Question. Our city garbage company is going to increase my per space rate by six dollars per month per can, which is a drastic increase. I'm wondering if I have the legal right to back out of my base rent the current garbage costs, and then require our residents to pay directly. Our current rental agreements include the garbage in base rent, which means currently I will have to absorb the cost of the increase for everyone. Any suggestions?

Question. Our city garbage company is going to increase my per space rate by six dollars per month per can, which is a drastic increase. I'm wondering if I have the legal right to back out of my base rent the current garbage costs, and then require our residents to pay directly. Our current rental agreements include the garbage in base rent, which means currently I will have to absorb the cost of the increase for everyone. Any suggestions?

Thinking of selling your manufactured home community? This is the market you want to be in! Oregon mobile home park sellers are seeing high demand for their product, and a park with good fundamentals in strong locations -- priced correctly -- will sell quickly.

Question. We are sub-metering a property and have given all the appropriate notices including the 24 hour notice for right of entry to their space. About 20 residents have denied our access to the site and are asking us to provide them with exact dates on when we can enter their space. We could do that however as with all of these projects delays may happen and it would require the possibility or multiple 24 notices to change the dates of entry. Do the residents have right to do this, if we have given them a 24 hour notice with a window of 30 days for which we could gain access to their lot. Also if we relented on the original plans and 24 hour notice and we hand-posted a 24 hour notice for the right of entry when we know which sites we will be working on the next day is that an option?

Question: We have a younger gentleman who has lived in the RV section of our park now for around six months. He checked out well in our application process, but now has not paid rent for two months. He says that he was laid off from his job, but is starting a new one and that his mother has agreed to help him catch up. But that was several weeks ago and still nothing. We don't necessarily want to evict him, but this obviously can't continue. Any advice?

Question. We have residents whose son just turned 18, and will continued to live at home for the time being. So far, he has not caused any problems, and we have no reason to believe he will. But now that he is an adult, should we require that the he go through a criminal background check and formally apply to become a tenant?

Stating the obvious: Rules and Regulations (aka Guidelines For Living) set forth living and maintenance behavior which a MHC Resident must follow while living in your community. These R&Rs can include items like maintaining yards, limiting on-street parking, allowing or prohibiting fences, cleaning up after pets, deck sizes, night time quite hours and a whole host of other items governing how your community is maintained and used.

Question. We have a tenant that rents one of our Studio Apartments, recently she requested to rent one of our mobile homes that just became vacant. She informed us that she was approved for Section 8 and also that there would be an inspection of the Unit. We would like to know if we would be required to pay for any changes or upgrades due to the result of the inspection.

Q: What happens after I give them the financial information?

A: The tenants committee must (1) form a corporate entity that is legally capable of purchasing property or associate with a nonprofit corporation or housing authority that is legally capable of purchasing real property or that is advising the tenants about purchasing the park in which the tenants reside; and (2) submit a written offer to purchase the park, in the form of a proposed purchase and sale agreement, and either a copy of the articles of incorporation of the newly formed entity .

Just imagine, roaming the Western United States in your RV, not a care in the world, cheap living, and finally, settling in a MHP in Beautiful Oregon! A dream come true for a lot of senior citizens. Filling vacant spaces can be the most important improvement made to any Mobile Home Park and because there is a growing trend for people, especially seniors, to live in RV's full time, park owners are filling spaces with "Permanent RV" tenants. This certainly will fill spaces quickly and with minimal cost to the park. Additionally, living in an RV is one of the most affordable ways to live and many of the RV's are larger than a studio apartment. Apparently, the new trend in apartment building is studio apartments with as little as 200 square feet! Therefore, filling spaces with "Permanent RV's" seems to be a win-win situation, but there are some long term fallbacks that should be considered.