Sen. Tim Nangle celebrates Hidden Circle purchase under mobile home park law he sponsored

Posted: August 21, 2026 | Housing and Economic Development, Senator Nangle

Jay cooperative marks first resident purchase since Sen. Nangle’s right-to-purchase protections took effect

AUGUSTA — Sen. Tim Nangle, D-Windham, is celebrating the residents of Hidden Circle Mobile Home Park in Jay, who completed their $1 million purchase of the park on July 30, securing local ownership of the land beneath their 31 homes.

Residents gathered with Gov. Janet Mills on Aug. 17 for a community celebration marking the purchase. Hidden Circle is Maine’s 14th resident-owned mobile home community and the fourth resident purchase completed since Maine enacted its opportunity-to-purchase law in 2023. It is the first purchase completed since Sen. Nangle’s LD 1145, An Act to Protect Residents Living in Mobile Home Parks, took effect last year.

Building on Maine’s 2023 opportunity-to-purchase law, Sen. Nangle’s legislation established a “right of first refusal” for park residents. When residents submit a proposal matching the price and substantially equivalent terms of an offer the park owner intends to accept, the law gives them the first opportunity to buy. It also prevents park owners from unreasonably refusing or delaying a qualifying resident offer and gives residents 90 days after signing a purchase and sale agreement to secure financing.

“This win belongs first and foremost to the residents of Hidden Circle. They organized, worked through every challenge and secured the future of their community,” said Sen. Nangle. “This is exactly the kind of result I hoped Maine families would be able to achieve when I introduced legislation to create a right of first refusal. People who own their homes but rent the ground beneath them should not be powerless against wealthy, out-of-state private equity firms when their park is put up for sale. Our law gives residents a fair chance to match an offer, secure financing and keep their community locally owned and affordable.”

Sen. Nangle’s work on LD 1145 grew from his own family’s experience. His father purchased Glen Mobile Home Park in Danvers, Massachusetts, in the 1950s, and Sen. Nangle and his siblings later helped manage the community. When the family eventually decided to sell after more than seven decades of ownership, a similar Massachusetts law ensured residents had a fair opportunity to organize and submit an offer. The residents successfully purchased the park.

Hidden Circle residents formed their cooperative with support from the Cooperative Development Institute. Financing came from the Mobile Home Park Preservation Fund administered by MaineHousing, Genesis Community Loan Fund and donors to the Maine Community Foundation.

Sen. Nangle represents Senate District 26, which includes Casco, Frye Island, Raymond, Windham and part of Westbrook. He serves as Senate chair of the Legislature’s Transportation Committee and as a member of the Health and Human Services Committee.