Who are we? 

Golden State Manufactured-home Owners League, Inc. (GSMOL) is a nonprofit homeowner advocacy organization, dedicated to preserving manufactured home ownership as affordable, quality housing through legislative efforts, and through helping owners of manufactured homes solve problems in their individual communities.We do this by organizing and educating individual manufactured home owners & dwellers.

GSMOL represents you and protects your interests at the state level by influencing important legislation that changes the Mobilehome Residency Law (sections 798 and 799 of the California Civil Code).  There are new laws and changes to the Code every year.  GSMOL’s representation of you is important because there are opposing forces and groups that try to influence the same legislation in the opposite direction.  GSMOL has a proven track record of spearheading passage of new laws that benefit manufactured home owners and of blocking bad legislation since 1962.

Why YOU should join

As an owner of a manufactured home, you are in a unique ownership situation not duplicated anywhere else.  You own your home, but you also rent someone else’s land.Your financial investment in your home is often greater than the park owner’s investment in your lot, even allowing for a share of the common area.Yet, park owners have a HUGE influence over your living conditions.  GSMOL’s goal is to help manufactured home owners protect their investment in their homes and to protect their manufactured home quality of life.

It is definitely in your best interest that GSMOL be a strong and vibrant organization statewide, even if there are currently no pressing problems in your park.  The reason is that circumstances can change overnight at the state level or in your park, and you do NOT want to be unorganized if they do.

We have helped manufactured home owners all over the state solve problems in their parks and influence local legislation.  Our team has assembled files of information including case histories, court decisions, and California laws on many types of local problems and has compiled a step-by-step process for helping members solve those problems.

GSMOL’s ongoing legislative program in Sacramento has been instrumental in passing hundreds of laws on the following topics since its founding in 1962: evictions, clubhouse use, use of recreational facilities, parking, pets, guests, occupancy restrictions, “For Sale” signs, home selling restrictions or limitations, rent increase notices, problem resolution within parks, and many other topics.  Due mainly to the efforts of GSMOL, our manufactured home owners have one of the most extensive sets of protective laws in the nation.

Despite these advances, current and potential problems still exist in this state, and some of them are serious.  GSMOL is constantly working in your interest to resolve these favorably for you, both in individual parks and in Sacramento.  Since you can’t personally go to Sacramento to represent yourself on every manufactured home issue, GSMOL does it for you, through our paid Legislative Advocate (lobbyist), consultants and Legislative Action Team.  When they sit down with a legislator to represent your interests, the combined force of GSMOL’s membership is behind them, and that legislator knows it.  The sound of thousands of voices will ensure that our government officials will recognize that we are strong and powerful…and they WILL LISTEN!  We can’t guarantee we will win every battle, but we can guarantee that you will have a voice and will be represented.  GSMOL membership is inexpensive insurance that your views will be effectively represented in Sacramento.

There are other self-help organizations for manufactured home owners, but GSMOL is the oldest and largest organization working exclusively for the benefit and protection of manufactured home owners and park residents in California.  No other manufactured home owner organization has the history of solving park problems and influence in Sacramento that we have.

There are far more voters among park residents than among park owners, and that fact helps to offset some of the considerable lobbying efforts and financial (political contribution) power of park owner associations.  However, the threat of unfair taxes and unjust legislation are still a yearly occurrence.

Do you get the idea there is a constant power struggle going on behind the scenes?If so, you are RIGHT!  Needless to say, all this effort takes money, which comes from your membership dues, and from the dues of members in the other 1,700 GSMOL chapters in California.  The annual dues are just $25 per home, which is about 7 cents per day.  Your annual membership starts when your membership application and check are received in GSMOL’s headquarters, and it continues for the next 12 months, regardless of the month of the year.  Individuals can become members even if there is no local chapter in their park.

Members receive a newsletter (The Californian) describing the latest legislative activity in Sacramento and informing them of what they can do locally to support their interests.

On our toll-free Legislative Hotline, members can receive the latest available information on pending legislation during non-office hours.  The number is (800) 888-1727.  It is available all day on weekends and on weekdays, from 4 pm to 9 am the next morning.  Timely instructions on the website and Legislative Hotline inform you how you can help protect your own interests by contacting state legislators.

Since the 1970’s there have been very few new manufactured home parks constructed in California.  However, the total population of California has grown substantially.  This reduces our influence relative to the total population and makes it more important than ever for manufactured home owners to band together to protect our interests.Nobody else is going to do it for us.

By virtue of your manufactured home ownership, you are involved in the political process, like it or not.Don’t let others make decisions that will affect YOUR life without your input.You might not like what they decide.  GET INVOLVED!  JOIN GSMOL!  

Becoming a regular member of GSMOL requires the applicant live in a manufactured home more than three months of the year.  Applicants may not work for park owners, be it on the park payroll, in exchange for goods, services or rent, or as an agent.An approved regular membership affords the holder voting rights and the right to hold office in GSMOL.

The June 3, 2008 defeat of Prop. 98 was one of the great triumphs in GSMOL history.  With broad coalition support, we were successful in helping to preserve existing rent protections and other homeowner rights along with YOUR home value and quality of life.  Please join us now so we can do even more to serve and protect you. 

In GSMOL, there are many ways to assist this process--the most essential way is the easiest way.  Membership.  This page will help you understand GSMOL membership.

GSMOL Regular Membership

Becoming a regular member of GSMOL requires the applicant live in a mobilehome more than six months out of the calendar year.   An applicant may not work for park owners, be it on park payroll, in exchange for goods, services or rent, or as an agent.   An approved regular membership affords the holder voting rights and the rights to hold office in GSMOL.  The annual dues amount is $25.

GSMOL Associate Membership

Anyone can become an associate member, and support GSMOL. Associate members have no voting rights, no rights of access to the Members Area of the GSMOL website or rights to hold office in GSMOL.   The annual dues amount for Associate Membership is $50, annually.

All applications for membership will be approved pending review. Membership begins upon the issuance of a membership number.   Click here for a printable membership application.

GSMOL Board of Directors June 2010

Jim Burr - President - Visalia, Ca
Lloyd Logan - Vice President Zone A - Citrus Heights, Ca
Roger McConnell - Vice President Zone A-1 - Santa Rosa, Ca
James Gullion - Vice President Zone B - Jamestown, Ca
Craig Hull - Vice President Zone B-1 - Ventura, Ca
Tim Sheahan - Vice President Zone D - San Marcos, Ca
Jerry Bowles - Vice President ROP - Capitola, Ca
Bob Ogle - Treasurer - Oceanside, Ca
Mary Hahn - Secretary - Sacramento, Ca