Janet Hook has done the math, and she's concerned.

On Friday, the single mother of two found a letter taped to the door of her white and green mobile home announcing that Midwest Country Estates in Waukee, where she's rented a lot for 12 years, has a new owner.

As one of its first acts, the Utah-based company said it was increasing her rent $205 per month to $500, starting June 1 — a 69 percent increase.

"It would leave me with $88 for food and gas after all my bills are paid," said Hook, who works at Waukee High School during the school year and Dairy Queen in the summer. "I'm going to have to get a second job other than the ones I already have."

She's not alone. Every resident of the 300-lot manufactured home park received the same letter. Among them are more single parents, elderly residents and people on fixed incomes.

"It's going to take me right down to my last dollar," said 91-year-old Arletta Swain. "I'm afraid."

Swain has lived in the mobile home park for nearly 50 years. Her only income is her federal pension.

More:Company that bought Waukee mobile home park also increasing rents by 58 percent in North Liberty

The new owner, Havenpark Capital, said the rent increase is necessary to bring it more in line with what it says are similar quality communities in the metro.

"Without raising your rent, our community would be at risk of going away because it is in a high-growth area — one of the fastest growing in the country," the letter to residents says.

Iowa law does not set a cap on how much landlords are allowed to increase rental rates as long as they provide adequate notice and respect existing lease agreements.

Residents said relocating to a less expensive park likely won't be an option for many since the mobile homes they own are too old to move.

"We’re sitting ducks is what we are," Hook said. "There’s a lot of us out here who don’t know what we’re going to do."

New owners blame rising land values

Havenpark Capital taped the rent increase announcement to residents' doors two days after purchasing the roughly 64-acre site for $17.5 million.

"Rent will be going up to protect our community," the letter says. "If the rent did not go up, the land where Midwest Country Estates sits today would have been more valuable if it were changed into apartments, or a large retail store, causing all of our residents to be evicted."

The company set a standard monthly rent of $500 for basic lots. Residents at Midwest Country Estates own their own mobile homes, but rent the land from the company.

Those on corner lots or double-wide homes face an additional $25 per month "premium site" fee.

Each resident must sign a new lease within 30 days, the letter says.

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In a statement, the company said rental rates at Midwest Country Estates have "fallen significantly behind comparable four-star manufactured home communities in the Des Moines area," which makes it a "ripe target" for redevelopment. It said a survey of comparable parks in the Des Moines metro showed an average lot rate of $522 per month.

"Our purchase and investment in the park will ensure this area remains available for housing rather than be taken over by commercial retail developers," the statement says.

An NAI Iowa Realty Commercial survey of 13 mobile home parks in the Des Moines metro from October 2018 showed rents ranging from $244 to $596 per month, with an average monthly rent of $436.

Joanne Stevens, an NAI Iowa Realty agent who helped with the Midwest Country Estates sale, said owners that want to stay in the mobile home business long-term need market rate rents to keep parks operational and well-maintained.

"I think that's very much needed in that community," she said.

Havenpark Capital owns properties in nine states, including North American Mobile Home Park in Indianola.

The company said it plans to invest more than $1 million into Midwest Country Estates over the next 12 months to install 20 new homes, build a safe play area for children, repave sections of road, install new mailboxes, build a new entryway monument sign and complete landscaping projects.

The company said it does not want to lose residents but will assist any who are moving out with the sale of their homes.

Built in 1969 along Hickman Road, Midwest Country Estates is now surrounded on three sides by single-family homes.

A row of businesses including a bank, dental office and fast food restaurants now sits between the mobile home park and Hickman Road.

Over the past four years, the property's assessed value has grown from approximately $1.3 million to $3.8 million, according to Dallas County assessor's data. The mobile home park's taxes have increased nearly $10,000 — from $81,042 in the 2015-2016 tax year to $90,481.59 in 2018-19.

The property is specifically zoned for a mobile home park, Waukee Development Services Director Brad Deets said. However, apartments or retail space could fit within the city's comprehensive plan for the area, which includes a mixture of commercial and residential land along the Hickman Road corridor, he said.

' Mobile homes depreciate in value like a car'

Alex Kornya, assistant litigation director with Iowa Legal Aid, said tenants of mobile home parks often find themselves in difficult positions when rents rise because moving their homes often isn't feasible.

"They are built with the intention they could be moved, but it is almost never the case that they can be," Kornya said. "Mobile homes depreciate in value like a car, and it doesn't take long for them to acquire the problems where moving them is not possible."

Residents of mobile home parks are more likely to be older and have lower incomes or net worth, according to a 2014 study by the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau.

Kornya said when people make an investment in their own mobile home, many people end up forfeiting the investment because they can't move the home with them.

However, rent increases are typically legal if made with at least a 60-day advanced notice for tenants who own their own homes and at least 30 days for tenants who rent homes.

A rent increase cannot be made until a tenant's original lease term is concluded. Midwest Country Estates residents who spoke to the Register said they were on month-to-month leases.

Kornya said Iowa Legal Aid, which offers free civil legal assistance to the elderly, low-income, veterans and other vulnerable groups, sees a "high proportion" of people coming to its office with mobile home-related issues. It offers assistance to tenants in landlord-tenant disputes.

'Some compassion would be lovely'

Since receiving the letter, Midwest Country Estates residents have been working together to learn more about the purchase and how the rent increase will affect the park's low-income renters.

Matt Chapman started a Facebook group where residents are posting their stories. He has gathered accounts from several residents who say it will be difficult to budget for the increase with their fixed incomes.

Chapman said he knows the new company is abiding by the law and the rent increase will likely happen, but he wants to be sure those facing tough decisions don't fly under the radar.

"We want to find out who the most vulnerable people in here are and we want to make sure they don’t lose their home or they’re not going to be cutting their medications in half or going without them," he said.

Chapman said he wants to organize a forum where residents can meet with each other and community leaders, as well as learn about what available resources can help them out financially.

Hook, the single mother, said she would like to see a third party mediate discussions between residents and the company. She's hopeful that could result in the company adopting an incremental increase.

"We've looked into the laws and all they have to do is give us 60-day notice," she said. "But some compassion would be lovely."