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Curious_Buffalo_1206 t1_j7kxvm9 wrote

Reply to comment by smartest_kobold in Dover builds tiny home neighborhood by sheila9165milo

Trailer parks have been a major source of affordable housing for decades now. It’s not shrinkflation, it’s just an inferior good. Kinda like how Spirit Airlines isn’t a fun sized JetBlue, it’s just an airborne bus.

If I have to criticize anything about more housing being built, it’s this classist “tiny house” terminology. You live in a trailer, Becky. Own it. It’s fine. The main problem with trailers is that they deteriorate much faster than traditional homes. But don’t let this landlord’s silver tongue grift you into paying $2000/mo for a trailer. Yes, I know these particular trailers are being rented for $1200/mo (for now), but the point remains.

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apd56 t1_j7l1uif wrote

In this case at least, these aren’t trailers. They’re wood framed on permanent foundations like any other house would be. They just have a small footprint. Condominiums are being built in a similar manner more and more now, where you own the building but all the land is communal. The only difference here is that the homes are rented. It’s a nice alternative to living in an apartment building.

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dc551589 t1_j7mxqu6 wrote

Yeah, tiny house doesn’t equal trailer doesn’t equal modular. I’d be interested to know what category these houses are insured under. That’s the best way to know for sure, but, as you said, we can rule out trailer.

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nhbruh t1_j7lmuhf wrote

Trailer parks can be predatory as fuck and have the habit of making poor people even more poor

Example

e: removing implication that all parks are predatory

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Curious_Buffalo_1206 t1_j7lptoh wrote

Did you actually watch that segment? The issues laid out in it are specific to trailer parks where people own trailers and lease the land. Mobile homes actually can’t be moved once they’ve settled. People are stuck with the worst of both worlds.

Those issues aren’t relevant if the trailers are rented with the land, or if you put your owned trailer on land you own.

Also, this is a very recent grift, where parasitic hedge funds have decided to gouge trailer park owners. In the past, either they thought such things were beyond the pale, or they once feared prosecution. I don’t understand how that isn’t criminal, honestly.

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nhbruh t1_j7lvzkg wrote

Yeah I did. You didn’t specify the land/lease agreement parameters in the post I responded to, so narrowing the argument to only include scenarios where the land is owned by an individual feels slightly disingenuous.

Recent or not, its happening now and that removes support from the argument that trailer parks are a source of affordable house (you can toss your asterisk here and say YMMV and the like)

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rahnster_wright t1_j7ly1mi wrote

There is a lot of nuance and context missing from your comments.

First, these aren't trailers. The Randolphs are building small homes. They are stick built to the same code/standards as any other stick built home. They're just small. This conversation about trailers is irrelevant to this thread.

Second, manufactured housing parks can be predatory. There is a lot of great coverage on that issue. That doesn't mean all "trailers" are predatory. For example, resident owned communities (ROCs) are not predatory, nor is a single manufactured homes placed on the owner's property.

Per NH statute, manufactured housing in NH is treated as real estate. The appreciate, just like real estate does, and since the 1970s, they have been built to HUD standards. Manufactured housing is a very real path toward affordable homeownership for a lot of people in NH.

But you are right that investors buying up manufactured housing parks in NH is a huge problem and it is predatory. Per NH statute, tenants must be given the opportunity to buy their park and that's pretty freaking awesome.

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nhbruh t1_j7m1y2h wrote

I think you are conflating arguments. My comment exchange with curious_buffalo was not in reference to the tiny homes mentioned in the original article. Furthermore, the relevance to the main topic doesn’t really matter in the end, this is Reddit after all.

I’m sorry I gave you the impression that all trailer parks and communities are predatory, as that was not the intent of my comment.

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the_nobodys t1_j7llc73 wrote

Since accurate terminology has no meaning to you, I've decided your domicile is a cave. There's no shame in being a cave dweller, you just have to own it.

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rahnster_wright t1_j7lv10n wrote

Very apropos given CAVE is a fun acronym for NIMBYs - Citizens Against Virtually Everything.

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rahnster_wright t1_j7luxah wrote

Some of your points are factually incorrect, but I am going to start with the nuance that is missing from this conversation.

"Tiny houses" is often used when referring to tiny houses on wheels. These aren't that. What the Randolphs are building in Dover are just very small homes. No wheels. There is no reason they will deteriorate faster than any other home because they're built with the same materials and to the same code. They're just smaller.

Tiny houses on wheels may deteriorate faster. There is less regulation when we're talking about THOWs (inspection standards, building code, etc.). THOWs are personal property, not real estate. Note that is also substantially different than manufactured housing, which is considered real estate in NH, does not depreciate, and since the 70s, has been built to HUD standards.

Manufactured homes, especially those in Resident Owned Communities (ROCs), are hands-down the most affordable path to homeownership and are often less expensive than median rents in any given area.

There is a lot of classism in your comment for someone criticizing classism.

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Curious_Buffalo_1206 t1_j7mr8cq wrote

It sounds to me like this whole “tiny house” phrase needs to stop being used altogether. It’s become rather meaningless.

My dad grew up in a 500 sq ft house. It wasn’t a “tiny house.” It was just a small house, built before all the NIMBY tyrants destroyed the American dream.

You used to be able to buy a house from the Sears catalog and build it yourself, on your land. Karens couldn’t stop you. Let’s go back to that, and stop making it so you need a fucking PR agent to build a small affordable house.

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