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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 19 F E B R UA R Y 1 0 , 2 0 2 0 F O C U S S O U T H E R N M A I N E Charter Oaks residents were wary, but given the impending sale and the uncertainty that came with it, Lantagne and the Staples say they had nothing to lose. "We set up a meeting. We'd listen to what she had to say," says Lantagne. Lantagne's husband, James, exten- sively researched the cooperative option, including calling boards of communities that had done it. "Ann came in with Jim's research and said 'ey are who they say they are,'" Shannon Staples says. Less than four months later, the resi- dents of Charter Oaks signed the papers to buy their community. ey were the ninth manufactured housing commu- nity in the state to buy their community through a cooperative. In December, residents of Camden's Mountainside Village became the 10th. 'An important part of our work' e $1.17 million transaction was finalized in June, financed by Genesis Community Loan Fund, which has a revolving loan fund of $27 million with more than 100 investors. Genesis works with investors and lenders to put together traditional mortgage financing for the transac- tions. Additional loans have come from Camden National Bank for three of the projects, and Bangor Savings Bank for another. MaineHousing has been involved in two. e resident-owned communities financing "is an important part of our work," says Fleming-Ives. e cooperative holds the mort- gage, so there's no individual liabil- ity. Residents pay $100 to join the cooperative. Wright says there have been no failures among the 10 resident-owned communities formed in Maine in the past decade. e Cooperative Development Institute offers support and training for 10 years after the sale. A cooperative works the same as tra- ditional ownership, but lease payments go to the mortgage, maintenance and operation of the property, with no one making a profit. e board that runs the park is all-volunteer, and volunteers also do much of the maintenance. Charter Oaks was recognized at GrowSmart Maine's annual summit in October with a Smart Growth Award, given to five groups or programs that are transformative and that can be repli- cated across the state. "e Charter Oaks Village is an outstanding example of how a commu- nity can collaborate in an innovative way to find solutions to securing long-term affordable housing," says Nancy Smith, executive director of GrowSmart. e community "embodies the principles of smart growth in multiple ways," including its model of commu- nity stakeholder collaboration. Opportunity for Maine e idea of replicating the model across the state is foremost for the Cooperative Development Institute, Wright says. ere are 130 resident-owned com- munities in New Hampshire, where the movement started years ago. "We want park owners to call us," she says. "We can help them find out what it works, how it works with the residents." Many park owners care about what happens to residents in a sale, she says. ey're just not sure what to do about it. Despite the cooperative ownership, Wright stresses the sale is traditional and for market rate. e property is not being sold at a discount. "ere's no difference than selling it to an investor, or another buyer," she says. As of this writing, mobilehomepark- store.com lists five mobile home parks for sale across the state, but Wright says there are others that embark on a trans- action without being listed. Building a community Residents of Charter Oaks, with seven months of ownership under their belt, are happy with the results. While there've been a few bumps, it's been worth it, they say. "You get to build your own com- munity," Shannon Staples says. Changes include proper paving for previously washboard roads, enforce- ment of rules that keep people who don't live in the park from tossing rub- bish in their dumpsters, enforcing the 10 mile-an-hour speed limit and more. e entrance also has a new sign, funded by a ROC Building Community Grant. It says "Charter Oaks Village Cooperative. Resident owned." Lantagne is vice president of the board, Shannon Staples is secretary and Steve is on several committees. "We're in control now," says Lantagne. "We control what happens to where we live. It's like living in one giant house." Steve Staples says that the percep- tion of Charter Oaks, helped by the GrowSmart award, has also changed how they're viewed from the outside. "We used to be a trailer park," he says. "Now we're a community." Maureen Milliken, Mainebiz senior writer, can be reached at mmilliken @ mainebiz.biz For more information, visit efficiencymaine.com or call 866-376-2463 Increase efficiency, boost productivity, and reduce operating costs with incentives available from Efficiency Maine. EFFICIENCY MAINE WORKS WITH BUSINESSES AND INSTITUTIONS OF ALL SIZES

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