Everyone got involved.
Once again the signs say it all.
Much to see and discuss...a great get together to compare situations.
Signs everywhere.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Tatum Kaplan/MCM Protest...November 14, 2009
Once again angry Tatum Kaplan/MCM mobile home park residents lined both sides of the street at Mobile Community Management's Santa Ana office in protest. This time over 300 protesters strong waved signs and banners that expressed their feelings about the park owners' and management's unreasonable rents, poor park conditions and questionable business practices.
All in all, it has been a terrific week for the demonstrators. An opportunity to discuss and compare situations. An opportunity to vent anger and frustration not only against Tatum, Kaplan and Mobile Community Management but also against elected officials who seem to drag their feet while residents continue to loose their homes. An opportunity to bring a complex and evil situation to the media and the public's attention. It was also an opportunity to strategize and provide hope for our future.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Unintended Consequences and Unwanted Attention
Two days ago the following notice was circulated in the Upland Cascade Mobile Home Park informing residents of the protest that took place at the MCM/Santa Ana office on November 11. The notice also informed residents that there is to be another demonstration there on Saturday, November 14 between 11:00am and 1:00pm.
Today, park management circulated the following letter to our park residents:
I love the second paragraph and it needs to be repeated here..."A demonstration or protest and any resulting media attention, may bring unwanted attention to Upland Cascade Mobilehome Park. In the current economic times, you may experience difficulty in selling your mobilehome. Imagine how much more difficult it will be when your fellow residents depict Upland Cascade and the Park management in a negative manner."
How utterly laughable this is. How could residents of Upland Cascade depict this park and MCM in any manner other than a negative one when MCM and the park owners have taken every opportunity they can to gouge us with exorbitant rents. How could we depict them in any other way when they allow spaces to remain vacant for months/years. How could residents depict them in any other way when our experiences show that they are not to be trusted. "Protest and any resulting media attention, may bring unwanted attention to Upland Cascade...", unwanted attention for whom...I say bring it on because our houses are not selling now. Many residents here have had their houses up for sale but when the prospective buyers find out how much the rent is they withdraw their offers.
There is already a "dark cloud" upon our community and this cloud has not been brought about by its residents. Our park owners and management are responsible for the cloud and we know that they are foolish to claim otherwise.
"NOTE: THE CITY OF UPLAND HAS A RENT CONTROL ORDINANCE"...This appears at the bottom of the notice. Rent control is the one thing that Tatum and Kaplan have spent hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars to eradicate yet they feel they need to point this out in their notice to us. If we were on rent control, we would not have come to this point. Less than 20 of the spaces in this park of 188 are currently on rent control. The rest of us in one way or another were mislead and duped into signing long term leases giving up our right to be covered by the rent control ordinance.
So there it is..."unintended consequences" and "unwanted attention to Upland Cascade"??? This is what ALL Tatum Kaplan park residents should be striving for and maybe then our elected officials will feel the pressure and choose to do something about the problem rather than continually pass the buck between ineffectual agencies. I SAY BRING IT ON!!!
(double click on document to enlarge)
Today, park management circulated the following letter to our park residents:
(double click on document to enlarge)
I love the second paragraph and it needs to be repeated here..."A demonstration or protest and any resulting media attention, may bring unwanted attention to Upland Cascade Mobilehome Park. In the current economic times, you may experience difficulty in selling your mobilehome. Imagine how much more difficult it will be when your fellow residents depict Upland Cascade and the Park management in a negative manner."
How utterly laughable this is. How could residents of Upland Cascade depict this park and MCM in any manner other than a negative one when MCM and the park owners have taken every opportunity they can to gouge us with exorbitant rents. How could we depict them in any other way when they allow spaces to remain vacant for months/years. How could residents depict them in any other way when our experiences show that they are not to be trusted. "Protest and any resulting media attention, may bring unwanted attention to Upland Cascade...", unwanted attention for whom...I say bring it on because our houses are not selling now. Many residents here have had their houses up for sale but when the prospective buyers find out how much the rent is they withdraw their offers.
There is already a "dark cloud" upon our community and this cloud has not been brought about by its residents. Our park owners and management are responsible for the cloud and we know that they are foolish to claim otherwise.
"NOTE: THE CITY OF UPLAND HAS A RENT CONTROL ORDINANCE"...This appears at the bottom of the notice. Rent control is the one thing that Tatum and Kaplan have spent hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars to eradicate yet they feel they need to point this out in their notice to us. If we were on rent control, we would not have come to this point. Less than 20 of the spaces in this park of 188 are currently on rent control. The rest of us in one way or another were mislead and duped into signing long term leases giving up our right to be covered by the rent control ordinance.
So there it is..."unintended consequences" and "unwanted attention to Upland Cascade"??? This is what ALL Tatum Kaplan park residents should be striving for and maybe then our elected officials will feel the pressure and choose to do something about the problem rather than continually pass the buck between ineffectual agencies. I SAY BRING IT ON!!!
Modern Day Robber Barons...November 11, 2009 Protest
On November 11, 2009, angry mobile home park residents from 5 Tatum Kaplan owned parks took part in a protest at Mobile Community Management's Santa Ana office. Protesters carrying signs lined both sides of the busy street at 1801 E. Edinger Ave. The main issues were outrageous rents, poorly maintained parks and unfair business practices. The demonstration was peaceful and well organized but it appeared that MCM felt intimidated by the 150 or so protesters and called upon security to protect themselves.
There is another demonstration scheduled for Saturday, November 14, 2009 between 11:00am and 1:00pm. The turn out is expected to be much larger.
I am including several pictures from the demonstration. The signs seem to say it all.
There is another demonstration scheduled for Saturday, November 14, 2009 between 11:00am and 1:00pm. The turn out is expected to be much larger.
I am including several pictures from the demonstration. The signs seem to say it all.
Double-click on a picture to enlarge it.
The building across the street is where MCM is located.
Some feel there is no help from legislators.
Many hid their faces behind signs...for fear of retaliation???
The security motor pool.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
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???
Sunday, October 18, 2009
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.
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!
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.
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!
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