HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – Dozens of families in one northwest Harris County community are left scrambling to find somewhere to relocate their mobile homes.
They say they got the jaw dropping news that the land they rent is being sold within a few months.
We’re told there are 53 homes in Country Road Park, some dating back decades. About three weeks ago, they all got a bombshell notice this community is being dismantled.
“I’ve been here five years, my trailer is five years old.”
“I’ve been here 32 years, my mobile home is 32-years-old.”
“29 years and our mobile home is 29-years-old,” shouted out several residents in a crowd of more than a dozen.
Regardless of how long they’ve rented this land, they’re now being forced out by December.
“We need trucks, we need storage help maybe, we need just everything really,” said resident, Frankie Schwarzburg
This after their landlord’s 90-day notice to move their homes, stated the land was being sold and the new owner has other plans for the space.
Most people say they have no where to move their mobile homes, adding there aren’t many vacant lots in the area.
Some residents have mortgages and will still have to pay. The sudden news is catching everyone off guard.
“People have been still moving in since this year…And, we also got a letter in the summer saying that rent is going up in January so we still thought we were good,” Schwarzburg said.
While inconvenient, Managing Attorney of The Eviction Right to Counsel for Lonestar Legal Aid, Eric Kwartler, says it appears the landlord is within his rights, and followed the proper protocol.
“The law says that the landlord has to give them a 60-day notice of non-renewal. If they don’t move out by the end of the 60-days, that’s where eviction would come in,” Kwartler said.
Some residents say their home is too old to be moved, and there also aren’t many other nearby options as far as land is concerned.
“We are asking for help. We put all our savings in this house and now we don’t know where to take it,” said resident, Miriam Argumendo
Pat and Ann Powell are 85 and 87-years-old respectively. Country Road Mobile Home Park is where they thought they’d live out their golden years.
“It’s a stressful situation we’ve been here all this time and at our age, I’ll have to sell my pick up so I’ll have enough money to move,” Pat said.
Schwarzburg says her husband just lost his job last week. She’s not sure how they’ll be able to afford the more than $6,000 quoted to move their double wide.
“We need help, not just like money help, like moving each trailer and the families having to put deposits down and uproot our families…We need physical help. A lot of the people can’t even physically move their belongings out,” she said.
We tried to reach out to the landlord to see if there was a way he could arrange for the tenants to have more time, we have not heard back. We’re also waiting to hear back from Judge Lina Hidalgo’s office about possible resources for these folks. We know they can call 211 to see if they qualify for benefits from the state.
In the meantime, if anyone out there has any options to help, please email me at Dclarke@kprc.com.
