TINY home owners who invested their lives into their community are devastated as they are forced to vacate land they’ve called home for years.
Spring Creek Mobile Home Park located in Kalispell, Montana, 121 miles south of Missoula, got new owners and current residents received 180-notice eviction letters.
Resident Stephanie Pestkowski lived in her tiny home for 11 years with her kids and is worried about how she will move so quicklyCredit: 8KPAX
Spring Creek Mobile Home Park located in Montana is making tiny homes landlord-owned under the new ownersCredit: 8KPAX
There are 32 tiny homes that received eviction lettersCredit: 8KPAX
Residents are scrambling to figure out how they will make it through the abrupt forced move, CBS affiliate KPAX.
The new owners bought the 32-lot mobile home in November 2023 and are changing it from tenant-owned homes to landlord-owned homes.
Resident Debbie Kiser Wallace explained many people who live in the mobile home park do not have a lot of money and rely on cheap living.
“We’ve got people in here on fixed incomes. They can’t afford to move their trailers out, they’re gonna lose their homes,” Wallace said.
“It’s devastating. You know, because my gosh, you know, there’s people here that have children with special needs.
“It’s gonna take them a long time to get readjusted.
“The people that are on disability, you know, like, they can barely clean their house, let alone move it anywhere. You know?
“Where are we gonna find all the funding?”
TAKEN AWAY
Stephanie Pestkowski has lived at Spring Creek for 11 years and has a special needs son who does not do well with moves and needs to be in the area for school.
“We put our whole life into this one, and it’s our only home that our kids have ever known,” Pestkowski said.
“As well as the problem with our son’s school.
“It takes many years to get special needs kids established in the school system.
“And fight for his rates repeatedly month after month.
“So at this point, it seems like a never-ending battle and we’re going to be homeless out on the street with most of the other people here.”
The Pestkowski’s and resident Lisa Schmidt, both have used the mobile park as a safe place for their conditions.
“This was supposed to be my lasting home,” Schmidt said.
“I have dementia, this was supposed to be my home and now I’m gonna be homeless on the street. I got no place to go.”
Resident Tracy Anderson is confused as to why everyone would need to be kicked out of the mobile home park for the new changes.
“You know I don’t blame people for wanting to make a change, but I feel like we should have been allowed to be part of that change,” Anderson said.
“You know, this is everything we have. I’ve invested everything.”
Many of the residents were not expecting to move anytime soon