Here's how some Susquehanna Valley residents are being priced out of their homes

Some Susquehanna Valley residents are upset because they say they're on track to be priced out of their own homes by large corporations. What's happening?
During the last five years, manufactured housing communities across Pennsylvania have experienced steady rent increases.
News 8 On Your Side consumer investigator Brian Roche looks at the problem and the possible solution.
'People here are trapped'
"They just came here because it's an easy lifestyle, a comfortable lifestyle, affordable lifestyle," Bob Besecker said.
At least Douglass Village in Berks County used to be affordable when Besecker moved in a few years ago.
The rent for the land his home sits on has been increased by $75 per month each of the last two years.
"So, that's a 15% increase in 2022 and a 13% increase in 2023," he said.
There are more than 2,200 manufactured housing communities in Pennsylvania.
Manufactured homes are built in factories, then transported and assembled on site. Residents own their homes but not the land beneath them.
Traditionally, these communities have been built and operated by small family operations.
Now, they're rapidly being bought up by corporate investors.
"This is an environment they're not taking much of a risk. So, yeah, I say it's greed because people here are trapped, and they know it," Jim Houser said.
Houser lives in a community in Lebanon County.
He said that at the current rate of increase he's seeing, his lot rent will increase 77% over five years.
He's married but said single homeowners like widows, widowers and veterans are facing tough decisions.
"Once the savings are depleted, they have very few options," Houser said.
He said four or five people that he knows of have moved out.
Proposed bills
There are two proposed pieces of legislation in Harrisburg - one in the House and one in the Senate - that would cap increases at 10% per year with a 90-day notice.
Sen. Judy Schwank, D-Berks, sponsored the Senate bill.
"It caps the rent at a level that does not exceed the consumer price index from the previous tax year," she said.
The Pennsylvania Manufactured Housing Association said legislation passed in 2010 already limits rental increases on manufactured home lots to no more than once a year, but it does not limit the dollar amount.
"PMHA does not support rent control at any level and strongly warns against any legislative proposal to enact rent control. Without adequate cash flow, rent control often forces landlords to defer building and property maintenance..." the group said in a statement.
More than two dozen manufactured home communities across the state have formed a coalition to push this legislation and their cause.
"Why would elected representatives not move bills that do nothing but to benefit the elderly, the disabled and veterans?" Besecker said.
There have been many attempts going back decades to put rent caps in place for property lots and apartments in Pennsylvania.
The commonwealth still doesn't have statewide rent control laws, so this could be an uphill battle for owners of manufactured homes.
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