We have been on a quest to improve the appearance of our mobile home park. We've done a good job on the mobile homes, but now we're going to focus on the RVs. One of our long-time RV tenants has a dilapidated old travel trailer that is getting worse every year. Another newer RV resident has a decent 5th wheel, but leaves his work tools, wood scraps and other debris all over his space despite several warnings. Do we have to give the long-time tenant the same kind of 30-day notice as mobile home tenants giving him 30 days to repair his trailer (along with the possible extension periods)? What kind of notice should we give the newer RV tenant?

Question: When residents want to place their home on the market, we tell them we have a preferred real estate agent we want them to use. Some residents oppose this and want to use their own agent they've already been working with. How can we resolve this? Also, is it permissible for us to insist that if they use their agent, we receive a portion of the commission at closing? We have a similar arrangement with our preferred agent, and it's worked out quite well.

Question - A resident moves out of their house but the daughter continues to pay a storage fee and signed a MHCO Storage Agreement. The home is not being occupied by anyone. All storage fees are current. However, no one is maintaining the yard or outside of the home. This is required under the Storage Agreement, and work needs to be performed immediately. The MHCO storage agreement refers to a three (3) day notice in the event of non-compliance. Does the community owner give a 3-day notice for non-compliance? If so, what happens next if there is no compliance? Does the landlord file an FED? Should the landlord stop accepting storage payment?

Question - A resident moves out of their house but the daughter continues to pay a storage fee and signed a MHCO Storage Agreement. The home is not being occupied by anyone. All storage fees are current. However, no one is maintaining the yard or outside of the home. This is required under the Storage Agreement, and work needs to be performed immediately. The MHCO storage agreement refers to a three (3) day notice in the event of non-compliance. Does the community owner give a 3-day notice for non-compliance? If so, what happens next if there is no compliance? Does the landlord file an FED? Should the landlord stop accepting storage payment?

Like all business decisions these days, business owners must make informed decisions. Reinvesting in your manufactured home community is no different. MHCs are considered one of the best forms of affordable housing, which are in short supply. Today building a new MHC is usually economically unfeasible in areas due to the restrictions being placed on them by local and state government. Therefore, it's ever more important to not let your MHC deteriorate. Being proactive by putting together a Capital Improvement budget and developing a reserve account is a good idea. Depending on the age of your community the capital improvements will vary from sewer lines, water lines, resurfacing the roads, replacing cracked sidewalks, and club house remodeling.

Question: There is a public restroom in the middle of our mobile home park's RV section that is used primarily by RV tenants. Some use it and some don't. The problem is that it is vandalized on a regular basis and has become more trouble than it is worth. Can we close it? What about the adjacent laundry room? It's not as much of a problem, but we'd still like to just get rid of the whole facility.

Question: When I am asked to fill out a credit application for my park, whether it be for services or garbage, electricity, etc., or if I fill out an application for financing for equipment at my park, is it necessary that I include my Social Security Number as part of that information?

Question: We have various screening criteria, but they change from time to time -- usually after we run up against a problem we haven't seen before. Is it OK to change our criteria, and if so, how do we do it?

Question: Please tell me what I must do when I reject a prospective tenant's application to move into our community.

Question: We have a number of forms that we use for sending notices to our mobile home park tenants. Can we use the same forms for our RV tenants?