Cindy Newman
I'm Cindy Newman from The Highwood's in Great Falls Montana. I'd like to tell you about my friends and neighbors--- people who choose to live in manufactured homes. In The Highwood's, 80 percent of us are seniors, many of us have downsized from big yards and multiple floors, empty nesters in some cases seeking a simpler lifestyle and planning ahead for the more modest means of retirement. On my street, 7 of 10 are single income homes and 1 in 3 includes a person with a disability. Most of us are on a fixed income and just cannot absorb these big rent increases. 21 years ago I bought a manufactured home and moved it to The Highwood's because it was beautiful and well maintained. We had a fair land owner who kept our community safe and affordable. In just 2 years, Havenpark Capital has bought 7 parks in Montana affecting the lives of over 18 hundred families. They are a Utah-based private equity group who have re-branded themselves as the saviors of affordable housing, but their business model is clear---they tell their investors that buying manufactured home communities is a way to make large, consistent, fast profits that exploits our inability to move our homes. Right now, people who own these homes have little to no rights once they put them on rental property.
Our reality with Havenpark Capital as the owners of the small piece of land where we live is this. They are more likely to evict--even during a pandemic! There are more harsh rules and regulations with all kinds of penalties for even the slightest slip ups!. They've cut back on all amenities and strip value out of our communities. They are brutal, absentee landlords whose new management promotes bullying, fear mongering and harassment. If you get behind on your lot rent they can evict and quickly seize your home. They ordered us to remove yard toys like basketball hoops and wading pools, even when schools were closed because of the pandemic. There are many new fees like for our pets! As homeowners we have the same upkeep, repairs, insurance and property taxes as a stick built home. The cost of moving a mobile home is 10 to 25 thousand dollars.
New residents in The Highwood's are paying $475 dollars lot rent a month, plus the now uncoupled, water, sewer and trash removal. Before Havenpark we paid $283 TOTAL.---that's about an 86% increase for the dirt our homes sit on. It's hard to believe we could lose our homes and life savings to such uncaring, greedy people.
We made a valiant effort in the midst of a pandemic to get protective laws passed in our Montana legislature. I thought who wouldn't vote for fair treatment for seniors, veterans and disabled folks. I thought we had good reasons when we asked for laws to secure a more level playing field. And, I thought it was a non partisan issue. Senator Hoven, who sponsored our bills apologized and said he sincerely thought his colleagues would be as mad as he was about such unscrupulous greed. It was obvious from the start that we did not have even a slight chance in the present climate.
Havenpark's past business practices have been openly questioned in state legislatures and congress. They are questioning the misuse of Fannie Mae loans to fund these predatory private equity groups like Havenpark. They drain local communities of affordable housing and harm families using funding created during the New Deal to stimulate and sustain affordable housing. In 2019 Enterprise Community Partners received one of five national awards for their outstanding affordable housing work. Two months later their subsidiary Bellwether Enterprise provided funding to Havenpark Capital to
buy 7 parks in Montana and whose thirst for profit is forcing us out of once affordable homes.
With the help of MHAction, we have met with Enterprise Community Partners CEO and Vice President to tell them of the hardships caused by the Havenpark Capital. Enterprise whose mission statement is “a lovely, affordable home in a vibrant community for
everyone” .Unfortunately, today, some areas of Enterprise's work are at odds with that vision and they are fueling the fire to displace us from ours. Two years later and we have no fair lease and no way to fight back.
What is hardest to live with is that I thought my home would preserve my memories and secure my future but that was taken away when the profit driven, uncaring Havenpark Capital came in. They are bleeding us dry because with few consumer protections we now live with fear and uncertainty.