More Evictions, Empty Homes and Lots...Oh My!

I spotted another empty dirt lot in our park today and that raises the total to 14 empty lots.  There were also 4 evictions in December and January and that brings the empty homes total to at least 15.  If you are trying to sell your home do you think that so many empty lots coupled with eviction notices posted in windows would in some way interfere with your attempt to sell?  Every eviction, every empty lot, every empty home and every rent increase only further reduces the value and marketability of our homes.  To top this all off, Mobile Community Management warns residents not to participate in protests or say anything negative about the park owners and management becuase this could result in a "decreasing of home values throughout the park."  The core of the problems we face in Tatum Kaplan owned parks all boils down to egregious rents brought about by the unconscionable contracts used by our predatory landlords...not by our voicing our opinions.

HELD HOSTAGE IN OUR OWN HOMES

The following is paragraph 1.3 on page 1 of Tatum Kaplan "Standard Multiple Year Lease/Rental Agreement."  It explains what you can do to cancel the lease.  Let's take a look at this short paragraph.

"RESIDENT ACKNOWLEDGES THAT RESIDENT IS RECEIVING MANY IMPORTANT BENEFITS FROM THIS AGREEMENT, EXAMPLES OF WHICH ARE: PEACE OF MIND BECAUSE OF THE LONG-TERM RENT STABILITY AND KNOWLEDGE OF HOW RESIDENT'S RENT INCREASES WILL BE CALCULATED IN THE FUTURE;..."  In retrospect, I would really like to to question the important benefits we receive from this "agreement?"  The paragraph states that we will have "peace of mind because of the long-term rent stability." Ask any resident who has signed this lease and they will tell you that there is nothing further from the truth.  How can we have "peace of mind" with a contract that allows for anywhere between 10% to more than 70% rental increases?

"The knowledge of how resident's rent increases will be calculated in the future" is supposedly another benefit the contract claims we receive.  I have covered the rent calculations in a previous post however, with the confusing way in which this contract is constructed, how could a prospective resident foresee the possibility of the egregious increases we now face that force many of us out of our homes?

Another "benefit" that supposedly provides us with "peace of mind" is the "resident's ability to terminate this agreement without any liability to owner by selling/transferring residents mobilehome or assigning resident's right to occupy resident's space to someone who will accept an assignment of this agreement."  So, in order to cancel this contract, you must submit to playing the park owners' nefarious game by convincing someone else to accept this Trojan Horse contract.  If you somehow convince someone to buy your home and accept assignment of this agreement, then they will not be eligible to the benefits of rent control.  There is nothing in this contract that would indicate the difficulties we would face in selling/transferring our homes in the future.

The final section of this paragraph states that you can terminate this agreement without any liability to the owners by moving your mobilehome from the park and allowing control of the space to revert to the owners.  This is not as easy as it sounds since it may cost $15,000 to $20,000 to move a mobilehome.  If you can't afford the rent that has ballooned up beneath your home then where is $15-20,000 going to come from?  Also, it is my understanding that some mobilehome movers will not move a used mobilehome...depends on the age of the home.

There are two other ways you can terminate the contract.  One is to just wait and do nothing until the rent has been increased so much you cannot afford to pay it.  This will then result in an unlawful detainer being filed against you and most likely you will be evicted.  The end result is a judgment against you and the parkowners get your home.  The second way is to simply walk away from your home and this results in the parkowners getting your home.

So, does it feel like you are being held hostage in your own home?  Every month you pay Tatum and Kaplan ransom in order to keep your home which you are unable to sell because of their predatory contract.  You can't sell your home because at this point in time the rent far exceeds space rents in other parks in the City of Upland.  You can't move your home because of its age or the costs of moving it.  The ultimate ransom you must pay to escape these evil landlords is giving them your home.  Where are the "benefits?"  Where is the "peace of mind?"

Pictures from Brookside Mobile Country Club

The following pictures are from one of our sister parks...Brookside Mobile Country Club.  I'm not joking, "country club" is part of the name.  Tatum and Kaplan own this park and I am told that it was once a very nice park prior to their ownership.  At this time, many of the space rents far exceed $1500.00 per month and the park now abounds with a number of vacant homes and vacant spaces.  Imagine the difficulty of living in this park and trying to sell your home when empty dirt lots and boarded up homes surround you.  These empty dirt lots and boarded up homes in my opinion add up to slum-like conditions.  What do you think?

 

 

A lobbyist for the California Mobilehome Parkowners Alliance claimed in front of an Assembly Housing Committee that Tatum and Kaplan are "extremely sophisticated property owners."  Look at these picutres.  Look around your Tatum Kaplan owned park.  Does it look like Tatum and Kaplan are "extremely sophisticated property owners?" Do our state representatives actually buy into CMPA's lobbyists' claims?  They need to visit our parks to see what is actually taking place. 

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.

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.