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NYS Homes and Community Renewal, Roc USA® and Pathstone Help Ballston Spa Residents Buy Their Manufactured Home Park

Purchase Preserves 133 Capital Region Homes as Affordable Housing; Residents Proclaim “We Own It!”

New York – (RealEstateRama) — $4 Million State Investment Buys Cooperative Ownership and Essential Infrastructure Improvements at Kayadeross Acres Manufactured Home Park

Ballston Spa, NY December 20, 2016: New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), ROC USA and PathStone today announced that thanks to a $3.4 million loan, homeowners in the 33-acre Kayadeross Acres Manufactured Home Cooperative, formerly known as Creek and Pines, took a big step toward securing their financial futures when they purchased the land beneath their homes. The funds will finance the land acquisition and conversion to cooperative ownership; an additional $675,000 will go toward upgrades and repairs to major infrastructure systems serving the residents.

Kayadeross Acres Manufactured Homes Cooperative in Saratoga County is part of Governor Cuomo’s unprecedented commitment to affordable housing and community renewal, which includes $20 billion for comprehensive statewide affordable housing and homelessness action plans. This is the third such cooperative assistance transaction completed in 2016 – in addition to the 133-unit Creek and Pines cooperative, HCR financed the acquisition and cooperative conversion of Kayadeross Acres, The Woodlands Community in Hornell, Steuben County and Lakeville Estates in Geneseo, Livingston County.

“Across the state, manufactured homes are an invaluable, relatively low-cost affordable housing resource. And like other affordable homes, they are largely irreplaceable. The Kayadeross Acres residents’ rallying cry: “We Own It” has come true – they are in control of not only their homes but the land beneath those homes and now have the power to make cooperative decisions and changes that will ensure that those homes are kept sustainable, viable and affordable,” said HCR Commissioner James S. Rubin. ”In keeping with Governor Cuomo’s goal of preserving housing and promoting community revitalization we are moving to preserve affordable homes of all kinds in communities of all sizes and makeup. I am very proud of the HCR team: their dedication and commitment has yielded record results – the creation of three manufactured home cooperatives with a total of nearly 300 units in a single year!”

In most manufactured home communities (also known as “mobile home parks”), residents own their homes, but not the land beneath them—making them vulnerable to site rent increases and even eviction, especially if the land should change hands. When Kayadeross Acres was available for purchase, the community formed a cooperative-style residents association to buy the land. The land will belong to the resident corporation’s members in perpetuity — while preserving family oriented affordable housing in a prime Capital Region location.

ROC USA, a national non-profit organization that helps residents of for-sale manufactured home parks form resident corporations and buy their communities, provided the first mortgage through its wholly-owned subsidiary, ROC USA Capital.

The resident purchase of Kayadeross Acres, Inc. truly represents a transformational opportunity.  Upon closing, the Resident Corporation will be working to replace infrastructure, rebuild the playground so that the many children that live in the community have a place to play, and to help existing homeowners under “retail installment contracts” refinance into more affordable home loans.

“The Board and membership of Kayadeross Acres have shown tremendous leadership and tenacity in confronting the challenges that they face,” said ROC USA® President Paul Bradley. “ROC USA Network will continue to stay involved to deliver Technical Assistance along with our New York partner, PathStone Corporation, as construction proceeds and other initiatives begin to roll out in the community.”

The Kayadeross Acres manufactured home community has a total of 149 sites, 11 of which are currently vacant, on 33 acres at 885 Middle Line Road in Ballston Spa, Saratoga County. Kayadeross Acres is a family community, with a large population of children. The current lot rents are $447.43 per month for all home sites, which includes an additional monthly water charge. Homes are serviced by electric, telephone and cable, all separately paid by the residents. Heating and cooking for the homes is fueled by either electric, oil or propane. Each unit has a driveway for at least two vehicles. A Physical Condition Survey (PCS) prepared in June 2016 indicated that much of the Park’s infrastructure is in need of upgrading or replacement. Systems requiring major repairs include the septic system, water distribution system, storm sewage system, electrical system, and roadways. The Park also has paved recreational courts and a playground that are in need of repair.

PathStone Corporation, a certified technical assistance provider with ROC USA® Network, is providing advice and technical assistance to the new cooperative, under the terms of the transaction. Assistance includes continuous co-op board training, leadership transition assistance, help working with professional management agents, and other kinds of operational technical assistance over the long term. PathStone is a regional non-profit organization that helps residents of for-sale manufactured home parks form resident corporations and buy their communities. PathStone will continue to provide technical assistance to the co-op for the length of the mortgage—at least 10 years.

Financing for the $3.4 million mortgage loan came through HCR’s Housing Finance Agency (HFA) through its Manufactured Home Cooperative Fund Program (MHCFP). ROC USA Capital provided a loan in the amount of $2.65 million as well as $520,000 for the purchase of 11 park-owned homes and 27 retail installment contracts.  Infrastructure improvements are funded through HCR’s Infrastructure Development Demonstration Program (IDDP).

Stuart J. Mitchell, PathStone President and CEO stated: “PathStone Corporation is honored to be a member of the team that has created a new and transformational life for the former Creek and Pine Mobile Home Park; now starting a new life as Kayadeross Acres. Thanks to the commitment and hard work of resident leaders and NYS Homes & Community Renewal, along with expert training and technical assistance from PathStone Corporation and ROC USA staff, Kayadeross Acres is now owned by the people who raise their families in the park. It was their vision, leadership, tenacity, and entrepreneurial drive that made this conversion from private ownership to cooperative ownership possible. We are committed to support the Board of Directors as they work together and invest significant financial and personal resources in order to improve the community infrastructure and ensure the financial sustainability of this critically important source of affordable homeownership opportunities in Saratoga County.”

Danielle Marshall, Kayadeross Acres Board President, said: “What an amazing opportunity and experience to go from seven neighbors on board to 89, to close. It felt like winning the lottery. I mean to be so lucky to have come across ROC USA and be able to run, not walk, through the process of securing the future for our community is just so awesome. Kayadeross acres is so thankful to New York State, Paul Bradly of ROCUSA, Angela Romeo of New Hampshire Community Loan Fund, Andrea Miller of PathStone and many more. I have learned so much through this process and come to love so many of my neighbors that this has just been such a blessing on so many levels.”

Indeed, the interim Board of Directors wasted no time and, on the very day they purchased the community and, among other things, changed the name of the community from Creek and Pines to Kayadeross Acres; signed agreements with two home lenders for lower-cost home financing in the community; signed a brokerage agreement to list and sell seven vacant park-owned homes that they acquired; initiated engineering design for a $2.9 million improvement project (starting with water distribution lines); contracted to have three dilapidated homes removed from the community; and, had a tree expert marking trees for removal. For more information, go to: www.kayaderossacres.coop

This is the seventh manufactured home cooperative that PathStone and ROC USA – in partnership with HCR – have assisted in New York. Others are: Marilla Country Gardens in Alden, Erie County; Champion Homes in Elbridge, Onondaga County; Meadow Valley in Unadilla, Otsego County; Venture Lake Estates in Hyde Park, Dutchess County and earlier this year, The Woodlands Community, in Hornell, Steuben County and  Lakeville Estates in Geneseo, Livingston County. Including Kayadeross Acres, PathStone and ROC USA have helped a total of 701 New York manufactured home residences benefit from cooperative ownership. In this model, homeowners in the community each buy one low-cost share and become members of the resident corporation, with one vote on matters of the community. They elect a Board of Directors to act on day-to-day issues and vote on larger matters like the annual budget, by-laws and community rules.

The State’s Manufactured Home Cooperative Fund Program (MHCFP), is a revolving loan program created to assist residents in manufactured home parks to purchase the land underlying their homes, make infrastructure improvements, and form cooperatives. By owning and managing their parks, residents are able to take greater control over their housing costs and living conditions. The MHCFP was created in 1988 and to date, 20 loans totaling more than $26.9 million in MHCFP funds have assisted more than 1,430 families move to cooperative ownership of their parks.

About the Partners

New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) includes the Affordable Housing Corporation, the Division of Housing and Community Renewal, the Housing Finance Agency, State of New York Mortgage Agency, Housing Trust Fund Corporation and others. 2016 marks the fourth year of Governor Cuomo’s $1 billion statewide House NY program, whose goal is to create or preserve 14,300 affordable units by 2018. In 2015, HCR set a record for financing the creation or preservation of more than 11,000 affordable homes and apartments and was the #1 bond issuer in the nation with $2.5 billion issued. The agency stands ready to make good on the Governor’s new $10 billion 100,000 unit House NY 2020 commitment. For more information on HCR programs and initiatives, please visit: http://www.nyshcr.org/.

ROC USA (www.rocusa.org) is a non-profit organization with a national network of eight organizations (such as PathStone) and a national financing source for co-ops. ROC USA® is sponsored by the Ford Foundation, NeighborWorks® America, NCB Capital Impact, the Corporation for Enterprise Development, and the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund. The Community Loan Fund, a non-profit community development financial institution in New Hampshire, leveraged its experience with 108 resident-owned communities in that state to launch ROC USA with national partners in May 2008. Since then, ROC USA Network has helped 102 communities preserve 6,847 homes in 14 states.

Begun in 1969, PathStone (www.pathstone.org) is a private, not-for-profit regional community development and human service organization providing services to farmworkers, low-income families and economically depressed communities throughout New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, Indiana, Vermont, Virginia and Puerto Rico. PathStone, an HCR pre-approved Technical Assistance Provider for MHCFP, has successfully operated a wide array of programs funded by federal, state, local, faith-based, and private sources.