New Hampshire has a law that states that before a MHP can be sold, the seller has to notify each household in the park by certified letter of an accepted offer, along with price and terms and a copy of the purchase agreement. The seller then has to hold off on final acceptance of the offer for 60 days to allow the tenants time to buy the park themselves on the same terms if they so wish.
Is this law or a variation of it in force in other states? I don’t recall reading anything about it in the home study materials or hearing anything about it at the boot camp. It really sounds like a hassle. Or is it not such a big deal?
Don’t get me started. There is an organization funded by the Ford Foundation that believes tenants are exploited by park owners. This organization is actively and successfuly pushing legislation in all states with model laws for residents to buy the park. The organization provides low cost funding and walks them through the process. The kicker is the organization gets a “fee” to manage the park to the collective…
When there is one near you, they are tough to compete against. The rents are lower than you can offer since they are a non profit, don’t pay taxes, have low financing and don’t know enough to invest in the infrastructure.
It is a problem for the park owner looking to sell because buyers don’t want to invest money and time in due dilligence, inspections, financing etc. knowing their offer can be matched and by law the park is obligated to sell to the residents. That said, I know some park owners who say their highest offer by far was from the community / organization. They have a ton of money and an adgenda.
If the park owner doesn’t want to the residents to muck up the deal, the owner doesn’t have to be especially forthcoming on operating expenses etc; only the offer.
The one saving grace is that residents have to vote on it. Many residents don’t want any part of owning a park or having their neighbors collectively telling them what to do.