Pulled an older single wide out of a 55+ park yesterday. This park owner had written the park rules in a way that made it diificult for a homeowner to sell their home. They required extensive inspections and repairs of any home before it could be sold in the park and the owner had claimed for himself first right of refusal…supposedly giving him the “right” to match any accepted offer and if an agent was involved…to pay no commission. The park did their best to discourage me from pulling the home. I ignored them. This was an estate sale and the family was only asking $1500. The park owner told the family it was too much. Several tenants explained to me that this was the park’s standard operating procedure. Make it so hard on the home seller that they give up and walk away from the home. Along that line the park’s late charges seemed to be designed to facilitate seperating senior citizens from their homes without compensation. The park charges $75 to serve a 5 day pay or vacate notice. Nine days of late charges equaled $260. Space rent is $370. I doubt the late charges would hold up in court. I don’t think they meet the standard of reasonableness. The marketplace is often the ultimate judge…I notice this park had several empty homes and empty spaces.
P.S. There have been some class action lawsuits in Oregon and Washington against parks who systematically make it extremely difficult for tenants to sell their homes. I’ve had 4 homes sell in my park this year. I bought one and helped the other 3 find qualified buyers. All the homes stayed in the park.