I have not read the lease/agreement but from what I have heard, the only thing the tenants got was a promise their rent would not be raised every 3 months. The owners got everything they wanted and more. Were Mr Farrington and Mr Brown representing the people or the park owners?
I understand that improvement to parks will be voted on by the tenants..if the majority of tenants agree, the improvements will be made and the tenants will pay for them.
Is this fair? My hearing is not the best, so its possible I didn”t hear that correctly. We improve the parks, get annual rent increases; all for the privilege of living in a Mobile Home Park which doesn”t belong to us.
Mobile home parks are supposed to be low income housing.
This is being destroyed by predatory park owners raising rents in their desire to maximize profits.
I live in Lorraine Village. Lorraine was one of the best parks in the county to live in. It is a senior park. Our rent increases were generally in line with the COLA and the park was well maintained. We had free water and no one worried about watering their yards. A few months ago, the new owner distributed a notice saying that the cost of water was exorbitant; his bill was $6,000 for two months and residents would have to pay for their own water. We have 63 spaces.
I tried to rally the residents; explaining to who would listen that this meant a big rent increase. The response from the tenants was underwhelming and now everyone pays for their own water. I know of cases where the water bill exceeds $75 a month. We are paying $230 a month basic rent for our small spaces. $30 for sewage connection, $17 garbage pick-up (this we checked and garbage costs the park $8.20 per resident.) plus water bill, which varies from tenant to tenant.
When has the cola ever reached Seven Percent? Inflation is running rampant ? maybe 10% or more, yet we get a meager 2.7 or 3% in our cost of living adjustment, yet you are allowing the park owners to raise the rents 7% annually.
As previously stated Lorraine had a reputation as one of the best parks. This has been destroyed and it has led to a lack of mobility on the part of residents who wish to move to either a hospice or in with relatives. Mobiles are hard to sell now. Whether a mobile is occupied or not, the owner gets his rent every month.
I am not (personally) as affected as others. I bought my mobile back 12 years ago and got it for a good price. Others bought their mobiles at the peak of the housing bubble and are stuck. As you know, real estate prices are low and dropping; yet our rents keep rising.
Any buyers out there who check on the park environment are not induced to buy if they find the tenants are at the mercy of an owner who doesn”t really give a (expletive deleted) for his tenants but just his bottom line. These people who own expensive mobiles are trapped, and at the mercy of predatory owners.
Their only recourse is to buy a lot outside the park and move their mobile; but how many can afford to do that? That would be an interesting experiment ? everyone move out en-masse. The owners will then find out exactly what their park is worth.
If owners are not making a profit, I suggest they sell the park to the tenants. I know we would eagerly listen to any proposition.
I call on the Board of Supervisors to do the right thing and pass an ordinance with teeth in it to regulate mobile parks and keep rents and other abuses in check.
The proposed lease/agreement gives me the impression that mobile home tenants are nothing but trailer trash.
Andrew Mercado is a resident of the Lorraine Village Park in Upper Lake. Guest commentaries are sole opinions of the individual writers, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Record-Bee or its staff.
