Brunswick families living in hotels after town condemns mobile homes
Eric Harris and Kristie Miquelon, of Brunswick, outside of their rented mobile home, which was recently condemned, on Thursday. Three other mobile homes on at Zoe Court were also condemned. Harris, Miquelon and their young daughter are living in a hotel that is being paid for by the town and Maine Housing. (Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer)
BRUNSWICK — Since moving into their mobile home in Brunswick more than a year ago, Kristie Miquelon and Eric Harris have noticed sagging floors, water damage, leaky windows and other hazards.
A few months ago, Harris’ foot went straight through the floor in their living room. Then, in August, Miquelon’s asthma nebulizer caught fire, burning the cord.
“The problems just kept building, and building, and building,” Miquelon said.
Fed up with what they describe as improper maintenance of their rental unit, the family reported their living situation to town officials, who condemned their home and three others in the mobile home park known as Zoe Court. It’s been nearly a month since then and Miquelon, Harris and their 6-year-old — and some of their neighbors — have been living in a hotel while they await repairs and figure out their next steps.
Brunswick’s code enforcement office and fire department completed an inspection of the 20-plus homes in Zoe Court in late September after receiving Harris and Miquelon’s reports of overheating outlets, cords burning up when plugged in and holes in the floors, said Deputy Fire Chief Josh Shean.
Eric Harris shows a photo of what the floor in the living room looked like under the carpet when they pulled it up after he fell through a piece of the floor. (Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer)
Last week, Brunswick issued the park’s owners, Massachusetts-based Hekla Ventures, an $800 citation for failing to submit plans to correct eight code violations, Shean said.
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The structural and electrical issues inspectors found in the homes presented safety issues, Shean said Wednesday.
“Three of (the homes) had structural concerns where there was visible sagging in the floors,” he said.
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One unit was condemned because it had no running water or heat. Shean said the residents of the unit owned their home, and had moved in in March with the expectation that there were no issues with the heat or water.
In addition, some of the homes had unstable exterior stairs, water heaters that didn’t meet code and electrical work done without permits, Shean said.
Kristie Miquelon points to a hole in the roof of their mud room, where she said water pours in when it rains, at the mobile home in Brunswick they rented and which was recently condemned. (Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer)
Deb Crocker, Brunswick director of human services, said there were maintenance issues throughout the entire park, where the mobile homes date to the 1970s.
The town moved residents from the four condemned homes to hotel rooms after the failed inspections using a mixture of funding from Maine Housing and the town’s General Assistance program, said Crocker.
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Most of the mobile home units in Zoe Court are rented, town officials said. In traditional mobile home parks, residents own their home and rent the lot they stay on.
The units were not registered under Brunswick’s rental registry, Shean said, which tracks landlord and property information for code enforcement purposes.
Miquelon and Harris, at 11 Zoe Court, were paying about $1,500 a month in rent for their now-condemned home. That doesn’t include utilities like heat — which escapes the home through gaps in the windows.
One of the windows in the mobile home of Eric Harris and Kristie Miquelon that will not shut. (Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer)
“If you’d have told me this place was $750 a month with nothing included, that would be a little bit (better). Propane is not cheap; they want at least $500 every time they deliver, and I don’t have that type of money every time we need heat,” Miquelon said.
One of the condemned trailers was repaired in a matter of days, Shean said. Authorities reinspected that home and tenants were allowed to move back in. The remaining three households, though, were still living in hotels this week.
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Miquelon and Harris said issues they’ve reported to management in the past have been sloppily fixed, or not at all.
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A home test kit detected mold in the home, confirming the family’s suspicions about constant illnesses they say they experienced while living at Zoe Court. Nearly a month after moving out, the floor under their bathroom flooring is still wet.
“I’m always wheezing, tight chest, and then it’s been like ever since we’ve been out of here and in the hotel, I can breathe,” said Miquelon, who has asthma. “I haven’t had to use my nebulizer at all. I barely use my inhaler.”
Eric Harris pulls back the bathroom floor to reveal the wet subfloor at their rented mobile home, which was recently condemned. The couple said they did their own mold test and it came back positive. (Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer)
Hekla Ventures, a private holding company, has owned the park since 2022, according to the Cumberland County Registry of Deeds. The company did not respond Friday to a request for comment.
Crocker, the town’s human services director, said it’s been extremely destabilizing for families to uproot their lives and move to hotel rooms, especially those with children.
“You can’t cook a meal like you could at home. There’s so many inconveniences with staying in a hotel,” she said.
A view of some of the other mobile homes on Zoe Court in Brunswick on Thursday. Three other mobile homes on the street, including the one second from left, were also condemned. (Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer)
Miquelon gets up early for work at the Dunkin’ in Topsham and the family shares one car, so they’ve been relying on friends to take their daughter to school while living at the hotel. She’s doing remarkably well despite the circumstances, Miquelon said.
“She’s starting to get tired of the hotel because we’re just in one room,” Miquelon said.
She and Harris are looking for a new place and receiving legal representation from Pine Tree Legal Assistance. They hope to stay in the Brunswick area — where their daughter goes to school and Harris coaches high school football — but it’s difficult to find a rental they can afford.
Given the extent of the damage, the family says they can’t see themselves moving back into Zoe Court once repairs are completed.
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Tagged: cost of living, housing, mobile home parks
Katie covers Brunswick, Bath and Freeport for the Times Record. She was previously the weekend reporter at the Portland Press Herald and is originally from the Hudson Valley region of upstate New York. More by Katie Langley
