Behind the Wall - part 5...the war zone.

These are the empty spaces that are currently in our park.   Imagine trying to sell your home that has one, two, three or more of these in close proximity.  Do you think this would raise some questions with your prospective buyer?  Do you think this might lower the value of your home?

Basically, they are just dirt lots, so why are some of us paying over $1300.00 a month to rent them???

The Tatum Kaplan Gang...exposed

I am going to temporarily interrupt the "Behind the Wall" series because I have found some extremely revealing information regarding The Tatum Kaplan Gang.  This information is so important that every park resident should be aware of it.  Every mobile home resident advocacy group should also be aware of this information. If they are not already aware of it, every federal, state and local official that has to deal with any segment of the Tatum Kaplan Gang should be informed of what is hiding behind this gang's façade of respectability.


WHAT IS A GANG?
According to Wikipedia, "A gang is a group of people who, through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage, share a common identity."  Now that's the nice definition.  Keep this definition in mind while you read this post and you will understand how appropriate the term "gang" is when applied to the Tatum Kaplan organization.


INTEGRAL PARTS OF THE TATUM KAPLAN GANG
Tatum Kaplan Financial Group is pretty much a self contained organization in all aspects of the mobile home park industry.  Mobile Community Management Co. (MCM), Community Mobilehome Sales (CMS), the California Mobilehome Parkowners Alliance (CMPA) and the Manufactured Housing Educational Trust (MHET) are all in one way or another a part of the Tatum Kaplan gang.  Jeffrey Kaplan is a lawyer and CPA and Thomas Tatum is a real estate broker.  So, with this set up and the lobbyists and lawyers they employ, there is not much if anything this organization cannot do at any level to further their greed based business and continue to prey on prospective and existing mobile home park residents.


I will now provide you with information regarding each part of this operation and this should show you just how closely these parts fit together in the scheme of things.  Some of this may be a little redundant as I have provided the information in earlier posts however, I feel I must repeat it in order to paint the big picture.


Tatum Kaplan Financial 
I have already covered this part of the gang quite extensively but I will repost some basic information.  According to the California Secretary of State both Thomas Tatum and Jeffrey Kaplan have active corporate registrations under Tatum Financial Corp. and Kaplan Financial Corp.  The address for both of these corporations is 924 Westwood Blvd Ste 910, Los Angeles, Ca. 90024



Mobile Community Management (MCM)
This is the company that manages all of the Tatum Kaplan owned parks.  According to the California Secretary of State, MCM is listed as a corporation with address of 924 Westwood Blvd Ste 910, Los Angeles, Ca. 90024.  MCM's agent for service of process is Jeffrey A Kaplan.
MCM's actual address is:
   Mobile Community Management
   1801 E. Edinger #230
   Santa Ana, Ca  
   (714) 480-1120
The president of Mobile Community Management is Chelu Travieso.


Community Mobilehome Sales 
If you live in a Tatum Kaplan owned park it is not uncommon to see a CMS for sale sign taped in the window of a recently evicted resident's mobile home window.  

Community Mobilehome Sales is located at another Tatum Kaplan owned park, Swan Lake Mobile Estates:

   5800 Hamner Ave Sp705

   Mira Loma, Ca. 91752

   (951) 360-3591

CMS also has an office listing at:

   1801 E. Edinger Ave #230

   Santa Ana, Ca. 92705

   (714) 480-1120

   contact: Chelu Travieso

 According to the Orange County fictitious business name search, the business owner listed for CMS is Mobile Community Management.

California Mobilehome Parkowners Alliance (CMPA)
According to the California Secretary of State, the California Mobilehome Parkowners Alliance is an active corporation whose address is:
   924 Westwood Blvd Ste910
   Los Angeles, Ca 90024
The agent for service of process is Chelu Travieso at 1801 E. Edinger Ave, Santa Ana, Ca.
A third address that CMPA uses is:
   25241 Paseo de Alicia Suite 120
   Laguna Hills, Ca 92653
   (949) 380-3304  

According to Jeffrey Kaplan, CMPA is a trade association that represents California land-lease parkowners.  CMPA is quite active in California, particularly in regards to anti rent control legislation.  CMPA is the spearhead the Tatum Kaplan Gang and this is where the money goes to fight laws and legislation that are not to their wallets' advantage.  They employ Sacramento lobbyists Edelstein, Gilbert, Robson & Smith to preach their sanctimonious spins to the governor and legislative committees about how they run their parks in a manner which is beyond reproach.  What else should we expect being that the Chairman of the Board for CMPA is Jeffrey Kaplan and the only two other executive board members are Thomas T. Tatum and Chelu Travieso.  So remember elected officials, when you have a lobbyist in front of you representing CMPA, he is more than likely representing the greed of Tatum and Kaplan rather than a trade association of parkowners.



Now I find it a bit strange that an organization such as CMPA does not have a website that promotes their position and goals, recruits membership and informs its members of what is happening in California that could be to their benefit or detriment. Isn't that what a trade association does?  Well then let's look at the word "alliance" which Wikipedia defines as "an agreement between two or more parties, made in order to advance common goals and to secure common interests."  I guess CMPA executive board members feel no need to promote via a website...doing so could mean that at some point in time they might have to compromise there goals and common interests with others who may not be as insensitive about taking advantage of park residents as they are.


Manufactured Housing Educational Trust (MHET)
According to the California Secretary of State MHET is an active corporation located at:
    25241 Paseo de Alicia Suite 120    
    Laguna Hills, Ca 92653
   (949) 380-3303 
Their agent for service of process is Vickie Talley.
Chelu Travieso serves a vice president on MHET's board of directors.


MHET does have a website and I must say it isn't too bad.  So why am I including them as a part of the Tatum Kaplan Gang other than they share a common address with the California Mobilehome Parkowners Alliance and that Chelu Travieso is their vice president?  Well then, take a look at this!!! 
MHET gave Jeffrey Kaplan and Thomas Tatum a "life time achievement award in 2009.  How could MHET not be aware of Tatum and Kaplan's questionable pasts and business practices?  How could MHET not be aware of the outrageous terms of the leases Tatum and Kaplan use to take advantage of trusting residents.  How could MHET not be aware of the exorbitant rents that are being charged residents in Tatum and Kaplan parks, even in cities where there are rent control ordinances.  It appears that MHET has chosen to close its eyes to Tatum and Kaplan's deplorable behavior in the mobile home park industry and present them with a "life time achievement" award...a façade of respectability for a couple of good ol' boys patting their own backs.  (Oh, did I mention that Jeffrey Kaplan is also a member of the board for MHET?)  For these reasons I am of the opinion that MHET deserves a place in the gang.

So, look back over this information.  Notice the shared addresses and phone numbers each part of this gang uses.  Notice how Chelu Travieso has her hands in all the segments of this gang making her the third prong of the devil's pitchfork that residents must contend with. Watch for them in your parks, on the internet and in the news and remember...don't trust them!

 

 

Behind the Wall - part 4...A Heartbreak of the Worst Kind

Two years ago, a five year old child was killed in the streets of Upland Cascade Mobilehome Park.  He was riding on a skateboard  and his brothers watched as he was struck by a car.  A small memorial of candles, pictures and messages was left near where the boy died and it remained there until recently.  Now there is just a pile of rocks and yet each day that empty pile of rocks reminds of the tragedy that occurred there.


Of course, the family was devastated.  They remained in the park for a couple of months following the accident and then moved out and understandably so...how long and painful those last months here must have felt to them.  The home has now been vacant for nearly two years.


For weeks after the accident there was much finger pointing as to who was to blame.  The parents, the driver or the park???  I honestly cannot say who was to blame but one fact that I can stand by is that this happened in the streets of Upland Cascade Mobilehome Park.  With that in mind, I have come to the conclusion that the streets in this park are not a safe place for our children to play...period!!!

Behind the Wall - part 3...Rent Increases and Walkaways

It is not uncommon in this park to hear that someone is getting a 20%, 30% or 40% annual rent increase but how about a 72% annual rent increase.  Yes, that's right, even though the City of Upland has a rent control ordinance a resident at our park last year received a notice from the park stating that their rent would be increase from $749.00 to $1293.00 per month...that's over 72%!!!  I guess they decided not to pay this outrageous rent increase because their home is now empty and has a for sale sign in the window.

I am not sure how old the home is but it appears to be approximately 9 or 10 years old.  This for sale sign in the window is asking $39,000 cash.

Double click on the image to enlarge.

This is another example of how many of our residents have been priced out of their homes in this park.

Behind the Wall Part 2...Trashing Your Home 101

This is the lot directly across the street from the previous post. (Behind the Wall...part 1)  Late last year the residents who lived here were evicted but before they left, they trashed the home which I believe was around 30 years old.  They stripped some aluminum siding, walls, doors and Lord knows what else.

The awning over the carport collapsed, the door to the water heater was gone and some of the siding was missing on the back of the home.

Siding was stripped from this side of the home exposing framework and insulation.

This home remained like this for months and in my opinion not only was it an eyesore, it was a health and safety hazard.  Children play in our streets every day and it was amazing that no inquisitive little minds tried to explore these premises and get hurt.  Imagine though, trying to sell a home nearby and having prospective buyers see this in the park.  Do you think that would have created a loss in value or a busted sale?

The house was finally cleared and now all that remains is an empty dirt lot.  One eyesore among 12 and rising.

Behind the Wall - part 1

Many hopes, dreams and hearts have been shattered behind the walls of Upland Cascade Mobile Home Park.  Many of us have unwittingly placed our trust in individuals who ended up severely taking advantage of us.  Many of us could never have imagined that state and local officials would allow a business to prey upon the trust of individuals as Tatum Kaplan Financial Group has.  In this "Behind the Wall" series of our blog we will share some of the individual stories that have been and are still taking place in this nightmare of a park.  This first story involves an attempt to sell a mobile home in our park.

This is a 2002 Golden West mobile home that I believe was purchased in park  by its current owner in 2005.  A few month back, he put his home up for sale due to the "ridiculous rent" in the park.  The terms were to be take over payments with an approximate balance of $59,000.  A few days ago I passed by his home and found these sign showing a reduced asking price of $15,000! (Double click on the pictures for a larger view.)

 This is a 7 year old mobile home but still the owner has a problem selling it even for $15,000.  Don't let our management fool you.  This is not because of our nation's current economic situation.  The problem here is that of excessive rents, deteriorating park conditions and greedy park owners.

Runnin' on Empty

This is what you see when you first enter the Upland Cascade Mobile Home Park.  Notice that the waterfall is now trickling slowly rather than running freely as it had in the past.  Is the well running dry?  Perhaps a metaphor as to what is going on behind the walls at our park.

According to my figures the park currently has 12 empty dirt lots and approximately 11 vacant mobile homes out of 188 total spaces.  In my opinion, many of these empty lots and empty mobile homes are the direct result of evictions or 'walk aways' brought about by residents being priced out of their homes via uncontrollable rents and the unconscionable terms of the park's leasing contract.  Is all this now coming back to bite the Tatum Kaplan gang in the butt???  Maybe a little bit.

OK...in our park, the rents range from approximately $600.00 a month to $1300.00+ a month.  The median rent in our park would then be $950.00.  Since we have 23 lots homes that are not collecting rent at the present time then the park is not collecting approximately $21,850.00 in revenues each month.   That would be approximately $260,000.00 a year of lost revenues due to Tatum Kaplan's exorbitant rents. 

I chose to use median rents rather than average rents because I don't have the actual rents charged for each space but if we calculate the above using a low guesstimate of what the average rent might be then this would be what we find.  Lets guesstimate that the average allowable rents at this time for the 23 empty spaces would be $800.00 per month.  Then $800.00 X 23 vacant spaces would be $18,400.00.  The annual loss would be $220,800.00.  Still, with the low estimate, that is a considerable chunk of change. 

Jeffrey Kaplan recently wrote a letter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.  In his letter, Kaplan cites a 21 year old article that states that "land-lease parks represents over 4% of California's housing stock and...is clearly one of the most efficient forms of housing when measured by the cost per square foot and the quality of shelter."  ("Legal-Economic Analysis of Rent Controls in the Mobile Hom Context: Placement Values and Vacancy Decontrol" Hirsch and Hirsch)  Kaplan then adds, "Yet, this market is currently underserved by lenders at all levels--from the park owners who are unable to refinance their existing loans to developers who would build more affordable housing spaces to potential new tenants who wish to buy new and used mobilehomes. Of course, I believe what Kaplan is getting at here is to have the government free up more money so it can go into his own wallet.  It is my belief that not much ink flows from Jeffrey Kaplan's pen that does not serve to support his own greedy self-interest. The problem with Tatum and Kaplan owned parks is not that loans are not available for refinancing or the purchase of new and used mobilehomes.  It is my opinion that the problem with Tatum Kaplan owned parks reaches back much further than this nation's current economic situation and the core of this problem is that no one now wants to buy into one of their parks because the word is out...the rents are too high, the conditions in their parks are deteriorating and the owners and management cannot be trusted.  It's that simple!

Rapacious Rats

Hello friends.  Good news!  Once again I am as right as rain and ready to roll with rebellious rants regarding those rapacious rats relentlessly robbing residents with ridiculous rents and no remorse.  After an unexpected lengthy respite my doctor finally signed my papers allowing me to return home from the asylum and I am excited about getting back to it so let's get it on!!!


I see that during my absence, my designated bloggers fell a bit short of my high expectations however, they have done a lot of research that will provide me with much to blog about.  I am looking forward to your visits, comments and e-mails but remember that I am not here to provide legal advice and I will make no attempt to do so.  The information/documentation I share here is truthful and accurate to the best of my knowledge and the statements I make regarding this documentation are my opinions.  Read, investigate and then you be the judge.  When you review the material on this blog, I am sure you will be convinced that there is something terribly wrong with what is going on in the Tatum Kaplan owned mobile home parks.