Conversion on the News

KCOY's photo of the entrance to Mesa Dunes

Jeff and Cathy McAllister displayed their beautiful home on Channel 12 KCOY news ... unfortunately, they also spread some ugly misinformation. In order to share the other side of the story and correct their errors, I contacted Channel 12 and they were willing to come back out to do another segment with us.  Both are shown bellows with the errors indicated in red.  These will be discussed further on the MYTH Busting page.

AG Mobile Home Park Residents Fight Conversion 

ARROYO GRANDE - Jeff and Cathy McAlister have called their spectacular view of the Pismo Coastline home for the past several years.

But now the McAlisters, and their neighbors in the Mesa Dunes Mobile Home Park on Highway One in Arroyo Grande face an uncertain future.

Park owners have informed the residents they are seeking a conversion from space rentals to resident-owned lots.

"Today, we don't know how much our lot price is going to be", Cathy McAlister says, "we've been asked to commit to be either in favor of conversion or against."

As with most mobile home parks, the McAlisters own the mobile home they live in but rent the lot on which it sits.

They claim the planned conversion is fueling a selling spree by neighbors in the park fearing inflated lot prices will devalue their mobile homes.

"If we can't afford the lot, we will go to sell the house", Jeff McAlister says, "the people that buy the house, buy the lot you're looking at the price of the house at $150,000, and $250,000 for the lot, that's $400,000, you can't sell a mobile home in this area for $400,000."

The McAlisters are calling on a new survey park residents and fair appraisal of lot values saying they and others could find themselves priced out of what they thought would be home for the rest of their lives.

"It is affordable housing in this community, to give all ages, or low income, rent control", Jeff McAlister says, "people who are on fixed incomes, an opportunity to live in a place with the amenities here locally, this is their castle."

Effective Jan. 1, 2014, California Senate Bill 510 authorizes local governments to disapprove of conversion of mobile home parks to resident ownership if the required survey of park residents does not show a majority of them support the conversion.

My response:

Support for AG Mobile Home Park Conversion

SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY - The owners of the Mesa Dunes mobile home on Highway One near Arroyo Grande want to convert the park from space-rentals to resident-owned lots.

Some park residents Central Coast News spoke with fear inflated lot prices will eventually force them to move out of what they thought was guaranteed, affordable rental housing.

Other Mesa Dunes residents are welcoming the chance to own a piece of coastal California real estate.

"Nobody gets evicted in this process, nobody gets kicked out of their home, nobody has to buy their lots", says Mesa Dunes resident Joyce Wycoff, "the worst that happens if they decide not to buy their lots is that they stay on the lease that they are on, almost everyone in the park is on ten year leases and the owner has said we can extend our leases so we can stay as long as we want."

Wycoff says a survey of Mesa Dunes park residents shows at least half of those who responded are in favor of the conversion.

"The owner can't just set a price on the lots", Wycoff says, "he's got to go through full sub-division appraisal, done by licensed appraisers to come up with the prices."

Wycoff says the park owners are offering various protections and incentives to residents that are not required by law including capping rent on residents older than 80 years old.

"I've looked at this every way I can look at it and I can't find anyway that people get hurt and a lot of people are being offered full ownership in California real estate through this process", Wycoff says, "after looking intensely for four months, I can say now that I am for the conversion, I don't know if I'm going to be able to buy my lot, I know that I can stay here and rent for as long as I can afford to pay the rent, so I don't see anybody who is being hurt by the conversion, I see a lot of people very excited about the opportunity to buy their lot and participate in California real estate."

Wycoff has established a blog on the Mesa Dunes conversion:

http://mesadunesconversion.blogspot.com