Mobile Homes
Homeowners association is a must
By LEN BONIFIELD
© St. Petersburg Times
published December 7, 2002
I am amazed that many small manufactured home communities still are without a homeowners association.
Recently a resident of a park of about 40 units in Pasco County contacted me, alarmed about rent increases of 40 percent over the past two years. Nearly 80 percent of the residents are snowbirds who were up North when the increase announcements were sent out each year. Only a few residents are left in the park. Without an association, no formal meetings can be held with the park owner about the increases.
This community is five minutes from a beach on the Gulf of Mexico. It is an older park with no amenities, the main feature being the beach's proximity. There's no clubhouse, no pool, no tennis courts, no exercise room, nothing. Just a small community filled with nice people. The residents pay for all extras, such as yard maintenance (including mowing), cable TV, water and (most recently) sewer. They do have rubbish pickup twice weekly, but the residents must carry their trash to the main dumpster.
In 2000, the base rent (apparently, all lots pay the same rent) was $179. Rent was increased $20 a month, bringing the monthly total to $199. The owner told the residents orally -- not in writing -- that no further increases would happen for two years. However, the park was sold in 2001, and the new owner raised the monthly rent $25. The new owner said that an increase in real estate taxes necessitated the increase. That made the total $224 per month.
Now another rent increase of $25 has been levied, again because of an increase in real estate taxes, the owner says. Rent totals $249 a month. In addition, the owner informed residents that he was "passing through" an annual charge of $41 to each resident for the cost of the new sewer assessment. In 24 months the rent has risen $70 a month, plus the annual sewer assessment of $41. Because of these substantial increases, a number of homes have been put up for sale recently.
The owner sent letters to the residents about the rent increases, citing the Florida Administrative Code, Section 723.037, 61B-32.002. Had this community chartered a homeowners association, a very simple task, a statutory committee would have been empowered to meet with the owner within 30 days after the notice of increased rent.
The owner would have had to produce financial records documenting the need for the increase. If the association did not agree with the increase after the meeting, members could have requested mediation. Apparently, a couple residents did meet and simply thought that nothing could be done. Here is a case where not knowing the law (Chapter 723) and not forming an association worked against the residents.
The park is well maintained, but no new improvements have been made. The owner has produced no financial records showing the justification for the increases and has only stated orally that taxes have gone up.
In talking with the widow who contacted me, I learned that she has no copy of her prospectus. She and her husband bought the property more than 10 years ago, and to her knowledge, they never received a prospectus. She believes that is true for many residents. Once again, lack of knowledge of the law governing prospectuses works against the residents. They have no way of determining if the owner is complying with the prospectus. They do not know the reason for the pass-through of the sewer charge.
When I served on the District 1 board of the Florida Manufactured Home Owners, I was frustrated several times when I visited parks, at the residents' request, so the residents could learn about forming a homeowners association, only to have them decide not to do so. They usually stated that they did not want to upset the owner, who had been nice to them. Invariably, an ownership change was made or some other outside force caused the owner to take an action that the residents did not think was so nice.
Forming a homeowners association is relatively simple and not expensive. The small cost is well worth the benefits. I am not going to try to explain in this column how to form one, only to suggest that if you live in a community without an association, I recommend contacting the Federation of Manufactured Home Owners of Florida in Largo at (727) 530-7539. It will have a representative meet with residents and walk them through the necessary steps to form one. Don't delay. Do it today.
- Send comments or questions to Len Bonifield at elb@gate.net or fax to (863) 853-8023 or call (863) 858-1557. Please include your e-mail and mailing address. Because of the volume of mail and phone calls, he can't respond personally to every query. Bonifield is a manufactured-home resident and a past homeowners association president and former officer of the FMO District 1 board of directors.
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