The Lilly Belle Mobile Home Park, a small, family-owned property near Elmore’s Corner east of Durango, has been put on the market.
The listing follows a statewide trend of manufactured housing consolidation, as smaller, family-run parks are increasingly sold to larger regional or national property owners.
For residents, such sales can threaten the affordability of their housing, often through potential rent increases. In La Plata County, at least four mobile home parks have recently purchased their land collectively and formed resident-owned cooperatives – a model that can help stabilize rents through shared ownership.
That option does not appear to be on the table for Lily Belle residents.
“We never got notified that the park residents wanted to attempt that,” said listing agent Matt Arias.
Arias said the park’s small size – it has just 13 mobile home lots – may have made organizing a resident purchase more difficult.
Still, some residents say they are concerned about possible rent increases. According to the listing on the Wells Group real estate website, the monthly lot rent is $600.
“I’m not impressed (with the sale) – they keep raising the rent,” said Betty Plese, who owns one of the homes in the park.
The property is listed for $2.4 million. Arias said there has been both local and national interest from potential buyers.
The property owners did not respond to a request for comment.
jbowman@durangoherald.com
