SantaFeNewMexican tells MHProNews.com real estate developer Jeff Branch wants to turn his 40 acre tract on the southwest side of Santa Fe, New Mexico, into a manufactured home community. He purchased the property in 2006 and received approval for 222 site-built homes from the city but has been unable to obtain financing for the project. Neighborhood critics from the nearby Las Acequias subdivision and residents of Aqua Fria St. contend it is a bait-and-switch tactic, but Branch maintains credit is tight and people cannot qualify for loans to build. He plans to work with Karsten Homes of Albuquerque, and may expand the homesites to 235 because smaller setbacks are required for MH. “It’s not a bait and switch by any means, but it’s our ability to keep moving forward on a project that will allow people to live there and have a home and basically an affordable home,” he says.
