Manufactured Housing Program
In many cases, manufactured houses are arranged in “clusters” on a single site under one landlord, where homeowners rent “lots” while owning the home itself. At their best, these “parks” provide many advantages: improved infrastructure, community, and predictable structure and support for collective maintenance. Unfortunately, a complex regulatory environment, persistent social stigma, and asymmetric power dynamics between landlord and homeowner all contribute to a market that is frequently associated with neglect and deferred maintenance rather than the community and environmental benefits touted for clustered housing arrangements in other contexts. Worse still, as many park owners have retired over the last decade, predatory investors have begun to step in to take advantage of the market’s ready cash flow with little concern for negative impacts on residents.
In 2021, INHS stepped into this troubled landscape with the $3 million purchase of the Compass Manufactured Housing Community (now Compass MHC, previously known as Auble’s Trailer Park). Working with New York’s Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), Enterprise, and a private lender, INHS endeavored to purchase and improve the property and thereby develop (in cooperation with HCR) a replicable model by which nonprofits might protect similar parks throughout the state. At the time of purchase, roughly 45% of homes were in “poor” condition and substantial improvements were needed to correct decades of deferred maintenance.
Home Inspection Class: In-Person, APRIL 30, 2026
