The homeowners who live in Golden Age Village have bought the community from the previous owner, preserving 49 homes that will be affordable for years to come. Golden Age Village has become a resident owned community (ROC) meaning the residents now own and manage their manufactured home park.
NeighborWorks Montana was there to guide 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 among the residents.
“This beautiful valley is quite popular with movie stars and billionaires but offers little in the way of homes that are affordable. The fact that we can preserve these 49 homes will make a huge impact in this rural area,” said Adam Poeschl, ROC Program Specialist for NeighborWorks Montana. “The ROC program empowers the people who live in these parks and helps them have peace of mind.”
Photo courtsey of John Carroll, Livingston Enterprise
Preserving Homes that Montanans Can Afford
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. This is the second ROC conversion within Park County, an area where the median home price is approximately $544,985 and housing stock is limited. Making it even harder to find an affordable home, the median home price specifically near Emigrant is approximately $965,300. 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.
ROCs Across Montana
Golden Age Village is the 16th resident owned community in Montana, with a total of 655 homes preserved across the state. There are more than 290 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 provide safe, secure, and affordable housing in perpetuity, and eliminates the risks for residents of rent increases or being evicted without cause.
Interested in the ROC Program?
NeighborWorks Montana has the financing, industry knowledge, and technical expertise to help your homeowners buy your community for its full value when you are ready to sell.
Visit nwmt.org/manufactured-housing for information about the resident ownership program, or contact NWMT Cooperative Housing Director, Danielle Maiden, at (406) 407-6444.
Learn More About ROC USA
ROC USA® is a non-profit social venture scaling resident ownership of manufactured home communities since 2008. Together with ROC USA® network, a group of nine regional non-profit affiliates, and ROC USA® Capital, a CDFI lending subsidiary, we work with more than 290 resident owned communities in 20 states.