MHProNews has learned that National Cooperative Bank (NBC) of Hillsboro, Ohio and MetLife have teamed with ROC USA and their ROC USA Capital arm, a U.S. Treasury-certified Community Development Financial Institution, to offer additional financing allowing manufactured home community residents to purchase the communities they live in.

According to the ABA Banking Journal, the program will provide first mortgage and acquisition to permanent loans to finance the conversion of resident associations of MHCs to cooperative ownership in 20 states.

NCB and MetLife have each committed $15 million, and ROC USA Capital $10 million over two years.

“We understand the critical need for affordable homeownership across the country and have structured the loan program to bring affordable long-term fixed-rate financing to buyers,” the organizations said in a statement.

“ROC USA Capital is the originating lender, lead lender and loan servicer for each of the underlying project loans. National Cooperative Bank has committed $15 million and will serve as lead for the senior participant lender group.”

ROC USA will source potential transactions, NCB will perform due diligence and underwriting, and their network will provide technical assistance to newly formed housing cooperatives to enable groups to buy, own and improve communities.

“Since the launch of the financing initiative in 2015, the program has successfully converted two MHCs to limited equity ownership totaling approximately $12 million,” said NCB bank in a statement.

“The program is aligned with the bank’s mission to support low- and moderate-income communities and cooperative development and also leverages NCB’s deep experience in financing housing cooperatives to provide community development lending.”

As Daily Business News readers are aware, ROC USA recently helped residents of Town & Country Estates in Kingston, Massachusetts, and the Kayadeross Acres Manufactured Home Cooperative in Ballston Spa, New York, to purchase their communities.

“We don’t have to look for a landlord, we are the landlord, so that being a co-op and a nonprofit we’re not out to make any money so the only rent that we’re going to be charging ourselves is that which is enough to sustain the place,” said Town & Country Mobile Home Estates Tenants Association President Joe Mauriello.

“Without ROC or CDI, we would not be owning this park [sic] today.”

That story is linked here. For the Kayadeross Acres Manufactured Home Cooperative story, click here. ##

 

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Submitted by RC Williams to the Daily Business News for MHProNews.