How is a resident-owned community different from other manufactured home communities?
- The Members elect a Board of Directors, which appoints committees to do different tasks and manage the day-to-day operations of the Corporation.
Every Member household has a vote on the ROC leaders and budget.
- Northwest Cooperative Development Center and ROC Northwest provide the Board with a Management Guide and teaches Board Members effective ways to run the Corporation. This includes, but is not limited to, how to set up a financial record-keeping system and how to use resources to improve the roads, water, electric and waste-water systems.
- In a commercially owned community, even though residents own their homes, the park owner controls the lot rent and the park rules. Each time a commerciallly owned community is sold to a new owner, the rent tends to increase. At Hidden Village, Members set the rent, and a majority of Members must vote to approve any increase. Members also have control over the condition of the community – including roads, water, electric, waste-water systems and landscaping.
- In a commercially owned community, the theory is that if you don’t like how the park is being managed, you can move your home. But “mobile” homes these days are not very mobile. Many homes could not withstand the move. Affordable lots are hard to find. If you live in a park without protection from skyrocketing rent or even park closure, you could be at risk to lose your home.
- In a resident-owned community, if you don’t like how the park is being managed, you can run for a position on the Board of Directors and make improvements inside the Corporation.