MaineCF helps finance resident purchase of mobile home community

Residents of Hidden Circle manufactured home community Robert Valles, Tanya Dwyer, Travis White and Nick Hutchins finalize the purchase of the community. White is president of the newly formed Hidden Circle Residents Cooperative and Hutchins is vice president. The cooperative purchased the community with support from Cooperative Development Institute, Genesis Community Loan Fund, MaineHousing and Maine Community Foundation. (Genesis Community Loan Fund photo)

JAY, MAINE —The Hidden Circle Residents Cooperative purchased its manufactured home community today for $1 million, ensuring the land beneath 31 homes in Jay can remain locally owned and affordable for years to come.

Financing came from the Brunswick-based Genesis Community Loan Fund, the Mobile Home Park Preservation Fund administered by MaineHousing, and generous donors of the Maine Community Foundation (MaineCF).

“Affordable housing is essential to healthy communities across Maine, especially in rural areas," said Deborah Ellwood, MaineCF president and CEO. "We're pleased to partner with Genesis on this innovative investment, which helps residents become owners of their community while preserving affordable housing for the long term. It gives residents control over their housing costs, power over how they are governed, and a new sense of community. We are grateful to the many donors to the MaineCF Housing Affordability Fund that helped make this deal possible.”

MaineCF donors provided both an impact investment and grant that enabled Genesis to offer below-market financing and a grant to help keep lot rents affordable as the new cooperative begins operations.

Hidden Circle residents formed the cooperative last year with the support of the Cooperative Development Institute (CDI), a New England nonprofit that supports communities in making transitions to resident ownership. CDI helped the residents organize together and negotiate the purchase price.

“It hasn’t been an easy process, but we never gave up” said Travis White, a resident of Hidden Circle Mobile Home Park and president of the cooperative’s volunteer board. “We had to purchase the park because the alternative could be worse. Someone could come in here and hike up the rents and eventually push people out of their homes. Now, people can feel financially safe and safe in their homes.”

The purchase makes Hidden Circle the 14th resident-owned manufactured home community in Maine, advancing a model that has preserved naturally occurring affordable housing for more than 15 years. Maine's more than 475 manufactured home communities — the most in any New England state — have increasingly attracted large, often out-of-state investors, making resident ownership an important tool for protecting affordability.

Unlike most homeowners, residents of mobile home communities typically own their homes but rent the land beneath them. When these communities are sold to large investor-owners, residents often experience a significant increase in lot rents and other fees. They are left with few options, since moving a manufactured home is often prohibitively expensive or just not possible.

But resident ownership changes that equation. That’s why this model of preserving affordability is a top priority for MaineCF and donors to its Housing Affordability Fund.

By purchasing their community together as a cooperative, Hidden Circle residents are gaining control over future decisions about their own community. They can protect long-term affordability and ensure greater stability for the families and seniors who live there.

“Now that we own the community, we can make improvements, such as bringing our septic system up to code and updating our electrical system,” Travis continued. “It has long been neglected. Now, we can do something about it.”

Genesis worked alongside partners and residents to help them assemble the financing that made this purchase possible.

“Today’s purchase is another demonstration of how lenders can work with communities to preserve affordable housing before it's lost,” said Liza Fleming-Ives, Genesis executive director. “Every successful resident-owned community strengthens this model and gives more mobile home community residents confidence that they can protect their homes. Genesis will continue working with partners across the state to expand this proven model, helping ensure stable, affordable homes for Maine families.”

Hidden Circle was the first community to benefit from a strengthened Right of First Refusal state law that went into effect last October, making it easier for residents to purchase their communities when they go up for sale.

CDI’s New England Resident-Owned Communities (NEROC) Program helps manufactured homeowners cooperatively purchase and democratically manage their communities, preserving the quality and affordability of homes in our region.

"The Hidden Circle residents demonstrated remarkable determination throughout this process," said Nora Gosselin, director of Resident Acquisitions at the Cooperative Development Institute. "From the very start—be it septic challenges or survey hurdles—they hung together and got it done.”

Maine’s Right of First Refusal law, together with the state's Mobile Home Park Preservation Fund, has helped communities compete successfully for ownership while leveraging financing from community lenders, foundations, municipalities, and other partners.

"Hidden Circle demonstrates what's possible when residents, community organizations, and public partners work together to preserve affordable housing," said Dan Brennan, MaineHousing director. "The Mobile Home Park Preservation Fund was designed to help residents compete for ownership of the communities they call home, and today that investment is creating lasting benefits for families in Jay. Resident ownership not only protects affordability — it gives people a stronger voice in their future and helps ensure these communities remain stable and vibrant for generations to come."