Wesley Whitney doesn’t look back too fondly on his last place, even though he lived there for two decades.

“It turns out,” he says, “I had the worst mobile home in Essex County.”

Or, at the very least, one that qualified for a fully-paid replacement through a program sponsored locally by Adirondack Roots. And in 2022, that’s exactly what he got.

New York State’s Mobile and Manufactured Home Replacement Program helps low- and moderate-income homeowners replace dilapidated structures at no cost to them. When Wesley first learned about it, in a small article in a local newspaper, he said it sounded too good to be true: “I don’t think it’s legal to print stuff like that,” he quips.

But he took a chance, filled out the application, and sent it to Adirondack Roots, which administers the program in Essex County.

Three times, to be exact. He needed some help gathering the tax returns and business records needed to establish his eligibility. He credits the staff at Adirondack Roots, as well as the Keene Valley library, for helping him navigate the thicket of paperwork needed to get to the finish line.

And then, he got the call: He qualified.

Crews arrived in May 2022 to tear down his old manufactured home, cart it away, pour a new concrete pad and then move the new home into place. Then a legion of contractors turned up to finish the job: They built a pair of wooden decks on either side of his trailer (which is 2 feet wider than his old one, Wesley notes), completed the insulated skirt around the base of the home, and finished the heating, plumbing and electrical hookups. They even swapped out the bathtub for a walk-in shower, to accommodate Wesley’s mobility issues.

Total cost to Wesley? Nothing, other than the cost to swap in a larger propane tank he wanted.

That propane furnace is a lot more convenient than the old wood stove he had in his last trailer. Wesley reckoned he’d been fetching wood for 53 years, before he got to enjoy the magic of a thermostat on the wall. In fact, simply staying warm is one of the best parts about his new, well-insulated home. “In my other trailer, my water would freeze 10 to 12 times every winter,” he says.

Applicants must have household income within 80% of the area median income, and must own their homes and the land it sits on. The home also needs to be a primary residence. Those who qualify will receive full ownership of their new homes after 10 years; if they sell before that time is up, they must pay back a portion of the cost of the home. (The amount decreases over time.)

Wesley still can’t quite believe his good luck, in getting a new manufactured home. “It’s just an amazing program,” he says. “To have it mine after 10 years, it’s pretty amazing. I just happened to see that thing in the paper—I guess it was just meant to happen.”

If you live in Essex County and want to know whether you qualify for the Mobile and Manufactured Home Replacement Program, contact Adirondack Roots.