An Example of MCM's Concern...

The following picture was taken a few days before the meeting Upland Cascade Mobile Home Park residents had with Mobile Community Management.  The former resident was evicted around January.  This lot was mentioned during the meeting and pointed out to Ms. Costaglio.

The next picture is the same lot nearly one month after the meeting.  (Click on the pictures for a larger view.)

A picture is worth a thousand words...unfortunately I cannot post them here.

Community Meeting with Mobile Community Management

It has been nearly a month since we had our meeting with our park management company..MCM.  In this post I will briefly tell you what was discussed as per information I received from attendees.  


First of all approximately 50 residents attended the meeting with MCM being represented by David Starnes, State Facilities Manager and Natalie Costaglio, Senior Regional Manager.  It was announced by Ms. Costaglio that Sue Brown and Dorothy Gunn could not attend because they were "very ill."  


The meeting began with Ms. Costaglio stating that MCM has always wanted to have a good working relationship with its residents.  This brought about a "since when!" response from one of our residents.  Many of the residents felt that the only reason management was here now was because of a possible failure to maintain lawsuit.  My feeling is that they were here fishing for information regarding what they might be facing should a lawsuit take place.  So right off, MCM's sincerity was in question.  


Ms. Costaglio then stated that MCM was not aware of any problems in the park because residents have not brought them to their attention.  Residents then responded that when resident concern forms were turned in they were never acted upon by management and many felt that the forms probably went no further than the local office.  


Some of the other topics discussed during the meeting are as follows:

One resident was concerned that management is not doing its job and so property values are declining.

Problems with dogs running loose were discussed.


Park appearance...park owned homes and empty lots are not being maintained.  Management responded that they maintain vacant lots with weeding and chaining.  (Chaining???)  Also, if someone is evicted or walks away, there is an in depth legal process that may prevent management from cleaning up the lot.


One home was the focus of discussion by a resident who claimed that his neighbor left the home in January and at that time signed the home over to the park.  It has sat there for months, unmaintained and an eyesore which is hindering his attempt to sell his own home.  He asked management why they could do nothing if the home was signed over to them in January.  Management offered no real answer to his questions.


Dried/dead plants and foliage around vacant homes were brought up as being a health and safety hazard.  One carelessly thrown cigarette could start a fire that could take a few homes with it.  It was asked, "does not MCM have employees go around the park and look at their own properties problems?"  Do residents need to tell them of every single space of theirs that needs to be attended to?


Water cut-off and electric outages were discussed.


Poor night lighting.

Poor security that allows squatters to camp out on vacant lots at night.


A rumor was brought up that the park sells their homes by offering much lower rents than a resident can offer a prospective buyer. 


An attempt was made to discuss the high rents in the park but Ms. Costaglio dismissed and ignored them because they were not a topic of discussion on her agenda.  Although many felt that the high rents were driving many residents out of the park and further decreasing the values of their homes, Ms. Costaglio simply refused to discuss this item.


There were other items discussed, but I have listed here some of the most important that were brought up.  If anything else is brought to my attention regarding this meeting I will bring it up in later posts.


Ms. Costaglio then closed the meeting stating that anytime residents want to have a meeting with management they are always willing to do so.  This could also include park issues such as the rents.

We'll see.

blighted condition

Within the last week, our park management has engaged in a frenzy of landscaping improvements around the clubhouse.  I suppose this is in preparation of the sugar-coating we will see during the community meeting between management and residents.  If you plan on attending this meeting prepare yourself to watch management pat themselves on the back for all the improvements they have made in this park.  Be prepared to listen to them claim that they are not responsible for the parks deteriorating conditions. Be prepared for management to ask you to point the finger at your friends and neighbors for the problems we have in our park.  


I recently found a web site with a letter posted from one of our park owners, Jeffrey Kaplan, to the City of Los Angeles.  I found the following paragraph particularly interesting:

"I.  Aesthetics:   Potentially Significant Impact.  The proposed ordinance would potentially degrade the existing visual character and quality of LA City hillside properties and surroundings areas as, for example, certain undeveloped lots and potions of lots will be required to remain in its "natural state" as opposed to being improved with new landscaping and development appropriate and consistent with currently existing area homes and properties.  By way of example, currently graded or ungraded lots (i.e., fenced and unfenced vacant lots consisting of little more than dirt and weeds) would potentially remain in a blighted condition as compared to being beautified, utilized and developed."



Jeffrey Kaplan is talking about multimillion dollar properties located in Los Angeles but he mentions some conditions that sound quite familiar to residents who live in Tatum Kaplan owned mobile home parks.  "By way of example, currently graded or ungraded lots (ie., fenced and unfenced vacant lots consisting of little more than dirt and weeds) would potentially remain in a blighted condition as compared to being beatified, utilized and developed."  There you have it!!!  Straight from Jeffrey Kaplan's keyboard.  According to this paragraph composed by Jeffrey Kaplan, "Vacant lots consisting of little more than dirt and weeds" are representative of "blighted conditions."  With this in mind, look at the following pictures and ask yourself why this quote would not apply to us.  Why would his description of "blighted conditions" apply only to vacant lots in Beverly Hills or Bel-Air but not to his mobile home parks in Upland, Santa Ana, El Monte, etc.?


Look at the following pictures...pictures of vacant lots and abandoned homes and tell me why anyone would believe we are not living in a park filled with "blighted conditions."  

Dead grass and foliage...a fire hazard in our recent heat spell or from a carelessly discarded cigarette.

Vacant, unimproved lots that sit in this state for years with "little more than dirt and weeds."

Dead leaves clutter this lot, again another fire and/or health and safety hazard.

 Three vacant lots right next to each other with weeds and rubble.

So go to the "community meeting" and keep all this in mind as park management tries to spin things in their favor.  Speak up and let them know what you think of them and their questionable business practices.  Remember...Residents should not fear their park owners, park owners should fear their residents.

Possible Failure to Maintain Lawsuit??? part 2

Well, well, well......In just a little over 24 hours after my previous post, look what appeared on Upland Cascade residents' mailboxes today:

Wow!  The "Resident Concern Form" that park management claimed they distributed on 7/1/10 suddenly appeared on our mailboxes!!!  What a coincidence!  Wait a minute.  You don't suppose that Mobile Community Management or even Tatum or Kaplan saw this post???  If that's true then I hope they will accept this blog and the concerns that I have expressed here in lieu of my completing their "Resident Concern Form."  Besides, all my complaints wouldn't fit on that tiny little form.

Possible Failure to Maintain Lawsuit???

It appears that residents of Upland Cascade Mobilehome Park are going to have a meeting with park management later this month.  (See copy of notice below.)  "The agenda will consist of discussing those topics raised in the law firm's questionnaire and any additional maintenance and rule violation issues raised in the Resident Concern forms."  First of all, do any residents know what the topics are that were raised in the law firm's questionnaire?  According to my information, not all residents received a questionnaire and those who did were not privy to what other residents claimed.  Secondly, there was no "Resident Concern Form" distributed to the residents by the park as the notice below claims. 

So, what will be discussed?  Park management wants you to point your finger at your neighbors for the problems we have with this park.  They want you to bring up "conditions of the Park, troublesome resident conduct issues that may arise, or the fact that not all residents maintain their mobilehomes and space the way they should."  Is it your neighbor's fault that there are many spaces consisting of only dirt and weeds surrounded by chains that "remain in a blighted condition as compared to being beautified, utilized and developed?" (Jeffrey A. Kaplan, 4/6/10)  Is it your neighbor's fault that many homes are now vacant because the residents were evicted or simply walked away from out of control rent increases and now their properties are filled with weeds and or dead foliage.  Park management knows these homes are vacant yet they do little if anything to clean them up until they feel they can sell them.  Is it your neighbor's fault that these blighted conditions are interfering with your attempts to sell your home?

If and when you go to this meeting, keep this all in mind.  Park management will do anything they can to spin our problems in their favor.  They will claim that they are professional and beyond reproach in managing all their parks throughout California. (Not true.)  They will do anything they can to dodge the responsibility of their deplorable park conditions and point the finger of blame at you and your neighbors.  But if you ask them anything at this meeting, ask them this...Why are they charging us the highest space rents in the city while our park appears to be the trashiest and poorest maintained?

In my opinion, a "failure to maintain" lawsuit simply does not go far enough for what is going on in Tatum-Kaplan owned parks.