The residents of Albany Acres Cooperative in Albany, N.H. celebrated the purchase of their manufactured-home community on June 14 with a community cookout and a new banner that says, “We own it!”
Residents will never again have to worry about their community being sold to out-of-state investors or closed.
Albany Acres — made up of 42 homes and eight vacant lots — is a multi-generational community with a mix of long-time residents, retirees, essential workers, and young families with children. Four rental homes will be converted into homeownership opportunities.
Residents can take pride in belonging to a community much larger than their co-op: Albany Acres became New Hampshire’s 153rd resident-owned community (ROC), connected to more than 9,000 homeowners who live in ROCs across the state.
ROCs are corporations whose members — the homeowners — own and operate their community as a not-for-profit, with coaching from the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund’s ROC-NH program. Each home is individually owned, while the land and infrastructure under the homes is owned by the co-op.
After two unsuccessful attempts to become a ROC in 2012 and 2023, residents became accustomed to increasing monthly lot fees with each new owner — but few improvements to the community.
Elissa Smith, secretary of the co-op, has lived at Albany Acres for more than 30 years and has seen the community suffer under mismanagement, with failing infrastructure and a lack of rule enforcement. She said she’s hopeful that residents can improve the community now that they own it, while keeping it affordable.
“There's a lot of work that needs to be done here... but I love the fact that we now have an opportunity to do things the way we want to, as a community and as individuals,” she said. “We want to just be able to live our lives in a community that watches out for each other. And we do. We do that here.”
Financed with a mortgage from the Community Loan Fund, the purchase was made possible by the Community Loan Fund’s neighbors-investing-in-neighbors model that turns donations and impact investor funds into loans and services for homeowners, small businesses, nonprofits, and communities.
“We’re proud to protect one of the most affordable homeownership opportunities remaining in our state by helping homeowners convert their communities to ROCs,” Community Loan Fund President & CEO Steve Saltzman said. “We’re thrilled to welcome Albany Acres as the 153rd resident-owned community in New Hampshire.”
Resident-owned communities with available space for new homes, like Albany Acres, can also receive financing and technical support from the Community Loan Fund to add and sell homes on their vacant lots. Infill increases the community’s income from monthly lot fees that can be put toward community improvements and financial sustainability.
The Community Loan Fund got its start in 1983 when it connected impact investors with manufactured homeowners in Meredith. Together, we created the Meredith Center Cooperative — New Hampshire’s first resident-owned community (ROC). It quickly became a model for stabilizing manufactured housing affordability nationwide. Since then, the Community Loan Fund has helped borrowers purchase or preserve over 9,000 affordable manufactured homes and provides coaching and guidance loan services that help borrowers successfully navigate repayment.
There's a lot of work that needs to be done here... but I love the fact that we now have an opportunity to do things the way we want to, as a community and as individuals. We want to just be able to live our lives in a community that watches out for each other. And we do. We do that here.”