![]() ![]() "F" is the lowest. Absent, however, is documentation of how Havenpark's sudden rating turnaround was achieved. According to their website, the rating is based on information BBB is able to obtain about the business, including complaints received from the public. The rating is the BBB's opinion of how the business is likely to interact with customers. To explain their name, the company wrote, "You need 10 good things to be said about your company to make up for one bad."Īs recently as May, the Better Business Bureau had given Havenpark an "F" rating after several complaints of alleged overcharging. Iowa Legal Aid has taken on about two dozen Havenpark residents as clients after finding allegedly illegal provisions in the company’s leases, said Alex Kornya, its litigation director.Īs of Wednesday, Havenpark Capital - rebranded as "Havenpark Communities" - holds an "A+" rating on the Better Business Bureau website. While they noted Warren's concerns about the impact raising the rent has on long-time tenants, they chose not to engage based on counsel advice, they wrote in the letter.Īntonelli and Pratt's letter was shared with media outlets by 10 to 1 PR, a firm that specializes in among other things "crisis" communications. "Havenpark will continue to adhere to all current and future municipal, state and federal rules regarding the operation of manufactured home communities," they wrote. They even said that the current laws related to manufactured housing might be in need of updating. They had to raise rents to recoup the $29.8 million they spent to purchase the two properties. Havenpark Capital, they explained, stood in the way of developers "mass-evicting hundreds" to repurpose the valuable real estate. "One must acknowledge that had Havenpark not recently purchased manufactured home communities in North Liberty, IA and Waukee, IA - two of the fastest-growing areas in the region and country - they almost assuredly would have been sold to a developer that would have closed those communities," Antonelli and Pratt wrote. Anthony Antonelli and Robison Pratt, both managing partners of Havenpark Capital, positioned themselves as the saviors of the parks in Waukee, North Liberty and others in the state. In a letter addressed to Warren and Loebsack delivered Tuesday, J. On the defensiveĪfter months of near silence, Havenpark appears to be changing its strategy to mitigate damage done to its brand. While there might be sticker shock, he wrote that this kept the housing stock viable. Raising rents put these properties at the rate. "We've asked for real conversation with the people we've elected to negotiate through," Evans saidĪ spokesperson for Havenpark Capital said the company would lose money if they did not charge market value price for the property. Dave Loebsack and Cindy Axne and Ohio Sen. In the parks, residents formed an association demanding accessibility to their landlords and "fair" rent practices. Locally, city councils and state legislators were shocked by the increases residents were subjected to. Havenpark's brand has taken heat since the private investment firm began buying up parks across Iowa in March. These changes did not materialize out of the ether. While Havenpark gave no indication of making the rent hike incremental, it did agree to lower the jump from an additional $166 a month to an additional $96 for the first year. Initially, Havenpark planned to raise rents on June 1 but after some questiona arose about the validity of a rent increase notice that was not dated, Havenpark postponed the hike to July 1. In May, company officials finally agreed to a meeting with residents after months of pleading. In March, residents were unsure even who their new owners were. Since Havenpark Capital first announced rent increases on tenants in its North Liberty mobile home park by 58% and Waukee tenants by 69%, the Utah-based private investment firm has been pushed to make changes. ![]()
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