Residents of Hidden Circle Mobile Home Park in Jay have completed a months-long process to purchase the land beneath their homes.
Last year, residents banded together to form a cooperative after struggling with rising rents and deferred maintenance under out-of-state ownership.
The Hidden Circle Residents Cooperative paid $1 million for the property, which supports 31 homes. Previously, residents owned their homes but rented the land beneath them.
In recent years, many mobile home parks throughout Maine, including Hidden Circle, were sold to out-of-state owners. Two other developments in Jay — Lambert Circle and Pine Haven — were sold to the same Florida company as Hidden Circle, New Riverside Farms LLC.
The Cooperative Development Institute (CDI), a regional nonprofit founded in 1994 that helps establish and support cooperatives in the Northeast, aided the Cooperative in this process.
Under a law approved by the Maine State Legislature last year, mobile home park residents must now be given the first opportunity to buy when owners are looking to sell, and owners must accept the residents’ offer if it meets the asking price.
This built on a 2023 law requiring mobile home park owners to notify residents when the property is put up for sale and to “negotiate in good faith” with them for a purchase.
Although this is not the first mobile home park in Maine purchased by a resident cooperative, a CDI representative noted in an interview with the Maine Monitor that it is the first such purchase since the 2025 law went into effect.
Financing for the residents’ purchase came from the Genesis Community Loan Fund of Brunswick, the Mobile Home Park Preservation Fund administered by the Maine State Housing Authority, and donors to the Maine Community Foundation.
“No one should lose their home to exploitative companies looking to make a profit, which is why I worked with the Legislature to pass and sign legislation that gives residents of mobile homes the first chance to buy the land they reside on before big companies can displace them,” Gov. Janet Mills (D) said in a press release celebrating the purchase.
“Congratulations to the residents of Hidden Circle Mobile Home Park for taking their futures into their hands, becoming owners of this land, and working together to create a lasting foundation for their community for years to come,” she added.
“It hasn’t been an easy process, but we never gave up,” said Travis White, a Hidden Circle Mobile Home Park resident 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.”
How about losing your home to high taxes, is that important Mills?
Hope they give mills a slot for pushing this over the line, she’s gonna need it after the corruption investigations. Maybe bellows can be her roomie and split the lot rent.
now come the annual homeowners association fees
How about CMP being owned from out of Country not just State
Lets check back in a year to see how it is going, mortgage paid on time etc.
Let’s see how this goes with property taxes increasing, add maintenance, homeowners association, etc. This is not a free ride and they are going to find out. The original owners are quite happy to sell this to them and watch what happens when things don’t go well. Will the new owners cry to Maine to help them? My guess yes!!!!
So even the Maine Wire misses facts every once in a while. One, I see no indication that the residents paid for any of the purchase. The funding sources are mostly taxpayer funded. In fact there’s no evidence there is a mortgage at all. Banks are not in the business of lending millions to groups of people who don’t have the cash or credit scores to support such loans. So what happens when the “owners” decide they can’t pay the rent this month? If there is a mortgage the park land rents is the only income they have. When “owners” don’t pay their rent who is going to pay the mortgage? Maine Wire, please do a follow up in about five years so we can see how many of these taxpayer funded land purchases have done financially. So because they live in trailers on rented land they get government subsidies just like the rest of the Mainers who get free rent. Meanwhile property taxes are killing seniors. When do we get relief?????
Im sure them taking on $32,000 debt plus assuming all the cost associated with managing a mobile home park was considered in their long range plans
It’s the first time these total losers have ever owned anything. Their TVs and sofas come from Rent-A-Center!