Homeowners in Poplin Estates Cooperative have purchased their 56-unit manufactured-home park, making it New Hampshire’s 142nd resident-owned community (ROC). Under cooperative ownership, the residents’ homes are now secure—the park won’t be sold to a developer—and they have a voice in the community’s rules, improvements, and rent.
Using training and technical assistance from the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund’s ROC-NH™ team, homeowners organized and formed Poplin Estates Cooperative, Inc in 2020. The cooperative then matched the $2,850,000 offer made by Patriot Holding of Las Vegas, and finalized the deal on March 31, 2022 with a mortgage from the Community Loan Fund.
The sale encountered unexpected infrastructure and environmental issues that were uncovered through the course of meticulous due diligence. At every step, the Board of Directors and ROC-NH made sure that the members were informed of the difficulties and of their options. The members then made the choice to control their own housing destiny by making their park a cooperative.
“It was a long process to become a co-op, but ROC-NH was right with us every step of the way said Neal Janvrin, Board Vice President. We are very excited to make Poplin Estates a pleasant place to live and enjoy. Our members are all very supportive. At our recent meeting we had 51 out of 56 homes engaged.”
“Affordable housing is a crisis across New Hampshire,” said Community Loan Fund Vice President Tara Reardon. “Fremont’s proximity made the park attractive to private investors who might have bought and closed the park, to use the land for a different purpose. The risk of eviction for these families was real.”
With the median home listing price in Fremont hovering over $460,000, manufactured homes, with an average price of $80,000, represent affordable home ownership for working families, young couples, people with disabilities, and seniors. Throughout N.H. there are approximately 300 vacant lots in ROCs ready for new manufactured homes.
Cooperative ownership means Poplin Estates’ homeowners are now eligible for products and services, including real mortgages, that haven’t been available to them. Studies show that the availability of home financing, when the land is secure, improves the home’s value, the owner’s ability to make improvements, and overall housing affordability.
For 38 years, the Community Loan Fund has worked in towns and cities across N.H. to connect people and families with the loans, training and advice that allow them to have affordable homes, secure jobs, and quality childcare, and become economically stable.
The Community Loan Fund helped homeowners in Meredith create convert N.H.’s first co-op park in 1984. Today, nearly 8,500 homeowners in ROCs in every county have access to home financing, as well as an annual leadership training in which they earn college credit, training conferences, and management guidance for cooperatives
A full list of ROCs in New Hampshire is available at http://www.communityloanfund.org/focus/roc-nh/co-op/list/.
For more information on the Community Loan Fund, go online to www.communityloanfund.org or call Debby Miller at (603) 856-0779.
Pictured above: From left, Poplin Estates Cooperative Vice President Neal Janvrin and Treasurer Don Pinard. Photo courtesy of NH Community Loan Fund.
Current Issue - April 2024