This is Part 1 of WGLT’s series about the business practices at Oak Wood, a company that now owns five manufactured home parks in Bloomington-Normal. You can also read Part 2, about why private equity-backed buyers like Oak Wood see manufactured homes as moneymakers.
Greta and Steve live with their kids and grandkid in a mobile home in Northmeadow Village in north Normal. But their home isn’t very mobile.
Two years ago after Oak Wood Ventures bought Northmeadow Village and first raised their rent, Greta and Steve tried to move their double-wide trailer to a different mobile home park. But the cost of physically moving it – plus temporarily putting stuff in storage and staying in a hotel – climbed to $32,000. They couldn’t afford it, so they stayed.
This fall, Oak Wood threatened to effectively raise their lot rent again – by $195 a month, or 36% – if they didn’t sign one of the company’s new leases. So they signed it.
“I personally don’t have the extra $200 a month to pay them,” said Greta. “We’re not going anywhere obviously. We can’t afford to.”
Even now, Greta and Steve are paying $545 a month in lot rent – up 36% from two years ago when Oak Wood took over. Soon it’ll jump to $595. They’re struggling. (Greta and Steve are not their real names. They asked for anonymity because of concerns that Oak Wood would retaliate against them.)
“I’ve had to work a little overtime. She’s had to get a second job, and it’s just we have no time at home,” Steve said. “We bought a home to be at home, not to be at work."
Greta added: “We have no time together with our family, with our kids. We’re always tired. We’re always exhausted, and when we are together, we just want to sleep.”
Share your story: What’s been your experience with Oak Wood?
For decades, mobile homes [aka manufactured homes] were one of the most affordable housing options in Bloomington-Normal, especially for those with low or fixed incomes. Oak Wood’s arrival in the market has changed that.
The private equity-backed Oak Wood, based in Dallas, gobbled up five of Bloomington-Normal's mobile home parks in fall 2023 for $86 million, property records show. In the two years since, Oak Wood has again and again squeezed more money from its residents, including using business practices that – according to at least one lawsuit – violated state law. Residents say this new threat of a $195 penalty for not signing a new lease is the latest moneymaking strategy they can’t escape from.
Oak Wood’s questionable business practices spilled into public view in 2024, when tenants at its Hilltop park in Bloomington filed their lawsuit. Oak Wood agreed this summer to settle that lawsuit and adjust its practices, though WGLT interviews with 14 residents of the company’s Twin City parks show the company continues to pursue aggressive tactics including:
- Increased rent by nearly $100 upon purchase of the parks, plus another $50 every year.
- Threatened to raise rent by $195 a month for residents who do not sign a new lease.
- Imposed fees on residents for violations not listed in signed lease agreements.
- Altered residents’ Xfinity service without their consent.
- Failed to offer easy and open communication to residents.
“We are concerned there are some practices with increasingly high rent increases, when people are asserting their rights, and that there may be unfair practices happening there,” said Erin Duncan, the attorney at Prairie State Legal Services [PSLS] who brought the lawsuit. “We're looking for those red flags and investigating and trying to see if there are some remedies for tenants in those sorts of situations.”
Oak Wood’s practices impact thousands of people in Bloomington-Normal. Now that it owns five parks, over half of all mobile home residents in McLean County (52.8%) live in an Oak Wood park, according to a WGLT tally.
In response to questions from WGLT – including the claims of residents discussed in their interviews – a Dallas PR firm hired by Oak Wood replied with a statement:
"At Oak Wood, we understand how important it is to find the right place to call home, which is why we strive to offer competitive rents in clean, safe communities. Periodic rent adjustments help fund meaningful community reinvestments that directly benefit residents,” Oak Wood’s statement said.
Oak Wood said that includes new street lighting, playgrounds, basketball courts and pavilions.
Rent increases
Among the residents who spoke to WGLT were Jennifer, Elizabeth and Patricia, three older women who are neighbors at Oak Wood’s Hilltop park in south Bloomington.
Jennifer, 75, has lived there for 15 years.
“I’m single, and this is convenient for me, and it fits my income range,” she said. “And when they keep raising prices on us, and they don’t allow us any time to acclimate to that, [it’s] very unfair, especially to all of us older people.”
Jennifer, Elizabeth and Patricia are not their real names. They asked for anonymity because of concerns that Oak Wood would retaliate against them.
Elizabeth, a 70-year-old retiree, said she does not want to leave Hilltop.
“I really like it here. I’m in a good neighborhood. I’ve got a lot of friends. I feel secure here,” she said. “I never felt threatened or unsafe living here. I think my biggest problem being here is on the rent issue that keeps going up because our income on Social Security and retirement does not go up at the rate they keep raising our rent.”
Most residents told WGLT their parks’ previous owner would raise rents too, but by much more reasonable amounts, like $10 or $20 a year. Oak Wood has gone further. At Northmeadow Village, someone who paid $370 in lot rent before Oak Wood is now paying $545, and will be paying $695 by 2028. (Park owners are required to tell residents about projected rent increases in future years.)
Thomas Craig, 75, lives in Grandview Estates in southwest Bloomington. Craig’s rent was about $250 in 2008 when he moved in. Now it’s $525, according to his son-in-law, Alex Germanis, who helps care for him.
“If you go by typical housing standards, you should only really be paying about 30% of your income on your housing every month, and he’s well past that,” Germanis said.
Craig is disabled and living on a fixed income: about $1,000 from Social Security. The rent increases take a toll. If this continues, Craig could end up having to sell his trailer and use the proceeds to move into a nursing home, Germanis said.
“It means essentially less everything. Less food. It’s difficult for him to [afford] heating and air conditioning in the summer,” Germanis said. “My question [for Oak Wood] that I keep coming back to is, what's your overhead? They own slabs of concrete. That's about it.”
The $195 threat and other fees
Mobile home lot leases are different from, say, an apartment renter’s lease. If an apartment renter’s lease expires and the landlord wants them to leave, the renter must go. Mobile home owners, however, have a legal right to automatically renew their lease. Legally, longtime residents like Craig can just keep using their old leases forever; Oak Wood is allowed to raise rent but can’t evict him for choosing not to sign a new lease.
Oak Wood, which wants residents to sign its own lease, is now using a new pressure tactic: the $195 fee. If you sign a new lease, your rent only goes up $50/month. If you don’t, it’s $195/month. Oak Wood’s notice to residents, reviewed by WGLT, says the new lease is “purely optional,” though the steep financial hit doesn’t leave much of an option for those who can’t afford it.
Some residents, like Craig, have refused. Others, like Greta and Steve, have signed. Many residents interviewed by WGLT question whether Oak Wood can legally impose the $195 fee. So does Erin Duncan, the legal aid attorney who’s previously sued the company.
“My father-in-law simply can’t afford, unfortunately, to pay a [$195] increase, but currently we’ve engaged with Prairie State Legal again to take a look at this new agreement and see what can be done, not only on my father-in-law’s behalf but other people who are experiencing similar difficulties,” Germanis said.
Residents also complain that Oak Wood has aggressively pursued fines for violations, far more than the parks’ previous owners. The lengthy list of lease terms and “community rules” that can lead to violations include parking on grass ($100), excessive trash ($50), air filter replacement ($25), vehicle maintenance ($50), and failure to pick up pet waste ($50). There’s also forced mowing of grass, which can cost up to $100 for mowing, edging and trimming, and $50 an hour for the work.
The lawsuit settlement clarified that tenants may only be charged fees and fines specifically itemized in that tenant’s lease.
All those rules are the main reason that a longtime Northmeadow Village resident has declined to sign the new lease. The woman, who asked not to be identified because she feared retaliation from Oak Wood, said all these fines and fees would make it even harder to sell her trailer.
“Who’s gonna buy a trailer with all these rules?” she said.
Becky Petta is the president of the homeowner’s association [HOA] at Hilltop, where she’s lived for 16 years. Her HOA is different than a typical one for a home or condo. Her position is volunteer, with no set hours, and her primary duty is to relay tenants’ concerns to park management.
Petta has also dealt with park management directly in regard to the new leases and the fines.
“I try to tell people that you have to use your best judgement on this. You do not have to follow [the fines] accordingly unless it’s in your lease,” she said. “I believe none of these violations are legal, none of them.”
Petta said park management, at least at one time, was aware of Oak Wood's strategy.
“As I was once told by the [former] regional manager, ‘We can make more money if y’all move out and take your homes with you or sell [to] the park. We don’t care whether you pay your lot rent or not, because we’ll evict you. If you don’t follow our rules, then we’re going to evict you,’” said Petta.
Xfinity bundling
One of the larger issues Petta has dealt with on behalf of residents was Oak Wood’s unilaterally putting Twin City park residents onto the same bulk Xfinity internet service.
In February, Petta went to pay her Xfinity bill online and noticed the balance was $0. So, she called Xfinity to inquire about her questionable bill.
“The supervisor informed me that as of Jan. 1 of 2025 that Xfinity was going to be added to our bills for all the five, six mobile home parks that [Oak Wood has] in the state of Illinois. I said, ‘How can that be? I mean, how did you get my information to switch it over?’” said Petta.
The move is legal, according to the FCC, for service providers to negotiate with landlords to create Multiple Tenant Environment, or MTE, plans.
Petta said the Xfinity supervisor told her that Oak Wood committed a nonconsensual sale of the names, phone numbers and addresses of residents to Xfinity in exchange for the bundling plan.
Petta said she tried to tell park managers and regional directors that residents were starting to realize their plans had been acquired and were not happy about it. Some work from home and subscribe to plans with higher speeds; other residents were on low-income plans that gave them internet at a lower rate, and some said their plan is simply their business. Other residents told WGLT their new slower-speed service is lousy.
Several months ago, Petta said she worked on a deal with Oak Wood where residents could opt out of the plans. However, she said some residents were billed for it anyway.
In response to questions from WGLT, Oak Wood said they “partnered with Xfinity to bring residents faster, more reliable internet service at a reduced cost. Through a property-wide plan, we’ve been able to negotiate significant savings for all residents while simplifying the billing process.”
They did not respond to a question about why residents weren’t asked for their permission to do it. Requests for comment from Comcast, Xfinity’s parent company, were not returned to WGLT.
How they communicate
Those interviewed by WGLT say the Xfinity issue speaks to the broader issue of Oak Wood operating without communication or consent from its residents, including around maintenance.
Jennifer, the 75-year-old from Hilltop, said a crew botched a water meter replacement project at her home, leaving it damaged. Another issue she faces is repairing the concrete pad on which her home sits. The pad is owned by Oak Wood.
“There was a crack in the one wall, in the corner where I could literally put my whole hand in it, and they said I needed to have it leveled, that that was my responsibility,” she said. “Well, I did have a guy come and I paid to have it leveled three times, but because of the crack in the foundation, it’s not doing any good.”
Jennifer said Oak Wood’s go-to response to problems around the park is “give us a couple days.” She and her two Hilltop friends said calls go unanswered and voicemails unreturned.
“Well, months go by, and they don’t do anything to help us,” she said.
Patricia, 84, moved to the park 12 years ago, spending her life savings on a previous mobile home that had capacity for a handicapped bathroom for her paralyzed grandson. She said she had problems with the park’s prior owners, too, but nothing like Oak Wood.
“We have lots of problems with water, and I don’t know that it can ever be fixed, but as long as we live here, we have to put up with it,” Patricia said. “…[We] can’t get any help from the office and that’s a major issue for as many people that live out here, when we can’t make a phone call to the office for help that we need.”
Petta, the president of Hilltop’s HOA, has also criticized communication from Oak Wood.
“I can offer [residents] emails and phone numbers of the regional director’s office … I can also offer them emails, phone numbers for Dallas, Texas, where the owners actually live,” Petta said. “I’m a go-between … sometimes management’s good about it, and sometimes they’re not.”
Petta said she once called the manager of Northmeadow Village twice a day for five days until she answered her, so she could help address a woman whose water pipes burst and were flooding underneath her home. Petta said her calls were not answered until the manager answered the phone before recognizing her number.
“She kept saying, ‘Oh, I was busy.’ I said, ‘No, you’re not busy ... I know exactly what you’re doing,’” she said. “She had not called this lady back for three days and the lady went up there and the manager was at the park, doors locked, and her car was parked outside and does not unlock the door.”
In response to questions about how it communicates with residents, Oak Wood said: “We value open communication and encourage residents to reach us through multiple channels, including our app, website, phone or in-person visits. Our residents’ satisfaction will always be our top priority.”
Selling a mobile home
It’s not any better when you’re trying to leave an Oak Wood park, residents told WGLT.
"There’s been quite a few problems trying to rent it out and trying to sell it. Multiple, multiple stops."Mickaela Atkins, former resident at Hilltop
Mickaela Atkins is a recent former resident of Hilltop. She was attempting to sell the trailer which once belonged to her late grandmother and has since passed through her family, but she felt like park management gave her a hard time. She said the process had been a nightmare.
“There’s been quite a few problems trying to rent it out and trying to sell it. Multiple, multiple stops,” she said.
Atkins said she struggled learning about the park’s requirements for renting her home, trying to sell it, the application process for individuals, and so on.
So, Atkins listed her home on Zillow and on Facebook Marketplace and said she’s given her phone number to anyone interested, but she had applicants get denied.
“I’ve made it abundantly clear to [Oak Wood], like, ‘Hey, I’m paying double rent right now, it’s really hard for me to get my payments in on time,’” she said. “When I had finally called to talk to the office, they really didn’t have much to offer me.”
Atkins told Hilltop management she would not be able to pay her rent in full in the coming months if the trailer did not sell.
“I offered a partial payment to [Oak Wood], and they said either way, it’s my responsibility. So, they would turn it over to collections and they would look into the eviction process,” she said.
The park did have one suggestion: surrender. Atkins said she was told she could surrender her trailer to Oak Wood hassle-free.
“I was so offended…I’ll give it to them, the trailer’s old, but it’s not in ramshackle condition by any means,” Atkins said. “It’s totally livable. Sure, it needs its updates; it needs its TLC, and I’m selling it as such. I’m selling it as a fixer upper.”
Ultimately, Atkins finalized a sale on the trailer in mid-October.
Josh Senders, who said he owns a trailer in Hilltop, said it took over a year for Oak Wood to give him his title after they finished paying it off. At various times, he was told some of the titles were never provided to Oak Wood after they bought the parks, or that the main office in Texas had all the titles, or that their title company would provide it. Senders eventually got it last month.
“Every time I called it was a different excuse on where the title was. Essentially, nobody knew,” Senders said.
Coming Tuesday: Part 3 of the series looks at the legal rights of manufactured home residents and how individuals and groups are starting to advocate for themselves.
