February 2014 Eblast 

Welcome – NMHOA is very pleased to welcome nine home owners’ associations who have joined NMHOA this month.  We welcome seven HOAs from Oregon: Bella Vista Estates Cooperative, Horizon Homeowners’ Cooperative, Green Pastures Senior Cooperative, Saunders Creek Homeowners’ Cooperative, Via-Lea Community Cooperative, and West-Side Pines Cooperative; as well as Rockvale MHC Tenant Union from Wisconsin, and Park Plaza Cooperative from Minnesota.

NMHOA also welcomes 18 new or renewing individual members from California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, and Nevada who have subscribed to NMHOA since the beginning of the year.

Your continued support allows NMHOA to continue its important work providing resources and services to manufactured home owners throughout the United States.

Thank You for Supporting NMHOA – NMHOA is only as strong as its membership. Thank you for all you do to keep NMHOA growing from strength to strength.  If you want your state or HOA to be highlighted in a future Eblast be sure to contact Ishbel Dickens (ishbel@nmhoa.org) and let her know of the great work that is happening in your state.  She cannot share your successes if she does not know about them!  Your success stories inspire others so please share.

Policy initiatives – During this month’s Legislative Committee call we learned of several bills that, if passed, would make a significant difference in the lives of manufactured home owners.  In Oregon, an opportunity to purchase bill has passed the House and is now on the Senate floor for further consideration. When enacted this would allow home owners in Oregon an opportunity to make an offer when their community is up for sale. A bill circulating in New Jersey’s Assembly would limit the amount rent could be raised for seniors on fixed/limited incomes. This bill would protect seniors in all rental situations, not just those in manufactured housing communities.  If you would like to know more about these bills or would like to participate in NMHOA’s Legislative Committee, please contact Leg. Comm. Chair Tim Sheahan (tpsheahan@cox.net) for more information.

Last words for February – Congratulations to Frank Pojman on being elected President of AMHRO the statewide home owners’ association in Ohio.

Look elsewhere on this site for contact information for all NMHOA state association members.

Congratulations are also in order for two NMHOA Board members – at its February meeting the NMHOA Board voted to have Jesse Martinez fill the President position for the remainder of that term, and voted for Tim Sheahan to become First Vice President.

Many to Share Concerns About Damaging Policy Positions DeSantis Has Taken Regarding Social Security

 Port Orange –  On Saturday January 18^th, seniors who reside in manufactured home communities will be meeting with Representative Ron DeSantis to discuss retirement security and housing issues.      Manufactured homeowners will also address growing concerns that have been raised by a number of Congressman DeSantis’ constituents, especially seniors, around his recent support of a Congressional sign-on letter circulated by Representative Reid Ribble (WI) that calls for raising of the retirement age, cuts to the cost of living adjustment formula and restores the cap on wages subject to FICA to Reagan era levels.  

 WHAT: Town Hall Meeting with Congressman Ron DeSantis
WHERE: Atlantic High School Auditorium, 1250 Reed Canal Drive. 

WHEN: Saturday, January 18th at 10am

“Now is the time that we should be discussing improvements, not cutbacks to our nations’ vital retirement security programs,” stated Dale Muzzy, president of the Carriage Cove HOA.   “There are many ways we can improve the program to ensure that the retirement security of all seniors and future retirees is protected.  That includes scrapping the cap on FICA taxes so that the wealthiest in our country pay their fair share and developing a cost of living formula, such as the CPI-E, that reflects the true cost of living senior’s face.”

Many that will be present at the meeting reside in manufactured home communities that are owned and operated by Equity Life Style Properties, Inc. ELS is the nation’s largest corporate owner of manufactured home communities.  Sam Zell is the board chair of ELS, which owns 380 manufactured home communities (defined as land-lease communities) in 32 states.  ELS markets to retirees and many homeowners in its developments are seniors living on fixed incomes.  Zell is also undercutting the economic security of seniors and people with disabilities by funding politicians and political action committees that are bent on dismantling the cornerstones of our nation’s retirement security programs: specifically, Social Security and Medicare.

“It is incomprehensible that someone who makes millions off of monthly rents paid to his company by seniors who are living on Social Security to turn around and call for cutbacks to this vital program,” added Dale Muzzy. “We are calling upon Representative DeSantis to also join us to call up Sam Zell to stop making damaging statements around Social Security and sit down and negotiate with homeowners around fair and reasonable rent increases and clear capital improvement systems.” 

Manufactured homeowners across the country are banding together and calling upon ELS to re-evaluate its business model and management practices.   Homeowners believe that a sensible alternative model for ELS is to put in place long-term lease agreements with fair and balanced rent increases and capital improvement processes.  Additionally, ELS would be able to engender a higher level of customer loyalty by pushing for policies that protect and strengthen our nation’s Social Security and Medicare systems.   

For more information go to http://mhaction.org or contact Dale Muzzy 386-898-2801 at to set up interviews with manufactured homeowners who are leading the campaign.

Supreme Court upholds San Rafael rent control

This is a story which was a long time in the making.  When you click on the link, you will not only see the update, there are other clicks available to read through the entire story. 

Perseverence . . . Congratulations, California!

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/assignment_7&id=9393923

Baltimore native has worked with sports icons

Photo by: Ron MacArthur Fred Neil quips about what it’s like to be an 80-year-old man.

Fred Neil celebrated his 80th birthday with a benefit for the Delaware Manufactured Homeowners Association, an organization close to his heart.

The Nov. 25 event also turned out to a roast and toast of Neil, who dished out some jabs of his own when he took over the microphone at the Indian River Fire Department.

Neil, who lives near Dover and serves as volunteer public relations officer for DMHOA, moved to Delaware from Baltimore where he had a distinguished career in radio and television sports broadcasting and producing. He has rubbed shoulders with many of Baltimore’s sports icons, including the Colts’ Johnny Unitas and the Orioles’ Brooks Robinson, both in their respective Hall of Fames.

He was news and and sports director of radio station WCBM in Baltimore where he produced the play-by-play of Colts’ games. He also produced, wrote and co-hosted a radio show with Unitas, a live locker room show with Jimmy Orr and a show featuring Ordell Braase and Tom Matte. All are well-known Colts players in the 1950s and 1960s.

He later produced a show pairing sportscaster, NBA coach and referee Charley Eckman and Colts’ Hall of Famer Art Donovan. Neil later wrote a book with Eckman called “It’s a Very Simple Game. Life and Times of Charley Eckman.”

He also teamed up with Robinson on WCBM radio for Orioles’ play-by-play.

His association with sports is only part of Neil’s story. He served as press officer for Baltimore Mayor William Donald Schaefer, was president of the Baltimore news and sports reporters organization, president of the Maryland Press Club and worked for the Maryland Department of Education in the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation.

Even though the Colts left Baltimore in March 1984, Neil and his wife, Dawn, still have their hearts in Baltimore as avid Ravens fan.

Most people were not aware that Neil has appeared in dozens of amateur theater productions throughout his life.

Emcee Norm Short, a radio personality on WXDE, Cool 101.3 and Eagle 97.7, called Neil a “Chuck Thompson wanna-be.” Thompson was the long-time TV voice of the Baltimore Orioles and Colts.

“Fred took up jogging because he wanted to hear some heavy breathing,” Short quipped. “He’s so old, he got his start in silent radio.”

Dixie Boucher, one of Neil’s roasters, said she tried to invite some Neil’s sports friends to the event but didn’t have any luck. “I wanted to contact these people and see how important Fred was,” she said.

She said many had passed away and those who were still alive did not recognize his name. She added that when she tried to look up his name on-line, a song writer and chiropractor came up.

Neil reminded Boucher that the Colts’ mascot horse was named Dixie.

Sussex County Clerk of the Peace John Brady said Neil has helped him learn to deal with the media. “It’s an honor to be in your presence; I’ve learned from the best,” he said.

After listening to several speakers talk about the joys of turning 80 years old, Neil added fuel to the fire of his roast.

He said when he retired and moved to a manufactured home park near Dover, he soon learned he was looked on as trailer trash. That set off a diatribe of one-liners.

“But that’s not true,” he said. “I do not allow my 12-year-old granddaughter to smoke in front of her children at the dinner table.”

“And we have only brought back more than we took to the dump once.”

Neil received accolades from Kent County Levy Court, the Maryland Senate, President Barrack Obama, the Delaware House and Senate and a letter from U.S. Sen. Tom Carper who recognized Neil’s lifetime of achievement. Kent Levy Court Commissioner Allan Angel presented Neil with a key to Kent County.

DMHOA President Ed Speraw called Neil a perfect public relations man. He said Neil is part of a team of dedicated DMHOA volunteers who work to better the lives of those who live in manufactured homes on leased land.

Kent County Levy Court Commissioner Allan Angel holds up a poster of an animated character in the movie “Up.” He said he couldn’t resist the temptation to compare Neil with the cartoon character’s look. (Photo by: Ron MacArthur)

Lois Parris tendered her resignation at the Board meeting January 6, 2014, effective immediately, citing personal reasons.

We take this opportunity to thank Lois for all her hard work on behalf of NMHOA.

Also citing personal health reasons, Ron Feinstein, at-large Board member, resigned.

On behalf of the NMHOA Board,

Jesse Martinez, Acting President

Follow this link to read about the attitudes of manufactured home community owners.  This is why we have to fight so hard to have our communities kept up and maintained in a reasonable manner.  Shame on Frank Rolfe!

The Reality of Investing in Mobile Home Parks NuWire Investor

http://www.nuwireinvestor.com/articles/the-reality-of-investing-in-mobile-home-parks-61537.aspx

My most heartfelt thanks to all of you wonderful people.

Thanks to your generosity I was able to exceed my goal and raised more than $5,000 for the National Manufactured Home Owners Association (NMHOA).

Every minute of training and every second of the run (especially up some steep Seattle hills) were well worth the effort.

This is to thank all those of you who contributed through the indiegogo on-line process as well as the others who sponsored me prior to the indiegogo site being set up, or who donated off-line. I am delighted to share with you that we raised more than $6,000 to keep NMHOA running into 2014!

Ishbel Dickens, NMHOA Executive Director

As the weather gets colder and you begin to use your furnace more, please be aware of some possible hazards.  Thomas Rodgers has long been campaigning to educate manufactured home owners about the invisible danger some of you might be experiencing if the air intake and air extraction systems in your home are located too close together on the roof.

The standard distance for most residential structures is 10’ but in some manufactured homes the distance between intake and extraction is only 3’ and therefore depending on the wind direction you could end up breathing in stale air, including carbon monoxide.

Thomas has put together a website highlighting the possible dangers: www.gassingamerica.com

Please be aware that some of the content of this site is disturbing.

However, Mr. Rodgers’ message is getting out and indeed the Government Accountability Office recently produced a report as a result of Tom Rodgers’ persistence on the issue: http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-13-52

Please ensure your home is safe and equip it with both smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

We all congratulate Ishbel Dickens, Executive Director of NMHOA, for running a 1/2 marathon to celebrate turning 60 (apparently the new 20!).

We also send her our sincere gratitude for running on behalf of NMHOA . . . and raising over $6000 to support the ongoing efforts to help manufactured home owners across the country.

And a big THANK YOU to all those who contributed.  We can’t do it without you.