EPISODE 8: Mobile Home Myths: Trailer Trash – Part 3

Intro: Hey look, it’s the doublewide dudes. Watch out.

Mousetrap: Alrighty ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another episode of Doublewide Dudes. I appreciate you guys tuning in, as always. Sitting here with the one and only A.P. How we doing man?

A.P: Hey, I’m, I thought downloads were cool, Mousetrap how about last night?

Mousetrap: Yeah, the Tech Trek

A.P: Yeah

Mousetrap: That was fun man! Fiestas is an awesome time here in San Antonio, and it’s cool that San Antonio and the local tech community decided to throw this, this little Tech Trek that they had.

A.P: Yeah, it’s the first one ever, I definitely think they need to do it again.

Mousetrap: Yeah, they do, I mean with the success of this year, I’m sure it’ll become a regular routine for them. A lot of companies are moving here to bring your business to Texas, and it’s giving the local residents a platform for them to get their ideas out, and really be able to launch their products here in San Antonio, and Geekdom has really paved the way for this tech eco system that’s happening here on Houston street in down town San Antonio.

A.P: Yeah, I mean they’ve been a huge part of getting our company going, I’ll be the first to say that, but it’s just really cool to surround ourselves with all these entrepreneurs and other folks with ideas they wanna see put in the action, and more than anything, learning how to use technology, Mousetrap, to not only make our company better but more importantly, make the whole home buying experience and shopping experience better for our customers.

Mousetrap: Yeah, just like on Tuesday, you know when they were looking at the VR goggles

A.P: Yeah, wasn’t that cool!? A lot of folks had never walked through a home with these VR goggles so, you know just things like that, where we can make it easier for folks to shop in the comfort of their home and be able to do more research before they actually engage someone from a different company.

Mousetrap: I get really excited when I get a chance to show em, you know their face is, it’s pretty priceless.

A.P: Yeah

Mousetrap: When they’re able to see, or envision what the house would look like

A.P: For sure, it’s definitely my favorite part

Mousetrap: Yeah, and Johnny was also, remember him telling us about the hollow lens? I mean those new Microsoft goggles that’s basically gonna transform augmented reality to an everyday thing

A.P: Yeah, one day we’re gonna wake up Mousetrap and we’re gonna have customers picking out colors from their couch with these goggles and really customizing their home. Which I think’s just gonna be awesome.

Mousetrap: Yeah, a lot of new technologies are making things easier, A.P and there’s no reason we can’t apply these to the mobile home industry

A.P: Exactly, exactly and that’s, that’s been probably the biggest benefit of us working down there off Houston Street, in the Geekdom building. But it’s really cool to meet a lot of other folks that are in the tech scene that aren’t necessarily, there in Geekdom. We got to meet Iris, who just published that awesome article she wrote about us, and more or less how we’re using technology to make our industry and our customers buying experience better, so, definitely, definitely thank her for helping us to share our story.

Mousetrap: Yeah, and, and I remember reading on the Rivard Report when we were doing a research, that San Antonio was really projecting to add, what was it, I think six hundred thousand people

A.P: Yeah, just over

Mousetrap: Yeah, by twenty thirty. It’s a lot of people, I mean

A.P: It’s a lot of people

Mousetrap: Yeah

A.P: Yeah, we can only fit eighteen thousand in the, the AT&T center to watch the Spurs kick butt in the playoffs, so

Mousetrap: Yeah, yeah and we were talking about just finding affordable housing for these people

A.P: Right

Mousetrap: You know, the north part of town is gonna be built up, it’s already overcrowded, the west side has its development so, really down in the east side, is with the city’s next focus is, isn’t it?

A.P: Right, East, East of San Antonio, downtown San Antonio, South San Antonio, and that’s really why it’s so important that we continue to work to change this whole stereotype and the myths that surround our industry. You know, manufactured homes, play a huge role in providing affordable housing, and I think we’re really gonna have to leverage this resource to, to meet the demands of all the folks looking to move into our town and in our city here

Mousetrap: Right. I mean, it has to be an option, I mean there’s already mobile home parks

A.P: Right

Mousetrap: Here, here in the city of San Antonio, and really all over, but as far as new undeveloped properties, you know the city doesn’t allow for these mobile homes, to be developed into new neighborhoods. Right?

A.P: Yeah

Mousetrap: And Austin just went through this really, I mean all the people that in fluxed into Austin. One it’s, it’s over populated, and the city’s beautiful but I mean, when’s the last time you been to Austin? That traffic is ridiculous.

A.P: I, I really try to go there as little as possible, sitting on thirty-five for two hours is never any fun

Mousetrap: Yeah, and if we’re talking about a three-mile span, right there on thirty-five

A.P: Yeah

Mousetrap: But no, Austin just went through this. Parts of the city where families that lived for generations, they really got built up and with the surge of new people coming to the city, and the drastic increase in property taxes and all that, it really drove out these people that they’d been there for generations, you know a place to where they used to call their home.

A.P: Right, right and that’s exactly what we don’t want to see happen here in our city, you know the need for new considerations for manufactured homes and in the zoning of this city, I think is gonna be critical in helping to prepare this city for the wave of folks that are looking to move here. You know, we, as a community I think really have that small town feel that’s, that’s my favorite thing about living in San Antonio

Mousetrap: Yeah

A.P: Big city amenities with a small town friendly feel and I just, really don’t wanna see that be lost. You know if you look at the bigger cities, New York, Houston, even Austin at this point, the folks that drive the city, first responders, maintenance crews, folks that keep our community looking good and looking clean, they can’t afford to live in these cities that, they’re, keeping alive basically.

Mousetrap: Yeah

A.P: And they’re having to drive in an hour, hour and a half, just to come to work and I just, I really would hate to see that happen to this town that I know you and I both love so much. And you know, I look at all these vacant lots on the south and east side that, you know, they’re just sitting there, they’re sitting there empty, they’ve been on the market forever. Frankly no site builder’s ever gonna touch these in the near future, because the resale prices in those neighborhoods, are a little bit lower. And that’s where manufactured housing I think provides a great solution, but because of the zoning, and outdated stereotypes, it’s just not possible at this point in time.

Mousetrap: Yeah, and just recently I was talking with a friend, who’s thinking about moving up from the valley. He was looking at those lots, those four, five thousand dollar pieces of property in the south town area. He was really interested in those and we were talking about what type of home he was gonna put on there, what could he build, and he was talking about the containers, you know the containers right?

A.P: Yeah

Mousetrap: You see those, those cool posts and

A.P: Yeah they’re super cool!

Mousetrap: And in my head, it popped in, mobile homes is, is the best viable option.

A.P: Right, yeah it needs to be

Mousetrap: Yep

A.P: But unfortunately, without some changing in zoning, it’s just never gonna happen.

Mousetrap: Beyond that note, that reminds me of that article that we read about Austin, just recently they were having that, that town hall meeting about making more mobile home community parks, you know, cause these developers are coming in buying out the ones that are there, and really pushing out the people that already live there.

A.P: Right

Mousetrap: And these home owners, already own the home, they, they need a place to move their home to.

A.P: Yes. Kinda sad

Mousetrap: Yeah, and I remember the local residents talking about how, the crime rate’s gonna increase, that the foreclosure rate’s gonna go up, you know things along that matter.

A.P: Right, right, a lot of misconceptions out there and I think that’s why this, this mobile home myth of trailer trash is really so important. You know, like we heard from Leroy last week, the folks that live in manufactured homes, to them it’s funny. You know, they know better, they know the truth. But it’s really hurting cities exactly like Austin and it’s very sad when, when developers come in, and they buy out these mobile home parks, and you’ve got folks that own their home, they own it outright, and, and, and now they have no place to put it. And it’s really important that San Antonio prepares for the growth of all these new people that are coming in, but more important than anything, we’ve, we as a city, have gotta make sure we’re taking care of our people, the San Antonio residents that make this place what it is. And these stereotypes, that people have, and I understand wanting to protect your family and your investment. But unfortunately, it’s translated into policy that’s just been made with simple bad information. You know, there’s actually been several recent studies out there, that seem to indicate the foreclosure rate on manufactured homes is actually less than that of a traditional site built. And when you really stop and think about it, if a home is more affordable, if your mortgage payment is something you can afford, well then, you’re gonna continue to pay on it.

Mousetrap: Yeah, that’s interesting man, more foreclosure rates in the site build home

A.P: Yeah, I mean, I’ve been doing this eight years and even that one caught me a little off guard.

Mousetrap: Yeah. What, what about the concerns over crime A.P?

A.P: You know, I actively tried to find some information on this, I could not find any studies or reports that seemed to indicate there were more crime in manufactured home neighborhoods or anything even close. I think it really has more to do with the stereotypes that have been around forever, and what, Hollywood seems to show in movies and T.V. more than actual facts.

Mousetrap: Yeah, like that show trailer park boys

A.P: Right

Mousetrap: Have you seen it

A.P: Yeah, those guys

Mousetrap: I mean, it’s a funny show. It’s popular on Netflix, and right there Hollywood just put out the stigma where these mobile home community parks, there’s people that don’t have jobs and sell drugs

A.P: Right

Mousetrap Yeah

A.P: Right, and that’s again, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Mousetrap Yeah, the most interesting statistic that stood out to me when we were doing our research A.P was the effects that home ownership has on children. Right

A.P: Yeah

Mousetrap All sorts of things seem to improve, really when their parents raise their kids in a home that they own. Some of the things that we saw had an increase was, kids have a higher graduation rate

A.P: Right

Mousetrap There’s a, I believe a decrease in the chance of incarceration, chances of young teens getting pregnant and yeah with the higher chance of graduating, these kids have a chance of proper employment.

A.P: Right

Mousetrap Right, it, it seems to me that really the stability of a permanent residence, A.P is gonna be more important than the home itself.

A.P: Right, right, yeah, there’s a lot of confidence instilled in kids when you know they know where they’re gonna sleep every night and keeping the same group of friends at school and as you come up, elementary school

Mousetrap: Yeah

A.P: Middle school and high school and what the research and the psychologists were saying that you know, kids just feel more stable and more secure than if having, they’re having to bounce around from you know apartment to, to rental homes or what not. So, really anything we can do to increase the rate of home ownership in this city. You know, manufactured homes, starter home, whatever it is, I think the ultimate goal needs to be helping as many families as we can achieve the dream of home ownership Mousetrap

Mousetrap: Yeah and I mean that reminds me man, my closest group of friends are, friends that I met in elementary.

A.P: Yeah

Mousetrap: Right. And we all lived next to each other, and we all ride bikes to each other’s houses and there really twenty-five plus years of friendship and I really consider them my family

A.P: Yeah

Mousetrap: So, I mean it sounds like that, like that’s what needs to be done here in San Antonio. Right? We need to find a way to help these families that are gonna be moving here, provide a stable and safe environment for their children.

A.P: Exactly, exactly and that, that really all starts with finding viable alternatives to affordable housing including maximizing the benefits of the factory built housing industry.

Mousetrap: Just like Leroy said in the last episode A.P? His door opens, just like everyone else’s

A.P: That’s right, that’s right

Mousetrap: Yeah, all right well, that does it for this episode guys. Tune into the next one where, we’re gonna be talking about, what a starter home really looks like and how the dream of home ownership doesn’t necessarily mean you to get the home of your dreams the first go around. Thanks again, we’ll talk to you in the next one