Michael Papa

Hello, my name is Michael Papa. I live in The Woodlands in Lockport, NY, which is owned by ELS (Equity Lifestyle Properties). I purchased my home in August 2019. What once seemed like an affordable place to live has gotten unaffordable.

Michael stands in front of a tree using a cane and pointing toward the sky.

Lot rent has increased every January. When you question them about the increases, they tell you that you are free to leave if you don’t like it. In a short amount of time, the lot rent has already gone up substantially, and they said it will increase again in January.

They claim that expenses have gone up, but I don’t see how. They do not repair the crumbling roads. We have horrible drainage, which causes massive flooding when it rains. They charge us a ton for water and sewer, but we have no meter on our house. It seems like they guesstimate and charge whatever they want.

We cut our own lawns and are responsible for maintaining our own plot of land. If your grass isn’t perfectly cut or they see something they don’t like, you get yelled at for it. Yet they aren’t held to the same standards. They do an awful job plowing in the winter. When you call corporate, they never return your calls. When you call the office, they are rude and hang up on you.

When will the big corporations be held accountable for their greed? I am at the point where I am close to being priced out of my home and forced to abandon it and live on the street. We need protections against these predatory real estate investors!