Mobile Home Owner News – December 2022
Resident curated mobile home owners news and information for residents of Mobile Home Parks owned by Kort & Scott (KS) companies. The MHPHOA also provides news coverage for Mobile Home Parks not owned by KS companies.
Click/tap the story headlines to open a link to the full original story and/or media such as streaming video from City Council Meetings. Story headlines with are inline news stories.
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RE: Fresno, California / La Hacienda Mobile Estates / Predator Harmony Communities
Tue, Dec 27, 2022 – A Fresno mobile home park which saw some of the city’s worst living conditions after years of neglect is now under new ownership. But residents still have questions about their future at the park.
The conditions at the park were dire enough to force the City of Fresno to take over enforcement of all mobile home parks. The California Department of Housing and Community Development typically has full control of mobile homes.
A court-appointed receiver later listed the property for sale and in October, it was officially handed over to Harmony Communities – a Stockton-based company that manages more than 30 parks across California, Nevada and Oregon.
RE: Fresno, California / Trails End Mobile Home Park / Predator Harmony Communities
Fri, May 20, 2022 – A judge has authorized the sale of a local mobile home park at the center of an affordable housing battle to a national corporate landlord, dealing a blow to residents, lawyers and housing advocates who had hoped their bid for a cooperative – in which tenants each own a piece of the property – could become a model for a city short on housing solutions.
For months, residents of the Trails End Mobile Home Park feared a purchase from Harmony Communities, a Stockton-based mobile home operating company with 33 properties primarily in the West. Trails End marks its third property in the Fresno area. It has slowly grown into one of the larger mobile home-owning operators in the country, at times acquiring parks, renovating them and raising rents in the process.
Families living at the park, who traveled in a caravan of vehicles from their homes in the north part of the city, tightly packed four rows of wooden benches inside a downtown Fresno courtroom after weeks of anticipation, wearing stickers with the number of their mobile home on their chests. The night before, they had met with local housing advocates, as they had nightly for several weeks, preparing for one of two scenarios: convincing the judge of their ownership plan, or walking away with new landlords and considering what options, if any, they had left. After a roughly 30-minute discussion among attorneys for the park owners, the city and the tenants, Judge Kristi Culver Kapetan determined she would approve the sale to Harmony Communities, prompting an eruption of tears and frustration from those who had tried to put together an alternative purchase.
Tue, May 10, 2022 – A disappointed crowd of Trails End residents and supporters left the Fresno County Superior Courthouse Tuesday afternoon after a judge allowed for the sale of their mobile home park to Harmony Communities.
Trails End suffered two fires in April and June of last year. Five homes were destroyed and one person died.
Trails End has been under receivership, which means a third party took control from the current owners. The receiver, Mark Adams, has been working to make necessary safety improvements in preparation for the sale of the mobile home park to Harmony.
People living at Trails End were hoping to purchase the park themselves through a co-op, but the group helping them was not able to put together a viable offer in the eyes of the court.
Wed, Nov 18, 2021 – A deadly fire at the Trails End Mobile Home Park in April spurred Fresno government leaders into taking over code enforcement responsibilities at all mobile home parks in the city. Here’s a timeline of the Trails End Mobile Home Park case and what will happen next:
Tue, Nov 17, 2021 – After being neglected for years, the Trails End Mobile Home Park, the site of a deadly fire in April and June, is now in the hands of a court-appointed receiver.
The California Receivership Group – based in Santa Monica – was appointed by the Fresno County Superior Court on Nov. 10 to “abate the dangerous substandard and nuisance conditions” at the mobile home park, located on Sierra Avenue off of Blackstone Avenue.
Our goal, under the judge’s order of appointing us, is to make this place safe and habitable for the people who live here, said Mark Adams, president and CEO of the receivership group, during an inspection of the mobile home park on Tuesday. The purpose of today is just to get a sense of what’s going on.
Thu, Sep 9, 2021 – Just this year, two fires at the park located near Blackstone and Sierra, have injured a handful of people, killed one man, and destroyed five trailers.
The city plans to file a petition in the next couple of weeks with the Fresno County Superior Court to get a receiver, which is essentially a third party would be in charge of making sure the park gets cleaned up and to code.
At the end of April, 56-year-old Ronald Richardson died at Trails End. While covering the fire, our station uncovered a suspension of the park’s operating permit due to health and safety violations dating all the way back to July of 2020.
Tue, May 18, 2021 – Fresno officials are making plans to take charge of enforcing habitability conditions at mobile home parks within the city’s boundaries following a fatal fire at a park operating with a suspended license.
Councilmember Garry Bredefeld, representative of District 6 where Trails End Mobile Home park is located, and Mayor Jerry Dyer will introduce an ordinance to City Council on May 27 to have the city take control of enforcement at local mobile home parks which are currently under state jurisdiction. They also intend to ask for state approval.
Bredefeld said if mobile home parks were under city control, the communication breakdown like what occurred between the state and city in Trails End could be avoided.
– Cassandra Garibay, The Fresno Bee
Thu, May 13, 2021 – After one person died two weeks ago in a fire at a Fresno mobile home park that was operating with a suspended permit Fresno city officials proposed the city take over the authority of the parks from the state.
Councilmember Garry Bredefeld and Mayor Jerry Dyer brought forward an ordinance at the next council meeting that would move mobile home parks from the state’s jurisdiction to the city.
Councilmember Garry Bredefeld believes the best way to address the safety concerns is for Fresno to take authority of it from the state.
– Mederios Babb, YourCentralValley.com
Fri, May 7, 2021 – It took a deadly fire that killed one person and destroyed two homes for the city of Fresno to become involved with a mobile home park whose license to operate had been suspended by the state three months prior.
Now the California Department of Housing and Community Development, which has enforcement jurisdiction over Fresno mobile home parks, and the city of Fresno are discussing how to bring the Trails End Mobile Home Park up to code or close it down.
Trails End, a 2.3-acre property with 60 spaces for mobile homes, is still in operation despite the suspended license, while the city of Fresno, the county and Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) sort out which entity can legally abate or close down the park.
According to HCD Codes and Standards Deputy Director Kyle Krause, authorities suspended Trails End’s permit to operate in January because of major habitability issues dating back to July 2020 which the mobile home operators failed to address, months after the deadline.
Trails End Mobile Home Park, the only of the 36 active mobile home parks in Fresno that is under suspension, was first built in 1970. It has been owned by trustee Joan Kevorkian since 2010. The permit required for the park’s operation was suspended in January “due to violations that went uncorrected” for at least six months, Krause said.
– Cassandra Garibay, The Fresno Bee
RE: Cortez, Colorado
Fri, Dec 23, 2022 – There are various models for residents to own or control their mobile home parks, including forming cooperatives, and partnering with governments, land trusts, nonprofits and housing authorities.
Technical expertise is critical, said Dan Hunt, who has a background in property management and business. For example, Thistle ROC has a step-by-step process assisting the park. The model can include no-down payment and 110% financing that includes closing costs and reserve accounts.
Once the purchase is made, more work is ahead, Dan Hunt said. Cooperative boards need to assign duties to help manage the park and have regular meetings. Grants need to be applied for to reduce financing costs, and park management and maintenance contracts must be secured.
RE: California
Thu, Dec 22, 2022 – This table of Mobile Home Parks, RV Parks, and Manufactured Home Communities for Sale in California is a work in progress as of Thursday, December 22, 2022. Data is being updated regularly.
This is a partial listing and covers the sold period 2021-01-01 to 2022-12-31. This is NOT a complete list of mobile home parks for sale in California. Many sales of mobile home parks are usually done via Pocket Listings (aka Off-Market Listings, Exclusive Listings), they are not marketed via public channels.
RE: Ohio / Legacy Communities, LLC
Mon, Dec 19, 2022 – Today, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chair of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, sent a letter to Legacy Communities LLC, a real-estate company that owns multiple manufactured housing communities in Ohio. The letter follows several complaints from Ohioans regarding drastic rent increases and service reductions in Elyria and Navarre. Brown also wrote to Freddie Mac to request a review of their financing practices for manufactured housing communities owned by Legacy Communities and other institutional investors.
I am deeply concerned that Legacy Communities’ management practices will cause financial instability, displacement, and homelessness among hundreds of Ohio seniors. As a national company doing business from Delaware and Florida and with leadership in Arizona, Legacy Communities will be far removed from the consequences of its decisions. But Ohio seniors, their families, and local communities will have to deal with the fallout of Legacy Communities’ policies, wrote Brown. I urge you to immediately halt rent increases for existing and new residents in your communities and meet personally with tenants in both of Twin Lakes and Navarre Village to hear their experiences living in your communities.
Brown has long fought to protect Ohio’s homeowners and renters from bad actors in the housing market and to support access to affordable homeownership. Last week, he sent a letter to VineBrook Homes Trust after multiple Cincinnati residents reported neglectful ownership practices. He also held a listening session with tenants hurt by institutional investors in February, and held hearings in February and August on big investors in the housing market and the harm they cause local communities.
RE: Thousand Oaks, California
Fri, Dec 16, 2022 – In one of her last acts as a Thousand Oaks council member, Claudia Bill-de la Peña is helping a group of about 100 seniors facing rent hikes at five of the city’s mobile home parks.
Since September, residents of the mobile home parks Ventu Villa, Ventu Estates, Thunderbird and Ranch have sought assistance from the council regarding an 8.5% rent increase that went into effect in November.
The increase is based on the consumer price index under terms that were agreed to in 2017 between the mobile home park owners and the residents. Under that agreement, owners are entitled to raise rents 100% of the CPI, which is at a 30-year high.
Fri, Dec 9, 2022 – The Profile of Older Americans is an annual summary of critical statistics related to the older population in the United States. Relying primarily on data offered by the U.S. Census Bureau, the Profile illustrates the shifting demographics of Americans age 65 and older. It includes key topic areas such as income, living arrangements, education, and health. The 2021 Profile includes a special section on family caregiving.
- 2021 Profile of Older Americans (PDF)
- 2021 Profile of Older Americans Graphics (ZIP)
- 2021 Profile of Older Americans Data Tables (XLS)
According to the report (Last Modified: 2022-11-30), the 2020 median income of people age 65+ was $26,668. Median income was higher for older men ($35,808) than for older women ($21,245). From 2019 to 2020, the real median income (after adjusting for inflation) of all households headed by older people decreased by 3.3%.
About 5 million older adults lived below the poverty level and another 2.6 million were “near-poor,” with disproportionate poverty rates among older people of color: 17.2% of African Americans, 11.5% of Asian Americans, and 16.6% of the Hispanic population (any race). In 2020, life expectancy at birth was 77 years, a 1.7-year decrease from 2019, attributable to increases in mortality due to COVID-19, unintentional injuries, heart disease, homicide, and diabetes.
Justice in Aging
RE: Santa Rosa, California
Wed, Dec 7, 2022 – Santa Rosa mobile home residents will enjoy the strongest rent control protections in Sonoma County starting next year.
At its Tuesday night meeting, the City Council voted 6-0-1 to approve an update to its mobile home rent ordinance further restricting rent increases. Vice Mayor Eddie Alvarez was absent.
Since the last change to the law in 2004, in the 16 of Santa’s Rosa’s 19 mobile home parks with rent control, rent increases were set using 100% of the San Francisco area CPI with a 6% cap. Now, they will be limited to 70% of the CPI with a 4% cap.
The new ordinance will go into effect 30 days after Tuesday’s vote which is Fri, Jan 6, 2023.
RE: Santa Rosa, California
Wed, Nov 30, 2022 – Santa Rosa mobile home park residents will get more peace of mind when it comes to rent increases under a new plan tentatively approved by the City Council late Tuesday.
Currently, 16 of Santa Rosa’s 19 mobile home parks with rent control set yearly increases based on 100% of the CPI with a 6% cap, like most other Sonoma County jurisdictions.
If the new amendment holds, rent increases will be tied to 70% of the CPI with a 4% cap. It would also allow park owners to increase rent by 10% for in-place transfers, which occur when a mobile home is sold to a new buyer.
RE: National City, California
Tue, Dec 6, 2022 – National City leaders will adopt a city ordinance to cap rent increases at mobile home parks.
This was a major victory for mobile home park residents, many of whom had to face choosing between paying for medicine or paying for rent.
The new ordinance will limit rent increases at mobile home parks to 5%. But owners at previous meetings say the move will hurt landlords in the long term.
When the ordinance passed unanimously, a round of applause echoed through the chamber. But for many like Cielo Garet-Zanella with the San Diego Organizing Project, the fight for affordable housing in San Diego will continue on.
The rent cap will take effect in January of next year and last for the next two years.
Wed, Nov 16, 2022 – The National City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved an ordinance that temporarily limits rent increases at mobile home parks.
The ordinance, which prohibits property owners from increasing rent by more than 5 percent annually, still requires a second reading next month. It would become effective January 1, 2023, and expire June 30, 2024.
National City is the latest municipality in the county to approve rental protections for mobile home park tenants. In October, Imperial Beach approved an emergency ordinance instituting a ban on evictions, a 5 percent rent cap and anti-harassment provisions for trailer parks. Chula Vista, Escondido, Oceanside, San Marcos and Santee also have mobile home rent stabilization ordinances.
RE: California
Mon, Dec 5, 2022 – Introduced by Assembly Member Gipson, Assembly Bill 22, an act relating to mobile coaches.
Existing law, the Mobilehome Residency Law, governs the term and conditions of mobilehome park tenancies, including rental agreements between homeowners and the management of the mobilehome park and park rules and regulations. Existing law, the Mobilehome Parks Act, establishes requirements for the construction, maintenance, occupancy, use, and design of mobilehome parks. Existing law, the Recreational Vehicle Park Occupancy Law, governs the terms and conditions of recreational vehicle park tenancies.
This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would classify motor coaches that are parked in a mobilehome park for a period of time that satisfies residency requirements as mobilehome properties to give mobile coach owners the ability to build home equity. The bill would state findings and declarations in that regard.
AB-22 Mobilehomes: Mobile Coaches (2023-2024)
Get Your Security Deposits Refunded After One Year
RE: California
Sat, Dec 3, 2022 – From the 2022 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))
2022 California MRL FAQs
Submit your request for a security deposit refund in writing to park management today. The MRL specifically states that park management must refund your deposit after one full year of satisfactory residency if requested in writing.
Do not wait until you vacate the park and/or sell your mobile home.
RE: Glenwood Springs, Colorado
Sat, Dec 3, 2022 – A social justice nonprofit this week went under contract to buy the 20-unit 3-Mile Mobile Home Park southwest of Glenwood Springs for $2.4 million, promising to transfer ownership to its residents within three to five years.
The deal by Carbondale-based Roaring Fork Community Development Corp. – the affordable housing arm of the nonprofit Manaus — is the first purchase in what it hopes will be a sustained effort to preserve affordable housing as private-equity groups snap up Colorado mobile home parks in desirable communities.
Manaus leaders are calling the 3-Mile deal a pilot project for a replicable model aimed at preserving affordable neighborhoods and empowering their residents in the resort-industry corridor from Aspen to Parachute, where rent increases or redevelopment typically follow the corporate acquisition of mobile home parks, contributing to an ever-worsening housing crisis. In many mobile home communities residents own their houses but rent the lots on which they sit.
RE: Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Fri, Dec 2, 2022 – The Yampa Valley Housing Authority closed on the sale of the Whitehaven Mobile Home Park on Wednesday, November 30, 2022
The housing authority purchased the mobile home park for $3.125 million on behalf of the residents who live there. Anonymous donations and favorable loans contributed to the purchase of the property.
We are grateful that with this purchase we have stabilized the situation and the residents know they can stay in their homes, said Jason Peasley, executive director of YVHA, in a news release. YVHA will not raise rents in 2023 and intends to invest in infrastructure upgrades and work with the mobile homeowners to create a resident-owned cooperative that can take over ownership of the park.
The more than 70 residents feared displacement in August when an unnamed buyer offered to buy the land under their homes. The residents were given 90 days to match the offer of $3 million.
The Steamboat Springs community started a fund in early September to help the residents buy the lot, and in late September, the housing authority submitted an offer to purchase the property, just as it did with the Fish Creek Mobile Home Park in 2007.
RE: California Mobile/Manufactured Home Parks
Fri, Dec 2, 2022 – If you are planning on purchasing a home in one of California’s 5,229 mobile/manufactured home and RV parks, here are your basic options in order of Best to Worst Case Scenarios.
- Option 1 – Buy the Home, Buy the Land/Lot (HOA Fee), Resident Owned Community (ROC)
- Option 2 – Buy the Home, Lease the Land/Lot (Space Rent), Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO), Private
- Option 3 – Buy the Home, Lease the Land/Lot (Space Rent), RSO, Corporate
- Option 4 – Buy the Home, Lease the Land/Lot (Space Rent), No RSO, Private
- Option 5 – Buy the Home, Lease the Land/Lot (Space Rent), No RSO, Corporate
Note: Labels: Private = Privately Owned, Corporate = Corporate Owned
RE: Kort & Scott, Investment Property Group
Thu, Dec 1, 2022 – In October 2022, Anaheim based Sierra Corporate Management (Michael H. Scott, Lee M. Kort) and Investment Property Group (Brian L. Fitterer) paid $190 million for the 363-unit RIZE Irvine Apartments. CBRE negotiated the sale of the luxury multifamily community and states this is the largest single-asset multifamily sale in Orange County, California since 2016.
RIZE Irvine Apartments
1100 Synergy, Irvine, California 92614
1-949-260-1500
RIZEApartments.com
- DBA 1: RIZE LKMS LLC
SOS: 202252213012, Filing Date: 08/29/2022 - DBA 2: RIZE BLF LLC
SOS: 202252213236, Filing Date: 08/29/2022