Auction of Modular Homes Rebuilt After 2020 Almeda Fire in Oregon: Buyers Can Review Defects

JACKSON COUNTY, Ore. — Prospective buyers of 140 modular homes declared unfit for habitation will have access to all defects with the units they are interested in buying at auction. The homes were manufactured to replace residences lost in the 2020 Almeda Fire.

OHCS Wants to Recoup Some of its $24 Million Loss

The homes will go under the hammer at a series of auctions over two weeks as Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) tries to recoup some of its $24 million loss.

Disclosure has been confirmed by Caleb Yant, deputy director of the state’s housing agency. The 140 homes were intended to replace residences in Royal Oaks Mobile Manor in Phoenix that were destroyed by the Almeda Fire in 2020.

Yant says that OHCS is sending disclosure notices to potential buyers that includes information about defects in the manufacture of the mobile homes – code violations, OHCS reports, water intrusion inspections undertaken by experts, and hundreds of photographs of the units.

OHCS says prospective buyers can inspect the units – ‘they can bring whatever professionals they need to understand the status of the units.’

OHCS appointed a new manufacturer to build the Royal Oaks modular units after finding the homes defective in August 2023. Several faults were discovered in the original batch, such as water penetration, mold, and other factors making the units unfit for human habitation.

OHCS is coordinating the auctions with the Oregon Department of Administrative Services (DAS) Surplus and GovDeals, a third party that regularly sells state-owned equipment.

Yant says it is unclear what selling price point the units will achieve but that OHCS is not expecting to fully recoup its losses. However, he did confirm that there were several interested buyers.

68 Modular Homes at First Two Auctions

The first two auctions involve the sale of 68 modular units currently stored in Medford. The first auction takes place this Tuesday (October 29) when 33 units go under the hammer. The other 35 units will be auctioned on November 7.

The remaining 72 units were also built by Nashua Builders in Boise and are still in Idaho. Yant says they will be brought back to Oregon for the remaining auctions during spring, 2025.

OHCS and the Department of Justice are involved in ongoing legal proceedings related to the original batch of modular homes. While there has been speculation of negligence on the part of the state for letting the homes stand empty for months while finding a suitable site for the Royal Oaks Manor, OHCS says the problems stem from manufacturing defects.

The latest date for occupation of the new units by victims of the Almeda Fire at Royal Oaks Manor is April 2025.