Discussions

Holden_Caulfield said "There’s been a lot more then a new sign and new part of the park!!!! They’ve bought old run down trailers and put in new ones and as well as making existing renter clean up the disaster that was going on out there. Place looks great now. Most junk gone!! Well done.   Also they’re working on a water system for everyone.... but a cheap investment by any means. Also.....doesn’t get done over night! "

I am not sure where your getting your info, but I really don't think you live out here.  
Yes they put in a sign and street signs. Of course they are going to change the sign, they got to have their name and logo on everything. They put in street signs because they were forced to by the Fire department as they felt the numbering was not sufficient.... The pizza delivery guy had no issues finding my house, not sure why the ambulance would have an issue...  
The address change did not go well either. after making us change our address's twice (think about the amount of time that takes, the lost work time to get to places with mon-fri business hours, then times it by two) then they put up signs. You ever try to Google a Meadowbrook Address? No system knows where we are, Google can't find us. It's a hassle every time we have to give it.  
Lets talk about what they have done for us...  
1) they graded and calcium'd the roads, great! But calcium is not cheap, they laid it then that was it, We haven't seen a grader since because we can't wreck the precious calcium regardless of the pot holes.  
2)We got new garbage cans. WOOHOO! Was that really for us though or did they switch them out because the cost of someone driving the old truck to the dump every other day was too much?  
3)That's honestly all I have seen in the last year...  
Now let's talk about what they haven't done for us..  
1) We received a letter last February stating that the water would be shut down for most of the day and once it was turned back on it would be drinkable. Well it's still not drinkable according to the government website. It was also not disclosed to us that the upgrade was not completed. I have also noticed more water interruptions in the last year than the previous 6 of me being out here. The water since the upgrade also seems to be harder or not filtered as efficiently. It leaves white stains on everything and according to my TDS meter sits around 480-500PPM. Before the upgrade it was right around 400. But the new part has a holding tank and drinkable city water.  
2)They have told numerous people that they cannot sell their homes on the lot (can be sold and moved) due to roof type, age, heck even window type. These are family's with mortgages on their homes. To sell a mobile without a lot will not get them close to recouping the costs to pay off the mortgages. Bankrupting families sounds like a solid business plan... Let's get real not many are going to buy one of their brand new homes on a new lot that with mortgage and lot rent costs more than purchasing a 240,000$ house. Sawatsky group has found this out the hard way and has over the last year moved 4+ used homes into the court to sell. let's not forget their rule book states no one is allowed to move a used home in..  
Now the increase. The letter states that they only want to increase us 40$ a month. not terrible, but I ask you this, why ask the tenancy board for a 60% increase and apply a discount if they truly only want a 23ish% raise? Because a discount can be removed at any time. Its a face their using to try and gain peoples approval on the increase. What worries me is the discount can now be used as blackmail. They don't like what you're doing? Change it or they remove your discount. Going to fight the increase and send a letter to the tenancy branch? Discount gone. What Adams posted letter leaves out is they are going to put on a informational session about the increase. How nice of them, too bad it's a few days after the allotted time slot closes to make an appeal to the tenancy branch. how convenient?  
When They were first taking over I truly wanted to believe that it would get better. That dream was crushed at their first informational session during the take over where we heard more excuses and question dodging that a parliament meeting. I especially liked the part where shortly after being handed a ridiculously large book of rules we were told "if you don't like it, get out"

The work done by the owners of Meadowbrook Village do not represent an upgrade to the trailer court. What they really did was ADD to the trailer court. Now, by adding fully serviced lots (rumoured to have hi-speed internet) and fully lit streets with fire hydrants and brand new water/sewer, what they have essentially done is de-value the existing portion of the court. At the end of the day, would you rather purchase an older trailer in the old part of the court with no street lights, no fire hydrants and no hi-speed internet?? Now my home has less value because there are better options...but now I'm expected to pay more for rent.  
 
I don't see how this is fair.

grandmaB said "You must live on Kelsey Bay....and I didn’t call them trailers...I called them manufactured home same as modular home....I said trailer court....what else are they called....in my day an age that is where they place MODULAR homes and were called trailer courts period! "

If a home is built inside a factory it is called a mobile home. If the home was built outside, it's called an RTM. The term "modular" only refers to a multi-sectional building consisting of many mobile homes, otherwise known as a double-wide. So, if your house ever had a hitch on it, sits on cribbing and has a CSA label in it, it's a mobile home.

Thatotherguy said "    Holden_Caulfield said "There’s been a lot more then a new sign and new part of the park!!!! They’ve bought old run down trailers and put in new ones and as well as making existing renter clean up the disaster that was going on out there. Place looks great now. Most junk gone!! Well done.   Also they’re working on a water system for everyone.... but a cheap investment by any means. Also.....doesn’t get done over night! " I am not sure where your getting your info, but I really don't think you live out here.   Yes they put in a sign and street signs. Of course they are going to change the sign, they got to have their name and logo on everything. They put in street signs because they were forced to by the Fire department as they felt the numbering was not sufficient.... The pizza delivery guy had no issues finding my house, not sure why the ambulance would have an issue...   The address change did not go well either. after making us change our address's twice (think about the amount of time that takes, the lost work time to get to places with mon-fri business hours, then times it by two) then they put up signs. You ever try to Google a Meadowbrook Address? No system knows where we are, Google can't find us. It's a hassle every time we have to give it.   Lets talk about what they have done for us...   1) they graded and calcium'd the roads, great! But calcium is not cheap, they laid it then that was it, We haven't seen a grader since because we can't wreck the precious calcium regardless of the pot holes.   2)We got new garbage cans. WOOHOO! Was that really for us though or did they switch them out because the cost of someone driving the old truck to the dump every other day was too much?   3)That's honestly all I have seen in the last year...   Now let's talk about what they haven't done for us..   1) We received a letter last February stating that the water would be shut down for most of the day and once it was turned back on it would be drinkable. Well it's still not drinkable according to the government website. It was also not disclosed to us that the upgrade was not completed. I have also noticed more water interruptions in the last year than the previous 6 of me being out here. The water since the upgrade also seems to be harder or not filtered as efficiently. It leaves white stains on everything and according to my TDS meter sits around 480-500PPM. Before the upgrade it was right around 400. But the new part has a holding tank and drinkable city water.   2)They have told numerous people that they cannot sell their homes on the lot (can be sold and moved) due to roof type, age, heck even window type. These are family's with mortgages on their homes. To sell a mobile without a lot will not get them close to recouping the costs to pay off the mortgages. Bankrupting families sounds like a solid business plan... Let's get real not many are going to buy one of their brand new homes on a new lot that with mortgage and lot rent costs more than purchasing a 240,000$ house. Sawatsky group has found this out the hard way and has over the last year moved 4+ used homes into the court to sell. let's not forget their rule book states no one is allowed to move a used home in..   Now the increase. The letter states that they only want to increase us 40$ a month. not terrible, but I ask you this, why ask the tenancy board for a 60% increase and apply a discount if they truly only want a 23ish% raise? Because a discount can be removed at any time. Its a face their using to try and gain peoples approval on the increase. What worries me is the discount can now be used as blackmail. They don't like what you're doing? Change it or they remove your discount. Going to fight the increase and send a letter to the tenancy branch? Discount gone. What Adams posted letter leaves out is they are going to put on a informational session about the increase. How nice of them, too bad it's a few days after the allotted time slot closes to make an appeal to the tenancy branch. how convenient?   When They were first taking over I truly wanted to believe that it would get better. That dream was crushed at their first informational session during the take over where we heard more excuses and question dodging that a parliament meeting. I especially liked the part where shortly after being handed a ridiculously large book of rules we were told "if you don't like it, get out" "

sounds like a lot of issues....perhaps should be taken up with the owners or tenancy board?  
 
I am simply stating a fact....the old park look aweful - junky old yards, lots of crap laying around!! that's it!!  
just saying since the new owners it looks better cuz they forced the tenants to clean up their messy yards - those that were, not all  
 
thank you

if it is that bad there......why stay?

Holden_Caulfield said "if it is that bad there......why stay? "

I never said it was terrible, just listing the events that have gone on good and bad.  
As for not leaving. I still enjoy being out of the city and even if the 60% increase is approved its not going to break me, anger yes. The issue is though that when a majority of us bought out here, we knew what we were getting and the cheaper lot rent made up for it. Now they want city lot rent prices with none of the amenities.  
Plus not everyone can afford to pickup and leave when the going gets tough.  
What other options do people have to own a home in the 100-130,000$ price range of an older mobile? Not much other than renting.

Have you seen the original letter that the Tenancies Branch sent out, Adam?

Thatotherguy said "    Holden_Caulfield said "if it is that bad there......why stay? " I never said it was terrible, just listing the events that have gone on good and bad.   As for not leaving. I still enjoy being out of the city and even if the 60% increase is approved its not going to break me, anger yes. The issue is though that when a majority of us bought out here, we knew what we were getting and the cheaper lot rent made up for it. Now they want city lot rent prices with none of the amenities.   Plus not everyone can afford to pickup and leave when the going gets tough.   What other options do people have to own a home in the 100-130,000$ price range of an older mobile? Not much other than renting. "

I completely agree with you there!! the increase is ridiculous. I also think it should be "cheaper" to live there compared to in the city as u said. I was simply just stating a few facts before. Yes it could use work out there as well, but there has been an improvement  
 
Hopefully all gets sorted out and the rent doesn't go too high. Too bad the original letter hasn't been posted to this discussion for all to see

Fishin Guy said "I live in a so called trailer....today's term modular home. This is in Brandon, own lot. Pay $2600 per year. Currently there are 2 homes in the bay that are for sale. People still seem to have the perception of a trailer park...trailer trash mentality. Then they complain that there is no affordable housing. They see condos as a comparison yet don't see past the fact you need to pay a condo fee for the rest of your life owning the place. My property taxes are it and at $220 a month that is pretty decent for over 1200 sqft and a 55x120 lot. Having a lot rent without a ton of amenities seems pretty excessive. "

There is always that perception of this area and it is really too bad. It is an amazing neighbourhood with great neighbours in a good area of town.  
 
People don't seem to understand that we OWN the land. No lot fees, nobody looking over our shoulder telling us what we can or can not do on our property and the city takes care of the rest. Just like everyone else that owns their home in the city. We pay our property tax and that works out to $152 per month.  
 
One of the things I love about the mobile is that we can use every inch of our yard. A mobile is not considered a "permanent structure" so it can be placed a foot or so from your property line making the most of your property and gives you a HUGE yard.  
 
When we were originally looking to buy those were the first 2 things that convinced us that this was the way to go! There really isn't anything else out there that compares when it comes to yard size, square footage and area of the city for the price.

The residents need to stop dividing the park into them (new part) and us (old part). The idea is for one park – an US. The original section is going to benefit from the new development, but it is not going to happen overnight. There will be bumps in the road. I look around and I see lots of improvements – garbage and recycling bins, a bin for yard cleanup, graded roads and great snow removal, new layer of gravel last spring, old mobiles moved out and new ones in, yards cleaned up, to name a few. The park is undergoing a rejuvenation. These improvements are what we wanted, but they are not free. Of course the rent was going to go up. The former owner did not raise the rent more than a $1 a month because he wasn’t allowed to, not because he didn’t want to. Look up at the sky at night – you can actually see the stars. Sit out in your yard – what’s that? The sound of all kinds of birds and no whirring and honking of traffic. Meadowbrook Village is a wonderful place to live.

It does not seem out of line (40.00). The Land lord can ask for it, but he may not get it. He can ask for and get the same increase for the old section or new. His costs to run both are near the same. I also think his taxes are about the same. Now it may be costlier for him to maintain the old section but who cares. Both sites together must make coin. If he has to subsidize one side from the other so be it. It is his business. Lots of shops have sections that make less or zero profit or loss.

I am a little flabbergasted with some of the posts I have read in this thread. The prior 2 posts from Froggie and Doug are inaccurate in my opinion.  
First to Froggie- The residents are not dividing the park between new and old, in fact we are standing together to prohibit an absurd rent increase which has been proposed to The Residential Tenancies Branch with little merit. You list some improvements including graded roads, snow removal and general rejuvenation. I disagree with you, the roads were in better condition with the previous owner. They were plowed in a lot quicker fashion, and the grading would have been done probably twice already to shave down these ridiculous pot holes that have been here for a couple of weeks now. The general up keep has remained the same other than a few new homes being placed on older lots thus getting rid of some of the older mobiles.  
Above the Guideline Rent Increase is determined on two aspects including Capital Expenditures (Upgrades), and year over year expense. 90 plus % of the proposed rent increase is actually for the expansion of the new park. I know this because I spent an hour and a half combing through the proposal at the RTB. I also documented the numbers and have them written down to ensure my information is accurate. I won't go into the details on here for the monies spent, but you are welcome to comment on your thoughts.  
 
One last thing…. The rising expenses should have been taken into account during due diligence pre sale. This would have lowered the actual selling price and given the buyer negotiation room on why his offer was lower as the old owner ran every aspect of this park. The rising expenses out here are due to a couple of things including property Management, a caretaker, some calcium and a few other minor things, while the majority is due to the Expansion. (If this was the case, a lot of revenue property being ran by individual landlords would be bought up, you would then add property Management, a caretaker and apply for huge rent increases through the RTB, and increase your property value by quite a small fortune in no time).  
 
Here is an example of what I am getting at......Let's say a potential landlord in Brandon is looking at purchasing a revenue property. He purchases the property believing he might make 5-8 % on his investment.(Good for him, smart business thinking). Let’s also say he purchases an empty lot beside his newly purchased revenue property and builds some more suites. The new landlord cannot raise his existing tenants rent to subsidize his new project going up next door. In essence, this is what is being proposed at Meadowbrook.  
 
Doug- 40.00 per month to you might not seem like a lot. Maybe it isn't with some nice improvements, but that has not happened. You said "if he has to subsidize one side from the other side, so be it". This isn't how it works Doug. The RTB is in place for both the landlord and tenants to resolve disputes, whether in forms of late rent, loud neighbors, and general rules for both parties to abide by. They also investigate applications on above the guideline rent increases, and there has to be proof and evidence of upgrades to justify the amount that is awarded. That is precisely why we have a Tenancies Branch or landlords all over the province would jack their rents up according to the vacancy rates in each city. It's a safeguard to protect people.  
Also, when you say 40.00 isn't much, you are missing the actual increase. The actual increase on average is 80.00 but they are giving 40.00 discounts for the first year. After 9 months, more than likely a letter will be given to us that the rent will go up another 40 after the 12 months has elapsed. Voila, you now have an 80.00 per month increase per lot to help expand your new Expansion venture next door.  
 
By all means let me if you would like to talk about this or enlighten me why I am being unreasonable.

Good post, very informative. Sure hope you guys don''t get that huge increase. Good luck  
 
Edited by gopherit, 2018-04-01 00:15:39

pattylp said "    Fishin Guy said "I live in a so called trailer....today's term modular home. This is in Brandon, own lot. Pay $2600 per year. Currently there are 2 homes in the bay that are for sale. People still seem to have the perception of a trailer park...trailer trash mentality. Then they complain that there is no affordable housing. They see condos as a comparison yet don't see past the fact you need to pay a condo fee for the rest of your life owning the place. My property taxes are it and at $220 a month that is pretty decent for over 1200 sqft and a 55x120 lot. Having a lot rent without a ton of amenities seems pretty excessive. " There is always that perception of this area and it is really too bad. It is an amazing neighbourhood with great neighbours in a good area of town.     People don't seem to understand that we OWN the land. No lot fees, nobody looking over our shoulder telling us what we can or can not do on our property and the city takes care of the rest. Just like everyone else that owns their home in the city. We pay our property tax and that works out to $152 per month.     One of the things I love about the mobile is that we can use every inch of our yard. A mobile is not considered a "permanent structure" so it can be placed a foot or so from your property line making the most of your property and gives you a HUGE yard.     When we were originally looking to buy those were the first 2 things that convinced us that this was the way to go! There really isn't anything else out there that compares when it comes to yard size, square footage and area of the city for the price. "

Patti I'm not sure where you live but when we had a mobile home here that we sold about 2 years ago it was a LEASE on LEASED land. I don't know what you signed but I have the lease/renter's contract I signed with Campbell's right in front of me. It's a lot fee in lieu of property taxes. If you think you OWN any inch of your grass or gravel you better check again. I also have the RBC mortgage docs in front of me that gave a mortgage of a certain type for a mobile on LEASED land.  
 
As for Campbell's itself I am surprised at some of the comments. I always thought it was a very nice place to live, that felt like a nice small community and didn't think it looked dumpy (there ARE always one or two exceptions to the rule but when we went house hunting in Brandon the dumpy exceptions to the rule were still present). We paid a lot fee of $165 at that time for an older trailer that I felt was pretty in line for what we got for services and I liked the people that ran the place. Would I pay lot fee comparable to what's in Brandon? Not likely. Too bad this awesome little community has been hit with some unfortunate changes. I always thought it was a place I would like to go back to.

matt123 said "long term resident of Brentwood Mobile Home park I am glad I live here! Brentwood and the park owners (family owned)increase the rent every year but only at the rate of inflation! "

How much is the rent in the newer lots??

You are mistake on the rent at Brentwood. I live in the middle. My mobile is 16 yrs old, I have probably the biggest garage in the park and my rent is $382. all taxes in. My water is $90. per 3 months. During a snow storm my PAVED street is plowed when I get up in mornings. My neighbors are great and all have beautiful yards. We did have a offer in on Kelsey Bay but removed it when I saw the size of our lot after the trees were removed. My rental lot is huge and we were able to build the garage of our dreams.  
I have no completes about Brentwood at all. But I dont know what I would do if my rent went up that much.

Crackers said "You are mistake on the rent at Brentwood. I live in the middle. My mobile is 16 yrs old, I have probably the biggest garage in the park and my rent is $382. all taxes in. My water is $90. per 3 months. During a snow storm my PAVED street is plowed when I get up in mornings. My neighbors are great and all have beautiful yards. We did have a offer in on Kelsey Bay but removed it when I saw the size of our lot after the trees were removed. My rental lot is huge and we were able to build the garage of our dreams.   I have no completes about Brentwood at all. But I dont know what I would do if my rent went up that much. "

i was talking about the new lots at brentwood! not the middle of the park where you've been for 16 years!!  
new prices are quite high there!  
water @ $90 for 3 months? but how many people live with you? I know for a fact that mine is easly $50-70 a month and its all the same water in the city

Maybe you can answer my questions. Was looking on line at mobiles for sale and there is one at 141 Brentwood Village with lot rent of $270. Wondering why it is so low there compared to others?

So, does anyone know if the increase got approved?