California MHP News

Tue, Nov 27, 2018 – A jury decided today that the owners of Friendly Village Mobile Home Park in North Long Beach should pay out $34 million in punitive damages, in addition to $5.5 million awarded last week, to residents of the park who sued over decaying conditions that included methane gas leaks and continually sinking ground.

The jury awarded the punitive damages for negligence, unfair business practices, retaliatory eviction and financial elder abuse. Lead attorney Brian Kabateck said the residents lived in squalor at the property that was once a trash dump for the city of Long Beach.

This is an outstanding outcome,” Kabateck said Tuesday. “What we really hoped for is that justice would be done.

He said this case, which involves 31 families, is the first suit. The law firm plans to file another lawsuit on behalf of 120 families who live in the 182-unit park, which is just south of Davenport Park on Paramount Boulevard.

Kabateck said the bulk of the judgment was against Kort & Scott, which own a number of mobile home parks across the state.

Kabateck LLP Press Release: Tue, Nov 27, 2018 – A Los Angeles jury awarded $34 million today in punitive damages to 30 residents of a Long Beach mobile home park that was once a trash dump site for the city of Long Beach. Today’s verdict is in addition to a $5.5 million judgment the jury leveled last week against the owners of Friendly Village. The jurors found the defendants liable for negligence, unfair business practices, retaliatory eviction and financial elder abuse.

• Address: 5450 North Paramount Boulevard, Long Beach, California 90805
• County: Los Angeles
• Phone: 562-531-3002
• Spaces: 182
• Type: All Ages
• 2018 Space Rent: $1,500
• Purchased: Feb 2014, Amount: $23,000,000
• Management: Sierra Corporate Management
• 2018-10-08 – New Management: Investors’ Property Services
• DBA: Friendly Village GP LLC, Friendly Village MHP Associates LP
• DBA Filing: Nov 2010, Jan 2014

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Fri, Nov 23, 2018 – We are currently tracking 1,400+ mobiles homes in the Kort & Scott (KSFG) dba Sierra Corporate Management (SCM) inventory. We continue to acquire sales information for the KSFG/SCM mobile home parks and will post additional data once vetted.

Below are real-time statistics for mobile home sales in Kort & Scott owned mobile home parks in California. Click/tap the “Mobile Home Sales Statistics” link below to show/hide statistical data.

Mobile Home Sales Statistics

Mon, Nov 12, 2018 Updates – The MHPHOA have been continually researching and developing a database of Resident Owned Communities (ROC) aka Resident Owned Parks (ROP) in the State of California. We have 175 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.

All 175 Resident Owned Communities (ROC) have recently been reviewed and updated. We have removed entries that were originally incorrectly identified as ROCs. We've corrected park names, addresses, telephone numbers, added HOA Fees/Date columns and links to MH Village and HOA websites when available. We've also included a Google Map showing all 175 Resident Owned Communities in California.

The MHPHOA have researched 400+ for sale and recently sold listings (Nov 2018) to determine the current HOA Fees for 104 out of 175 ROCs listed. Those HOA Fees range from $35 to $1,030 with an average of $250.

From the data collected, we were able to determine that a mobile home park with 150 spaces cost an average of $250 per space per month to operate. That comes out to $37,500 per month or $450,000 per year.

Manufactured home values in most California ROCs range from $200,000 to $500,000+ depending on the area. We saw 1990s manufactured homes selling in that range which clearly shows us that it's the “land beneath” that holds the value. We see similar 1990s manufactured homes selling for under $50,000 in Kort & Scott owned mobile home parks where the space rent is $1,700+ per month.

Industry Rule of Thumb: For every $10 per month space rent increase you lose approximately $1,000 in mobile home equity.

1990 Silvercrest Sells for $215,000 – HOA Fees: $75 Monthly

Here's an example of a recent manufactured home sale on Thu, Nov 1, 2018 for a 1990 Silvercrest with 3 Bedrooms and 2 Baths in Kimberly Gardens located in Lake Forest, California. The home and the “land beneath” sold for $215,000 and the HOA Fees are $75 per month.

Fri, Nov 9, 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 453,750 lots/spaces in the State of California. Of those 453,750 lots/spaces, 364,950 are mobile home spaces, 66,212 are RV lots with drains and 22,588 are RV lots without drains.

There are 672 “Closed” Mobile Home and RV Parks totaling 19,954 lots/spaces. Of those 19,954 lots/spaces, 10,521 are mobile home spaces, 6,724 are RV lots with drains and 2,709 are RV lots without drains.

As of Fri, Nov 9, 2018, the HCD has data for a total of 5,943 Mobile Home and RV Parks totaling 473,704 lots/spaces which includes “Active” and “Closed” listings. Of those 473,704 lots/spaces, 375,471 are mobile home spaces, 72,936 are RV lots with drains and 25,297 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 Fri, Nov 9, 2018.

Tue, Nov 6, 2018 – The MHPHOA.com website launched on Thu, Nov 5, 2015 and during the time period of Thu, Nov 5, 2015 thru Mon, Nov 5, 2018 (1,096 Days) the MHPHOA.com website recorded the following analytical information. Jan 2018 sets a new benchmark for number of Users (9,779) and Mar 2018 sets a new benchmark for number of Pageviews (23,929) for the MHPHOA.com website.

Sun, Nov 4, 2018 – Sources have informed the MHPHOA that Sierra Corporate Management has a new President as of Oct 2018, his name is Gregory Wilson. This will be the third President in two years since Abraham Arrigotti left in Jul 2016.

KSFG/SCM Current/Past Presidents

Gregory Wilson
2018-10 to Current

Russell A. Rodriguez
2017-12 to 2018-08

Richard K. Pinel
2016-09 to 2017-11

Abraham Arrigotti
1998-01 to 2016-07

Fri, Nov 2, 2018 – From the 2018 California Mobilehome Residency Law Frequently Asked Questions: Rents, Fees and Taxes, 6. Security Deposit

Resident Question: Can the park charge first and last months’ rent plus a 2-month security deposit?

MRL Answer: Normally, when a mobilehome owner is accepted for residency in a mobilehome park and signs a rental agreement, charging first month’s rent and a 2-month security deposit are permitted. (Civil Code §798.39) After one full year of satisfactory residency (meaning all rent and fees have been paid during that time), the resident is entitled to request a refund of the 2-month security deposit, or may request a refund at the time he or she vacates the park and sells the home. (Civil Code §798.39(b))
2018 California MRL FAQs

Submit your request for a security deposit refund in writing to Sierra Corporate Management today. The MRL specifically states that SCM must refund your deposit after one full year of satisfactory residency. Do not wait until you vacate the park and/or sell your mobile home.