March 29, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Moisture problems in mobile homes prompt suits

BRUNSWICK — Linna and Chris Michaud say moisture problems in the mobile home they bought four years ago have gotten so bad that mushrooms began growing on their bedroom carpet, forcing them to sleep in the living room.

Their neighbors, Pat and Dan Fraser, face an even bigger threat. The roof above their kitchen and living room ceiling is slowly collapsing from moisture-induced mildew. Town officials will probably condemn their mobile home by the first snowfall.

The Frasers and the Michauds are among three couples in Bay Bridge Estates who have gone to court against the manufacturer of their mobile homes, Holly Park Homes of Shipshewana, Ind., and the dealer, Katahdin Corp. of Portland.

Katahdin also manages Bay Bridge Estates in Brunswick and The Hamlet in Westbrook.

The state Manufactured Housing Board recently suspended for one year the licenses of Holly Park and Katahdin to sell mobile homes in Maine. The board fined Katahdin $11,000 and ordered the company to replace the home that the Michauds bought four years ago.

“We bought a 1986 truck for $2,100 that has outlasted our home,” Linna Michaud said. “We want our money back, not a new mobile home from them.”

Under state law, a mobile home carries an “implied warranty” that holds the dealer and manufacturer liable for defects for four years after the home was sold.

The Frasers’ home, which the couple bought six years ago, cannot be repaired, an inspector for the Manufactured Housing Board has concluded.

Holly Park went bankrupt last year. Tom Lizzi, president of a successor company called “The New Holly Park,” claims no liability for homes built by the old Holly Park.

The license suspensions of Katahdin and New Holly Park are unlikely to have much impact on the two companies. Lizzi decided in March not to sell any more homes in Maine and Katahdin says sales of mobile homes are no longer a major part of its business.

Kevin McCarthy, Katahdin’s chief operating officer, said he could not comment on the lawsuits but believes that the Manufactured Housing Board’s actions were unwarranted.

“They are trying to guarantee in perpetuity the design and construction of manufactured housing,” McCarthy said. “I don’t think that’s what the law intended.”

The board attributes the moisture problems to a lack of sufficient ventilation.

David Preble, the board’s executive director, says the problem likely extends beyond Bay Bridge Estates.

“I don’t know how many Holly Park homes there are in Maine; the state did not start to keep track of them until 1991,” he said. “The biggest dealer of Holly Park homes was Katahdin, so there would be other homes in the area with the same problem.

“Since 1976, more than 25,000 mobile homes (of all brands) were sold in Maine; I assume the majority of them are still here.”


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