Los Alamos Reporter

LTE: Support HB 426 – The Opportunity To Purchase Act In Senate Judiciary Committee

BY JOANNE DEMICHELE
Affordable Housing Advocate
Silver City

In New Mexico, manufactured home communities are a vital but often overlooked part of our affordable housing landscape. These communities are especially important for seniors and solo agers, offering a roof over our heads and a strong sense of community, security and independence. We buy our homes for affordability and community and often expect them to be our last major purchase and final move.

Yet, without protections like those offered by House Bill 426, these communities are in jeopardy, and the people who call them home risk being displaced or priced out.

For me and many others, living in a 55-plus manufactured home community is a life choice that provides both affordable housing and a supportive, tight-knit environment. We look after one another, from sending morning “Are you alive?” check-in texts to gathering in the mornings for coffee or evening drinks on a neighbor’s porch as we watch the sunset. These simple acts of care make all the difference in our daily lives.

These communities are about affordable housing, people, security and quality of life, and they are an integral part of New Mexico’s economy. Residents of manufactured home communities contribute to the local economy. Many purchased new homes from New Mexico manufacturers, supporting an industry that has slowed in recent decades and keeping dollars in our state.

The combined financial value of the homes in these communities often exceeds the value of the land, underscoring their economic importance. We drive each other to medical appointments, volunteer, work, spend locally, vote and pay taxes.

However, these communities face a growing issue: There’s an increasing number of landowners who live out of state. They collect land rent, but the money often flows elsewhere, and the residents are left without recourse when the land is sold, when rents are raised, or when communities are neglected by investment decisions to “defer maintenance.”

When I bought my home, the landowner lived just a few doors down. But without notice or an opportunity for the homeowners to purchase the community land, she sold the land to out-of-town investors. Rents jumped, and services declined. This pattern is becoming all too common. The degree and frequency of rent increases vary, with some retired people dipping into savings (and wondering what will run out first–their life savings or their life) and others are forced to leave their homes.

More than 100 people in an Alamogordo 55-plus community suffered for six months without natural gas before the California land investor made the necessary repairs. They are now told to expect another significant rent increase. An Albuquerque community has been suffering unconscionable rent increases by a Florida investor. Elders are living in fear.

This is why we need HB 426. This bill would allow homeowners to purchase their community land (or assign that right to a nonprofit) when the landowner decides to sell. It is a simple, fair solution that would help preserve affordable housing for thousands of New Mexicans, provide security to families who have made their homes in these communities, and ensure that landowners receive the best possible price when selling.

HB 426 keeps communities intact and protects the people who have invested in their homes and their neighbors.

I urge lawmakers to support HB 426 and ensure that manufactured home residents across New Mexico can protect their homes and communities for years to come. It is a commonsense solution that will benefit us all.

Take action now and urge Senate Judiciary Committee Members to Vote YES on HB 426. With only a few days left in the legislative session, this is the final committee stop—we can’t let this moment pass us by.

Call and email Senate Judiciary Committee members today! Tell them:

“Please support HB 426—the Opportunity to Purchase Act. It gives New Mexico families and seniors a fighting chance to stay in their homes. We need housing stability now more than ever!”