The homeowners who live in Sleeping Giant Community have bought the community from the previous owner, preserving 26 homes that will remain affordable for years to come. Sleeping Giant has become a resident owned community (ROC) meaning the residents now own and manage their manufactured home park.
NeighborWorks Montana guided residents through the purchase process and will continue to support them as they build the skills and leadership they need to manage their community. In most manufactured-home parks, homeowners own their homes and pay lot rent to the park owner for the use of the land. In resident owned communities the lot rent goes to the resident cooperative and is managed to meet community needs, maintain affordability, and foster a sense of unity amongst the residents.
“The residents of Sleeping Giant Community in Livingston are excited to take ownership of their land in a rapidly developing area of town. Many residents had voiced concerns about finding a new place to live if their manufactured home park was ever sold, but now they can feel secure in knowing that Sleeping Giant Community will remain affordable manufactured housing – forever!” said Adam Poeschl, ROC Acquisition Specialist for NeighborWorks Montana.
ROCs preserve an important source of unsubsidized affordable housing for working families, seniors, and people with lower incomes. Owning a home in a community like this is typically half as expensive as renting an apartment and owning allows homeowners an opportunity to build wealth. Now the community residents can control their lot rent and be at ease knowing that their community will not be sold out from under them.
NeighborWorks Montana works closely with ROC USA® Capital to finance these conversions to resident ownership. “ROC USA® Capital is celebrating another successful resident purchase in Montana with the help of our CTAP partner, NeighborWorks Montana (NWMT). As we watch rents in Montana skyrocket along with MHC sales prices, we continue to be able to compete in the marketplace thanks to financing support from partner agencies,” said Tiger Hudson, Loan Officer for ROC USA Capital, noting that the Sleeping Giant purchase received funding from NWMT’s Real Estate Development Acquisition Fund (REDA Fund) as well as the CDFI Fund.
Sleeping Giant Community is the 18th resident owned community in the state of Montana, with a total of 696 homes preserved across the state. There are more than 302 ROCs in 20 states across the nation. NeighborWorks Montana provides the ROC program in Montana as part of the ROC USA® Network. The ROC USA® Network is made up of twelve non-profit affiliates across the country. The ROC program helps to provide safe, secure, and affordable housing in perpetuity, and it eliminates the risks for residents of rent increases or being evicted without cause.