Champion Park Mobile Home Park

News & Events > New York: Residents in Manufactured Home Park Purchase First Resident-Owned Community in Central New York

Elbridge, NY, December 11, 2008 – Homeowners in the Champion Mobile Home Park in Elbridge, New York are today celebrating a major accomplishment for park residents in their area; they now collectively own the 47 acres that comprise their park community.

The $3.6 million purchase of Champion Mobile Home Park by the Champion Park Homeowners Association was financed by the New York State Housing Finance Agency (NYSFHA) and ROC USA, a newly formed nonprofit. ROC USA recently launched a nation-wide initiative to promote resident ownership opportunities in manufactured home parks and Champion Park is the organization’s first loan. The FHA has financed 13 other resident park purchases in the state, but Champion signals the first purchase in Central New York.

The Champion Park Homeowners Association also received technical assistance support from an additional nonprofit, PathStone, a Rochester-based multi-service community development organization formerly known as Rural Opportunities, Inc.

With the park purchase, the Champion Park Homeowners Association’s offering plan needs to be approved by the New York State Attorney General’s Office in order to create the legally recognized cooperative. If approved, the co-op will be called Champion Homes Inc. and its board of directors and officers will be elected from within the park. Current park residents wishing to join the co-op will pay a one-time-fee of $500. The co-op will collectively own the park land, roads, sewer and water systems and any other park infrastructure, while the residents continue to individually own their homes.

An essential piece in the residents’ initial efforts to pull together the resources to purchase their park was provided by Leviticus 25:23 Alternative Fund, Inc. in the form of a pre-development loan. Leviticus’ financing covered the residents’ down payment on the property, plus the expense of due diligence items such as appraisal, environmental and property condition reports.

“Leviticus is working to ensure that manufactured home park residents have access to the right financing tools when they have the chance to purchase their park,” explained David Raynor, Leviticus’ Executive Director. “Appraisals and property condition reports can be very costly, and park residents would be hard-pressed to raise enough money on their own for a down-payment. Our hope is that this co-op model will help preserve many more homes as affordable for low-income residents.”

The Leviticus Fund is the only community development loan fund serving the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut area that offers unique loan products for manufactured home park co-op conversions. A key product in Leviticus’ lending menu is the availability of unsecured pre-development financing to park residents seeking to purchase their park land. This loan product was made possible by a seed grant from the CFED I’M HOME initiative and from JPMorgan Chase.

To learn more about Leviticus’ co-op loan program, which also includes permanent financing, visit Promoting Resident Ownership of Manufactured Home Parks.


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About Us Who We Help Ways to Invest Ways to Borrow Overview Application Process Make a Gift News & Events Advocacy	News & Events > New York: Residents in Manufactured Home Park Purchase First Resident-Owned Community in Central New York Elbridge, NY, December 11, 2008 – Homeowners in the Champion Mobile Home Park in Elbridge, New York are today celebrating a major accomplishment for park residents in their area; they now collectively own the 47 acres that comprise their park community. The $3.6 million purchase of Champion Mobile Home Park by the Champion Park Homeowners Association was financed by the New York State Housing Finance Agency (NYSFHA) and ROC USA, a newly formed nonprofit. ROC USA recently launched a nation-wide initiative to promote resident ownership opportunities in manufactured home parks and Champion Park is the organization’s first loan. The FHA has financed 13 other resident park purchases in the state, but Champion signals the first purchase in Central New York. The Champion Park Homeowners Association also received technical assistance support from an additional nonprofit, PathStone, a Rochester-based multi-service community development organization formerly known as Rural Opportunities, Inc. With the park purchase, the Champion Park Homeowners Association’s offering plan needs to be approved by the New York State Attorney General’s Office in order to create the legally recognized cooperative. If approved, the co-op will be called Champion Homes Inc. and its board of directors and officers will be elected from within the park. Current park residents wishing to join the co-op will pay a one-time-fee of $500. The co-op will collectively own the park land, roads, sewer and water systems and any other park infrastructure, while the residents continue to individually own their homes. An essential piece in the residents’ initial efforts to pull together the resources to purchase their park was provided by Leviticus 25:23 Alternative Fund, Inc. in the form of a pre-development loan. Leviticus’ financing covered the residents’ down payment on the property, plus the expense of due diligence items such as appraisal, environmental and property condition reports. “Leviticus is working to ensure that manufactured home park residents have access to the right financing tools when they have the chance to purchase their park,” explained David Raynor, Leviticus’ Executive Director. “Appraisals and property condition reports can be very costly, and park residents would be hard-pressed to raise enough money on their own for a down-payment. Our hope is that this co-op model will help preserve many more homes as affordable for low-income residents.” The Leviticus Fund is the only community development loan fund serving the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut area that offers unique loan products for manufactured home park co-op conversions. A key product in Leviticus’ lending menu is the availability of unsecured pre-development financing to park residents seeking to purchase their park land. This loan product was made possible by a seed grant from the CFED I’M HOME initiative and from JPMorgan Chase. To learn more about Leviticus’ co-op loan program, which also includes permanent financing, visit Promoting Resident Ownership of Manufactured Home Parks.