Michigan MHAction residents celebrate one year of new, non-corporate owners
September 2, 2026
In early August, a manufactured housing community formerly known as North Morris Estates in Thetford Township, Michigan met an important milestone: the park is now fully licensed to operate by state regulators.[1]
The new license marks a historic win after a period of extended tumult under the park’s former owners, the hedge fund Alden Global Capital and its manufactured housing subsidiary Homes of America. In August of 2024, the Genesee County Prosecutor filed criminal charges against former owner Homes of America for running the mobile home park without a license in the city of Mount Morris. Homes of America pleaded guilty to a one-year misdemeanor, paid a $25,000 fine and agreed to sell the property, marking the first conviction of its kind under Michigan’s Mobile Home Commission Act.[2]
North Morris Estates’ new ownership has led to major improvements for resident quality of life as they clean up and address the drinking water quality issues and raw sewage spills caused by private equity’s mismanagement.[3] Previous state surveys found major deficiencies in the park water supply.[4] Resident association vice president Theo Gantos had brown water running out of his faucets under the previous ownership, which destroyed his hot water heater and washing machine, he said. Gantos spent thousands of dollars to install his own water distillation system, he said.[5]
Rising costs also impacted residents under the former ownership. Theo Gantos said Alden raised his rent by around 12% when it took ownership, as well as the following year.[6] “They’re not investors; they’re extractors,” he said.[7]
Gantos is happy with the new ownership, small landlords Andrey Noskov and Albert Swidden. “The new owners did more in the first month than the owners before did in the three-plus years they owned the park,” Gantos said. Naskov says he is currently working to connect the park to the municipal water system.[8]
After making a name for itself as a “vulture fund” gutting local newspapers all over the country,[9] Alden Global Capital began acquiring mobile home parks under the company Homes of America. The company now owns over 10,000 home sites across the country, according to past PESP analysis.[10]
Manufactured housing is a popular site for private equity exploitation because investors perceive it as an easy means to achieve their primary business goal of quickly and dramatically increasing cash flow in order to generate high returns. Because it is nearly impossible for residents to move their homes in most cases, residents are often forced to endure skyrocketing rents, cuts to maintenance, high fees and fines, and even legal abuse if they want to avoid losing their homes.[11]
Private equity now owns over 400,000 lots in the US,[12] and policy has not yet caught up. While shifts like the Road to Housing Act have recognized and intervened upon the negative impacts of private equity in single family homes, federal policy has not provided such protections to residents of manufactured housing,[13] who are even more vulnerable to private equity’s predations due to the sticky nature of their rental relationship.
“If you see a distressed mobile home park somewhere, you’re seeing a robbery in progress,” said Manufactured Housing Action (MHAction) organizer Paul Terranova to Planet Detroit. “You’re seeing a company that’s coming in and sucking wealth out of a community.”[14]
The improvements at North Morris Estates could never have happened without the relentless organizing efforts of MHAction members and staff. Resident leader Theo Gantos in particular was instrumental in documenting and intervening on the many issues faced by he and his fellow park residents. PESP is proud to be a supportive research and campaign partner to MHAction in these efforts.
The story of the Thetford community is inspiring in the context of a political environment that rarely enforces regulations on private equity landlords. As the public and elected officials pay more and more attention to housing issues, there is an opportunity to continue holding landlords accountable for their harms to working class people. State level interventions, such as those advocated by MHAction in Michigan, have the potential to make a huge difference in quality of life in one of the last remaining truly affordable housing sectors. Earlier this year, the Michigan Senate passed legislation that would give residents an opportunity to purchase their parks, require annual state inspections of parks, require one-year leases for park residents, limit fees and penalties, and provide 12 months’ notice if an owner is going to close a park. The bills have not had a hearing in the House.
Maine has implemented an even more aggressive legislation package that other states may wish to follow. The package is designed to help residents purchase their communities, discourage speculative acquisitions by large investors, and preserve long-term affordability.
[1] https://www.wnem.com/2026/08/05/north-morris-estates-gets-new-license-after-historic-conviction-former-owner-under-michigan-mobile-home-law/
[2] https://www.wnem.com/2026/08/05/north-morris-estates-gets-new-license-after-historic-conviction-former-owner-under-michigan-mobile-home-law/
[3]https://www.wnem.com/2026/08/05/north-morris-estates-gets-new-license-after-historic-conviction-former-owner-under-michigan-mobile-home-law/
[4] https://planetdetroit.org/2026/08/north-morris-communities-hedge-fund-ownership/
[5] https://planetdetroit.org/2026/08/north-morris-communities-hedge-fund-ownership/
[6] https://planetdetroit.org/2026/08/north-morris-communities-hedge-fund-ownership/
[7] https://planetdetroit.org/2026/08/north-morris-communities-hedge-fund-ownership/
[8] https://planetdetroit.org/2026/08/north-morris-communities-hedge-fund-ownership/
[9] https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-this-vulture-hedge-funds-gutting-of-local-newsrooms-could-hurt-americans
[10] https://planetdetroit.org/2026/08/north-morris-communities-hedge-fund-ownership/
[11] https://planetdetroit.org/2026/08/north-morris-communities-hedge-fund-ownership/
[12] https://pestakeholder.org/pesp-private-equity-manufactured-housing-tracker/
[13] https://pestakeholder.org/news/brookfield-acquires-yes-communities-as-housing-law-leaves-gaps/
[14] https://planetdetroit.org/2026/08/north-morris-communities-hedge-fund-ownership/
