When you live in a manufactured home community, the land under your home is as important as the home itself, and the community’s ownership structure has a massive impact. This key fact determines how stable your monthly costs will be, how quickly repairs get made, and how much voice you have in decisions that affect your daily life. That structure matters more today than it did a decade ago.
What Is Changing in the Industry
Manufactured home communities were, for most of their history, owned by the families who built them. That is changing quickly. In 2020 and 2021, institutional investors accounted for 23 percent of all manufactured home purchases, up from 13 percent between 2017 and 2019, according to the Private Equity Stakeholder Project. In December 2025, the top Senate Democrat on the Joint Economic Committee launched a probe into six major investment firms with large stakes in manufactured-home communities, seeking information on evictions, rent increases, and profits.
This is not about vilifying anyone. It is about understanding how your community’s ownership model will shape your experience as a resident.
What Family Ownership Looks Like at New Durham Estates
New Durham Estates started at a kitchen table. In 1966, Melville Fath took a temporary job selling mobile homes during a union strike at Mobil Oil, and it became a calling. Mel and his wife, Thelma, a teacher with a master’s degree from Purdue, envisioned building their own community. A chance conversation with Fr. Wirtz led them to a twelve-acre plot at the intersection of Highway 421 and State Road 2 in Westville, Indiana. Mel and Thelma sold their house to secure the down payment for the first eight home sites. They staged the early homes themselves, using pieces from their own living room to help buyers picture the finished space.
The first 72 sites were filled in three years. The Faths then proposed 260 new sites on 100 acres, complete with an office, retail center, and a lake. The county rejected the plan. They tried again and won approval. Financial constraints led them to sell 60 of the acres, but they developed the rest in phases. In 1998, they added a third phase by purchasing and renovating a Baptist church and school into office space and a community center. Every one of those 85 sites will be filled over the next ten years.
From the beginning, the Faths lived inside their own community. They treated employees and residents as family because, functionally, they were neighbors. That philosophy made succession planning possible. Son Gary started working in the business at age 12 and eventually became a licensed installer and water treatment plant operator. He took over in 2013 when Mel and Thelma retired.
The third generation runs the business today. Liz handles payroll and sales. Tom joined in 2014 with expertise in project management. Alongside Ryan Fath and under Gary’s guidance, they have led a redevelopment built around what they call a “subdivision aesthetic,” featuring permanent foundations, crawl spaces, and attached garages. One of their cross-mod homes was showcased at the HUD Innovative Housing Showcase in Washington, D.C.
Their advice to other family businesses is the same advice they give residents about building a life in the community: “Work hard, work together as a team, never give up even when things get hard, and always be there for each other for support.”
Why This Matters When You Are Shopping
A family-owned community is not automatically better than a corporate-owned one, and a corporate-owned community is not automatically worse. But the incentives are different, and the incentives shape the experience.
When the owners live in the community, maintenance is not a line item on a spreadsheet in another state. It is the walking trails that they use. When succession passes from one generation to the next, institutional memory stays intact. When a resident has a concern, the person who can fix it is often someone they have known for years.
Three generations of Faths have lived and worked at New Durham Estates. That is not a marketing slogan. It is a business model. And for families shopping for a manufactured home community, it is worth asking about.
