TOLEDO, Ohio — The owners of a rundown, dilapidated mobile home park within sight of downtown have not made a tax payment to the county since purchasing the property in 2022.
On Wednesday, days after 11 Investigates highlighted multiple issues at Riverside Mobile Home Estates, a judge vacated his decision to evict a tenant.
Willie Smith has learned that Judge Joseph Howe has scheduled a hearing for Friday, July 26 in Toledo Housing Court. He previously ruled that Smith would need to leave his trailer at the mobile home park, but that eviction has been put on hold.
“I feel like one million pounds of lead are off my back,” Smith said.
11 Investigates previously reported that Smith missed his court appearance while being treated for a mild heart attack. Despite the hospital faxing documents to the court that indicated Smith was being treated, the hearing was still held last week and the court ruled against him.
Smith told us he paid his $350 monthly rent through May, confirmed by the company’s lawyer. However, he said the last two months were missed because of Venmo confusion and his inability to reach the company. There is no number listed for Riverside Mobile Home Estates LLC.
The company is trying to evict Smith despite there being no power to his trailer. He said the power company told him that because of faulty wiring, it would be a fire hazard to even try and connect the power.
It is one of several issues 11 Investigates discovered at the park, which sits about a mile from downtown, yards off of the Anthony Wayne Trail. Most of the dozens of trailers are vacant, many of them with busted windows, doors ajar, or even split wide open. The grass is more than waist-high, the office building sits vacant, with a massive pile of trash nearby, feral cats dart from beneath trailers and at least two vacant trailers had large water leaks.
11 Investigates has learned that the more than eight-acre property was sold to the Chicago-based LLC in November 2022, shortly after the city of Toledo sued the previous owner for an unpaid water bill. That water bill still has not been paid and has grown to more than $150,000.
The total property is split into four parcels. All of the buildings and land are valued at $135,000, but the owners have now accrued a delinquent tax bill of $42,825.71. A tax payment has not been received by the county since the end of 2017.
The Ohio Department of Commerce is responsible for overseeing land of mobile home parks. It has filed dozens of complaints against the owners. A spokesperson said that enforcement action is being prepared. Oversight of the structures is the responsibility of the city of Toledo, which has also filed multiple complaints against the LLC.
During a visit early this week, Toledo City Council member Nick Komives was at the site with members of the environmental, water and code enforcement divisions. He has worked with Smith to get him a lawyer and help in finding new housing. A lawyer from Legal Aid of Western Ohio will be with Smith at next week’s hearing. Komives described the conditions at the mobile home park as "unconscionable."
“I am grateful for all the help from you and Mr. Komives,” Smith told us this afternoon. “Nick has been a real champion through this whole thing.”