(gentle music) (thoughtful music) - Welcome to The Newsfeed, I'm Paris Jackson.

For more than a year, the Cascade PBS investigative team has looked into complaints from Washington mobile home residents, some say drastic rate heights from a mobile home park ownership group that took over their parks could leave them homeless.

Our team follows the case around the state in a new upcoming documentary called Priced Out on Cascade PBS.

Let's get to my conversation with Cascade PBS investigative journalists, Jaelynn Grisso, one of the reporters who's followed the complaints and heard countless stories.

From the documentary and your reporting, it seems like what Washington mobile home residents are experiencing is a microcosm of what's taking place around the country.

- That's absolutely right, Paris.

So the company that we are focusing on, Hurst & Son, specifically bought up a lot of mobile home parks around 2020, 2021, and had a rapid expansion, buying up a lot of those mobile home parks, and that's about the time that residents saw large increases in rent as well.

They've also expanded to Montana, I believe Idaho, and other states in the region.

We know there are other companies that are similarly operating in this region and nationwide.

- And as you were putting the documentary together, what surprised you?

- I think one of the things that really stood out to me was this moment that I had in Aberdeen at a mobile home park there, speaking with two tenants who have essentially become activists because of this kind of work.

And they told me about a resident that is in that park that had just turned 101.

And then to add to that, they told me that she was now looking at going back to work because the rent increases and the other costs that were being increased were so high that she wasn't going to be able to maintain her home without it.

And so that kind of indicated to me how dire the situation is for a lot of folks.

- Let's take a look at a clip.

(unsettling music) - [Jaelynn] Tenants say that under previous ownership, rent increases were gradual.

But since Hurst & Son bought their park, they've seen unexpected and drastic increases in their rent.

With so many on fixed incomes, this can put them at risk of losing their home.

- Every day you wake up and you just, you worry.

(speaking in Spanish) - How much is it going to go up?

How much?

- So many people are economically evicted.

- They're trying not only to harass people, but to put fear in them.

- Personally threatened with eviction many times over.

- Took a mental toll.

I was exhausted.

- If I didn't have the resources that I have, this process would've been near impossible.

- I am in my vehicle, sleeping in my vehicle.

- Simmons Garza and thousands of others live in mobile home parks owned by Hurst & Son LLC, a property management company based in Port Orchard, Washington.

Owned by Caleb and Kristina Romack, the company lists mobile home operations going back to 1998.

By 2014, they began expanding, acquiring parks mostly in Eastern Washington until 2019.

At that point, they owned 27 parks throughout the state.

But since 2020, Hurst has spent millions, acquiring 33 more parks and doubling their holdings to 60 throughout the state of Washington.

State data shows that Hurst & Son now owns the land underneath one out of every 40 mobile home park units.

- The documentary Priced Out airs Monday, November 18th, at 7:00 PM on Cascade PBS.

Or you can watch it on-demand.

(thoughtful music) If you're looking to get out and about nature, take a walk through the Seattle Japanese garden.

The trees are in peak fall colors.

(thoughtful music) If you visit, try to be fully present.

I know it's challenging, but listen to your feet crunching along the gravel path, smell the moisture in the air, and take in the red, yellow, and orange array of leafy foliage.

(thoughtful music) I am Paris Jackson, thank you for watching The Newsfeed, your destination for nonprofit Northwest News.

Go to cascadepbs.org now to PBS NewsHour.

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