Letter: Thoughts on tenants’ precarious situation at Lakeway Estates | Opinion
I wish to thank Rachel Showalter and The Herald for publishing in the Aug. 13 article regarding the manufactured home community of Lakeway Estates. Thank you. I would like to add a few more details to some of the issues discussed in the article and statements made by the Lakeway Estates management.
Like any other homeowner, the residents at Lakeway Estates are responsible to pay all utilities, home insurance, taxes on the improvement and maintenance of the home and all home systems. We also pay a monthly garbage collection fee, water and sewer (individually metered) and stormwater, plus the monthly lot fee. As well, according to their Guidelines for Living, we are responsible for the total care of the lot itself, keeping it free from weeds, etc. Citations are issued for infractions.
I quote from Havenpark’s Community Rules and Regulations: “A well-maintained Community where residents are following the rules results in an attractive appearance of the homes and Community, and consistently leads to a much higher home value and resale value for tenants owning their own homes. Everyone wins when the Community looks nice and residents are adhering to Community rules.”
That only applies if lease fees are reasonable. For new buyers being asked for a monthly lease fee, now at $1,695/month plus all expenses, it doesn’t matter how nice the park looks. If owners hope to sell their units, they must do so with an asking price far below market value or worse, practically giving them away.
When park management was asked why the lot rent for new buyers was set at $1,695/month, they responded by saying that they had compared the local rental market to apartments. Of course, there is no comparison. Owners of apartments or other are responsible for all expenses attached to both the land and building itself. Residents of Lakeway Estates are homeowners like anyone else and are responsible for all expenses attached to the unit, including its purchase. The $1,695/month is for the lot rent only, therefore totally unreasonable and excessive.
Recently, Lakeway Estates is no longer exclusively a 55-plus community. They are now allowing 20% of the units to be sold to people of any age. That percentage will only increase over time.
Residents are being charged $23.21/month for stormwater. Many are wondering why, since the stormwater drainage system is the responsibility of the park owners, not the residents. After all, they own the land.
The article mentions that Havenpark Communities (Lakeway Estates, LLC) has already spent $800,000 in park improvements. Most of those expenses have been imposed upon the owners.
The residents are extremely grateful to the city of Bellingham for the zoning overlay that was passed in 2022 to help protect the parks from being sold to a developer and close the park. This is in effect until 2052. However, there is an important caveat. If the owners can demonstrate that they can’t financially “make it” as a mobile park, they can appeal to the city to be exempt from the overlay.
The residents are also grateful to Washington state for having capped rent increases for mobile parks at 5% annually. For tenants who remain, that law is greatly appreciated.
At least for now, there is some protection for the residents of Lakeway Estates who remain. Those who must sell their units are being held financially hostage to the park owners.
When the previous owners placed the park for sale, the asking price was $33 million. Havenpark Communities paid $40.8 million for Lakeway Estates. That begs the question as to why. I leave that up to the readers to form their own conclusions about their motivation for having done so, and what their future goals for the park might be.
— Fred Sheppard, Lakeway Estates resident