By then, Havenpark was becoming infamous among some mobile-home residents, who moved quickly to push back. In late 2019, Havenpark purchased The Highwoods Mobile Home Park in Great Falls, Montana. Evans’ lot rent initially rose from $295 to $405, then $440 in April 2020, and is scheduled to go up to $475 by April 2021.
“It was crazy stuff, but we had to sign or be evicted,” said 72-year-old Candi Evans, a retiree who has lived in Golfview for 22 years. Another increase, to $475 a month, is due in April. Yet Havenpark required residents to sign documents agreeing not to place wading pools, swing sets and basketball hoops in their yards.Ĭandi Evans, a 72-year-old retiree who has lived in the Golfview Mobile Home Court for 22 years, says her lot rent has gone from $295 to $440 a month since Havenpark Capital Partners bought the property in North Liberty, Iowa. Golfview residents include young families with children and retired couples who enjoy occasional visits from grandchildren. Swartz Creek Estates wasn’t the only property purchased by Havenpark, one of many investment companies that moved into the residential real-estate market seeking profits after the 2008 financial crisis.Ī year later, Havenpark acquired Golfview Mobile Home Court in North Liberty, Iowa, and immediately announced rent increases that ran as high as 60%. “I took on two roommates, so we split the rent into thirds so it’s actually reasonable again,” she said. But with the rent increase, she needed help to pay the bills. Havenpark introduced fees residents never paid in the past, including charges for garbage disposal and a school tax, even though residents already paid for sewer, water and schools as part of their county property tax bill. The rent jumped and costly new fees were applied, increasing Hook’s bills by 40%.
She paid off the $28,000 bill for her mobile home and the owner of Swartz Creek - a local landlord - raised her monthly lot rent just $20 during that period to about $300.īut in the summer of 2018, Swartz Creek was sold to Havenpark Capital Partners, a private investment firm based in Utah.
Knowing her income would remain modest for the foreseeable future, she wanted a comfortable place to live within her financial means.įor the first five years, her plan worked. At the time, her plan was to become a full-time fiction writer. In the spring of 2013, Holly Hook purchased a mobile home and moved it to Swartz Creek Estates, a manufactured housing community in Swartz Creek, Michigan. By Nicolle Schorchit, Darryl Kinsey Jr and Patrick Britt Published January 18, 2021
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