Mobile Home Owners Mark Anniversary

In 1986, residents of Cherokee Mobile Home Park became the first tenants in Orange County to buy their mobile home park. On Sunday, they will celebrate the 10th anniversary of taking ownership.

“It’s been much better than it was when we were renting,” said Carole Stanley, 56, a 14-year resident of the community. “Life is so much more pleasant now that we have the security of having a place to live in the future.”

Residents of the 173-space park at 235 S. Beach Blvd. bought the 17-acre property as a way to ensure that their rents would not rise sharply. The cost was $5.6 million, with most of the money privately financed. Residents invested $3,400 each.

Stanley said the buy-in cost at the park today is about $6,200 and that the property has doubled in value. There has been only one rent increase in 10 years, she said--a $2 rise in June 1995 to comply with bank loan terms.