By Shannon Lukens.
A fundraiser is being held this Sunday for the Milner Mobile Home Park because the owners of the land are trying to sell the property. The owners of the homes there received a letter by certified mail on July 24. They have 120 days from that date to purchase the property.
The Milner Mobile Home Park is 40 mobile homes and two single-family homes along Hwy 40. The two single-family homes are rentals. In 2021, the park was sold for $3.5 million. It is now listed for $8 million.
Misty Rae Carter lives in the neighborhood. She says their rent for the land was $500 a month when it was sold. The new owners raised it to $650. The following year it went up to $775, and now it is $975.
Residents are trying to figure out how to raise the money, and have reached out to Yampa Valley Housing Authority, and others for help. YVHA is providing resources to the residents.
Carter says, “Our community is filled with wonderful people. We are school teachers, paraprofessionals, business owners, beekeepers, builders, retirees, dental assistants, nursery workers and school nurses just to name a few. We are part of the working backbone that makes the Yampa Valley so great. These are our homes that we have worked hard and paid for. The homes our children grew up in, homes that people plan to spend the rest of their lives in, homes that we built additions onto as our families and community grew. These are our homes that we are terrified to lose not because we can’t afford them but because we will not be able to afford the ground they sit on. While they are called mobile homes a majority of the homes in the park could not be moved. leaving people with a lot rent they can’t afford and a house they can’t sell because no one can afford the high lot rent and a mortgage payment. Some of us could literally be forced to abandon our homes going from home owners to homeless. We as a community have decided not to let that happen.”
The fundraising event is called SOS – Saving Our Steamboat one neighborhood at a time. It’s a benefit for legal fees and the payment assistance for the Milner Trailer Park. The Welcome Home Band is playing from 4-6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 15 at Schmiggitys. There is a $25 cover charge at the door.
