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RESIDENTS of a mobile home park pulled together $14million so they would not need to move in a short 90 days’ notice.
In 2020, they were given notice that the park Animas View in Durango, Colorado, would be put up for sale which encouraged resident John Egan and neighbors to find a solution.
Working in their favor was a new Colorado law that gave residents the right of first refusal with the option to buy the park themselves.
The law was just passed earlier that year.
However, it was somewhat of a challenge for the residents to get the funds, but they were able to pull it off, per AZ Central on Wednesday.
The residents were able to get help from local government agencies, foundations, and a nonprofit called ROC USA (resident-owned communities).
“That was absolutely mind-boggling to us, and kind of mind-boggling to the state of Colorado,” Egan told AZ Central.
Egan added that everyone in the community seems to be happier now that it has new owners.
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“There is a palpable change in attitudes and a sense of safety and security, and feeling of ownership,” he said.
The park changed owners in the past and it came with rent increases, management changes, and uncertainty.
ROC USA is a nonprofit that has already helped resident-owned mobile home communities in 21 states.
It believes that mobile home communities are “one housing stock that is affordable to low-income and very low-income homebuyers throughout the country,” said Paul Bradley, ROC USA’s president, of mobile homes, per AZ Central.
“Where are folks gonna go if this housing stock is lost?”
According to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, mobile homes are intended to help low-income families be able to save on overall costs.
This is in hopes that they can buy a home eventually and avoid just renting.
“The value of manufactured housing to low-income households is that in many cases it is a lower-cost alternative to rental units,” it said.
“This could allow low-income families to potentially save towards the preferred investment alternative, namely a conventional-owned home.”