Are mobile home owners third-class citizens?

''Crime is everywhere, there are worse areas than this one'' manager of the Pine Trace subdivision of Sun Homes in Houston says, but that shouldn't be an excuse not to protect the tenants. The thing is not to accept crime if it is ''lower'' then in other neighborhoods, the issue is to prevent it, stop it, so there is none.

When one of the neighbors got his car tires stolen last Christmas, he had to wait until the office personnel got back from the holiday, and the answer he got to his complaints was there's nothing we can do. You need to protect yourself, this company cannot afford security patroling the area.

He is not the only one denied safety, lots of other neighbors had moved out because of the same sensation. How can you feel safe if every time something happens the manager has the same answer and never seem to care if we feel secure or not? But why should she? She doesn't live here. She just comes here to work and leaves at 5 pm

Rent goes up every year, about 20 dollars, multiply that for 300-400 homes in the neighborhood and that should be enough to pay some police officer to patrol our streets. We don't see anything improving or different done here, so where's all that money going? The only changes in this subdivision were the swapping of the basketball loops for volleyball nets in order to keep ''outsiders'' out, and that's it.

Now there's families who have been living here for more than 8 years, until last year, the water company decided to build 2 tanks next to them, so the office told them they were going to be relocated. Not before the tanks were here, not before all that digging and shaking that made some of the house appliances and some other goods go bad. The notice was given in November 2011 (more than one year after construction started), with a moving date for February 2012. The management offer these 2 families the only 2 lots available. Neither of them liked any of the 2 lots, but that was the only option at that time, so one of them made arrangements with another neighbor who was moving out in February to a lot that he owns, but then in January 2012 the office surprise everybody with a change in the moving date to January 23rd (one month early). When the water company started planning they saw there were people living across the street. Did they care? Did they go to talk to the homeowners and explain about the digging and the shaking and all other inconvenients? No. Why is it dangerous for this families to live here now and it was not one year ago? Why didn't the water people ask them to relocate back in 2010 when there were more than only 2 vacant lots to move to? Why not move this homes before all that dust, and the shaking and the goods damaged?

Because nobody cared! It is only mobile home people, they won't mind the trouble! We can do anything to them, deny them security, enforce the promptness in paying the rent before the 5th, and if they fail to do it, give them a 2 week notice to pay or be evicted...

Not enough options to choose a lot, where people can feel better with new neighbors, not enough time to prepare, not friendly advise, nothing! We all are going to need the water, but don't we also need to feel good where we are going to spend the next 5-10 years of our lives?

The water company got their deal, the manager got hers and will probably get a raise when her bosses see how efficient she is in dealing cheaply with tenants, but how about the families? Are they going to be satisfied? Anybody cares? 'Course not!

When you live in a mobile home, you are on your own!

And people, before moving to a subdivision like Pine Trace, or any other, do some research, talk to the police, ask the managers if the area is safe, and even if they tell you it is, be suspicious, ask the neighbors how many times do they see the constable car patrolling the area, because once you are in the park you have to stay, moving a manufactured home from place to place is not easy nor cheap. Don't fall in a trap!