An elderly resident of a Tampa Bay manufactured home community returned home after a long absence only to learn that his home had been sold to someone else and all his possessions had been tossed out. Salaheldin Abuelenen, 88, said the trouble began when he wasn’t feeling well last March and left his manufactured home to live with a relative in Spring Hill, Florida. When he returned to his home in Hillsborough County in December, he discovered that his home had been sold out from under him.

“First, he tried to open the mailbox, and it was not working. Then he tried to open the door and the door key did not work,” said Abuelenen’s nephew, Hany Khalil, 40. “Finally, somebody came out from inside and told us that ‘this is my house.’ “

Bay News 9 tells MHProNews that it seems the management of the community thought that Abuelesen had died and threw out all his belongings and sold his home while he was staying with relatives. According to a sworn affidavit, the Lakeshore Villas landlord, Debby Heminger, stated that Abuelenen did not pay his lot rent for April, May and June. The problem with that is Abuelenen’s bank records show the rent for April and May were automatically drafted from his account.

“She take the money from the bank and said that I didn’t pay,” said Abuelenen. He said the management did not even try to collect rent for June. Based on the affidavit and with no response from Abuelenen, a Hillsborough County judge gave possession of the manufactured home to Lakeshore Villas last August, according to court records.

“I hope the judge will give me my rights,” said the displaced homeowner.  Abuelenen said he paid $9,500 cash for his manufactured home in November of 2012, not including the cost for the furniture, and set up automatic payments for the $533 monthly lot rent. Abuelenen, who’s originally from Egypt, said he lived there for more than a year without any problems.

Khalil said when Abuelenen went to the office to ask about his home, the manager looked like she had just seen a ghost. “It was a big-time surprise for them.”  He said the community manager told them that all of Abuelenen’s furniture and belongings, including his 1926 birth certificate from Egypt, were gone and his home had been sold.

“All gone, everything. He’s a writer, he write books,” he said. “His original birth certificate was in this house. How we gonna get a copy?”

Last month, Abuelenen filed a handwritten motion in court showing he had paid rent and did not receive the eviction or abandonment notices. A couple of weeks ago, the judge threw out his original order that gave Lakeshore Villas possession of the manufactured home.

According to the manufactured home park attorney, Jonathan Damonte, a company called Sun Communities purchased Lakeshore Villas from American Land Lease in January. Damonte said they sent notices to Abuelenen, and also posted one on his door and in the newspaper.

“They had not heard from him for many, many months. They’d sent notices, they weren’t able to contact him and the rumor in the park was that he’d passed away,” said Damonte. “So, they did an eviction and an abandonment, and the home was resold in an abandonment sale.”

Damonte said Abuelenen’s home was sold at auction for $5,000 last October. The attorney said an accounting mistake led to the abandonment sale and the company wants to compensate Abuelenen.

“Obviously, somebody made a mistake in the accounting department. We don’t get those records here. We get a notice saying, ‘Someone hasn’t paid, proceed with the eviction,’ “ Damonte said. “We want to offer Mr. Abuelenen either another home in the park, or we’d be willing to settle up with him, but since the home has been re-sold to someone else, we can’t restore that to him now. However, we do want to do right by him.”

The law office sent Abuelenen a letter on February 10 stating, “We would like to avoid going to any more hearings and would instead like to discuss a possible settlement.” Abuelenen said he recently had heart surgery and he’s not interested in living at Lakeshore Villas. “I will buy another home in the street,” he said.

The judge set a hearing for March 11, to discuss how to resolve all the issues between Abuelenen and Lakeshore Villas. Abuelenen said this week he filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. ##

(Photo Credit: Bay News 9)

 

Article submitted by Sandra Lane to – Daily Business News – MHProNews.