Senator Sires, a former park owner, urges loan guarantees as a remedy for mobile-home affordability

Senator Sires described his lifelong involvement in manufactured housing and urged lawmakers to consider financing options to keep parks and lots affordable. Speaking from personal experience, he said credit unions and banks "don't want a loan on mobile homes" and urged the Legislature to provide loan guarantees or incentives so tenants or local buyers can secure financing. "You need to guarantee loans," Sires said, arguing that guaranteed lending would allow residents or young families to buy lots rather than see parks sold to large corporations.

Sires also criticized some laws he said favored residents' protections in ways that made management and enforcement more difficult for owners, and he described regulatory costs that can force sales. He told a personal story about wastewater systems and said hooking into city wastewater could have cost him about $500,000, a burden that influenced his decision to sell. "I looked at my wife and I said, I can't do it anymore," he said, describing the strain of maintaining parks under evolving rules and costs.

While Sires acknowledged residents' needs, he asked the Senate to consider policies that would expand local financing options and credit access so parks might remain community-owned or owner-operated rather than being absorbed by distant investors. No specific bill or funding mechanism was introduced on the floor during his remarks.