Recently, Florida has become one of the most expensive states in the country and the citizens at one 55+ community in Central Florida may be getting taken advantage of. An article recently published by Medscape.com claims that “Elder abuse, already on the rise, has skyrocketed during the pandemic. A Yale University study found an 83.6% increase from pre-pandemic estimates in reports of mistreated older adults sheltering at home during April and May 2020”. Hometown America manages 55+ communities across the country, and this is not the first time the property management company has been accused of wrong doing.

In 2004 a similar story about a 55+ community, managed by the same company, appeared in the Tampa Bay Times claiming that “There are homes with missing siding, mold on the walls, and aluminum foil on the windows” but despite the degradation “lot rents keep going up”. This new development seems eerily similar to previous accusations against the property management company. Currently, the remains of a burned-down home sit untouched.

“It’s like they’re doing all they can to milk the elderly of everything they have before they pass. Then they re-sell and re-start the cycle of taking advantage of the new elderly residents. It’s disgusting.” – Palm Valley Resident (Palm Valley is managed by Hometown America)

According to current Palm Valley residents, they are seeing higher than normal rate increases on basic utilities such as water. In addition, some residents have noticed that they’re being improperly charged for sewer fees. Some residents say they are being charged the same amount for their sewer as they’re being charged for water, despite their sewer usage being less than their recorded water consumption.

If you calculate the monthly overages by the number of residents, and the number of communities that Hometown America manages. In addition, it seems that they may be charging residents more for their private water supply than the current going rate for city water systems, which some residents view as unethical and predatory.

An average retirement household’s income is around $46,000.00/yr. If residents are being overcharged by even 10%, each household would estimate overpaying for water and sewer by about $240 a year. This figure does not include other price hikes imposed by the management company. Money that most people, during this time of uncertainty in America’s economic state, deem as more valuable than usual, is being shifted from the pockets of the residents. Will the higher-than-normal price hikes impact the already disparaged community?

A lawsuit was filed against Hometown America in 2020 for their management practices at their Shenandoah community in Sicklerville, New Jersey. The case documents state that a Shenandoah resident fought on his behalf, and the behalf of some 700 other residents, against the management company. The case documents claim that “during the COVID-19 pandemic the residents of Shenandoah were largely quarantined and isolated in the community and found themselves at the mercy of Hometown, as Hometown unlawfully threatened evictions, unreasonably raised rents while withholding or eliminating virtually all amenities and services paid for by the residents. At the same time, Hometown abandoned many of its responsibilities as owner of the community; failing entirely to enforce, for example, the age restrictions and pet restrictions guaranteed to the residents and failing to maintain the infrastructure of the community”. It is unclear if this new issue will result in legal action on behalf of the current residents.