In Laconia, New Hampshire, the Lakemont Cooperative-owned Briarcrest Estates manufactured home community is in a unique position.
According to the Laconia Daily Sun, the story dates back to July 2013, when community owners Mark and Ruth Mooney tentatively agreed to sell the Briarcrest Estates to Hometown America for $10 million.
In compliance with state law, the terms of the transaction were disclosed to the tenants, who had 60 days to make a counteroffer by presenting a purchase-and-sales agreement. The law requires the community owner to bargain in good faith with the residents or their organization.
Residents of Briarcrest Estates then formed The Lakemont Cooperative Inc. and, with assistance from the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund, matched the offer from Hometown America Corporation.
After initial resistance, Mark and Ruth Mooney agreed to sell the 183 acre, 241 home site community to the cooperative, which has owned and managed it since April 2014.
According to the cooperative President Don Vachon, the community is on solid financial footing, which has been verified by several other residents familiar with the finances of the organization.
Others residents acknowledged that some capital improvements would need to be undertaken in the near future.
Fast forward to January 17th of this year, when Doug Minahan of Hometown America Corporation wrote a letter to Vachon.
It was an offer to buy Briarcrest Estates.
The Hometown America offer included retiring the outstanding balances on a $8 million loan from TD Bank and $2 million loan from the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund as well as covering the prepayment penalty of $873,000 on the bank loan, closing costs and real estate transfer taxes associated with the transaction.
The company also pledged to honor all current leases, which provide that rent increases are limited to the rise in property taxes and inflation rate, along with any special assessment levied to fund improvements in the park, and offered to invest $350,000 in improvement to the park in the first year of its ownership.
“It’s an unsolicited offer, period. A fire-from-the hip proposal,” said Vachon.
But, according to some residents, the offer has strange timing. And has caused a rift.
“Although the board has claimed the offer was not solicited, the letter from Hometown America Corporation outlining its terms begins ‘per our discussions,’ indicating that board members have been communicating with Hometown America for some time,” said Katherine Carlson, who also was among the first officers of the cooperative.
Per the Laconia Daily Sun, when the offer was disclosed to residents at a meeting last weekend, they agreed by a show of hands to meet with representatives of Hometown America late in April, after residents spending the colder months in warmer climes have returned for the summer.
On Monday, the directors of the Lakemont Cooperative then informed its members that what they called an “informational meeting” with the regional director of Hometown America will be held on February 25th, and a special meeting of the membership has been scheduled on April 8, when members will be asked to vote whether to accept or reject the offer.
And this movement concerns another original director of the cooperative.
“The board has all of a sudden accelerated the time frame without any explanation,” said Orry Gibbs.
“Many residents will not have returned from their winter residences by early April, and there is concern at the prospect that a vote could be taken before a significant number of residents would have an opportunity to become informed about the offer, take part in the discussion and perhaps even cast their vote. We have been no reason for the rush to a decision.”
Founded in 1997, Hometown America is a privately held company that owns and operates manufactured housing communities across the country. Today, the company operates more than 45 communities in ten states.
The Daily Business News will continue to monitor this story. ##
(Image credits are as shown above.)
Submitted by RC Williams to the Daily Business News for MHProNews.
