Sunday, December 20, 2009
Behind the Wall - part 6...the cancer spreads
Today I saw another empty dirt lot here. That makes 13 dirt lots in Upland Cascade Mobile Home Park. There is also another eviction in the process and that home will probably be empty shortly after the New Year. Lastly, I noticed that one of our neighbors was packing his belongings into a moving van this morning. THE CANCER CONTINUES TO SPREAD.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Upland...The City of Gracious Living???
"The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) periodically requires the City of Upland to prepare and adopt a Consolidated Plan for the City’s CDBG Program. The Consolidated Plan is a long-term strategy for the use of the City’s CDBG funds over the next five years (2005-2010). The Consolidated Plan identifies prioritized programs to assist the City in providing decent housing and suitable living environments, addressing community service and facility needs, and expanding economic opportunities for primarily low and moderate income persons."
"Along with the five year Consolidated Plan, HUD requires an annual Action Plan outlining the City’s uses of CDBG funds for one- year." (The preceding quote is from a City of Upland Notice of Public hearing f/y 2009/2010.)
Now I would like to address some of the things that the City of Upland has included in these annual Action Plans regarding its Mobile Home Rent Control Program.
In the 2003/2004 annual report, the City of Upland declares that it "Maintained rent stability for the 860 mobile home occupants." The city also states that "the Redevelopment Department and the City Clerk's offices received inquiries regarding the Mobile Home Rent Control Ordinance" and that "the Redevelopment Department began the process to amend the City's current Mobile Home Ordinance. During year five of the Consolidated Plan, the City will have amended its existing Mobile Home Ordinance."
In the 2005/2006 annual report, repeats basically the same thing. "Maintained rent stability for the 860 mobile home occupants." The report also states that the City continued to receive "numerous inquiries regarding the Mobile Home Rent Control Ordinance" and that the current rent control ordinance was still in the process of being updated. A major difference in the 2005/2006 report was that listed under "Lead Agency" was the Upland Redevelopment Department AND the IFHMB (Inland Fair Housing and Mediation Board.)
In the 2006/2007 annual report, under "Accomplishments and Time Frame" the city states "Maintain rent stability for the 860 mobile home occupants; update ordinance by Winter of 2006.
In the 2008/2009 annual report, again under "Accomplishments and Time Frame" the city state "Maintain rent stability for the 860 mobile home occupants" and then says the the ordinance will be updated by Winter of 2008.
In the 2009/2010 annual report, the City of Upland again cuts and pastes its declaration to HUD..."Maintain rent stability for the 860 mobile home occupants" and this time states that the ordinance will be updated by Winter of 2009.
Now, is the City of Upland blind? How can the City of Upland state that it has maintained rent stability for it mobile home residents when it does not even know how many of us receive the benefit of rent control? The City does not know how much rent is being charged for each of the 860 mobile home park spaces because it has never conducted a complete and accurate space rent survey and has never surveyed who and who is not on rent control. In Upland Cascade Mobilehome Park, only a handful of the 188 spaces receive the benefit of rent control yet the City, year after year, continues to state that it maintains rent stability for its 860 mobile home occupants...this simply is not true. Our space rents continue to skyrocket and the city officials continue to pass the buck or sit on their hands and do nothing.
Is the City of Upland lame? The City admits that it has received "numerous inquiries regarding the Mobile Home Rent Control Ordinance" and for AT LEAST 7 YEARS claims it is updating the ordinance. Seven years and still no update to the ordinance and all along many Upland Cascade Mobilehome Park residents have been and continue to be priced out of their homes due to the egregious rents they are being charged...in a City that has rent control. It is sad to say that at this point in time any updates to the ordinance will be too late for many of us.
Is the City of Upland mute? Mayor John Pomierski, Councilmember Brendan Brandt, Councilmember Ray Musser, Councilmember Tom Thomas and Coucilmember Kenneth W. Willis...you know of the abuses that have been taking place behind the walls of Upland Cascade Mobilehome Park yet you say nothing and offer us no assistance other than refer us to your buffer, the Inland Fair Housing and Mediation Board. IFHMB then 'kowtows' to park management/owners and we are again left out in the cold. (my opinion) It appears that for at least the past 7 years the City of Upland has made inaccurate and erroneous claims in its reports to HUD. If you cannot/ will not help your City's residents, taxpayers and voters with the problems we are facing then you should at least make an effort to provide truthful and accurate information to other agencies. Especially if you are asking them for money.
Residents have asked for help...begged for help yet the City continues to say this is a "civil matter" and there is nothing it can do. We are low and moderate income residents struggling to make ends meet in the face of exorbitant rents and do not have the resources to take on our park owners in a civil lawsuit. Our park owners are aware of this and continue to take advantage our situation. The City of Upland is aware of this and for some reason continues to shamefully turn its back on us hoping that we will just go away. The information I have provided in this post indicates that for years the City of Upland has actually been a part of the problem rather than a part of the solution to the financial mayhem that is taking place in Upland Cascade Mobilehome Park. Our efforts have been stymied, patronized and ignored by this city. How can we make it any clearer that something is terribly wrong here. Is the City of Upland deaf or does it just have selective hearing? The City of Upland's motto is "The City of Gracious Living." To many of its residents, this motto appears only to apply to homeless animals and wealthy developers.
"Along with the five year Consolidated Plan, HUD requires an annual Action Plan outlining the City’s uses of CDBG funds for one- year." (The preceding quote is from a City of Upland Notice of Public hearing f/y 2009/2010.)
Now I would like to address some of the things that the City of Upland has included in these annual Action Plans regarding its Mobile Home Rent Control Program.
In the 2003/2004 annual report, the City of Upland declares that it "Maintained rent stability for the 860 mobile home occupants." The city also states that "the Redevelopment Department and the City Clerk's offices received inquiries regarding the Mobile Home Rent Control Ordinance" and that "the Redevelopment Department began the process to amend the City's current Mobile Home Ordinance. During year five of the Consolidated Plan, the City will have amended its existing Mobile Home Ordinance."
In the 2005/2006 annual report, repeats basically the same thing. "Maintained rent stability for the 860 mobile home occupants." The report also states that the City continued to receive "numerous inquiries regarding the Mobile Home Rent Control Ordinance" and that the current rent control ordinance was still in the process of being updated. A major difference in the 2005/2006 report was that listed under "Lead Agency" was the Upland Redevelopment Department AND the IFHMB (Inland Fair Housing and Mediation Board.)
In the 2006/2007 annual report, under "Accomplishments and Time Frame" the city states "Maintain rent stability for the 860 mobile home occupants; update ordinance by Winter of 2006.
In the 2008/2009 annual report, again under "Accomplishments and Time Frame" the city state "Maintain rent stability for the 860 mobile home occupants" and then says the the ordinance will be updated by Winter of 2008.
In the 2009/2010 annual report, the City of Upland again cuts and pastes its declaration to HUD..."Maintain rent stability for the 860 mobile home occupants" and this time states that the ordinance will be updated by Winter of 2009.
Now, is the City of Upland blind? How can the City of Upland state that it has maintained rent stability for it mobile home residents when it does not even know how many of us receive the benefit of rent control? The City does not know how much rent is being charged for each of the 860 mobile home park spaces because it has never conducted a complete and accurate space rent survey and has never surveyed who and who is not on rent control. In Upland Cascade Mobilehome Park, only a handful of the 188 spaces receive the benefit of rent control yet the City, year after year, continues to state that it maintains rent stability for its 860 mobile home occupants...this simply is not true. Our space rents continue to skyrocket and the city officials continue to pass the buck or sit on their hands and do nothing.
Is the City of Upland lame? The City admits that it has received "numerous inquiries regarding the Mobile Home Rent Control Ordinance" and for AT LEAST 7 YEARS claims it is updating the ordinance. Seven years and still no update to the ordinance and all along many Upland Cascade Mobilehome Park residents have been and continue to be priced out of their homes due to the egregious rents they are being charged...in a City that has rent control. It is sad to say that at this point in time any updates to the ordinance will be too late for many of us.
Is the City of Upland mute? Mayor John Pomierski, Councilmember Brendan Brandt, Councilmember Ray Musser, Councilmember Tom Thomas and Coucilmember Kenneth W. Willis...you know of the abuses that have been taking place behind the walls of Upland Cascade Mobilehome Park yet you say nothing and offer us no assistance other than refer us to your buffer, the Inland Fair Housing and Mediation Board. IFHMB then 'kowtows' to park management/owners and we are again left out in the cold. (my opinion) It appears that for at least the past 7 years the City of Upland has made inaccurate and erroneous claims in its reports to HUD. If you cannot/ will not help your City's residents, taxpayers and voters with the problems we are facing then you should at least make an effort to provide truthful and accurate information to other agencies. Especially if you are asking them for money.
Residents have asked for help...begged for help yet the City continues to say this is a "civil matter" and there is nothing it can do. We are low and moderate income residents struggling to make ends meet in the face of exorbitant rents and do not have the resources to take on our park owners in a civil lawsuit. Our park owners are aware of this and continue to take advantage our situation. The City of Upland is aware of this and for some reason continues to shamefully turn its back on us hoping that we will just go away. The information I have provided in this post indicates that for years the City of Upland has actually been a part of the problem rather than a part of the solution to the financial mayhem that is taking place in Upland Cascade Mobilehome Park. Our efforts have been stymied, patronized and ignored by this city. How can we make it any clearer that something is terribly wrong here. Is the City of Upland deaf or does it just have selective hearing? The City of Upland's motto is "The City of Gracious Living." To many of its residents, this motto appears only to apply to homeless animals and wealthy developers.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
TATUM KAPLAN LONG TERM LEASES...Trojan Horse Contracts
Let's take a look at part of a Tatum-Kaplan long term lease. To begin with I must say that I am of the opinion that the Tatum Kaplan long term lease is designed to be confusing. The 10 year lease is nearly 40 pages long and is filled with hard to understand legalese that masquerades its true intent...and that is to take advantage of any resident who signs it.
Below are pages 3 through 7 of the long term lease or maybe we should call it "the long term legalese." These pages describe how a resident's annual rent increase is figured. Five pages that are filled with Tatum-Kaplan's signature legalese that muddily says much but explains little of the truth of what can happen to you during the term of the lease.
As I read it, the pages explain that your annual increase will never be less than 4% and the example that is shown indicates a 6% increase. Six percent sounds meager compared to what is actually happening in Tatum-Kaplan owned parks. The truth is that your annual increase can range between 10% to over 70% during the term of this lease. Who would ever have imagined that any reputable business would be allowed to take advantage of residents in such a manner.
Why would anyone in our park "choose" to sign a long term lease that would leave them open to a 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% or even 72% annual space rent increase rather than opting for month to month rent control coverage of only 1% to 3% annual increase? It doesn't make sense! Doesn't this seem just a little bit peculiar to you? Yet in our park of approximately 186 spaces, the vast majority of residents have "chosen" to sign a long term lease and "agreed" to pay exorbitant rent increases rather than be covered by rent control! Why would we do this? Could it be that we might have been misled when it came to signing the paperwork given to us by the park management?
Now take a look at the paragraph on page 7 that I have highlighted in yellow. This short paragraph is one of the most EVIL sections of the entire contract. This is where the soldiers crawl from the belly of the Trojan Horse and wreak the ultimate financial havoc on the residents of Tatum-Kaplan owned mobilehome parks. This is the paragraph that allows our park owners to increase a resident's rent by $300, $400 or even more than $500 a month. It is this paragraph that causes residents to be evicted because they can no longer afford the space rent or they just give up and walk away from their homes leaving them to the park owners. The Tatum-Kaplan legalese devotes five pages to confuse you about how your annual rent increase will be computed and then one small paragraph that allows them to increase your rent by more than 70%!!! By reading these five pages is there anyway you could have imagined this could happen? Furthermore, in my opinion the increases generated by this paragraph artificially inflate the market value of mobilehome park space rents...these are not willing consumers paying or attempting to pay these inflated rents, these are hostages living with and being controlled by an unconscionable contract that has stolen the value and marketability of their homes.
I am often surprised that many residents are not even aware of this small paragraph's potential until they receive a "courtesy notice" informing them of their 30% to 70%+ increase. Then it's too late. I am also surprised that WHEN I EXPLAIN THIS PARAGRAPH TO LOCAL AND STATE OFFICIALS they seem to play dumb when I spell out the damage it has created and will continue to create unless they do something about it. Local and state officials then act appalled and pass the buck to other agencies who in turn say there is nothing they can do to help us...consequently nothing ever gets done.
So now, what can we residents do? First, we can continue to ORGANIZE!!! In November, 2009 angry Tatum-Kaplan mobilehome park residents demonstrated in front of Mobile Community Managements office in Santa Ana. These demonstrations were successful in getting media attention and showing MCM that we are serious about fighting the abuses that are taking place in their parks. We must continue to ORGANIZE and help make the next demonstration even greater. The purpose of organizing is to share information between Tatum-Kaplan mobilehome parks, gain attention to our problems and pressure elected officials to do the right thing.
The second thing we can do is to start asking our park management questions regarding our rent increases. When you receive you "courtesy" notice from the park informing you of your annual space rent increase it's time to start asking for a break-down of how that increase was calculated. Don't let management just refer you to the examples in your lease...you want an exact explanation of how your increase was calculated not just an example. If the park used "costs or expenses" and "capital expenditures" to calculate your space rent increase it seems to me that you have a right to know the exact figures used to calculate your share. You need to know the total amount of "costs and expenses" and "capital expenditures" and how your share of that total was determined by management. The "courtesy" notice should also inform you of what the CPI was for the period used to determine your space rent. If management refuses to verify these figures then how do we know whether or not they are being truthful with us? Are we to just take their word for it that their figures are true and correct? Demand this information and if they refuse to comply then put pressure on your local officials and agencies to step in and help you get that information!
If you get a "courtesy" notice informing you that your rent will be increased to the arithmetic average of the three highest rents in the park demand that they verify this! What spaces are being used to calculate the three highest rents in the park? Again, can we just take their word for what they are using to calculate this increase.
It's time for us to start standing up to these people. It's time for us to question and scrutinize their actions. We cannot just sit back and hope for the best because if we do that we may as well sign our homes over to Tatum and Kaplan right now. It's time for us to band together and ORGANIZE!
Below are pages 3 through 7 of the long term lease or maybe we should call it "the long term legalese." These pages describe how a resident's annual rent increase is figured. Five pages that are filled with Tatum-Kaplan's signature legalese that muddily says much but explains little of the truth of what can happen to you during the term of the lease.
Why would anyone in our park "choose" to sign a long term lease that would leave them open to a 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% or even 72% annual space rent increase rather than opting for month to month rent control coverage of only 1% to 3% annual increase? It doesn't make sense! Doesn't this seem just a little bit peculiar to you? Yet in our park of approximately 186 spaces, the vast majority of residents have "chosen" to sign a long term lease and "agreed" to pay exorbitant rent increases rather than be covered by rent control! Why would we do this? Could it be that we might have been misled when it came to signing the paperwork given to us by the park management?
Now take a look at the paragraph on page 7 that I have highlighted in yellow. This short paragraph is one of the most EVIL sections of the entire contract. This is where the soldiers crawl from the belly of the Trojan Horse and wreak the ultimate financial havoc on the residents of Tatum-Kaplan owned mobilehome parks. This is the paragraph that allows our park owners to increase a resident's rent by $300, $400 or even more than $500 a month. It is this paragraph that causes residents to be evicted because they can no longer afford the space rent or they just give up and walk away from their homes leaving them to the park owners. The Tatum-Kaplan legalese devotes five pages to confuse you about how your annual rent increase will be computed and then one small paragraph that allows them to increase your rent by more than 70%!!! By reading these five pages is there anyway you could have imagined this could happen? Furthermore, in my opinion the increases generated by this paragraph artificially inflate the market value of mobilehome park space rents...these are not willing consumers paying or attempting to pay these inflated rents, these are hostages living with and being controlled by an unconscionable contract that has stolen the value and marketability of their homes.
I am often surprised that many residents are not even aware of this small paragraph's potential until they receive a "courtesy notice" informing them of their 30% to 70%+ increase. Then it's too late. I am also surprised that WHEN I EXPLAIN THIS PARAGRAPH TO LOCAL AND STATE OFFICIALS they seem to play dumb when I spell out the damage it has created and will continue to create unless they do something about it. Local and state officials then act appalled and pass the buck to other agencies who in turn say there is nothing they can do to help us...consequently nothing ever gets done.
So now, what can we residents do? First, we can continue to ORGANIZE!!! In November, 2009 angry Tatum-Kaplan mobilehome park residents demonstrated in front of Mobile Community Managements office in Santa Ana. These demonstrations were successful in getting media attention and showing MCM that we are serious about fighting the abuses that are taking place in their parks. We must continue to ORGANIZE and help make the next demonstration even greater. The purpose of organizing is to share information between Tatum-Kaplan mobilehome parks, gain attention to our problems and pressure elected officials to do the right thing.
The second thing we can do is to start asking our park management questions regarding our rent increases. When you receive you "courtesy" notice from the park informing you of your annual space rent increase it's time to start asking for a break-down of how that increase was calculated. Don't let management just refer you to the examples in your lease...you want an exact explanation of how your increase was calculated not just an example. If the park used "costs or expenses" and "capital expenditures" to calculate your space rent increase it seems to me that you have a right to know the exact figures used to calculate your share. You need to know the total amount of "costs and expenses" and "capital expenditures" and how your share of that total was determined by management. The "courtesy" notice should also inform you of what the CPI was for the period used to determine your space rent. If management refuses to verify these figures then how do we know whether or not they are being truthful with us? Are we to just take their word for it that their figures are true and correct? Demand this information and if they refuse to comply then put pressure on your local officials and agencies to step in and help you get that information!
If you get a "courtesy" notice informing you that your rent will be increased to the arithmetic average of the three highest rents in the park demand that they verify this! What spaces are being used to calculate the three highest rents in the park? Again, can we just take their word for what they are using to calculate this increase.
It's time for us to start standing up to these people. It's time for us to question and scrutinize their actions. We cannot just sit back and hope for the best because if we do that we may as well sign our homes over to Tatum and Kaplan right now. It's time for us to band together and ORGANIZE!
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