Far removed from the oft-reported subject of housing prices in major cities, reporters Michael Casey and Carolyn Thompson combined national reporting and analysis with strong on-the-ground journalism for a unique story exposing how institutional investors are buying up mobile home parks, then raising rents to recoup their investments.
Sparked by a tip from housing advocates, Boston correspondent Casey identified a mobile home park in upstate New York that had been targeted repeatedly for rent increases by its corporate owners. Coupled with that was a failure of the company to maintain the park and address a long list of concerns from the mostly low-income and older residents.
Manufactured homes line a street in the Ridgeview Homes mobile home community in Lockport, N.Y., June 23, 2022. For as long as anyone can remember, rent increases rarely happened at the family-owned mobile home park in upstate New York. That changed in 2018 when corporate owners took over the 65-year-old park occupied by many low-income and older residents — a scenario playing out nationwide as institutional investors buy mobile home parks.
AP Photo / Lauren Petracca
Joyce Bayles, 85, mows the lawn around her home in the Ridgeview Homes mobile home community in Lockport, N.Y. , June 23, 2022. The 85-year-old resident has taken to mowing her own lawn because crews for Ridgeview show up only monthly. Bayles is not participating in a rent strike with other residents of Ridgeview and doesn't want to get involved. “They’re going to raise the rent and there’s nothing I can do about it,” said Bayles.
AP Photo / Lauren Petracca
An entrance to the Ridgeview Homes mobile home community in Lockport, N.Y., June 23, 2022.
AP Photo / Lauren Petracca
Jill Roberts poses for a portrait in front of her home in the Ridgeview Homes mobile home community in Lockport, N.Y., June 23, 2022. Roberts is one of the mobile home residents participating in a rent strike in reaction to a proposed rent increase being introduced by corporate owners of the property. Roberts, who has lived in her home since early 2020, says she has thought about leaving and is concerned about the clarity of the water in the park and recurring sewer issues.
AP Photo / Lauren Petracca
Sharon Ruth shows a smartphone photo of water she collected from her faucet in the Ridgeview Homes mobile home community in Lockport, N.Y., June 23, 2022. Since Cook Properties bought the community in 2020, residents complain that it hasn’t been maintained as well as it was previously; some of the homes are dealing with water and sewage issues.
AP Photo / Lauren Petracca
Sharon Ruth, left, and Sandy Lees pose for a portrait in the Ridgeview Homes mobile home community in Lockport, N.Y., June 23, 2022. Ruth and Lees, president and vice president of their neighborhood association, have organized a rent strike in reaction to a proposed rent increase being introduced by new owners of the mobile home park. “We want change,” said Lees. “We need the place to be safe. We need the place to be healthy.”
AP Photo / Lauren Petracca
Jahi Black, 7, jumps a speed bump on his bike outside of his grandmother’s home in the Ridgeview Homes mobile home community in in Lockport, N.Y., June 23, 2022. Despite 123 mobile homes occupied in the community, there is no designated play area for kids.
AP Photo / Lauren Petracca
David Harm waters plants outside of his home in the Ridgeview Homes mobile home community in Lockport, N.Y., June 23, 2022. Harm is one of the mobile home residents participating in a rent strike in reaction to a proposed rent increase being introduced by new owners of the property. “They just want more money and they don’t care what happens,” said Harm.
AP Photo / Lauren Petracca
Buffalo, New York, correspondent Thompson visited the park with freelance photographer Lauren Petracca to document the problems faced by residents. Casey then worked his housing sources to illustrate how this was not an isolated problem but part of a larger trend that has hit parks across the country. After drafting the story, the housing team turned to Samantha Shotzbarger to prepare a presentation that brought the text and photos to life.
The piece received strong play across the country and was among AP’s top stories for reader engagement on the day it ran.