Ownership change leaves mobile home park residents in despair

LUTZ — Like many people in this mobile home park, Aimée Charbeneau isn’t quite sure how she’s going to be able to afford to live here.

“None of us here can make the kind of money we’re looking for,” she said.

The owner sold the Crenshaw Lake mobile home park to a new company. Now it’s called Tampa Sun Estates 2. And in a few months, according to this letter from management, people here need to buy their homes.

Tenants who don’t want to stay or can’t afford to stay must vacate in July.

“There are a lot of people who are going to end up homeless and I’m worried because these neighbors are friends of mine,” Charbeneau said.

Many of them are elderly and disabled and have few options for moving elsewhere.

“There is nothing affordable there. I am on a fixed income. I am retired,” said Harvey Smith. People are not alone.

Investors have purchased several other mobile home parks. A former tenant successfully sued them for not breaking her lease over the water bill.

Sami Thalji was the lawyer in charge of this case. “The tenants who live in these parks are very vulnerable. They have no places to rent and they are desperate,” Thalji said.

He says the company that actually owns many of these parks is hard to track down.

“I would assume that every park they buy, they’re going to incorporate it under a different kind of name,” Thalji said. Many renters I have spoken to say they were still waiting to find out how much they would have to pay to buy their mobile home.

They also hope that the new owners will carry out much needed repairs. “A lot of these places have termites. We have lots of rats here. We’ve killed 18 here in the last six months,” Charbeneau said.

A notice from management indicates that it will honor current leases until they expire. Thalji says for anyone buying their home, be sure to get a title.

“We have just heard from several people who have called, they buy mobile homes and then the park does not provide the title. So that begs the question whether or not the park has the title,” Thalji said.

The Tallahassee Democrat reported in December that Florida Sun Estates had purchased a park there and raised the land rent from $389 to $895.

Renters say they see similar increases here. We tried to get ownership of this park, but got no response.