Zachary Oren Smith | Press Citizen

Zachary Oren Smith, Zachary Oren Smith

There was nothing more than dirt on the lot the first day: October 25, 1997. Don Lund can tell you down to the exact day because it was the day Iowa beat Indiana 62 to nothing in football.

When he first moved into his 80-foot-long home, he covered the lot with plats of green grass. Purple and yellow ash trees. A white pine. His mother worked the earthen beds leaving behind peonies and hostas and lilac. His father helped build front and back decks.

"This was the place I wanted to grow old in," Lund said.

But last Friday, Lund found a letter on his door explaining that Golf View Mobile Home Court had been sold and there was more:

"Rent will be going up to protect our community. 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. This growth has quickly increased land values here. If rent did not go up, the land where Golf View 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. Instead, we have secured this property, and we look forward to improving it, adding new homes, and continuing to make it the best housing value in the area," read the letter signed "Your Golf View Owners."

Beginning June 1, rent will increase from $284 to $450 — a 58 percent increase. Lund, who will turn 65 next week, said he has been living debt free since he was 60 and is worried about his financial stability with this new increase.

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"Most people buy a trailer 'cause we can't afford a house," Lund said. "I spent $40,000 on this back in 1997, and it took 20 years to pay it off."

Zachary Oren Smith

Before the raise, Lund's budget was tight but manageable:

Rent – $285

Mediacom bill – $175 (he is a black and white movie buff)

Electricity – $95

Insurance – $60

Water and sewage – $60

Gas for car – $100

Lund's income is limited. He receives disability which totals approximately $700 a month which he supplements with approximately $160 he receives writing for newspapers.

"That leaves me with not quite $100 to play with (a month)," Lund said. "McDonalds? A five dollar Little Caesar's pizza? And try to save for an emergency? I don't save really well."

Moving his home would be too expensive, he said. Lund was born without hands or feet. While he is plenty mobile, a move that large would require help from movers.

"You have to have people come in and take everything out," Lund said. "Take the electricity, unplug the drains. Unhook everything underneath. Take the decks off. Cut down the trees out front that my mom planted. Move it and set it up."

He said that does not seem like a real option. Currently, he is searching for someone to rent the front room in hopes that that will cover the difference.

"This is everything. It's everything I want. It's my nice yard. It's the best neighbors you could ask for. This guy over here," Lund said pointing to an adjacent home, "helps mow my lawn — I give them cookies a lot. And then, (him). He helps scoop my driveway. (Her), she brings me food all the time. And (her), I'm over there for Thanksgiving. She invites me over for Easter."

"This is the place I want to grow old in," Lund said.

Zachary Oren Smith, Zachary Oren Smith

Big buy in North Liberty

Havenpark Capital acquired the deed to Golf View Mobile Home Court on March 15, 2019 to the tune of $12.3 million, according to Johnson County's land records website. In 2008, the same parcel was sold for $5.28 million.

While its taxable value has actually decreased since 2014, the 49 acres net assessed value increased from $5.6 million in 2014 to $6.1 million in 2017.

Havenpark Capital could not be reached for comment by press time.

According to their website, they operate 25 sites totaling 5,000 homes across nine states. They already have a park in Indianola, Iowa, and according to reporting from the Des Moines Register, Havenpark Capital bought Midwest County Estates in Waukee, where residents also had massive sticker shock at proposed rent increases.

Changes are coming, but what?

In the letter Golf View residents received, the accounting for rent changes seems simple.

In addition to increasing the base price to $450 per month, corner lots and double-wides will be charged a premium monthly cost of $25. In their letter to tenants, residents were given 30 days to sign a new lease.

As they try and figure out what next steps look like, some feel their housing situations are a little more complicated than that.

Scott Boerhave, a cashier at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, said that while his home is a single, the property is a double. He was hoping they would charge him the former rate.

Zachary Oren Smith

"That's a pretty big chunk to do all in one step there," Boerhave said. "I would think it might have been a little easier on some people if they could have maybe made some increments over time there or something."

Boerhave said he has some wiggle room in his budget. He can sustain an increase, but he worries about his neighbors.

"Especially people that are elderly or disabled or on a fixed income, what happens to them?" Boerhave said. "I always thought of mobile home parks as a place where people with limited incomes, or fixed incomes can afford to live. And I hope that this place continues to be that."

Jessica Hutton and Matt Cousins live rent both the their home and the lot it sits on. The lease is up in March, but with only a base price for site rental available, it is not clear how much they will pay.

"We were about ready to sign a new lease when they sent these letters to everybody saying they were raising the lot rent, but they didn't explain to anybody specific rent increases for the entire property," Hutton said. "They gave no individual letters to any people renting as far as what that means for their place they live."

Questions in hand, answers have been hard to come by.

"We've been calling around the last couple of nights, seeing when prices will be available," Cousins said.

"I tried calling yesterday, got no answer," Hutton said. "I mean they are doing nothing to reach out to anybody to try and tell them what to expect in their new lease."

Zachary Oren Smith

Hutton has an 11-year-old, eight-year-old and five-year-old. She just moved the eldest into a new room.

"I just finished swapping two of my kids bedrooms to give the oldest one his own room and now what? I have to tell him, 'Just kidding? Let's pack it all back?'" Hutton said. "He's all proud of his new room, and now we have move him out?"

The atmosphere around the park, she said, is one of unease. The unknowing calm awaiting what the future will bring.