CLEARLAKE — Maurice Priest, president and operator of Residents Owned Parks (ROP), addressed residents from around Lake County, including those of Westwind Mobile Home Park at a Mobile Home Task Force meeting Wednesday.
According to Anita Sombs President of the MHTF, residents are pushing for a “rent control” ordinance for Lake County. Currently the county does not have such an ordinance.
In January, Westwind Mobile Park homeowners received notice that the park had been sold. In a three-page letter, ROP informed homeowners that they have entered into a purchase contract and plan to close escrow by mid-February 2007.
According to residents of Westwind, rental space will increase from $525 to $730 when the park is sold. The resulting increase is almost 40 percent. According to Westwind residents, approximately one third of the residents in the mobile park are on fixed incomes and cannot afford the increase.
“We feel powerless right now,” said Betty Martin resident of Westwind Mobile Home Park.
Residents ? mainly those from Westwind ? expressed harsh words for Priest when the meeting started.
According to Priest, ROP has received a bad rap in the past couple of weeks because of the rent increase.
“We care about the residents in the park,” said Priest. “We are offering the residents a chance to own the park.”
According to Priest, the park was already on the market and residents of Westwind contacted ROP for help. If a private investor would have purchased the property rather than ROP, rent would have been even higher since private investors add a profit margin to the rent price. ROP is a non-profit organization and does not factor profit into the rent.
In addition, ROP claims that their purchase of the park will enable residents to eventually own the park. Each mobile home owner will then own their lot.
“We also will only allow a 3 percent rent increase a year,” said Priest. “That is lower than most rent control ordinances.”
Despite the eventual promise of lot ownership, meeting participants expressed concerns about affordability of the rent at this time. Questions arose regarding the end results, should residents become unable to pay rent.
According to Priest, ROP will work with residents and help assist them in finding solutions should that issue occur.
“I cannot promise anything, but rest assured, I have been an advocate for residents of mobile parks for 26 years,” said Priest.
Priest claims the rise in real estate in California and property tax increase because of the sale of a property are contributors to rent increase around California ? not just in Lake County.
Sombs said the task force plans on submitting a rent control ordinance proposal to the Board of Supervisors shortly and are hoping to get it adopted.
ROP Web site: www.residentownedparks.com.Toll Free (800) 655-6600
Contact Rene Morales at rmorales@record-bee.com.
