By Veeda Ware
Eighteen days ago, Rosa Gusman''s family had a home, a community and stability.
Gusman said her mobile home wasn''t much, but it was enough for her small family.
She lived at the Four Seasons trailer park along with 55 other families, who will soon lose their homes to make room for new residential complexes and offices.
The Gusman''s were fortunate enough to find a temporary apartment, but Pedro Gusman, Rosa Gusman''s husband, said they are losing a lot of money.
'We bought our home two years ago for $12,000,' Pedro Gusman said. 'It''s an old home, so it will be hard to move, and no one will pay us that much for it.'
Rosa Gusman said they also put $2,000 into their kitchen and will have to leave it all behind.
'We bought all our appliances from D.I. and remodeled,' Rosa Gusman said. 'I know it''s not brand new, but it''s all we could afford.'
She said they invested a lot of money on their mobile home to save money on rent. Now the Gusmans will pay $650 a month on a small salary for an apartment.
Pedro Gusman works at a woodshop, and Rosa Gusman is a custodian for Timpanogos High School.
'I feel so helpless,' Rosa Gusman said. 'When you buy something for your dreams, for your family, you work hard. Now, I will lose everything.'
Austin Johnson, lawyer for about 40 homeowners at Four Seasons, said the property owner didn''t give the residents enough warning of the park''s closure.
'Some families within the past 10 months have put in $2,000 to $3,000 into remodeling their homes,' Johnson said. 'They have paid to landscape their yard, put in extra additions like a garage, patio or roof.'
Johnson said if residents knew of the park''s closure, they wouldn''t have invested money into a home they would have to leave.
The majority of the trailer homes were built in the late 1950s and the 1960s, and most trailer parks will not accept a home built before 1990.
Homeowners with older homes that cannot be moved will have to abandon their trailers.
'If we had known we would have to give up our home, we wouldn''t have bought it,' Rosa Gusman said.
Approval for Midtown Village, the new residential and commercial project, was granted in January, but Johnson said there have been plans for the project for a while.
'Trailer homes have been bought in the park in the recent past by the park manager who knew the park would be closing,' Johnson said. 'He didn''t tell people the trailers they were buying would soon be worthless.'
Larry Myler, the developer of the Midtown Village, rents property to the residents of the Four Seasons trailer park on a 30-day lease.
Residents pay $240 a month to have their trailer homes in the park.
'People do not own the land; I own the land,' Myler said. 'They are all on a 30-day lease for years with anticipation of this happening.'
Myler said although he has no legal obligation to pay people in compensation for the closure of the park, he is still trying to help residents in their need.
'You need to understand that when you buy a trailer that is so old it can''t be moved, on land that you do not own, you are kind of silly to assume that some day someone will pay you money for it,' Myler said. 'There is just no obligation to do so.'
Myler offered $500 to each family to help with the cost of moving, and an additional $1,000 after Midtown Village is complete.
'We spent over $100,000 so far in the effort to help (the residents) purely because we think it''s good for the community and good for the people who live here,' Myler said.
For residents who have special circumstances, Myler has contributed more depending on their need.
'We are negotiating with each family, one by one, in good faith, to reach a mutual arrangement whereby we can give them enough money or somehow help them in ways that can get them to another living condition,' Myler said.
Myler has helped 12 families relocate so far and has paid for some financial expenses.
He has given one family $4,800 to help with rent on an apartment and to help transit into a new home.
'Whoever will work with me will get everything I can make work for them according to their needs to help get them into another living situation,' Myler said.
Myler said he feels the money he offers can help residents get on their feet.
'We are continuing the process of talking to owners and working out deals that work for them,' Myler said. 'We will continue to do this until the money for this purpose, or time, runs out.'
Johnson said he finds the situation for the residents in the trailer park difficult.
Johnson said at least 100 children live there with their families who are supported by child support or a single paycheck.
By abandoning their trailer home and the affordable rent the park offers, Johnson said, living will be difficult for the families that now live there.
'The end is going to come,' Johnson said. 'He (Myler) will close the park, and the residents there will have to find a new place to live.'