California MHP News

Fri, Apr 26, 2019 – Department of Housing and Community Development, Yolo County secure settlement funds for California mobile home owners. Former mobile home dealer and salespeople operating in Davis, Tustin, and Covina, California agree to pay reimbursements.

HCD Announcement – 2019-04-26

County of Yolo Press Release – 2016-08-22

Sacramento – More than two dozen mobile home owners in California will be reimbursed for the costs of their homes thanks to a settlement reached following a joint investigation by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and Yolo County into the fraudulent practices of a former licensed mobile home dealer and salesperson in Davis, Tustin, and Covina.

As part of the settlement, Western Ventures LP, Abraham Arrigotti, and Svetlana Drita Bronkey agreed to pay $175,000 in restitution. Most of the money, $100,000, will be distributed to all affected homeowners. The remaining $75,000 will go to reimburse the costs of the investigation and legal costs incurred by HCD.

The affected homeowners were sold below-standard homes without notification about the homes’ defects, later resulting in homeowners facing fees and penalties, violation notices, and/or eviction for not repairing their homes in a timely manner. In addition, many victims never obtained title and ownership of their homes after the sale, while others fought for years before titles were transferred into their names.

Mobile homes and manufactured homes are often the only affordable choice for many Californians, said HCD Director Ben Metcalf. HCD’s authority to hold licensed mobile home dealers and salespeople accountable is part of the bigger picture to ensure every Californian has access to a safe, affordable home.

HCD’s occupational licensing investigators and Legal Affairs Division thoroughly investigated and prosecuted the case with the assistance of Yolo County governmental offices, including the District Attorney's Office and the Office of Yolo County Supervisor Jim Provenza, who helped set up a task force with the County Sheriff and provided translators for affected homeowners who filed claims.
HCD Announcement – 2019-04-26

Thu, Sep 29, 2016 – On Monday, March 19, 2015, Chair D. Ewing of the East Davis County Fire Protection District (EDCFPC) announced that a task force of 9 was being formed to investigate the questionable business practices of Sierra Corporate Management.

One year later, on Friday, March 25, 2016, The People of the State of California (Plaintiff) filed a Complaint for Injunction, Civil Penalties, and Other Equitable Relief against Davis Group LP, Sierra Corporate Management Inc, Western Ventures LP, Abraham Arrigotti and DOES 1 through 20 inclusive.

On Tuesday, August 2, 2016, The People of the State of California won a Final Judgment and obtained an Injunction against Davis Group LP and Western Ventures LP.

Note: Kort & Scott Financial Group sold Royal Oak Manufactured Home Community in Apr 2015, a month after Chair D. Ewing’s announcement on Mon, Mar 19, 2015, that a task force of 9 was being formed to investigate the questionable business practices of Sierra Corporate Management.

• Address: 500 Artis Lane, Davis, California 95618
• County: Yolo
• Phone: 530-753-5616
• Spaces: 170
• Type: All Ages
• 2014 Space Rent: $1,200
• Sold: Apr 2015 for $10,100,000
• Name Changed to Davis Creek Mobile Home Park
• New DBA: Davis Royal Oak LLC
• New DBA Filing: Mar 2015
• Broker: Edward Orea, Martinez and Associates
• Management: Sierra Corporate Management
• DBA: Davis Group LP

Wed, Apr 24, 2019 – According to data obtained from the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), there are 5,261 Active Mobile Home and RV Parks totaling 453,086 lots/spaces in the State of California. Of those 453,086 lots/spaces, 364,333 are mobile home spaces, 66,284 are RV lots with drains and 22,469 are RV lots without drains.

There are 682 Closed Mobile Home and RV Parks totaling 20,633 lots/spaces. Of those 20,633 lots/spaces, 11,071 are mobile home spaces, 6,794 are RV lots with drains and 2,768 are RV lots without drains.

As of Wed, Apr 24, 2019, the HCD has data for a total of 5,943 Mobile Home and RV Parks totaling 473,719 lots/spaces which includes Active and Closed listings. Of those 473,719 lots/spaces, 375,404 are mobile home spaces, 73,078 are RV lots with drains and 25,237 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 Wed, Apr 24, 2019.

Note: Tue, Jan 1, 2019 – According to data obtained from the California Department of Finance there are 559,820 Mobile/Manufactured Homes in the State of California. There is a difference of 106,734 between the HCD and Department of Finance data.

Sat, Apr 20, 2019 – The MHPHOA regularly monitor online resources for mentions of Sierra Corporate Management. Over the past 90 days we continue to receive notifications for a multitude of job postings by Sierra Corporate Management on Indeed.com.

There are/were 8 job postings for Community Manager, 6 job postings for Assistant Park Manager and 13 job postings for Maintenance Technician in addition to an Administrative Assistant and Sales Manager for SCM corporate headquarters located at Rio Vista Mobile Estates in Anaheim, California.

2019/2021 Note: This section is updated regularly as new job postings are discovered.

Sun, Feb 24, 2019 – The MHPHOA regularly monitor online resources for mentions of Sierra Corporate Management. Over the past 30 days we have received notifications for a multitude of job postings by Sierra Corporate Management on Indeed.com.

Sierra Corporate Management is on an unusual hiring spree. Most of these jobs have been posted in the past 30+ days, some within the past 7 days. This gives you a good idea of which 7 parks may be without Park Managers and/or which Park Managers may soon be replaced.

There are 7 job postings for Community Manager, 6 job postings for Assistant Park Manager and 9 job postings for Maintenance Technician.

It has also been discovered during the review of these job postings that KSFG/SCM may own and/or operate properties in the State of Nevada, the MHPHOA are researching further.

We are a growing organization with multiple sites throughout California, Nevada, New Mexico and Colorado.

Thu, Apr 18, 2019 – The situation at Rancho La Paz Mobile home park, which includes parts of Fullerton and Anaheim, in which residents were slapped with 44-60% rent increases when a new owner took over, is part of a much larger national trend, according to a recent report. This trend was the subject of a recent episode of John Oliver’s “Last Week Tonight.” We will examine this growing trend, but first here’s some information about the new owner of Rancho La Paz.

About John Saunders’ Other Mobile Home Parks: A Trend of Predatory Behavior

Rancho La Paz is not the first mobile home park that John Saunders and his investment partners have purchased and drastically increased the rents, causing problems and outrage.

Four other parks have been tracked directly to Saunders; Shorecliff, and Pacific Mobile Home Park (Surf City Beach Cottages) both in Huntington Beach; Rancho San Luis Rey in Oceanside; and Palm Beach Mobile Home Park in San Clemente. Because Saunders buys the properties under various Limited Liability names it is difficult to track just how many he owns.

He also appears to be a partner of Pacific Current Partners (PCP) which includes principals Robert Coldren, and Mike Cirillo (also owner of Star Management). A January, 29, 2016 press release from the PCP company website states: “Pacific Current Partners, a manufactured housing investor group led by industry veteran Mike Cirillo and Saunders Property Company recently partnered to acquire Palm Beach Mobile Home Park in San Clemente for an undisclosed amount. This transaction represents the eighth manufactured housing acquisition for this team in the last two years.” PCP now owns 19 mobile home parks while Star Management lists 27 across the country.
Jesse La Tour, Fullerton Observer

Sun, Apr 7, 2019 – About 150 residents of the Rancho La Paz Mobile Home Park that straddles Anaheim and Fullerton met with the park’s owner, John Saunders, on April 5. Saunders said he made a ‘mistake’ and apologized for not meeting with residents prior to imposing 45% to 55% rent increase on the mostly retired residents of the park.

Saunders said the prior owners, the Richter Family Trust, had the benefit of inheriting the park and were able to keep the rents artificially low. But for him to pay expenses, such as the $63 million mortgage and $800,000 annual property tax bill on the park that he purchased for $85 million, including the vacant lot north of the park and the land leased by Ma’s Islamic Chinese Restaurant next to the park, he would have to raise their below market rents.

Saunders said he has no intention of “forcing” residents from the park. But many of the residents, who moved to the 55 plus senior housing community as an affordable option upon retiring, live on a fixed income and stated that they will not be able to afford to pay the rent increases. As a result, 33 of the 390 mobile homes in the park are for sale according to residents, though Saunders disputes the number of homes for sale in the park.

Residents told Saunders of the difficulties they were having selling their units. They said that Star Management, contracted by Saunders to manage the park, was not approving buyers and real estate agents were unable to get clarification from management as to what the monthly rental rates would be for new owners. Saunders promised, “I will make sure to straighten that out (the new rental rates within the park) today.” He suggested buyers may not be getting approved by Star for reasons other than not meeting the financial qualifications, but assured residents, ‘If Star is refusing somebody, I want to be sure it’s not happening.’
Jane Rands, Fullerton Observer

Tue, Apr 2, 2019 – Mobile home park residents in Anaheim and Fullerton may see any planned rent increases capped soon as council members consider rent increase relief options after seniors petitioned both city councils in March.

Seniors living in the Ranch La Paz mobile home park, which straddles Anaheim and Fullerton, packed the two cities’ council chambers March 19 after learning their rents would increase June 1 anywhere from $300 to $400 because of an ownership change and the resulting increase in property tax.

Following the Rancho La Paz residents turnout at the council meetings, Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu, along with Councilmen Trevor O’Neil and Stephen Faessel were able to delay the rent increase to Sept. 1 after meeting with the owner, John Saunders.

Anaheim council members will consider two different ordinances Tuesday aimed at freezing the rent increases after Councilman Jose Moreno scheduled them on the agendas at the last meeting.
Spencer Custodio, Voice of OC

Tue, Apr 16, 2019 – This table of Investors, Park Owners and/or Park Management Companies is a work in progress as of Tue, Apr 16, 2019. The number of Sites data may not be accurate and is rounded up to the nearest quarter (25, 50, 75, 00). The MHPHOA are performing ongoing research in this area to see if we can accurately account for the total number of Sites for each entity listed. Address and Website information are accurate based on recent audits performed for data verification against publicly available records.

MHPHOA.com Reply 1 to Gibbs Giden Locher Turner Senet & Wittbrodt LLP

Sat, Apr 13, 2019 – Dear Mr. Richard E. Haskin: On Wednesday, April 10, 2019 at approximately 10:30 AM, the MHPHOA received your two (2) page letter and ten (10) page Complaint documents dated Tuesday, April 9, 2019 via FedEx overnight delivery service. The MHPHOA’s responses to the allegations contained therein are quoted and contained herein. Your Complaint Item numbers referenced are prefaced with RH:, Mr. Haskin’s initials.

Note: The below PDF download contains the MHPHOA 13 page reply and includes eight (8) PDF attachments as Exhibits A thru H. You should be able to preview these in the PDF Attachments panel of your document reader.

• MHPHOA Reply: 13 Pages
• Exhibit A: 60 Pages
• Exhibit B: 92 Pages
• Exhibit C: 09 Pages
• Exhibit D: 11 Pages
• Exhibit E: 20 Pages
• Exhibit F: 10 Pages
• Exhibit G: 79 Pages
• Exhibit H: 09 Pages
• GGLTSW Complaint: 12 Pages
• Total Pages: 315

Download the MHPHOA Reply, Exhibits, Complaint
File Type: PDF, Pages: 315, Size: 15.3 MB

Thu, Apr 11, 2019 – On Wed, Apr 10, 2019 at approximately 10:30 AM, the MHPHOA.com received a FedEx package from Gibbs Giden Locher Turner Senet Wittbrodt LLP representing Kort & Scott Financial Group LLC and Sierra Corporate Management Inc.

The package contained a two (2) page introduction letter with a demand to “immediately remove the website MHPHOA.com” accompanied by a ten (10) page complaint to be filed with the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Orange, Central Justice Center on Fri, Apr 12, 2019.

The MHPHOA.com are currently preparing our response to the allegations contained in the documents received. We will post updates as they become available.

Download the Letter and Complaint
File Type: PDF, Pages: 12, Size: 4.1 MB

Defamatory Statements

Truth is an absolute defense against defamation, including per se defamation. If the statement is true, it cannot be defamatory.

False Statements

False is defined in McBride v. People (126 Col. 277, 248 P.2d 725), a 1952 Colorado Supreme Court Decision, as: False denotes an intentional, deliberate, and willful untruth, something beyond mere inaccuracy.

Substantial Truth Doctrine

The law does not require that a statement must be perfectly accurate in every conceivable way to be considered “true.” Courts have said that some false statements must be protected for the wider purpose of allowing the dissemination of truthful speech. The resulting doctrine is known as “substantial truth.” Under the substantial truth doctrine, minor factual inaccuracies will be ignored so long as the inaccuracies do not materially alter the substance or impact of what is being communicated. In other words, only the “gist” or “sting” of a statement must be correct.

Fair Report Privilege California Civil Code §47(d) and §47(e)

This privilege generally applies to publicly available government records, official government reports, and statements made by government officials. This privilege enables the MHPHOA.COM to freely report about what people say during City Council Meetings or to quote from publicly available records.

Opinion and Fair Comment Privileges

The right to speak is guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution which includes the right to voice opinions, criticize others, and comment on matters of public interest. Such statements represent what is called “pure opinions” because they can't be proven true or false.

Qualified Privilege

Other types of communications are subject to what is called a qualified privilege, meaning that the person making the allegedly defamatory statement may have had some right to make that statement.

Just one (1) of the statements for which a qualified privilege applies is...

1. Statements made in self-defense or to warn others about a harm or danger.

Libel-Proof Plaintiff Doctrine

The libel-proof plaintiff doctrine recognizes that a plaintiff’s reputation with respect to a specific subject may be so badly tarnished that he cannot be further injured by allegedly false statements on that subject.
Guccione v. Hustler Magazine, Inc., 800 F.2d 298, 303 (2d Cir. 1986)

Sun, Apr 7, 2019 – Mobile homes may seem like an affordable housing option, but large investment companies are making them less and less so.

Tue, Apr 9, 2019 – Inspired by Last Week Tonight with John Oliver’s segment on mobile home parks, Rep. Julie Fahey gave a remonstrance today on the floor of the Oregon House.

Define: Remonstrance – An earnest presentation of reasons for opposition or grievance especially a document formally stating such points.
Merriam-Webster > Remonstrance

Fri, Apr 5, 2019 (MHAction Report Released Thu, Feb 14, 2019) – Our new report with Private Equity Stakeholder Project and Americans for Financial Reform details private equity convergence on manufactured housing.

Many of the largest private equity and real estate investors in the world, managing more than $1.77 trillion in assets, have bought up manufactured home communities at a rapid pace and raised rents and fees sharply, posing a dramatic new threat to the economic security of millions of seniors, people with disabilities, families, and immigrants in need of low-cost housing, according to our new report.

Private equity companies and predatory real estate investors are buying up mobile home communities, raising rents, and getting richer off the backs of poor people, said Sabrina Ramirez, manufactured home resident from Palo Alto, California.
MHAction (Manufactured Housing Action)

Download the Private Equity Giants Report
File Type: PDF, Pages: 19, Size: 1.9 MB