Residents face an uncertain future

GARDEN CITY -- Hundreds of Treasure Valley residents are facing what they call a housing crisis - not one involving lenders and foreclosures, rather land being sold out from underneath their manufactured homes.

The manufactured homes at Woodlawn Mobile Home Park in Garden City are located on prime property near the Boise River.

Developers are purchasing the properties and changing the landscape, getting rid of the mobile homes and their residents.

Lavonne Unterbiner learned today that in a few months she and her father may not have a place to live.

"He's on social security and I'm on disability, so we don't make that much, this is about all we can afford, and if these go then I don't know where we'll be," said Unterbiner.

Right now, their residence is in the Dee Mar Mobile Home Park, but that property is up for sale.

"It hurts, we can't live nowhere else, the money situation is hard now as it is," said Unterbiner.

Patricia Hughes lives in a manufactured home in a senior community.  The land there hasn't been sold yet but she fears it will be - leaving her without a place to call home and without the money to buy a new one.

"It's just a totally uncertain future and I'm young enough to know that I'm probably gonna be around for another 20 years.  Where am I gonna end up living?" said Hughes.

Right now, there are 17 other mobile home communities up for sale in the Treasure Valley.  If and when they are sold, thousands would be displaced - something the Catholic Charities of Idaho views as a big problem.

"What we're seeing is that they have very little notice, they aren't told when the land is sold until after it's sold, and then they have an eviction notice," said Rosio Gonzalez, executive director of Idaho Catholic Charities.

Catholic Charities is housing and educating many of those evicted and preparing them for the possibility of losing everything.

"It's scary, being homeless.  They gotta have somewhere for low-income people to go," said Unterbiner.

Catholic Charities will be holding a public town meeting on May 22.

Elected officials from Ada County, Boise and Garden City and the Idaho Legislature will be at the meeting to inform mobile home residents of their options and rights.

Residents in many of these mobile home parks own their manufactured homes, but do not own the property their homes sit on.

When that property is purchased, the homes must be moved or be destroyed, and moving can cost thousands of dollars.