ICYMI: Cinde Warmington Discusses Housing Crisis, Impact of Private Equity

 Warmington Continues "Cut the Costs" Tour with Visit to Hopkinton 

HOPKINTON, NH — In Case You Missed It, Democratic candidate for governor Cinde Warmington joined a roundtable discussion about the impact of out-of-state and private equity investors purchasing manufactured housing communities. The discussion centered around Meadows of Hopkinton — a manufactured housing community — that was sold to Sado Capital and whose residents have since seen their monthly rent increase exponentially. 

Warmington spoke with Executive Councilor Karen Liot Hill, Representative David Luneau, Senator Tara Reardon, Jean Lightfoot, a former Meadows of Hopkinton resident, and Joan Mirantz, a current Meadows of Hopkinton resident.  

“Blackstone and other corporate landlords are coming into our state, buying up housing, and jacking up the rent to the point that people can't even afford to live here anymore. It’s a growing problem. But Kelly Ayotte — who cashed in on the board of Blackstone when she left the Senate — has only allowed this crisis to spiral further out of control,” said Cinde Warmington, Democratic candidate for governor. “Granite Staters need a governor who will stand up to predatory, out-of-state investors, accelerate housing development, and lower costs for working families.”

“Homeowners in manufactured housing communities like the Meadows aren’t just facing higher rents — they’re watching the equity they’ve built in their homes disappear. When out-of-state private equity investors buy these parks and dramatically increase lot rent and make residents’ homes harder to sell and worth less, it raises serious consumer protection concerns,” said Councilor Karen Liot Hill. “That’s why I encouraged residents to bring this to the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Bureau, and I’m glad they did.” 

“New Hampshire has a long history of preserving affordable housing with resident-owned communities. These communities thrive and remain affordable in perpetuity when Jean and Joan, along with their ready and willing neighbors step up and purchase the land under their homes,” said Senator Tara Reardon. “It is tragic that private equity is trampling our N.H. laws, and making these neighborhoods unaffordable." 

“It's a big problem when a housing park owner comes in and sucks the equity out of our friends and neighbors’ homes,” said Rep. Dave Luneau. “We need to make sure this doesn’t happen again in New Hampshire.”

Warmington has outlined several solutions to address New Hampshire’s housing crisis, including building on federal efforts that ban private equity firms from buying up single-family homes, strengthening protections for manufactured home communities, investing in proven affordable housing solutions, and appointing a housing czar who will be fully focused on closing the housing gap.