Association of Manufactured Home Owners
In 2007, a community in Snohomish County was threatened with closure and nearly every resident in that community faced certain loss of what was their greatest investment of value: their home. The short story is that they were able to save their community from developers and preserved their park as an affordable lifestyle for the community’s senior residents. Realizing that their experience could help others to the same end, AMHO was born.
Today AMHO is a not-for-profit Washington State Corporation with an IRS status as a 501(c)(3) organization. Our stated purpose is to promote, represent, preserve and enhance the rights and interests of manufactured home owners in the state of Washington through communication, education, negotiation and perpetuation of our communities. Our major focus has been the education of elected officials and the general communities, to support the production of more affordable housing, and to strengthen the bargaining power of manufactured home owners living in communities.
In 2007, a community in Snohomish County was threatened with closure and nearly every resident in that community faced certain loss of what was their greatest investment of value: their home. The short story is that they were able to save their community from developers and preserved their park as an affordable lifestyle for the community’s senior residents. Realizing that their experience could help others to the same end, AMHO was born.
Today AMHO is a not-for-profit Washington State Corporation with an IRS status as a 501(c)(3) organization. Our stated purpose is to promote, represent, preserve and enhance the rights and interests of manufactured home owners in the state of Washington through communication, education, negotiation and perpetuation of our communities. Our major focus has been the education of elected officials and the general communities, to support the production of more affordable housing, and to strengthen the bargaining power of manufactured home owners living in communities.
ATTENTION AMHO MEMBERS: NEW FALL WINTER 2019/2020 NEWSLETTER AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD IMMEDIATELY
A Letter from Anne Sadler, President:
AMHO has had a great year, and here are a few examples: We’ve made great Legislative progress in passing HB1582. Thanks to all of you who showed up at hearings and all of you who signed petitions. We truly can make a difference when we stick together with one voice. We also won a one-year moratorium for the ten manufactured housing communities within the city of Bellingham, to enable the City Council and City Planners time to study the best way to preserve these ten communities into the future. Thank you to all of the Bellingham residents who came to the City Council meetings and spoke up!
As you know, AMHO board members are all volunteers. And, just like you, we all live in Manufactured Home Communities, and we relate to your issues because we have the same experiences as you do. We work tirelessly to improve on those experiences for all of us. AMHO is a registered 501(c) (3) non-profit organization and all gifts/donations are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law. We exist on grants and donations. We have a “virtual” office (not a brick and mortar storefront) and we personally absorb a lot of our own travel expenses. Happy Holidays Please, if you can afford an end of year tax deductible donation to AMHO, we promise to use your money wisely. Thank you for supporting our very worthy cause and donate by check by mailing to our address at: P.O. Box 30273, Spokane, WA 99223, or online at www.wamho.org. Thank you for a great year! Enjoy the Holidays!
Sincerely, Anne Sadler, President, Mount Vernon
AMHO has had a great year, and here are a few examples: We’ve made great Legislative progress in passing HB1582. Thanks to all of you who showed up at hearings and all of you who signed petitions. We truly can make a difference when we stick together with one voice. We also won a one-year moratorium for the ten manufactured housing communities within the city of Bellingham, to enable the City Council and City Planners time to study the best way to preserve these ten communities into the future. Thank you to all of the Bellingham residents who came to the City Council meetings and spoke up!
As you know, AMHO board members are all volunteers. And, just like you, we all live in Manufactured Home Communities, and we relate to your issues because we have the same experiences as you do. We work tirelessly to improve on those experiences for all of us. AMHO is a registered 501(c) (3) non-profit organization and all gifts/donations are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law. We exist on grants and donations. We have a “virtual” office (not a brick and mortar storefront) and we personally absorb a lot of our own travel expenses. Happy Holidays Please, if you can afford an end of year tax deductible donation to AMHO, we promise to use your money wisely. Thank you for supporting our very worthy cause and donate by check by mailing to our address at: P.O. Box 30273, Spokane, WA 99223, or online at www.wamho.org. Thank you for a great year! Enjoy the Holidays!
Sincerely, Anne Sadler, President, Mount Vernon
| amho_newsletter_fall_winter_2019-2020__2___1___1_.pdf |
ATTENTION AMHO MEMBERS:
HB 1582
New amendments to RCW 59.20
(Manufactured/mobile Home Landlord Tenant Act)
Here are the amendments we won and that will go into effect on July 29, 2019:
Proportionate reduction in rent if utility payments included in rent are subsequently billed to you separately:
Other parts of the new law:
Here are the amendments we need to keep pushing for:
HB 1582
New amendments to RCW 59.20
(Manufactured/mobile Home Landlord Tenant Act)
Here are the amendments we won and that will go into effect on July 29, 2019:
Proportionate reduction in rent if utility payments included in rent are subsequently billed to you separately:
- 14 days’ within which to pay rent (up from the current 5 days);
- 20 days’ within which to comply with a community rule (up from 15 days);
- 3 months’ “grace period” following the 30 days’ notice of a new or amended rule going into effect;
- 120 days within which to sell home, if you have been evicted for non-payment of rent, provided you stay current in rent during this period;
- Affordable housing advocates and others permitted to hold meetings in the community to educate home owners about their rights; and
- Landlord required to provide prospective home purchasers with:
- Accurate record of past five years’ rental history of space they want to move to,
- Complete copy of rental agreement, rules and regulations, prior to rental agreement being signed.
Other parts of the new law:
- Dept. of Commerce is required to staff a working group to evaluate several aspects of manufactured home living. However, there was no money budgeted for this work, so we are still waiting to see how this will progress; and
- Limited dissemination which, under certain circumstances, could keep the reason for an eviction silent, so that homeowners would not have any negative statement on their rental history that might prevent them from accessing other housing.
Here are the amendments we need to keep pushing for:
- 2 year, or longer, rental agreements for everyone;
- 3 year, or longer, notice of closure;
- Opportunity to purchase community when landlord chooses to sell; and
- Realistic compensation for homeowners who lose their homes due to the closure of their community.
AMHO GOES TO OLYMPIA: AMHO board members joined Washing Low Income Housing Alliance celebrate Advocacy Day at the Capitol on Thursday, February 28th. Thank you Halcyon Homeowners for joining in and Joanna Crocker for representing her group at Inglewood East. Together we will succeed!
AMHO stands in solidarity with the Firs HOA at the press rally at SeaTac City Hall.
AMHO supports Firs’ home owners as they fight to save their homes and their community in SeaTac.
Courtesy of Erika Schultz/Seattle Times
***BREAKING NEWS: JUDGE'S RULING BUYS MORE TIME FOR RESIDENTS OF SEATAC MOBILE-HOME PARK FACING CLOSURE, SALE BY CHRISTINE WILLEMSEN, SEATTLE TIMES***
“Firs HOA, created with AMHO’s help, wins big in court.”
Mobile-home residents won’t be kicked out yet: ‘It means everything to keep up the fight’
“Firs HOA, created with AMHO’s help, wins big in court.”
Mobile-home residents won’t be kicked out yet: ‘It means everything to keep up the fight’