Fort Lauderdale mobile home park residents ordered to leave, prompting anger and concern
10/17/2023 UPDATE - This story has been updated with a statement from the mobile home park's property managers.
FORT LAUDERDALE -- Dozens of homeowners gathered Monday night pleading for help to stave off eviction at Pan American Estates Mobile Home Park in Fort Lauderdale after receiving notices to vacate the property.
Several residents who live in the 239 homes received letters informing them that they had to move heir single- or double-wide units out the park by April 22.
The eviction letter said residents who are current with their rent for space to park their home in the park qualify for incentive payments. And those with a valid title who vacate the park by Dec. 15 could receive between $9,875 and $14,500, according to the letter.
But many of the residents said the eviction order feels like assault to families who were caught unprepared by the notice, said Yarely Soliz, a homeowner.
Dozens of people rallied outside the complex office Monday night.
"I'm angry," Soliz said. "Everybody's angry here. Why do you think we're all here? It's not okay!"
"What can I do," Vanessa Diaz, who lives in a mobile home with her children who are 10 and 12 years old, said. "Swallow my pride and cry and hold my children tight. In the economy that we live in, no one can pick up in 60 days and say, 'Oh thank you for your incentive program that I might be eligible for.'"
"We're the ones that work everyday for other people," said Cristian Medina, another resident. "We do construction. We do roofing. We're the ones that do your painting and pressure cleaning. We do all the different type of work and for what? This is what we get back?"
Said Soliz: The "majority of the people who live here are immigrants. With the new laws that we have implemented, how are they supposed to leave?"
The letter from managers said the park will close but it did not explain why or what will become of the vacated property. Managers are "committed to helping all residents with every step" of the transition, the eviction letter said.
"I have to try and make it to leave by the end of this month so they don't reduce my payment," Soliz said.
Soliz and her fiancé have a newborn. Her fiancé's income is all the resources the family has beside equity in the home the couple purchased last December, Soliz said.
Along with those who rallied Monday, they sound ready to push back.
"This (letter) at the end of the day means nothing at all," Diaz said. "This is garbage."
Matt Rosenbaum, President of The Urban Group Public Sector Real Estate Consultants, the mobile home park's property managers, issued the following statement.
"The Pan American Mobile Home Park will be closing. Today, residents were provided a six months' notice to vacate the property consistent with Florida Statute. Further, Ownership is offering a generous incentive package, far exceeding the statutory minimums, to assist residents in their relocation efforts. In addition, management is also offering in-person relocation assistance services and intends to meet with residents to assess their individual needs and assist them in procuring alternative housing to ensure a smooth transition."
