California MHP News

Sat, Mar 31, 2018 Updates – All 174 communities have been reviewed and updated. We've corrected park names, addresses, telephone numbers and have added links to MHVillage and HOA websites when available. We've also included a Google Map showing all 174 Resident Owned Communities in California.

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Tue, Mar 20, 2018 – The MHPHOA are currently developing a database of Resident Owned Communities (ROC) aka Resident Owned Parks (ROP) in the State of California. We have 174 communities listed to date. We welcome input from our audience regarding additions and/or corrections to the data currently available. If you’d like to contribute information to the database, please contact the MHPHOA.

Tue, Mar 27, 2018 – On Mon, Mar 26, 2018 the GSMOL Election Results were posted. There were 969 total ballots counted. Michelle Smith is the new President of GSMOL.

• President – Michelle Smith
• Secretary – Carol Brinkman
• Treasurer – Shelly Parker
• Vice President Zone A – John Bertaut
• Vice President Zone A-1 – Patti Rose
• Vice President Zone B-1 – Anne Anderson
• Vice President Zone C – Mary Jo Baretich
• Vice President Zone D – Tim Sheahan
• Vice President at Large – Sharon Rose
• Vice President for Resident Owned Communities – David Loop

Sun, Mar 25, 2018 – On Mon-Tue, Mar 19-20, 2018, Alexander Segal, the Acquisitions Director for Kort & Scott Financial Group registered two (2) new DBAs; Tahitian MHP Associates LP and Tahitian Uppertier Associates LLC. These types of DBA filings usually precede a mobile home park purchase. We cannot locate any publicly available information regarding a Tahitian Mobile Home Park sale. This is normal, these are referred to as Pocket Listings or Off-Market NNN Properties. If anyone is aware of a Tahitian Mobile Home Park that is for sale or, it may have sold already, please contact the MHPHOA with more information.

Attention Tahitian Mobile Home Park: Do Not Sign Long-Term Lease Agreements

Suspicion: We are aware of two (2) mobile home parks with the name Tahitian; Tahitian Mobile Home Park (236 Spaces, All Ages) located at 15445 Cobalt Avenue in Sylmar, California 91342 and Tahitian Terrace (158 Spaces, All Ages) located at 16001 Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, California 90272. Kort & Scott currently own one (1) mobile home park in Sylmar that we are aware of; Blue Star Mobile Home Park (186 Spaces, All Ages) located at 12401 Filmore Street, Sylmar, California 91342. It would make sense for Kort & Scott to purchase a park within a reasonable radius of the one park they currently own in Sylmar.

List of Kort & Scott Mobile Home Parks

Sat, Mar 24, 2018 – On Wed, Dec 6, 2017, Alexander Segal, the Acquisitions Director for Kort & Scott Financial Group registered two (2) new DBAs; Crestmont Lowertier Associates LP and Crestmont Uppertier Associates LP. We are not sure of the date of sale but if we use historical data and time frames, Kort & Scott purchased Crestmont Mobile Estates in Jan 2018.

Crestmont Mobile Estates

• Address: 1051 Site Drive, Brea, California 92821
• County: Orange
• Phone: 714-529-4131
• Spaces: 289
• Type: All Ages
• 2018 Space Rent: $1,300
• Leasehold Purchased: Jan 2018, Amount: $30,000,000
  Loan Type: Fannie Mae ARM, Chad Thomas Hagwood
• Management: Sierra Corporate Management
• DBA: Crestmont Lowertier Associates LP, Crestmont Uppertier Associates LP
• DBA Filing: Dec 2017

Fri, Mar 23, 2018 – According to data obtained from the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), there are 5,271 “Active” Mobile Home and RV Parks totaling 453,778 lots/spaces in the State of California. Of those 453,778 lots/spaces, 365,073 are mobile home spaces, 66,094 are RV lots with drains and 22,611 are RV lots without drains.

There are 668 “Closed” Mobile Home and RV Parks totaling 19,950 lots/spaces. Of those 19,950 lots/spaces, 10,517 are mobile home spaces, 6,724 are RV lots with drains and 2,709 are RV lots without drains.

As of Sun, Apr 1, 2018, the HCD has data for a total of 473,728 lots/spaces which includes “Active” and “Closed” listings. Of those 473,728 lots/spaces, 375,590 are mobile home spaces, 72,818 are RV lots with drains and 25,320 RV lots without drains.

The below Top 10 Largest Mobile Home and RV Park listings are based on the HCD Mobile Home and RV Parks “Active” Listings as of Sun, Apr 1, 2018.

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Fri, Mar 16, 2018 Updates – Complaint Summary: Nuisance, Breach of Contract, Breach of Duty of Good Faith and Fair Dealing (Contract), Intentional Interference with Property Rights, Negligence, Breach of Statutes, Breach of Warranty of Habitability, Breach of Covenant of Quiet Enjoyment, Breach of Unfair Competition Law, Rescission Declaratory and Injunctive Relief.

Compilation Reference: KSFG Mobile Home Park DBAs – Breach of Contract

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Tue, Jan 16, 2018 – On Tue, Dec 12, 2017, residents from Knolls Lodge Mobile Home Park and Knolls Manor filed a Civil Lawsuit (Case No: YC072532, YC072533) against the Kort & Scott companies that own their parks including Sierra Corporate Management. James C. Allen of ASK Law Group is the attorney/law firm representing the residents.

This is a new Civil Lawsuit filing and there are no documents available online yet. The MHPHOA will be monitoring the progress of this lawsuit and will post additional information as it becomes available.

RE: BoaVida Communities, Abraham Arrigotti, Drita Bronkey

Mon, Mar 12, 2018 – Representatives from Wagon Wheel and Valley Oaks mobile parks traveled approximately 200 miles round-trip to Petaluma on Saturday where they met with residents of other mobile parks facing rent control issues throughout Mendocino County in an effort to begin development of a statewide strategy for dealing with what they call “predatory park owners.” A luncheon and group discussion on ideas and options for Willits residents was organized by the Golden State Manufactured-Home Owners League, a non-profit dedicated to the protection of statewide members and mobile home park residents.

The GSMOL luncheon was chaired by regional Manager Karilee Shames who has been helping Willits resident leaders Cheryl Abney and Teresa Cordova in the wake of management company BoaVida Communities’ recent changes to the parks since taking over management of the Willits parks last year.

After listening to both parties at a meeting nearly two weeks ago, the Willits City Council voted to accept a recommendation by staff to form an ad hoc committee to work towards a resolution toward rent and long-term lease disputes with a June 20 deadline to arrive at a solution acceptable by both parties. Should they fail to reach a resolution, the council will then explore the possibility of developing a rent stabilization ordinance similar to those currently adopted by various cities in Mendocino and nearby counties.

The outcome was not popular with residents or with Abney who said since BoaVida took over park management in Spring 2017, base rent has increased by $110 a month while management continues to violate the state’s mobile home residency law. Abney said a protest is being planned at City Hall in front of the council chambers on April 11 at 4 p.m. and residents plan to protest at every subsequent council meeting leading up to the June 20 deadline agreed upon by city council. Several speakers during the Feb. 28 meeting, including Cordova, said a lot of low-income residents had been coerced and threatened into signing long-term, 20- and 25-year leases.

GSMOL representatives said the leases being used by BoaVida Communities are the same 21-page basic leases that the Kort & Scott Financial Group uses. One late rent payment and the lease is null and void and residents can find themselves in trouble.

According to information made public by an alliance of mobile home park residents, Arrigotti is a past president of KSFG, owner and operator of manufactured housing communities based in Southern California. Lawsuits against Kort & Scott companies include civil lawsuits filed against Knolls Manor in Torrance, Reseda Mobile Homes, and Royal Oaks Community in Davis, among others.

Willits City Council Tackles Rent Stabilization

Sat, Mar 3, 2018 – After hearing from concerned tenants, property owners and community members for several hours, the Willits Council by a 4-1 margin voted to accept a staff recommendation to form an ad hoc committee to work with all parties involved in resolving rent and long-term lease disputes with a caveat that should the committee fail in meeting their objective by June 20, the council would look into developing a rent stabilization ordinance similar to the one in place in the city of Ukiah.

Previous News Coverage

• 2018-02-27 – Willits City Council to Address Mobile Home Rent Stabilization
• 2017-12-16 – Willits Mobile Home Park Residents Ask Council to Help Stave Off Rent Increases
• 2017-10-15 – Cascade Corporate Management and BoaVida Communities
• 2017-10-06 – Mobile Home Park Residents Continue to Fight for their Rights
• 2017-09-15 – Abraham Arrigotti and Drita Bronkey – Now Representing BoaVida Communities
• 2017-08-15 – Mobile Home Park Residents Get Advice on the Law
• 2017-07-13 – Mobile Home Park Residents Shaken by New Management Demands

Sat, Mar 10, 2018 – On Thu, Jan 19, 2017, the ASK Law Group posted this as a followup to the initial Terrace View article on Wed, Jul 6, 2016. Most notable is the reference to a legal principle in California that requires the parties to a contract to operate in good faith.

The residents of a San Diego mobile home park, Terrace View Mobile Home Estates (“Terrace View”), recently won a case which will change the law in California. For the first time, a jury found that a park owner may not charge unreasonable space rent rates to residents on a month-to-month lease.

In the past, mobile home park owners believed that they could set the rents in a park at any rate they desired. The only time the amount of rent charged was restricted was when there was rent control.

In California, there has always been a legal principle which required parties to a contract to operate in good faith. This meant that if a party had the sole right under the contract to set rent rates, then the rates needed to be reasonable.

This concept has been applied to other business relationships but never in a mobile home park.

The residents of Terrace View were being charged $1,600 per month or more. The neighboring parks charged $850-$950 per month. The high rents at Terrace View made it impossible to sell a home for a fair price so the residents could not escape the rents without walking away from their homes.

The jury found the rents unreasonably high. They awarded 10 spaces $1,289,000 in damages. Further, because the defendants knew they were defrauding the residents the jury awarded $57,000,000 in punitive damages.

Now in California, there is a legal mechanism to limit the amount of rent a mobile home park owner can charge a resident on a month-to-month contract.

If you find yourself in a similar situation to the residents of Terrace View Mobile Home Estates, please contact Allen Semelsberger & Kaelin at ASK Law Group.

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Jury Awards $58.4 Million to 10 Households of the Terrace View MHP

Mon, Dec 5, 2016 – On Wed, Jul 6, 2016, a San Diego civil jury awarded 10 households of the Terrace View Mobile Home Park $58,389,000 in compensatory and punitive damages against the Park owners, Tom Tatum & Jeff Kaplan.

The case involved charging unreasonable rents and other illegal practices causing residents to lose their homes.

At the time of trial, 100 of the 200 spaces at the Terrace View Mobile Home Park were empty or abandoned due to the park owners' practices.

This is the first phase of 49 homes that are part of the lawsuit. The case was tried by James Allen and Jessica Taylor of San Diego based firm Allen, Semelsberger & Kaelin.

Allen Semelsberger & Kaelin, LLP
San Diego Mobile Home Lawyers
600 B Street, Suite 2400, San Diego, California 92101
619-544-0123, 800-895-5053, https://www.asklawgroup.com/

Terrace View Mobile Home Estates
13162 Highway 8 Business, El Cajon, California 92021

• Filing Date: 2013-07-12 – Class Action Lawsuit Filed by Residents
• Case Title: Aranda vs. Terrace View Partners LP
• San Diego Superior Court Case Number: 37-2013-00057526-CU-PO-CTL
• Status Phase I: 2016-07-06 – Plaintiffs Won Class Action Lawsuit
• Damages Awarded: $58,389,000

Complaint Summary

Fri, Mar 9, 2018 – Tustin Village Mobile Home Park was purchased by a Kort & Scott DBA in Jan 2005 with space rents advertised at an average of $588 per month. Recent mobile home for sale listings show 2018 space rents at $1,950. This is a 232% increase in thirteen (13) years.

There are four (4) mobile home parks within 1.6 miles of Tustin Village. Saddleback Mobilodge Club is directly across the street. Current space rents in Saddleback are $875 per month which is 123% less than Tustin Village. Saddleback is at minimum a four (4) star 55+ park. Tustin Village used to be at minimum a three (3) star 55+ park and has now degraded into a one (1) star family park with space rents more than double that of surrounding mobile home parks.

1. Tustin Village Mobile Home Park
   2018 Space Rent: $1,950
   Spaces: 192
2. New Villa Valencia Mobile Estates
   2018 Space Rent: $1,150
   Spaces: 150
   Distance from TVMHP: 0.3 Miles
3. Trail-A-Way Trailer Park
   2018 Space Rent: $880
   Spaces: 100
   Distance from TVMHP: 1.6 Miles
4. Saddleback Mobilodge Club
   2018 Space Rent: $875
   Spaces: 163
   Distance from TVMHP: 0.2 Miles
5. Montesilla Mobilhome Club
   2018 Space Rent: $750
   Spaces: 58
   Distance from TVMHP: 1.4 Miles

Lease Note: If you signed a 25-year long-term lease in Tustin Village Mobile Home Park in 2006 and your space rent started at the advertised $950 per month, you would now be paying $1,920 per month – it has doubled in 12 years (102% increase). This is based on the standard 6.0% minimum yearly increase when signing a KSFG/SCM 25-year long-term lease. If the resident ever made it to the end of this 25-year lease, they would be paying $3,872 per month in year 25, a 308% increase from the first year. At the end of year 25, the resident would have paid $628,500 in space rent.

SCM Space Rent Calculator

RE: Sun Communities Inc, Ocean West Senior Village Mobile Home Park

Thu, Mar 1, 2018 – In the first attack on the new Humboldt County Rent Stabilization Ordinance, the Hearing Officer issued a Decision rejecting the Park Owner’s rent adjustment request entirely.

The owner of Ocean West (OW) submitted a petition for the right to raise the monthly space rents approximately $300 from an average of $494 to $800. (In addition to the monthly space rents, residents pay an average of $161 month to cover utility costs.)

Resident Group Attorney Bruce Stanton stated: “The park owner in this case argued a novel theory in an attempt to confuse the hearing officer into awarding a base year rent adjustment for a park which may already have the highest rents in the County, and which could have then been used as a springboard for future fair return rent increases. But the hearing officer showed a good grasp of the issues, and followed the law.

Because the park owner failed to present any competent evidence to support its claim, the entire increase was denied. This is a text book case of how residents who effectively organize and hire qualified representation can defeat a wealthy park owner.

In the OW case, the Owner did not present any claims about operating cost increases or evidence that the base year (2016) rents are disproportionately low. Instead, the Owner claimed a right to raise rents above current levels with the addition of an amount to recover a “Leasehold Advantage”, which the Park Owner asserted as the benefit to HOME owners due to low site rents and concluded that this benefit should be owed to the Park Owner instead.

Although the Hearing examination and cross examinations lasted 8 hours, in brief, Sargent stated that the Owner was NOT entitled to such an adjustment under the Ordinance, that the Leasehold Advantage was NOT an acceptable Fair Return method, and, in any case, the Owner did not calculate it properly.

Although the Park Owner has several additional alternatives that could be pursued, Attorney Stanton indicated to the residents, ‘Time will tell. But for now you have a resounding victory in the first hearing under your RSO.’
Deane Sargent