‘Mobile Home Park Residents Generally Have Lower Assets Making These Residents Economically Vulnerable’ DA Dan Dow-Case vs Harmony Communities a MHI Member; plus Sunday MHVille Headlines Recap
According to the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) membership listing linked here, Harmony Communities is a member of “the Institute.” According to the press release from District Attorney Dan Dow: “Mobile home park residents generally have lower value assets and net worth than those living in traditional homes, often making these residents economically vulnerable.” For those seeking correct manufactured housing industry terminology tips, click here and here. The economic vulnerability of residents of land-lease manufactured home communities (MHCs) has been highlighted in reports on MHLivingNews and MHProNews by citing an array of sources that span the left-right divide. Part I of this report with analysis will provide the press release by Dow’s office to MHProNews. Part II will provide additional information and commentary that include sources as cited that include Harmony Communities, MHI, and other sources. Part III will be our Sunday weekly MHVille headlines in review. There is more in store, so let’s dive in.
Part I
DA settles civil suit with mobile home park operator Harmony Communities, Inc. and a brokerage firm
Author: District Attorney Date: 8/28/2024 5:03 PM
District Attorney Dan Dow announced today that a civil settlement has been reached with a mobile home park management company that manages San Luis Obispo’s South Peak Mobile Park, and with its associated real estate brokerage firm. The settlement requires $61,000 payment for civil penalties and a contribution to a non-profit organization offering free legal assistance to tenants.
The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office Consumer Protection Unit has settled with the property management company, Harmony Communities, Inc., and its associated real estate brokerage company, Partners Real Estate, Inc. Harmony Communities, Inc. Harmony manages South Peak Mobile Home Park located on South Street in San Luis Obispo, along with more than 50 other mobile home parks in California.
The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office investigation was also joined by the District Attorney’s Offices in Fresno, San Joaquin and Marin Counties. The civil complaint was filed where the defendant’s principal place of business was located–San Joaquin County Superior Court.
The complaint alleged that for several years, Harmony Communities failed to reimburse background fees Harmony charged, which reimbursement is required by California’s Mobile Residency Law. The Complaint also alleged that Partner’s Real Estate, Inc. made misleading statements about housing units it listed on the multiple listing service (MLS) that were managed by Harmony Communities, Inc.
“Mobile home park residents generally have lower value assets and net worth than those living in traditional homes, often making these residents economically vulnerable,” said District Attorney Dan Dow. “We want to ensure that the management teams and operators of mobile home parks comply with California law and maintain business practices that prevent abuses and ensure fair treatment of residents who live in these communities.”
The final judgment and order pursuant to stipulation prohibits Partner’s Real Estate from making statements on MLS that could lead a buyer to falsely believe they are purchasing a manufactured home regulated by HUD. Additionally, recreational vehicles will need to be clearly identified as recreational vehicles within the advertisements.
In addition, Harmony Communities is ordered to pay $21,000 in civil penalties and Partner’s Real Estate is ordered to pay $20,000 in civil penalties. Both defendants are ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution to Central California Legal Services, a non-profit corporation, for the purpose of providing free legal assistance relating to housing issues. Finally, both defendants were ordered to pay $15,000 to the four District Attorney offices for reimbursement of their investigative and prosecution costs.
Our consumer protection team is committed to protecting the public from unlawful, unfair, and fraudulent or deceptive business practices. Consumer protection cases can be pursued in either criminal or civil court. Examples of such cases include contractor’s fraud, false or misleading advertising, and “bait and switch” scams. The unit also aims to increase public awareness of consumer issues through presentations to local groups when called upon.
For more information about the consumer protection laws or to report suspected violations contact the California Department of Consumer Affairs Consumer Assistance Line toll-free at (800) 952-5210 or visit their website at www.dca.ca.gov/. Hearing-impaired persons may call TTY (800) 326-229.
Please contact Assistant District Attorney Eric J. Dobroth at 805.781.5819 with any questions.
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Part II – Additional Information with More MHProNews Analysis and Commentary
Per the county’s website:
District Attorney Dan Dow is the elected public prosecutor for the County of San Luis Obispo. As the public prosecutor, the District Attorney shall attend the courts, and within his or her discretion shall initiate and conduct on behalf of the people all prosecutions for public offenses. (Cal. Gov. C. 26500). District Attorney Dow leads the office staff of 100 employees which makes the District Attorney’s Office the largest law firm in San Luis Obispo County.
According to the Join California website is the following about Dow.
Born: Gloucester, Massachusetts
Married: Wendy (m. 1992)
Children: Chloe and Jedidiah
Military Service: ARMY (Iraq War, War on Terror)
2001-200?: Panelist, East Bay Politics (cable TV show)
Previous: Member, East Bay Regional Park District Foundation
2002: Member, Newark Unified School District Strategic Plan Monitoring Committee
2004: Law Clark, San Luis Obispo County District Attorney
2005: Law Clerk, Justice Peggy Hora, Alameda County Superior Court
2005-2007: Deputy District Attorney, County of Riverside
2007-2014: Deputy District Attorney, San Luis Obispo County
2014-Present: District Attorney, San Luis Obispo County
In no particular order of importance are the following insights into Harmony Communities.
Per the San Luis Obispo Tribune:
SLO County DA Dan Dow is a ‘warrior’ for the right
https://www.sanluisobispo.com › article246562053
Oct 20, 2020 — San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow is aligning himself with ultra-conservatives and alienating other constituents.
Please stop what you’re doing and help us right now! You can make a difference for our public safety in California today!
Good morning. It’s Monday June 24 2024. This is District Attorney Dan Dow with an important update about our public safety in California.
Those items provide some insight into DA Dow. With that backdrop, the next about Harmony Communities.
1) Per their website:
About Us
Supporting Great Neighborhoods and Community Values across North America
Harmony Communities is a privately-owned company brings over two decades of ownership and management experience in land lease properties to residents nationwide. Our communities are defined by the services, affordability and lifestyle opportunities they offer to our residents. We are committed to ensuring that those values remain our top priorities. With desirable locations in 13 states and Canada, with 47 communities totaling over 10,000 home-sites, our best resources are our people. Strong corporate, regional and on-site management all strive to enhance the caliber of our communities and the quality of life of our residents.
2) Consider this Q&A conducted on 9.1.2024 at about 3:54 AM ET with left-leaning Bing’s artificial intelligence (AI) powered Copilot.
Copilot, Harmony Communities recently settled a case in California with a district attorney’s office that is discussed at this link here: https://www.slocounty.ca.gov/departments/district-attorney/latest-news/2024/august/da-settles-civil-suit-with-mobile-home-park-operator-harmony-communities,-inc-and-related-real-esta According to a document produced by the Manufactured Housing Institute linked here https://www.manufacturedhomepronews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/ManufacturedHousingInstituteCurrent-Member-List-MHIMembershipUSE-1-24-18ManufacturedHomeProNews.pdf Harmony Communities is a member of that Institute. What other information about state or national association membership can you provide? Also, what other legal and ethical concerns have been raised in mainstream media, the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, or other advocacy groups about Harmony Communities?
The involvement of Harmony Communities in state and national associations like MHI, coupled with the legal and ethical concerns raised by advocacy groups, underscores the importance of transparency, ethical conduct, and regulatory compliance in the manufactured housing industry. Addressing these issues is crucial for maintaining trust and ensuring the well-being of residents.
Would you like more detailed information on any specific aspect of this issue?
4) In a recent outreach to MHI leadership, see the report in the headlines recap below, no one on behalf of MHI responded to those issues. Thus, the evidence and analysis in the reports that follow remain essentially unchallenged publicly. Among the concerns raised is that MHI’s so-called Code of Ethical Conduct appears to be little more than window dressing.
Bill Boor is now chairman of the Manufactured Housing Institute. He is the CEO of Cavco Industries. The Institute has endorsed MHVillage which is the parent company of MHInsider. MHVillage and Datacomp are owned by Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS). ELS has a board position on the Manufactured Housing Institute’s potent “executive committee.” Many if not most pages of the MHInsider website fail to have any apparent disclosure that they are owned by ELS. The Institute has curiously failed to press through litigation the “enhanced preemption” provision of the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 2000 while also teaming up with the conventional housing trade group competitors of manufactured housing. While the Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR) website has made repeated points about the chief bottlenecks to manufactured housing industry growth and has said that legal action is needed to correct these over decade old hurdles, there is no known evidence that the Institute has or even threatened to litigate these issues. MHProNews has done multiple reports that have purported documented evidence of misleading, incomplete, deceptive, paltering and posturing by Manufactured Housing Institute linked firms, that include, but are not limited to Cavco Industries, ELS, MHVillage, Datacomp, Clayton Homes, Sun Communities, and others. It has been alleged that these “insider” firms involved at the Institute have postured efforts for growth but have failed to do the common sense steps that would in fact fuel growth. Is all of that broadly accurate? It has also been aledged that the upshot of this behavior is industry consolidation in the 21st century which may violate federal antitrust laws through an oligopoly style method. Provide an analysis of those concerns and link results.
Copilot
Sent by Copilot:
Your summary of the situation involving Bill Boor, Cavco Industries, the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI), and related entities appears broadly accurate based on available information. Here’s an analysis of the concerns you raised:
The concerns you raised about the behavior of MHI-linked firms and the potential for industry consolidation are well-founded. Ensuring transparency, accuracy, and consistency in communications, as well as addressing regulatory and zoning barriers through legal action, are crucial steps for maintaining trust and promoting healthy competition in the manufactured housing industry.
Would you like more detailed information on any specific aspect of this issue?
6) According to this search result, the only manufactured housing industry trade media or bloggers that have covered this next connection are MHProNews.com and MHLivingNews.com. In many devices and browsers, you can see the screen capture below in a larger image by clicking the link here and then following the prompts.
8) Don’t miss the announcement in Part IV (the traditional postscript) that follows the headlines in review. It will spotlight the next phase of our efforts to expose purported corrupt, illegal, and problematic practices in manufactured housing while at the same time creating a bright line distinction between ethical and unethical operations.
With no further adieu, here are the headlines for the week that was from 8.25.2024 to 9.1.2024.
1) In this past week, as is evidenced from the linked items above, MHProNews’ L. A. “Tony” Kovach has been testing posts on the Patch. Kovach has been named as a contributor for the Lakeland, FL Patch. While it is too soon to pop any corks, the early tests are promising. In conjunction with periodic press releases, the contributor status with the Patch may present a new method to spotlight the problems that have plagued manufactured housing industry production in the 21st century. Those woes, as the initial articles on the Patch begin to outline, are a mix of internal and external circumstances. Those issues that have hobbled manufactured housing for approaching a quarter of a century are often acknowledged by both MHARR and MHI. But MHI, as the AI boosted Q&A above and prior reports reflect, seems more intent on fostering industry consolidation while paying lip service to issues like obtaining more competitive financing and overcoming zoning barriers, that MHARR routinely draws attention to in their efforts.
2) ‘On paper,’ MHI often takes similar stances to those held by MHARR. Indeed, there are numerous times that MHI waits to file regulatory comments letters until after MHARR has done so, perhaps with the view of making sure that they have said several similar things as MHARR does?
3) MHARR’s leadership has been saying for years that litigation is needed to advance the cause of more lending and enforcement of the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act of 2000 (a.k.a.: MHIA, 2000 Reform Law, 2000 Reform Act, etc.). When MHARR offered almost exactly 5 years ago to join hands with an MHI linked state association to litigate to get enhanced preemption enforced, MHARR said there were no takers by MHI or one of their state association affiliates.
4) That is true despite the fact that multiple MHI linked state association staff leaders have made remarks like the one shown below by Mary Gaiski.
Ironically, MHI’s members only zoning tool helps document the association’s failures to achieve what they claim is one of their priorities. For more details, see links here and here. For more on Gaiski, see the report linked here.
5) When someone pulls back the veil on MHI’s own words and then compares them to other statements and behaviors, a troubling pattern appears to emerge. Those remarks by Gooch below were sent to HUD and are posted in a comments letter. But what percentage of the population will go to a regulatory comments letter to look for insights from MHI, or anyone else in MHVille for that matter? It would surely be a sliver of a fraction of 1 percent.
So, far more likely that someone will go to MHI’s website for insights. If someone even knows to search for “enhanced preemption” here is what they will find on MHI’s website.
7) So, on the one hand, there are MHI members like Gaiski, plus others, that lament the zoning hurdles the industry faces, almost 24 years after the MHIA was enacted which was supposed to fix the issue.
Amy Bliss is a ‘loyal’ MHI member and at the time this illustration above was produced, she was on an MHI board. She may have thought of the quotes comments as a slam against public officials. But those comments also reveal a lack of effectiveness of MHI. The Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) is on record saying that they favor the full and proper implementation of the Manufactured Housing Improvement Act (MHIA) of 2000. A key provision of the MHIA is commonly called enhanced federal preemption of just enhanced preemption. When anyone connected with MHI complains about zoning and placement barriers, a valid point, what they are routinely not saying is that the solution is already a matter of law. What is necessary is that the law be enforced. Since HUD does not appear – after some 23 years – to want to enforce the law, the solution is to sue to get the law enforced. That said, the duplicity of MHI and some of their ‘insider’ members is also on display. Some members do not want the enhanced preemption law enforced. These points may explain why MHI is willing to team up with the competitors of manufactured housing. What good have those competitors done for the industry? The disconnects that appear, once the facts are known, point to a scheme hiding in plain sight where industry professionals say one thing, but are doing another. As a logical consequence,several attorneys from outside of the industry have made public their research that points to a need for legal action and/or a new trade association that will properly represent manufactured housing advocacy so that the industry achieves its potential. Consumers, small businesses, and smaller investors are among those that are arguably harmed by the status quo.
The article this report was published in was posted on 2015/12/13. It was made possible due in part to a sponsorship at that time provided by Tim Williams, 21st Mortgage Corporation. 21st is a prominent MHI member, a sister brand to Clayton Homes, and like Clayton, Shaw or Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance (VMF), is owned by Berkshire Hathaway. The implications of those statements are more important than may initially be grasped by an outsider or newcomer looking in. Williams and Kevin Clayton, for example, clearly grasp the importance of enhanced preemption. They can’t claim ignorance. See the original report below that Gary Adamek was quoted. https://www.manufacturedhomelivingnews.com/local-star-chambers-wage-war-on-affordable-housing/
8) Put differently, there is ample evidence that MHI says one thing, but does something quite out of keeping with their claims. The industry’s “insiders” have apparently put the squeeze on state associations to follow the lead of MHI.
9) Some are perhaps beginning to realize what MHProNews, MHLivingNews, and MHARR are the only sources in MHVille that routinely point to the problems inside the industry, as well as those outside of the industry, that are keeping the most proven form of affordable housing underperforming during an affordable housing crisis.
10) According to a recent report, affordable housing may be surpassing immigration in its importance to millions of voters. It is the final stretch to November 5, 2024. MHProNews, in conjunction with our sister site and our new initiative with the Patch, plan to shine a light on these issues. It has been a long slog. But it took years for the massive Madoff scandal to finally get the attention of enforcers and mainstream media too. Time will tell if these efforts to bring to justice those who arguably have been manipulating the manufactured home industry for their benefit at the expense of residents and ethical independents will result in justice for all. Stay tuned. ###
Our son has grown quite a bit since this 12.2019 photo. All on Capitol Hill were welcoming and interested in our manufactured housing industry related concerns. But Congressman Al Green’s office was tremendous in their hospitality. Our son’s hand is on a package that included the Constitution of the United States, bottled water, and other goodies.
Tony earned a journalism scholarship and earned numerous awards in history and in manufactured housing.
For example, he earned the prestigious Lottinville Award in history from the University of Oklahoma, where he studied history and business management. He’s a managing member and co-founder of LifeStyle Factory Homes, LLC, the parent company to MHProNews, and MHLivingNews.com.
This article reflects the LLC’s and/or the writer’s position and may or may not reflect the views of sponsors or supporters.
