Thread: Thousands of FEMA Trailers On the Auction Block

Thousands of FEMA Trailers On the Auction Block

01/13/10 12:52 am |
reporter: Michelle Rupp

Hope - The latest government surplus auction has put more than 15,000 mobile homes up for grabs in Hope.

Thousands of travel trailers and manufactured homes have been at the Hope Airport since shortly after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Years later, there were concerns of health risks from possible formaldehyde in the trailers. Now, they're up for sale. Never-before used, some even furnished, they are drawing the attention of those in the manufactured home business.

(Gary Owens, Oklahoma City)
"Most of them are practically new. Doesn't appear they've been lived in; some minor damage but most are practically brand new." Say It On 7:
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(Jim Carroll, Conway)
"Other than there being a lot of them, they all need something. They had a lot of water on them for a long time so they've got some issues. All and all, they aren't that bad."

Jim Carroll and friends spent a few hours scanning the so-called merchandise. Some are useable, but they say others aren't.

(Jim Carroll, Conway)
"Recondition them and sell them: that would be the focus for all of us. Any of us here, that's the goal - to see if there's any profit in it."

But anyone in the business knows with an auction like this, you have to put money in to come out ahead.

(Jim Carroll, Conway)
"There's a lot of expense in getting them out of here and cleaned up and ready to sell. So the less you're into them, the better off. The biggest shame is the tax payers took the brunt of this and they've sat here and gone down hill."

Meanwhile, officials with the Arkansas Manufactured Housing Association say they are concerned about the homes being pushed into the market. They believe the sudden rush of supply into the market will negatively affect both the industry and the consumer.

(JD Harper, Arkansas Manufactured Housing Association Executive Director)
"When you look at 3,700 units being dumped out of the Hope staging area, that's more than three times the inventory that was sold in Arkansas in new homes last year, so yes, it's a major concern for the industry."

Kevin Hawks of Hawks Mobile Homes in Conway says the consumer could end up losing in the end because there are no guarantees on the product.

Bidding ends Friday, January 15. If yours is the winning bid, the cost of transportation out of Hope to another location is yours to pay.

For more information, check out the General Services Administration's website by clicking here. http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/home.do?tabId=0

http://www.katv.com/news/stories/0110/695487.html

Heck of a job, Brownie! Not only are they toxic, but they have sat for years sinking into the Arkansas mud, while the people in New Orleans were living in shelters. It all came down to permitting as FEMA will not put anything into a flood zone, and FEMA will never claim responsibility for the illnesses (respiratory mostly) for the folks "lucky" enough to be able to live in them. This was nothing more than S.N.A.F.U. on a grand scale.
Best thing they could do is recycle what is worth salvaging.