OSTA: Empowering Park & Marina Residents
If you are an Oregon Manufactured Home Park or Marina resident who owns their home, but rents the space or slip in which your home is located, then we are here for you.
OSTA is your support network, a trusted source of information about your rights, and your advocate for more secure housing through improved legislation.
Through these efforts and initiatives, we enhance your quality of life.
OSTA is a nonprofit, grassroots organization that seeks direction from members, avoiding a top-down approach, regarding decision-making on critical issues affecting members’ lifestyle choices, quality of life, and rights as residents in manufactured housing and floating home communities.
OSTA works to provide an expanding array of programs, information, and services to its members. It is an organization focused, not only on protecting the rights of homeowners as residents in parks and marinas but an organization that supports all aspects of manufactured and floating home living.
To enable this to happen we rely on members, teams, and colleagues, across the state who support this common vision. This work requires time, investment, and dedication to serve our 80,000+ residents and we rely solely on memberships and donations to achieve our goals.
Join OSTA Link
https://oregontenants.com/membership-account/membership-levels/
OSTA: Empowering Park & Marina Residents
Inside OSTA: Survey Activity Updates
Curious about the future of tenant rights in Oregon's mobile and manufactured home communities? Discover how you can be part of a transformative movement with the Oregon State Tenants Association. We're thrilled to share insights from our recent statewide survey addressing housing instability and discuss a promising rent stabilization bill making its way to Representative Marsh. As we navigate the urgency of the housing crisis, this episode is packed with opportunities for community involvement to help push this vital legislation forward.
Empower yourself and your neighbors with the collective strength of community action. We bring you inspiring personal success stories of individuals overcoming management intimidation and making strides toward tenant empowerment. Our episode is rich with resources and support to help you assert your rights and build a formidable tenant association. Stay informed and engaged by accessing the shared links, participating in the survey, and reaching out to foster meaningful change. Join us in this journey to strengthen tenant protections across Oregon and ensure a better future for all.
Mailing address
OSTA
1574 COBURG RD.
EUGENE, OR 97402
Links:
Find your Representative
Can we count on you to help reach out to fellow park residents? Call 541-912-8804 to sign up to volunteer. Time is up Nov 6th
DISCOUNT CODE: OSTANOW Renew for $15
Renewal Link
Offer good til Nov. 6, 2024
Website: All other questions
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Comments or Questions for the Podcast
Email: bbateman@oregontenants.com
Copyright OSTA2045,2025 Not for rebroadcast w/o express written permission. Please share and download for educational purposes with attribution.
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Well, I gotta tell you your response has been terrific. Thank you, we've gotten a lot of emails. Let's bring you up to date on what's going on at OSTA, about the survey, the potential bill entering the legislature and just all kinds of other good things. Come on in, let's get this started. Well, hi everybody. I'm Bill Bateman, part of the team here at OSTA, Oregon State Tenants Association. I'm one of the board members and happy to be able to come to you on a semi-regular basis and bring you up to date in yet what we will call another Osta Update.
Bill Bateman:Let's go to the big one. We want to thank everybody who came out for those Zoom sessions we did, where we got to talk to people all over Oregon, getting information from park residents. Just like me, I live in a mobile home community and that's why we're here. We are working to get tenant rights established and help you get the best lifestyle possible out of the time in your park. So we sent out a notice. We asked people to come on to the Zoom. They did. We had one park that actually set up two rooms and people would come on in room one and then room two. We've heard from people from as far south as Brookings and as far north as Portland. So this is truly a statewide effort. The questions we ask and the ideas you have given us have all been put into use.
Bill Bateman:Everybody who has submitted their email address will be included in the survey. That survey, as of this afternoon, is ready to be submitted. It's done, it's going to happen. It'll come in via email. If you have a problem with email and you want to send us a mailing address, we'll do our very best to do that. If not, I suggest you have someone print it out for you. We'll talk more about that as it gets closer, but the survey is a happening thing. Good news on the bill. The bill has been, I guess, finalized and is in process. It's going to Representative Marsh tomorrow in a meeting. Today is Sunday, the 10th of October. There's a meeting tomorrow. We're going to forward that information. One of our board members is heading up that effort. So good work everyone. It's worked out real well.
Bill Bateman:There are some things going on that we want to talk to you about and why this is such a big deal. If you're new, park residents may be facing critical housing instability Now. Rent increases have reached what we want to call a tipping point. We're looking at severe housing instability in the future. Wage increases continue to be much lower than rent increases and many of us are on retirement or Social Security, and that is a finite amount of money. Those people on Social Security could be displaced from their homes as rents continue to increase. And this is not a one year down the road. I have met people in parks who this is next month. This is a serious problem. Basically, we're looking at a crisis we're trying to avert. Social service organizations are already at the max, rental assistance funds are drying up and these manufactured home communities and floating home communities are the last oasis of affordability, and that's why we're so pleased to be part of an effort to get rent reset, to get rent stabilization, whatever you want to call it. That's what this bill is about. Now we want to prevent other things too. For example, stop landlords from requiring changes that are only for aesthetic reasons. Hope them from trying to require an inspection prior to sale. It's currently not your landlord's right to ask for an inspection. Now we're going to work on how that bill is going to address that issue. The bottom line is it's time to get active if we want this bill passed. I am going to include in the login to this podcast a link to the state of Oregon and you click it and it'll tell you who your representative is and how to reach out to them All the representatives all over Oregon. You can also write to us and send along your completed survey. More details came in your Oster review. If you did not receive one, let us know. The email address is on the login.
Bill Bateman:The podcast. I'm trying to continue these podcasts on a more regular basis. We're very, very busy and there's only a few of us which is my next point, but we'll get to that in a second. There's only a few of us. We're all volunteers and so there's only so much time in a day. We're trying to get these podcasts out on a regular basis. Keep listening, tell your friends, download them and share the information. Share the podcast. Do that at church, do it at club meetings, do it around the park. Forward it. You can forward the link, absolutely at church. Do it at club meetings, do it around the park, forward it. You can forward the link absolutely. The only thing you can't do is download it and say it's yours. That would be a violation of copyrights and I don't think anybody likes these that well, that's going to be a problem. So if you'd like to share your story, there's a link to get in touch with us.
Bill Bateman:If you'd like to be added to the mailing list to get the survey, the email list, we're looking for you and we need some volunteers. That's where I was going with that last thing. There's only a few of us. We'd like you to assist. If you have a little free time and I'm retired, I've got a little free time making some calls. Can you commit to going through your park and talking to people or making 100 phone calls to work for lower rent increases? If you'd like to volunteer for this, I got a phone number, so grab a pencil or a pen or write it in the dust on the dashboard. That number is 541-912-8804. That'll be on the front of the podcast where you log in that number again 541-912-8804.
Bill Bateman:We want to spread the word. We want to get people volunteering within the parks, within the communities. If you know somebody in another park, please reach out to them. Absolutely, very, very important, and we'll make sure that we try and even put a link up front. So this front login section is very important. It's going to have a lot of good information for you.
Bill Bateman:If this is starting to sound pretty good and you're thinking, hey, what can I do to help beyond making a few phone calls, well, we're looking for new board members. And if you are in the legal profession, if you're an accountant, if you're a banker, if you're a IT person, if you're an outreach person, many of our people have backgrounds in civil rights or advocacy work. You don't have to be working right now at that. In fact, what you used to do is probably some pretty good experience. If you'd like to volunteer, well, you guessed it. We've got a link and let's talk, let's make some new people a part of the inner workings of Osta and get this thing back to growing statewide.
Bill Bateman:We were at one time a statewide organization. We still are. There's just a lot less of it, and that's because of COVID. We mentioned this in a previous podcast. There are 60,000 plus park residents. Our elected officials need and want our votes, and I believe they want to make good decisions that are going to strengthen the communities they represent. So let's have our voices heard. Let's work on getting back to becoming a force. Getting back to becoming a force in the community Now. To do this, I know some people, even here in my own park. I told them about Austin and they said, yeah, they just kind of evaporated. And in a previous podcast I said we're not only back, we're coming back fast and we want to extend our hand to the people who we had to let down, not because we intended to, but people died, People got sick, people retired there's just so many people, so many hours in a day. So we have new people, we have new energy. I have enough energy for two people. We have new energy. We are coming back. We're not only still alive, we're back in business.
Bill Bateman:So if you would like to become an OSTEM member again and we recommend that, first of all, we have different tiers of membership depending upon your interest. We have a basic membership, a participating membership and a contributing membership and you guessed it, there's a link on you can click to find out more. But the basic thing is, for anybody who was a member and you haven't renewed, we're going to meet you halfway. Can you meet us halfway? Meet us in the middle. We're going to give $15 renewals to anybody who was a former member. $15 for a year. That's pretty good.
Bill Bateman:Now I hear the other people in the back. I hear the grumbling. Don't panic, if you're a new member, we're going to give you a $15 new membership and if you're an existing member, we haven't forgotten you, so you can extend or renew your membership. Yes, you got it for $15. Meet us halfway and so, whether you're a new member, a renewing member or an existing member, it's only $15 to extend for a full year.
Bill Bateman:Now, this is on the basic membership only and we're going to keep this running until the 6th. There's a discount code OSTA NOW O-S-T-A-N-O-W. Where can you find it? You got it on the front page. So those are three ways the front page. So those are three ways, three very cost-effective ways. That's less than going to McDonald's these days, it really is and that gets you the protection, that gets you the information, that gets you the advocacy. And we'd like to invite you to get involved as a member, as a board member, getting involved and helping us, help you.
Bill Bateman:And I can tell you we had a very interesting thing in the past. I would say six months. Well, okay, it's September. The past nine months we have gone from. You cannot believe the conditions when we moved in Direct confrontation. We had calls being made, we had threats, we had a swimming pool that was lime green. We had all kinds of problems. What's coming up this weekend? Well, the pool is going to close on time and we're having a park-wide picnic and we just completed a park-wide yard sale.
Bill Bateman:People are talking to each other, people are smiling, people are waving to each other, people are smiling, people are waving at each other. We got a good relationship with our current managers. This is how it should be, and Osta is not coming in with a fire hose and billy clubs to kick butt and take names. We're working together. This is something you and I can do. This is something we have done here and we want to extend that to you.
Bill Bateman:And the way we do that is through communication and through using your superpower. Now, I've talked about this before and you're going to hear it again, because superpowers, we all have them Mine. I seem to love to talk. I'm no problem at all getting up in front of 5,000 people and talking to them Doesn't bother me a bit. Other people they pass out at the thought. However, they can work an Excel spreadsheet like nobody's business. So, whatever your superpower is, maybe you can walk around, schmooze people, introduce yourself, talk, share information. Schmooze people, introduce yourself, talk, share information. Maybe you've got some good organizing skills, maybe you're a graphic artist. Your superpower is in need at Osta, so come on in If you're having problems in your park and your marina.
Bill Bateman:Getting organized is the first step. Getting organized is the first step. Come to Osta. Look at the different types of organizations. The basic is the non-specific membership. It's the very thing where you get together. You get five, seven, ten people together. You say hi, we're a tenants association. Send your landlord a notice, keep building that association. Right now I think we're at 70% of our park is formally a member of our association and that starts a whole lot of good things happening. It opens the dialogue.
Bill Bateman:It's not just Bill being grumpy down there in Unit 6, but there's 45 people pretty upset about this. What do you think we should do about it? Yes, some landlords are just greedy. They also realize there's laws on the books and by being an actual association those laws become more direct. You can also form an OSTA-based organization where everybody in the organization is a member. We hope ideally everybody will do that, but we're going to help you either way. So get yourself a membership if you can, as soon as you can, and there's information on how to do all of this.
Bill Bateman:There's also social organizations and things like that A newsletter, this. There's also social organizations and things like that A newsletter. My goodness, I cannot tell you how important the newsletter has been in helping get things back on track. Folks tend to get very upset when there's rumors floating around. You. Look at our current political situation. Everybody's got a different story. Put it in writing, sign your name to it and deliver it to somebody and look them in the eye. That is how you establish communications.
Bill Bateman:There's a lot more to talk about, but I'm just about out of time. I've got some other things I'd like to take care of. We're finishing things up behind the scenes, so there's a lot of information in this podcast. There are going to be a lot of links for you to download or follow up on, and that's the idea. We give you the tools, we give you the assistance, and you and your neighbors make this happen. I can count on.
Bill Bateman:I've got five contacts that I made in the past couple of months, and all five of them have moved forward in a highly positive way. We only have one who's so intimidated by their management that they don't want to get involved, and you better believe we're working on that. So follow up on the links, hopefully, get involved with those. Definitely, get involved with the survey and reach out, talk to your neighbors, talk to your friends, let them know as a group, as a tenants association, as a represented body, you have rights, you have power and we're going to help you use it. Thank you very much. These will be coming out on a regular basis. Be safe, god bless and have a good week. The preceding program was a presentation of Retired Guy Productions.
