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V O L . X X V I N O. I I I F E B R UA R Y 1 0 , 2 0 2 0 18 S O U T H E R N M A I N E W hen residents at Charter Oaks Village, a manufactured home community on the Biddeford-Arundel line, got a letter a year ago saying the property was going to be sold, it was a punch in the gut. It was the second time in less than a year the residents of the 40-site property on Route 111 had received such a letter. "Where would we go?" says Ann Lantagne, a resident for 20 years. "What about the disabled people, the elderly residents here? Where would they go? at's who we were worried the most about." Housing options for low and mod- erate-income residents in York County are increasingly sparse. e median sales price for an existing single-family home in York County was $295,000 in 2019, up from $204,100 in 2014. e income needed to afford a $275,000 home, which was the median price in 2018, was $82,893, according to MaineHousing. Charter Oaks, with 29 of its sites in Arundel and 11 in Biddeford, used to be out in the country. In in the past decade, a sprawl of big-box stores, malls and other retail has crept west on Route 111 from Exit 14 of the Maine Turnpike. When the letter arrived in February 2019, "We didn't know what was going on," says resident Shannon Staples. "We already went through it once, and we didn't know what was coming. We thought we could lose our homes, and we didn't have any control over it." Her husband, Steve, says one rumor was that a new buyer would evict everyone, level the land and put up condos. "Everyone was kind of waiting for the next shoe to fall," says Steve, who lived in the park 30 years ago and moved back a few years ago with his family. A vulnerable community Residents of manufactured housing communities are particularly vulnera- ble, says Liza Fleming-Ives, executive director of the Genesis Community Loan Fund in Brunswick. Many manufactured park owners, like owners of other businesses, are at or near retirement age. Combined with the way the parks are structured — the owner owns the land, leasing it to residents, who usually own their home — they are ripe for investors. An increasing trend is investors, many from out of state, buying the parks and raising rents past what those living there can afford, or resell- ing the property for development. Manufactured homes are an important part of the state's affordable housing stock, she says. "Any time a park comes up for sale, rents can increase and they're less and less affordable for residents," she says. "And mobile homes aren't exactly mobile. ey can't pick up the home and move somewhere else." 'We'd listen' When those February letter came, so did Jeanee Wright, of the Cooperative Development Institute. e nonprofit, which helps busi- nesses form cooperatives, works with ROC USA (resident-owned com- munities), which provides techni- cal support for manufactured home community residents who want to buy the property. Wright, a cooperative housing spe- cialist, initially provides information to residents of a property that's up for sale about a cooperative purchase. BUILDING a COMMUNITY Residents of a manufactured home park form a co-op to control their future B y M a u R e e n M i l l i k e n F O C U S P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y J E A N E E W R I G H T P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y J E A N E E W R I G H T P H O T O / M A U R E E N M I L L I K E N Charter Oaks Village Charter Oaks Village residents, from left, residents, from left, Steve Steve Staples Staples, , Shannon Staples Shannon Staples and and Ann Lantagne Ann Lantagne, with , with the Staples' granddaughter, the Staples' granddaughter, Kaylie Kaylie, at the park that , at the park that they now own. they now own. Residents of Residents of Charter Oaks Village Charter Oaks Village celebrate in June after buying the celebrate in June after buying the 40-site manufactured home community in Arundel and Biddeford. 40-site manufactured home community in Arundel and Biddeford. Members of Members of Charter Oaks Charter Oaks Village Village operations committee operations committee in June, after residents bought in June, after residents bought the park, from left, the park, from left, Shannon Shannon Staples Staples, , Steve Staples Steve Staples, , Larry Larry Lacalliades Lacalliades, , Tom Lauricella Tom Lauricella and and Roger Lapierre Roger Lapierre. Any time a park comes up for sale, rents can increase and they're less and less affordable for residents. — Liza Fleming-Ives Executive director, Genesis Community Loan Fund

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