WARNER, NH – Homeowners in Pleasant Pond Cooperative permanently secured affordable lot rents for 33 homes when they purchased their manufactured-home park and became New Hampshire’s 151st resident-owned community (ROC).
There are now 21 ROCs protecting affordable housing for over 1,200 homes in Merrimack County [click here for a full list of ROCs in NH].
New Hampshire Community Loan Fund’s ROC-NH™ program met with park owners Peter and Terri Wyman in March when they expressed interest in selling the park to residents. Shortly after that, residents began training and technical assistance with ROC-NH™ to help guide the incorporation and purchasing process. The sellers and the Cooperative successfully negotiated the terms of the sale, and on August 29th, residents purchased their community for $2.3 million with financing from the Community Loan Fund.
When a park converts to community ownership, residents have cooperative control over lot rents and other safety and quality-of-life decisions, including infrastructure improvements and investments in common spaces and other needs and amenities. In the state’s ROCs, the average monthly payment for mortgage and lot rent is just $1,500 a month. This makes homeownership in a resident-owned community the most affordable housing option in New Hampshire.
In addition to the home lots, Pleasant Park Cooperative owns and manages a campground with 48 camper sites, most of which are occupied by full-season renters who have been enjoying the pond and the campground’s activities for many years. This provides a reliable source of income for the coop, which will be used to build reserves, invest in the community’s priorities, and further stabilize lot rents.
“I’ve been a believer in cooperatives for a long time, so this is great!” said Eric Buck, Board President.
About ROC-NH™ and the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund
The New Hampshire Community Loan Fund envisions a future where all people have access to the resources they need to live economically secure and prosperous lives. We collaborate with a wide range of donor, investor, business, nonprofit, and government partners to provide those financial, human, and civic resources to systemically excluded people and communities. Established in 1983 with the creation of the Meredith Center Cooperative, the Community Loan Fund was one of the first Community Development Financial Institutions in the nation, and we have received industry awards and recognition for social impact, financial strength, and performance. We are based in Concord, New Hampshire, and we work in New England and beyond.
A program of the Community Loan Fund, ROC-NH™ provides financing, training, and coaching to help residents buy and manage their communities. A full list of New Hampshire ROCs can be found at communityloanfund.org/resources/list-of-nh-resident-owned-communities.
