Envy Apartment

Duval Mobile Home Park in southeast Houston has 182 lots." />EXPAND The Duval Mobile Home Park in southeast Houston has 182 lots. Stephen Paulsen Elizabeth Perez loves her trailer park . But if she's ever forced to move, at least she has a back-up plan. A chatty 45-year-old with a wide smile, Perez has lived at and managed the Trinity Duval Mobile Home Park in southeast Houston since 2008. Used mobile homes here typically sell for $12,000 to $38,000, depending on their size and condition, she says. She remembers one woman buying a home for just $2,000, using her IRS refund. The Duval Mobile Home Park first opened in the 1950s. It was purchased last year by Trinity Community Group , a trailer park management company — and Perez worried about the future of the park. “I kept thinking, ‘Shoot, they're going to want to tear it down,’” Perez said. “I was kind of scared.” The company promised it would keep the park operational , according to Perez. Still, Perez accepts...

The average market rent for a one- bedroom apartment in San Mateo County is $2,053 per month, according to new rental data released by the San Mateo County Department of Housing. This reflects an 8.2 percent increase from last year. This is devastating news for anyone looking for affordable rental housing and comes on the heels of other unsettling trend data for the county, housing officials said. United Way's 211 referral line for  San Mateo   County  reports taking significantly more calls for housing related services than for any other service. Additionally, according to the county's new Health and Human Services Agency report on homelessness, the county's homeless rate has risen 12 percent since 2011. "People can't afford to live here, and not just people who are poor," said Kate Comfort Harr , Executive Director of HIP Housing, a  San Mateo   County  nonprofit specializing in affordable housing programs including Home Sharing . "Anyone maki...