KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — For one Knoxville grandmother, the new year began with a new lease on her home that has lifted her spirit. More than three months ago, she was about to be evicted from the community where she rents a lot for her trailer.
Now, an agreement has been hammered out between Amherst Ridge and Laurie Myers. The mutual agreement avoids a potential dispute between the two sides.
Amherst Ridge is a mobile home community in Knoxville with plenty of amenities: a swimming pool, tennis courts, and a playground. People own their homes but rent the lots, and there are some tough guidelines to follow to keep the place up. However, just recently some of the regulations were “Modified.”
In mid-September, Myers was about to be evicted from her home in the mobile home park where she had lived for 18 years. In June of 2021, a notice was left on the windshield of her car warning her to complete several home repairs because she violated YES Communities Guidelines for Community Living.
Her grass was too high, her porch was cluttered, the roof to her home needed to be sealed plus, other cosmetic issues. She tried, but apparently, repairs were not completed fast enough. So, last August she was served a warrant to appear in court, she was being evicted.
However on September 14, YES Company’s attorney and Myers’s attorney reached a deal with Amherst Ridge. The 60-year-old grandmother was not going to be kicked out of the park, the detainer warrant against her was dismissed.
“So, this is a David and Goliath thing here,” said Bennett Hirschhorn who represented Myers in court.
Hirschhorn was able to further negotiate this agreement in which both parties mutually decide upon a settlement to avoid a lengthy courtroom battle. One of the issues was Laurie’s month-to-month lease with Amherst Ridge.
“If you live in a manufactured home and you have a month-to-month lease, when the landlord says, I want to terminate your lease, how are you going to move your home,” said Hirschhorn.
Laurie said $5,000 would have been the cost to move her trailer, but now there’s a new lease.
“In this case, I was able to convince them to redraft their lease, so it only applies to lots. And that’s a very fair lease. Much to this company’s credit, it took a minute for them to do it, but they actually redrafted a very fair lease,” said Hirschhorn.
- Repair crew sent to fix Knox County couple’s Solar Titan USA solar panels
- Knoxville, Oak Ridge residents go weeks without mail delivery due to staff shortage
- TennCare rejects Knoxville mother’s request for disabled daughter’s care
- Harriman woman seeking refund for hacked gift card
- Roane County woman’s roof replaced after new rubber roof started leaking
At YES Communities, residents sign two agreements a Site lease and a Guidelines for Community Living Agreement. It was the Guidelines agreement that Ms. Myers had violated, and which has now it’s been modified.
“If you get a notice you have to do the maintenance and if you don’t do the maintenance that they can do it and bill you for it. That’s pretty fair,” said the attorney.
Over the last three and a half months, Myers’s home and property have been transformed. There’s a new roof and shrubbery beds have been cleaned up. Volunteers from Horn of Plenty now maintain the property. Myers is pleased that her settlement with Amherst Ridge may help others in her community.
“God works in mysterious ways. God did this,” said Myers.
