After the owner of the 118-unit Cascade Acres park announced its intention to sell the property and business to an out-of-state private equity firm last spring, tenants moved fast, fearing they could lose their homes under new management due to increasing rents or poor upkeep of the park.

They were the first community in the state to exercise their right of first refusal to purchase the land under a law the state passed in 2023.

New York State Homes and Community Renewal announced the finalization of the sale on Wednesday, Jan. 7. Brandon Montag — the new property manager and financier for the park — said he finished signing documents on Jan. 2 and started work at the park the next day.

“We’re the example,” he said.

The state is excited about the successful purchase, he said. It showed it was possible.

Montag said he’s gotten requests from other communities to do similar rights of first refusal but he’s busy with Cascade Acres now. He also owns the Birch Park Community mobile home park in Lake Clear.

At Cascade Acres, he said there’s lots of cleaning up to do and it is taking a lot of work.

On Friday, he was in a front-end loader, scraping down several inches of packed snow and ice off the streets while he spoke with the Enterprise.

Cascade Acres resident and homeowners association co-founder Ryan Preston said that on Jan. 3, Montag was helping residents who had frozen water lines.

“On his very first day he was knocking on doors helping solve problems,” Preston said. “Having somebody that’s at work every day that is the owner, that’s taking your rent check, that’s fixing your problems, that’s speaking to you at the post office or waving to you when they drive around the park, that’s 1,000% better than I’ve ever seen the owner.”

They’re in the “honeymoon phase,” he said, but he feels encouraged having a local owner.

Montag said his goals are to keep Cascade Acres affordable, make it a nicer place to live, foster a sense of community and be an available landlord.

The state said this purchase ensures the park remains affordable to low-and-moderate income homeowners, and that the community “remains in excellent physical condition.”

State law says manufactured home park owners cannot raise lot rents more than 3% a year, unless they can prove they have valid and required operating expense increases — mostly related to tax increases or infrastructure improvements. The maximum cap is at 6%.

HCR Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas said this “shows what can be accomplished through strong will and determination.”

She said affordable housing is “sorely needed” and that this effort created an opportunity for the tenants to own their homes.

The HOA could buy Montag out in the future, if they choose to do so, and he said he’d be happy to work with them on that.

How it happened

The former Cascade Acres owners, M.H. Communities Ltd., told residents last March it was preparing to sell the park to Crown Communities LLC. Crown is buying a number of M.H. Communities’ parks around the northeast in a package deal totaling $87.5 million.

Cascade Acres residents were nervous. They didn’t like what they were hearing about Crown’s record with other parks.

A rumor had sprung up that Crown planned to replace the 124 manufactured homes with condos. This was not substantiated, though, and owners of the company said they had no such plans. The contract would have required them to keep the land as a modular home park for five years. Preston said the park might have been fine under Crown, but they didn’t want to risk it.

Preston estimates the Cascade Acres neighborhood is home to around 200 employees, 30 seniors and veterans and 5% to 7% of the school district’s students. If rents go up, if quality of life goes down or if the property were eventually turned into condos, he said they would not have anywhere to go. If they lose that community, the Lake Placid community would suffer, he said.

HCR said Crown has a history of challenging right of first refusal efforts in other states.

Preston resigned from HOA board in early December. He said there was conflict with the park management at the time and he left because it would be better for his family.

Now, with new management, he might throw his hat back in the ring to be on the board when elections come up again.

Preston said, overall, the right of first refusal process has been a positive experience. It was confusing at first, since they were the guinea pigs for the state. Now, he said he hopes more communities can use this law.

He did not think this could be possible when they got notice of the proposed sale last March.

“You don’t ever expect that you’re going to be able to take on somebody that’s a multi-state corporation that wheels and deals in millions of dollars,” Preston said.

Residents formed an HOA and exercised their right of first refusal, but they needed financial backing.

The state gave them a $4.7 million loan from HCR’s Manufactured Home Advantage Program, the village of Lake Placid gave them a $420,000 loan, Champlain National Bank gave them a $1.6 million loan and Montag put in his own equity investment to make the purchase.

The state’s loan is a 20-year loan and the village’s is a 15-year loan.

Plans for the future

When Montag finalized the purchase, one of the conditions what that M.H. Communities needed to be paid for anyone who was behind on their rent, to make the company whole. Montag said he’s now working with around 10 residents to get their back due rent — which he’s taken on — paid off and setting up plans for them to come current. It’s working with most people, he said. A few moved out when he sent out notices that they would need to come current or be evicted, he said.

Montag said he’s not charging late fees this month.

“Nobody’s getting evicted,” he said.

He’s also trying to clean the place up and is sending out notices to people to make repairs or clean up yards.

“I only have three rules,” Montag previously said. “Pay rent on time or communicate, live clean, no cops.”

Preston said Cascade Acres is one of the only properties with the ability to increase affordable housing in the village. Montag estimates there are 20 to 30 more lots that can be added.

Montag said he plans to set new units in the spring as soon as the snow melts. The park is permitted for 165 unit and has 118 now, he said. He think they’ll be able to set six to 10 new units in the first year. Montag said there’s already a wait list to get into the park.

He also plans to help residents get grants for home improvements.

He’s got plans for a gazebo and picnic area with a dog run.

Preston said Montag plans to fix street lights that have been out for years and pave roads.

Montag wants to tap into village sewer lines to convert from a septic waste system. The sewer line runs right through the middle of the park and is better than having leach fields and septic tanks all over.

Currently, he said there is only one water meter for the whole community.

Some people use a normal amount of water. Others use more than their fair share, he said, especially during the winter when some run water to keep water pipes from freezing instead of wrapping them in heat tape. This over-taxes the septic systems, too, he said. He said by individually metering water for each unit, he’ll be able to reduce lot rents for people who use an average amount of water.

He said office hours will be starting next week. He’s currently looking to hire people to work at the park, and said he’ll hire more part-time in the summer.

The HOA got assistance from the Homestead Development Corporation for administrative work required for the purchase, from the Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York for legal services and representation, from North Elba Councilmember Emily Kilburn Politi and from Office of New York State Attorney General Letitia James.

“I was proud to have helped Cascade Acres residents become the first tenants in our state to use this law to ensure their community remains an affordable place to live under their control,” James said in a statement.

“This represents a tremendous victory for residents who were facing displacement when a private equity firm sought to purchase their community,” Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York Executive Director Nic Rangel said in a statement. “While we’re seeing a troubling decline in mobile home park availability across our region, this sale shows what’s possible when we work together to protect these vital resources.”