Sanford resident Richard Russell explains the history of lot rental increases at Marshbrook Estates Mobile Home Park.
Photo: WSSR-TV
By Zendelle Bouchard
After hearing from several residents that high rents in some parks are straining the fixed-income budgets of seniors and forcing others back to work after retirement, the Sanford City Council decided to offer owners of manufactured homes in parks temporary relief from lot rent increases.
The council voted unanimously at its Sept. 2 meeting to instruct City Manager Steve Buck to work with the city’s legal counsel to craft a 90-day emergency moratorium on lot rent increases while a more permanent ordinance is developed. The moratorium will come up for a vote at the council’s Sept. 16 meeting.
Manufactured homes are more commonly known as mobile homes, although as residents attested, they are difficult or impossible to move, leaving the people who own them in a bind when lot rents are raised beyond their ability to pay.
A large crowd of residents from parks owned by Philips International of Great Neck, NY, attended the meeting to share their stories. Bruce Gordon, 81, of Marshbrook Estates off Whicher’s Mill Road, said he has had to return to the workforce to pay for the rental increase, which he reported was 14.9% this year.
Another Marshbrook resident, Darrell Marin, said that care and maintenance of the park has diminished while lot rents have risen drastically, and that to get maintenance issues addressed, residents have to “hound” Philips for weeks, months or even years.
Sally Harrington, who described herself as a member of the “80s-plus club” told the council that homeowners pay for their own lawn maintenance and snow removal, in addition to mortgage payments, property taxes, utilities and upkeep of their homes. She said she has deep concerns for her future and pleaded with councilors to “put yourselves in our position and take action. We need your help.”
Marshbrook resident Richard Russell, 88, brought a chart showing the rental increases in the park from 1994 through the present. Between 1994 and 2020, the chart showed a steady but modest yearly increase. Since Philips purchased the park five years ago, Russell said rents for homeowners who were already established have increased from $400 to $600 monthly, while for new tenants, rents have more than doubled and are currently set at $900 a month.
Tammy Guertin said the high lot rent in Marshwood made it difficult to sell her mother’s home there and impossible to get fair market value for it. When prospective buyers compared the home to those in locally owned parks such as Estes Park on New Dam Road, which was renting lots for $425, they walked away. Michael Helie, a resident of Philips-owned Country Living Mobile Home Park off New Dam Road, added that a real estate agent told him many buyers won’t look at any home in the park due to the high lot rental cost. Helie was one of a group of mobile home owners who helped gather signatures in support of state legislation to limit park rent increases. (See that story.) The bill that was ultimately signed into law will require park owners to enter into mediation if their planned increase is more than 1% above the Consumer Price Index but won’t actually prohibit the increase or limit the number of lot rent increases.
In addition to the Marshwood and Country Living parks, Philips also owns Pinewood Park and Old Colony Village, with a combined total of 340 leased lots in Sanford, according to Marshbrook resident Leigh Wood. She brought a copy of the comprehensive park rent stabilization ordinance that was approved by voters in Old Orchard Beach last year and encouraged the council to adopt something similar.
In addition to the many residents who spoke, State Rep. Anne-Marie Mastraccio also addressed the council and said it is very difficult to get rent control legislation out of committee at the state level. “If enough communities do the work, the state will listen,” she said. She urged passage of the emergency moratorium, adding “these people are at the mercy of Philips … this is a clear case of price gouging.”
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