there’s not anything wrong with it. But I was like, “Oh, my life's come to this.” And I, a year ago, started donating plasma twice a week to get money.

When they took over, we didn't get anything that we signed. You know, if you lease an apartment, it's year to year. We don't have that. So the documents we (have) are based on from 1987 when a different owner owned this park. We have no new document.

And I never signed anything or approved these amounts, like you would a lease at an apartment. You have to agree to the terms and sign it.

We don't do that here, and the management hasn't been forthcoming either. We rarely see the regional manager who's supposed to be around.

I think people feel like they don't care, you know, but then you get these nasty grams. Like, if you fall behind on your water, they give you this nasty gram with threats of “pay in five days; you can be evicted.” It's very strict and alarming to people in here, and they're very strict on this new management.

Your house has to be this, your house has to be this way, which is good. But again, power washing is like $300, and you want to keep your house, but people can't afford this. They're not getting their medicine, they're not getting food, and I'm now at almost $1,000 when in ‘16 it was $500.

We couldn't afford an apartment, because they're like $1,400 for one bedroom. But we didn't move in an apartment. We moved in a mobile home when it was lower.

You know, a lot of people are thinking about moving, and I am, because I can't afford it. I lost my car over it. I've lived in Florida 17 years, and I enjoy living here, and I didn't want to really leave here.

I feel like I've been pushed out of here, and I'm going home.

My dad's 87, he has heart issues, and I'm gonna be close to my family. But that wasn't what I exactly wanted to do.

So I've decided, with my family in the last couple months, this is what's going to happen. There's no other choice.