Residents of a largely immigrant Ooltewah mobile home park say they have been manipulated by property managers who threaten deportation and eviction to compel them to pay certain fees and sign questionable leases.
The property managers of Auburn Hills Mobile Home Park, Steven and Kim West, were arrested in late April and charged with hoarding more than $60,000 in donated supplies intended for park residents affected by a deadly EF3 tornado that tore through it late on Easter Sunday.
The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office began investigating the Wests after receiving a complaint from a community member a week after the storms hit the park, killing 46-year-old Jose Arzate.
Deputies seized hundreds of relief items meant for the residents of the park ranging from 54 American Red Cross totes to diapers, masks, cases of bottled water and an unopened generator.
Many of the donations were stored in a trailer that had been screwed shut, according to the sheriff's office.
After being released on bond, Kim West was arrested again and charged with coercion after reportedly trying to force residents to sign a document stating that the Wests had provided them with aid after the storm and withholding access to hotel rooms provided by the Red Cross for residents who refused to comply.
The Tennessee Attorney General's Office has since joined the investigation to determine whether there has been a violation of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act, a law that protects consumers and businesses from unfair or deceptive business practices.
With the Wests under investigation, many residents said they have endured behavior from them ranging from unreasonable fines and deportation threats to intimidation and physical threats.
"They threaten you no matter what," Joel Trujillo, who has lived in the park with his wife and three children for 10 years, told the Times Free Press. "I mean, they just do it for no reason. And every time they threaten you, it's $25. Every time you get a letter, 25 bucks ... and we don't, I mean most of us don't, have anywhere we can go or anyone we can go to about this."
On multiple occasions the Times Free Press reached out to Kim West in person and via phone. No voice messages were returned and she declined to answer any questions in person, both before and after the arrests.
During the most recent attempt, reporters asked the Wests, who were outside of their Auburn Hills home and office, where many of the reportedly hoarded supplies had been stored, to respond to allegations made both to authorities and to the newspaper. Steven West did not respond, while Kim West directed reporters to a woman who represents the company that owns the park.
That woman said the Wests have done nothing wrong.
Since the storms hit three weeks ago, the Times Free Press has obtained rental documents and spoken to 15 current and former residents of the park who shared similar accounts of facing some sort of fine from the Wests and being threatened with eviction and or deportation if they did not pay.
The residents, most of whom did not want their names published due to their citizenship status and fears of retaliation, accuse the property managers of barring them from seeking help from law enforcement and even family to remove trees and clean up their lots after the storm.
Each source described a pattern of the landlords imposing fines ranging from $25-50 for seemingly menial property rule infractions to late payment charges on rent that was paid on time. Each charge was backed up by the threat of deportation or eviction made by the Wests.
Records provided to the Times Free Press by a former resident, who left the park in 2019, show several examples of late fees on rent that had already been paid, according to money order receipts. The documents detail one specific exchange in which the tenant was made aware of two late fees for August rent one incurred on Aug. 6 and the other incurred on Sept. 6 for the first time in October, and then an additional late fee was imposed before the Oct. 6 deadline.
The resident, who then allegedly owed $75 in late fees, wrote to the office explaining that rent had been paid on time for each August, September and October, including evidence of the money orders with which the payments were made, but ultimately was forced to pay the $75 by the Wests under threat of eviction, according to documents provided.
"Believe it or not, I'm glad this thing is going the way it's going because these people, the way they treat us and I say everybody it's not right for them to be charging for no reason," Trujillo said of the tornado and subsequent investigations. "There's a few guys that call and text and say, 'Man, I really don't want to say much because I don't know if we can move or I don't know if we can afford to move away.'"
As the Wests came under scrutiny by law enforcement and outside community members witnessing the alleged hoarding, many of the other accusations came to light.
Attorney C. Mark Warren got involved after being told by some residents and tornado relief volunteers that the Wests were allegedly "attempting to use deportation as blackmail for them paying rent on trailers that had been destroyed or inhabitable."
"That's really what got me involved in the first place, was they were attempting to use the threat of deportation to get them to pay rent, even though their trailers were totally destroyed," he said.
Over the course of his involvement, Warren was told that the Wests were allegedly attempting to charge double rent if a family's mobile home was destroyed and they moved in with another family. They also reportedly did not allow anyone, including firefighters, to go onto the property to assist with the cleanup.
Another question that arose was whether the residents were paying for insurance, which residents were charged for even though it was supposed to be obtained by the lessees, according a lease provided by a former tenant. Of the residents interviewed, no one has seen any documentation from or representatives of an insurance company either before or after the storm. Additionally, no resident knew which company was allegedly carrying insurance for their homes.
A representative of the property? refused to tell the Times Free Press what company the park uses for insurance but said that insurance agents have been "all over" the property since the day after the storm.
Meanwhile, Warren, who is now representing a tenant who has left the property since the storm hit, said he is seeking more information on insurance and other dealings of the property management.
"[The residents] are very reluctant to meet and talk, just because of the fear of retaliation," Warren said. "Our first meeting, which was several days after the tornado, when they got back to Auburn Hills, they were confronted by the Wests as far as, you know, who was there, what was talked about, making accusations that they shouldn't have been meeting with anybody about what was going on at Auburn Hills."
The representative of park owner Auburn Most LLC, a Michigan company that bought Auburn Hills in 2015, declined to share her name or title, but told the Times Free Press that she had been on the property since the week after the storm hit, and that any accusations by the residents were "complete and total lies."
"It's disgusting. [The Wests] would give any of these people the shirts off of their backs," she said. "It's twisted. I don't know how these people sleep. Satan's got a hold of these people."
The representative told reporters she would not give any details about the parent company or the Wests' employment but that they "haven't done a damn thing wrong."
She said that, despite residents claiming Kim West had demanded they sign a document absolving her in the hoarding accusation under the threat of eviction, West only had asked them and never coerced anyone to sign any document.
As for law enforcement, Trujillo said the sheriff's office has been sympathetic toward residents and has reassured them that they were not investigating their citizenship status, telling residents "we're not after you." Rather, the investigation was focused on the Wests' alleged actions.
Contact Rosana Hughes at rhughes@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6327 with tips or story ideas. Follow her on Twitter @Hughes Rosana.
Contact Sarah Grace Taylor at staylor@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6416. Follow her on Twitter @_sarahgtaylor.
The rest is here:
Tenants of Hamilton County mobile home park say they were threatened with deportation, eviction by landlords - Chattanooga Times Free Press
- Rising lot rents imperil affordability of mobile homes. Some residents are fighting back - MassLive.com - January 31st, 2025 [January 31st, 2025]
- Fire investigator holds person at gunpoint after being attacked while 2 mobile homes were up in flames - WTSP.com - January 31st, 2025 [January 31st, 2025]
- Outrage and fear in Sweetwater as thousands fight an order to vacate their mobile homes - Yahoo! Voices - January 3rd, 2025 [January 3rd, 2025]
- Outrage and fear in Sweetwater as thousands fight an order to vacate their mobile homes - Miami Herald - January 3rd, 2025 [January 3rd, 2025]
- FEMA struggles to meet deadline with only three of 26 families placed in mobile homes - WLOS - January 3rd, 2025 [January 3rd, 2025]
- Wellesley town government meetings for week of Dec. 16, 2024: Mobile homes; Skip the Stuff; School budget; Morses Pond - The Swellesley Report - December 21st, 2024 [December 21st, 2024]
- If IKEA Designed a Mobile Home, It Would Look Like This One We Found at Amazon - Better Homes & Gardens - December 21st, 2024 [December 21st, 2024]
- FEMA brings in more mobile homes to NC as thousands still shelter in hotels - MSN - December 10th, 2024 [December 10th, 2024]
- FEMA brings in more mobile homes to NC as thousands still shelter in hotels - WSOC Charlotte - December 10th, 2024 [December 10th, 2024]
- ZestyAI and Standard Casualty join forces to innovate property insurance for mobile homes - FinTech Global - November 21st, 2024 [November 21st, 2024]
- Facing a Nov. 21 deadline, residents at Milner Mobile Home Park harness hope in race to buy the land under their homes - Steamboat Pilot & Today - September 29th, 2024 [September 29th, 2024]
- Gadsden County issues mandatory evacuation for all mobile homes ahead of Hurricane Helene - WFSU News - September 29th, 2024 [September 29th, 2024]
- Mobile Homes For Rent, Trailer Homes For Rent - RentalAds - September 13th, 2022 [September 13th, 2022]
- Mobile Home Park Residents Sue Their Corporate Landlord : Consider This from NPR - NPR - September 13th, 2022 [September 13th, 2022]
- Three families receive new mobile homes through Webb Co. program - Laredo Morning Times - September 13th, 2022 [September 13th, 2022]
- Corporate landlords are gobbling up mobile home parks and quickly driving up rents heres why the space is so attractive to them - Yahoo Finance - September 13th, 2022 [September 13th, 2022]
- T-Mobile 5G Home Internet Takes Over the Northeast - Business Wire - September 13th, 2022 [September 13th, 2022]
- Innovations In The Pre-Fabricated And Modular Construction Sector - Real Estate - United States - Mondaq - September 13th, 2022 [September 13th, 2022]
- San Diegos recent wildfires a harrowing harbinger of global heating - The San Diego Union-Tribune - September 13th, 2022 [September 13th, 2022]
- Residents of troubled Oasis Mobile Home Park now dealing with power failures amid high temperatures - kuna noticias y kuna radio - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- What's Up With Water August 16, 2022 - Circle of Blue - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- FIRST-PERSON: In the day of trouble | Perspectives | kentuckytoday.com - Kentucky Today - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- Leadville was an old mining town until COVID brought the tourists - The Colorado Sun - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- Two Years After CZU: Still Tangled in Red Tape | Good Times - Good Times - August 20th, 2022 [August 20th, 2022]
- Las Vegas mobile homes in high demand as property values, rent continue to soar - FOX5 Las Vegas - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- Greensboro couple creates mobile gaming bus to bring the party to you - WGHP FOX8 Greensboro - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- 2022 Best Cheap Homeowners Insurance in Connecticut - Motley Fool - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- National Weather Service confirms 6th tornado in SW Florida on January 16 - WGCU News - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- Council to consider 120 townhomes along US 280 - Hoover Sun - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- Extra mobile home to be added to traveller site on edge of Banbury area village despite councillors' objections - Banbury Guardian - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- 7 Dividend Stocks to Profit off the Hot Real Estate Market - InvestorPlace - January 25th, 2022 [January 25th, 2022]
- How Austin Became One of the Least Affordable Cities in America - The New York Times - December 2nd, 2021 [December 2nd, 2021]
- Journey Is the Culmination of Two Years of Recon A Near-Perfect Mobile Home - autoevolution - December 2nd, 2021 [December 2nd, 2021]
- Remembering the Tornadoes of November 29th and 30th of 2016 - whnt.com - December 2nd, 2021 [December 2nd, 2021]
- 'The occupation is trying to uproot us. Art can bring us back' - +972 Magazine - December 2nd, 2021 [December 2nd, 2021]
- For Sale By Owners Tend to be Rural, Lower-Income Sellers in the U.S. - World Property Journal - December 2nd, 2021 [December 2nd, 2021]
- 5 most common winter bugs in Greater Lansing, and how to keep them out of your home - Lansing State Journal - December 2nd, 2021 [December 2nd, 2021]
- Gov. Edwards announces appointments to state boards - The Advocate - June 16th, 2021 [June 16th, 2021]
- Manufactured Homes and Mobile Homes Market Still Has Room to Grow investigated in the latest research -... - WhaTech - June 16th, 2021 [June 16th, 2021]
- Mobile home residents worried new access road will lead to housing development - expressandstar.com - June 16th, 2021 [June 16th, 2021]
- Prefab construction could be having a renaissance, and WSU's Ryan Smith is at the forefront - Pacific Northwest Inlander - June 16th, 2021 [June 16th, 2021]
- Evicted at age 10: Her family was forced out of their home. She just wanted to keep them together - San Francisco Chronicle - June 16th, 2021 [June 16th, 2021]
- Mountain View looks to congestion pricing to get tech workers out of cars - Mountain View Voice - June 16th, 2021 [June 16th, 2021]
- How these Palestinians thwarted settlers in northern West Bank - Al-Monitor - June 16th, 2021 [June 16th, 2021]
- Mobile Homes Have Come a Long Way. Here's What's Holding Them Back - Motley Fool - December 25th, 2020 [December 25th, 2020]
- One person killed in Anderson mobile home fire - The Herald Bulletin - December 25th, 2020 [December 25th, 2020]
- Man killed in trailer fire identified, remembered as a good neighbor - The Herald Bulletin - December 25th, 2020 [December 25th, 2020]
- New project aims to invest in the community, provide more affordable housing - Wooster Daily Record - December 25th, 2020 [December 25th, 2020]
- Is Winnebago Industries (WGO) Outperforming Other Construction Stocks This Year? - Zacks.com - December 25th, 2020 [December 25th, 2020]
- The tornado that hit Pinellas was the most powerful in 28 years - Tampa Bay Times - December 18th, 2020 [December 18th, 2020]
- A rural tribe tried to keep Covid at bay, but a last hurrah seeded an outbreak - KUOW News and Information - December 18th, 2020 [December 18th, 2020]
- 'Just Something That Wasnt Right About Him: Student's Killer First Masqueraded As A Witness - Oxygen - December 18th, 2020 [December 18th, 2020]
- 190,000 UK properties can't access broadband speeds to meet modern needs - The Guardian - December 18th, 2020 [December 18th, 2020]
- Tiny home setups that prove why micro-living will be the next big trend: Part 5 - Yanko Design - December 18th, 2020 [December 18th, 2020]
- Pikewood Manor in Elyria clears hurdle in proposed expansion - The Morning Journal - December 10th, 2020 [December 10th, 2020]
- The GoSun Dream Tiny Home Solves the Problem of Cramped Space, Will Go Off-Grid - autoevolution - December 10th, 2020 [December 10th, 2020]
- A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear: Author Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling on the Free State Project - Vox.com - December 10th, 2020 [December 10th, 2020]
- It Happened Here | It Happened Here | greenevillesun.com - Greeneville Sun - December 10th, 2020 [December 10th, 2020]
- Eastern Shore Gets New Perspective on Affordable Housing - easternshorepost.com - October 10th, 2020 [October 10th, 2020]
- State fire marshal's office joins investigation into Ohio 101 fire - The News-Messenger - October 10th, 2020 [October 10th, 2020]
- Urban wildfire: When homes are the fuel for a runaway blaze, how do you rebuild a safer community? - The Bakersfield Californian - October 10th, 2020 [October 10th, 2020]
- In Oregon, it's been a year of fanned flames both literal and figurative - Las Vegas Sun - October 10th, 2020 [October 10th, 2020]
- Parts of Vermilion Parish now under mandatory evacuation - The Kaplan Herald - October 7th, 2020 [October 7th, 2020]
- Writers on the Range column: Fanning the flames of hate in Oregon - Glenwood Springs Post Independent - October 7th, 2020 [October 7th, 2020]
- New trailer homes donated to Indio families left only with ashes after devastating fire - KESQ - October 7th, 2020 [October 7th, 2020]
- Mobile Application Market Expected to Grow 18.6% by 2027 - GlobeNewswire - October 7th, 2020 [October 7th, 2020]
- Run-down resort and fish camp to be revitalized - The West Volusia Beacon - October 7th, 2020 [October 7th, 2020]
- Out and About Week of October 5th WLKM Radio 95.9 FM - WLKM Radio - October 7th, 2020 [October 7th, 2020]
- Taking the Heat, and Leading Through Crises, at Oregon Shakes - American Theatre - October 7th, 2020 [October 7th, 2020]
- Four Black Men, Lost in Thought - The New York Times - October 7th, 2020 [October 7th, 2020]
- The global market for Home Health Hub is projected to reach US$1.1 billion by 2025 - GlobeNewswire - October 7th, 2020 [October 7th, 2020]
- Finally home: 66 days in the hospital, 6 days on a ventilator - HNGnews.com - October 7th, 2020 [October 7th, 2020]
- Blackstone bets $550M on mobile homes - The Real Deal - September 20th, 2020 [September 20th, 2020]
- 12 days in the life of a firefighting crew: Portland-area battalion helps save southern Oregon homes - OregonLive - September 20th, 2020 [September 20th, 2020]
- Garden City closer to city water access - therepublic.com - September 20th, 2020 [September 20th, 2020]
- Hundreds Rescued as Floods From Hurricane Sally Hit Florida and Alabama - The New York Times - September 20th, 2020 [September 20th, 2020]
- Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana Brace for Hurricane Sally; Cars Lost to Water, Sand in Dauphin Island - The Weather Channel - September 20th, 2020 [September 20th, 2020]
- The U.S. Is on the Path to Destruction - Defense One - September 20th, 2020 [September 20th, 2020]
- Group home for former mental health patients approved in Greensburg - TribLIVE - September 20th, 2020 [September 20th, 2020]
- Watson rallies in US Open with home, hurricane on mind - USA TODAY - September 20th, 2020 [September 20th, 2020]