New Loan Fund Will Help Mobile Home Residents Purchase Land

In an effort to counter the threat of rising land rents and institutional investors who see mobile home parks as a profitable venture, “a new law passed in Colorado seeks to make it easier for residents of manufactured homes or mobile home parks to purchase the parks.” According to an article by Kristi Eaton in The Daily Yonder, “It’s a move that advocates say has been years in the making and they hope other states will follow suit.”

The law creates a $35 million loan fund to help residents and nonprofit organizations buy mobile home parks. As we noted in our coverage of the issue in March, Colorado State Representative Andrew Boesenecker introduced the legislation to bolster a prior opportunity-to-purchase law put into place after a wave of investors began using low-interest, government-backed loans to buy manufactured home parks, jeopardizing the future of low-income residents. The loan fund could make a big difference for residents who, despite efforts to form ownership cooperatives, often have difficulty accessing financing.

According to the source article, “Other states are taking note, [Doug Ryan, vice president of Policy and Applied Research at Prosperity Now] said. And one example is Montana, where there are tax incentives that encourage the purchase of parks by residents and nonprofits.”