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.

Question. Our park has Ash trees on most of the spaces, planted by the owners when the spaces were first occupied. Most of the trees are between thirty and forty years old.

We routinely maintain the above-ground parts of the trees. We prune and repair the trees as needed, and occasionally remove trees when necessary. In some cases the roots have damaged walkways or street curbs, creating potential trip hazards. When that happens we hire contractors to remove the damaged concrete and the intruding roots, and replace the concrete. The park absorbs these costs.

My question has to do with other types of root damage. We recently repaired damaged walkways and curbs at several spaces. In addition to the damage we repaired, two residents complained of additional damage.

In one case it appears that a root was lifting a pier block under the deck, causing the deck to rise at one corner. I had the contractor cut the root while they were repairing the walkway, which should stop the root from growing, and the deck from lifting. The resident has now demanded that I remove the root and re-level the deck. This looks like a pretty big job that could easily snowball.

In another case the homeowner has noticed that the floor of the home is out of level. It appears that a root is lifting one or more of the supports under the home. I expect her to ask me to pay for getting the home re-leveled.

As the park owner, what is my responsibility for damage such as this to the manufactured home structure caused by tree roots? These trees are all greater than 8 inches DBH. It seems to me that if root intrusion issues are brought into the mix, any tree over 8 inches DBH would automatically be a hazard tree. Is that really how we should be interpreting the law?

In early June, following my article titled "Home Fire in the Community" (Phil Querin Q&A: Home Burns Down in Community - What next? - Published June 4, 2015) I received an email from John Van Landingham with a 'gentle reminder' that "...you might want to add that, if a governmental agency posts the burned-out home as constituting a health hazard, the abandoned property timelines can be shortened. ORS 90.675 (21)." John was -- as usual -- absolutely correct. John and I were both involved in the creation of the abandonment law fifteen years ago (has it really been that long?), so I have no excuse in forgetting this important provision. Mea Culpa! Below is an amplification of my earlier post.

We at First Commercial Property Corp. have had a busier winter and Spring than we have EVER had as Managers of MHCs these last 35 years; opening our new Oregon Office, hiring Sally Harrington, John Cox and Scott Mullens, and focusing on positioning properties for SPRING/SUMMER cleanups! Speaking of which, it is summer, and the only thing that prevents MHCs from being the best they can possibly be is our imaginations! Why not take advantage of the season, and slowly WALK through your community with "fresh eyes!" There is plenty to do and see:

Question: What can a landlord do about resident's who deliberately leave water running in the summer to get back at the landlord?