An out-of-state investor’s purchase of two manufactured housing communities in Hopkinton has drawn federal attention after residents reported steep rent increases and declining home values under the new ownership, making it difficult for many to sell their properties.
U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan sent a letter Wednesday to Joel Mazur, CEO of Sado Capital, the Michigan-based investment firm that purchased Meadows of Hopkinton and Deer Meadow in December.
Hassan is asking the firm to provide information about the company’s business practices and their impact on residents of manufactured housing communities in New Hampshire.
In the letter to Mazur, Hassan wrote she had heard “concerns from hundreds of manufactured housing residents about practices by corporate owners that have undermined their quality of life and financial future, including residents at The Meadows of Hopkinton.”
Since the two Hopkinton parks were purchased, residents have raised concerns with their elected representatives and filed a consumer complaint with the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office.
Hassan confirmed that the state Attorney General recently began an investigation into Sado Capital.
She launched a statewide survey in April to collect firsthand accounts from residents of manufactured housing communities about rent increases, living conditions and their treatment by park owners.
In manufactured housing communities, residents own their homes but lease the land beneath them. In Hopkinton, residents of both parks pay rent to Sado Capital.
They are also responsible for paying property taxes to the local municipality, making monthly lot rent a critical factor in affordability.
Hassan asked Mazur to provide an extensive list of documents, including records of litigation settlements, licensing information, policies governing lot rent increases, and the status of any corrective actions taken in response to resident complaints or regulatory findings.
Jean Lightfoot, a former Meadows of Hopkinton resident who has been one of the most outspoken critics of Sado Capital’s takeover, was among the residents who filed the consumer complaint with the Attorney General’s Office. She has since sold her home and moved to a retirement community in Concord.
Lightfoot said she is encouraged that Hassan is now taking a closer look at the issue.
“I’m glad that she’s noticed it and that she’s contacting him directly,” Lightfoot said. “I hope she gets a response, which we have been unable to.”
Lightfoot was one of several residents who decided to sell their homes after Sado Capital purchased the park, following the residents’ unsuccessful effort to buy the community themselves.
She initially listed her home for $199,500 but ultimately sold it for $169,000. She said the significant price reduction was driven by the higher lot rent imposed by the new owner, which she said made the property less attractive to prospective buyers.
For new residents, Sado Capital has increased the lot rent from $680 to $1,285 per month.
In December, Hassan launched an investigation asking six corporate owners of manufactured housing communities in New England to turn over internal documents and materials to examine how their business practices have affected residents.
Sun Communities, one of New Hampshire’s largest owners of manufactured housing, is also among the companies under scrutiny in Hassan’s inquiry. The company owns and operates multiple parks throughout the state, including Crestwood in Concord.
