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Renters get break at mobile home park After bookkeeping error, owners waive increase By TONY BOOM Mail Tribune ASHLAND - Pines Annex Mobile Home Park residents won't have to pay rent increases mistakenly left off their bills since July. Alerted to the bookkeeping error recently, some residents faced back-rent charges of more than $400. "That saves me $150. What a wonderful Christmas present," said resident Barbara Williams. Tenants were notified earlier this month that they owed back rent from July, when spaces were scheduled to go from $150 to $225 a month. Several residents attempted to pay the rent, but were told they had a credit or that there was no rent increase. Present and former park owners decided to waive the increases, wrote Carlyle Stout, attorney for current owner Web Title LLC, in a letter faxed Thursday to the Mail Tribune. Stout spoke with former owners Adams Construction Group LLC and Galpin LLC as well as Web Title about the problem. The original increase will now take effect in January. Another increase of $25 set for January has been canceled. Tenants will get a credit for any portion of the increase they may have paid. In November, Stout notified residents that the park would close in December 2002. "They have collectively decided to help out the tenants in the park because of the confusion and problems, which occurred as a result of the good-faith, inadvertent mistake made by Commercial Property Management," Stout wrote in the letter. Stout was out of his office and unavailable for comment Thursday afternoon. Attempts to reach the former owners were unsuccessful. Web Title bought the property at 1651 Ashland St. in October. Web Title's owners are unknown. Park resident Williams, a crossing guard for the Ashland School District, has gotten support on the issue from parents and teachers. She owed less than others because she paid the increase for several months until she had a check returned and was informed she had a credit. "I know many people and they are furious with what's going on," said Williams. "They think that it's terrible. This will be a little brighter day for some of them." Williams was also happy for her 10 neighbors at the park. "There's people in there who don't have hardly any money. That's all they can afford." "This is great news," said Damon Denney, boyfriend of park resident Sandy Burke. "We won't be missing money for Christmas." Burke owed $435 in back rent after she paid lower amounts in September and October. "I didn't think that was right that we should have to pay," said Elisabeth Robinson, who lives in one of the trailers with her husband, Lucky. "We've got a car we have to get taken care of." The Robinsons owed more that $300. Father and son Jorge and Julian Mendoza owed more than $350 in back rent. "That's great," Julian said when he learned the news. Dave Wright of Commercial Property Management was at the park Thursday afternoon to pass out letters informing residents of the change. Reach Ashland bureau reporter Tony Boom at 482-4651, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.