My name is JoeAnn Gidlow and I own a manufactured home at Forest View Estates in Homosassa, Fl. I want to ask you to weigh in on an important issue that will ensure the economic and retirement security of Florida’s manufactured homeowners.
Join us today by placing a toll-free call at 1-855-521-4799 to Florida State Senator Kelli Stargel and ask her to hold hearings on Senate Bill 114.
On the surface, I live in a lovely community owned by Green Courte Partners, a real estate investment trust (REIT). We have two pools, a tennis court, bocci courts and horseshoes, and it is all well maintained. I had been perfectly content here and planned to live out my golden years in Forest View. However, things have taken a significant turn for the worse. Homeowners in our community have been socked with exorbitant, unjustified rent increases. These increases far outpace any adjustments to my monthly Social Security check. Combining this increased ground rent with flood and mortgage insurance payments, it’s impossible for me to continue to afford to live here.
With my husband’s passing, it became clear to me that I had to sell my home and move somewhere else…..but that is where the problems with the lack of rent justification for homeowners in Florida really escalates. Only one couple has looked at my home since I put it on the market and I have received no offers. I know for a fact that the hesitancy shown by buyers is due to a 25% increase in the ground rent levels that they would face upon completion of the sale.
The only way to sell my home is to offer it for pennies. The unconscionable increases in ground rent has reduced my equity to almost nothing. Big picture: Green Courte Partners has in effect striped away any investment I have in my home. This is morally reprehensible. Green Courte’s push for profit at all costs is tearing apart the fabric of our community and bankrupting many seniors like me.
We need to band together to fight for our economic and retirement security. Please join me in calling Florida State Senator Kelli Stargel to hold hearings on S.B. 114 which will tie any potential rent increases that a new homeowner could face to the Consumer Price Index (CPI). This is a win/win for everyone. It allows Florida homeowners like me and you to retain equity in our homes while at the same time allowing community owners to adjust rental rates in a fair and reasonable way.
Please call toll-free 1-855-521-4799 and follow the prompts to leave a message with Senator Stargel.
Thank you for your support.
JoeAnn Gidlow
P.S. Forward this message to other manufactured homeowners in Florida and ask that they sign up on the MHAction.org list to receive future alerts!