Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | DECEMBER 9, 2024 17 account balance (avg monthly balance) apy Tier 1 $25,000 – $49,999.99 2.55% Tier 2 $50,000 – $99,999.99 3.30% Tier 3 $100,000 – $249,999.99 3.80% Tier 4 $250,000 & more 4.30% Minimum of $25,000 new money (not previously on deposit with us during the previous thirty calendar days). Avoid the $10 Monthly Maintenance Fee with a $1,000 average monthly balance each monthly calendar period. Banking products are provided by Berkshire Bank: Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender. Berkshire Bank is a Massachusetts chartered bank. Checking Disclosure: 1 This is a variable rate account, and the rate may change after the account is opened. The Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is accurate as of 11/1/24 and subject to change. Fees may reduce earnings. The minimum balance to open the Berkshire Direct Checking account is $1,000. Available to consumer customers only. To obtain the disclosed Annual Percentage Yield you must maintain one of the following requirements: • A minimum combined monthly direct deposit amount of $7,500.00 in your Berkshire Direct Checking account; OR • An average monthly balance of $50,000.00 in your Berkshire Direct Checking account each monthly statement cycle. Early account closure fee may apply if account is closed within 12 months of account opening. See fee schedule for applicable fees and Truth- in-Savings Disclosure. Money Market Disclosure: 2 This is a variable rate account, and the rate may change after the account is opened. The Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is accurate as of 11/1/24 and subject to change. Fees may reduce earnings. Minimum balance to open the Berkshire Direct Money Market account is at least $25,000 in new money not already on deposit in other accounts with Berkshire Bank during the previous thirty calendar days. Available to consumer customers only. To qualify for a Berkshire Direct Money Market account, you must be a primary OWNER of a Berkshire Direct Checking account. If you are not the primary OWNER of a Berkshire Direct Checking account, your Berkshire Direct Money Market account will be closed, and the balance will be mailed to you in the form of a Cashier's Check. Must maintain an average monthly balance of $25,000.00 to obtain the disclosed APY. Interest Rates and Annual Percentage Yields (APYs) rates shown are accurate as of the date listed. The balance tiers for the Berkshire Direct Money Market are as follows: $25,000 – 49,999.99; $50,000 - $99,999.99; $100,000 - $249,999.99; $250,000 or more and reflects the current minimum daily collected balance required to obtain the applicable APY. Rates subject to change without notice. Berkshire Direct Money Market maintenance and other fees, if any, apply and may reduce account earnings. The balance of the Berkshire Direct Money Market account cannot exceed $5,000,000. Early account closure fee may apply if account is closed within 12 months of account opening. See fee schedule for applicable fees and Truth- in-Savings Disclosure. Cell Phone Disclosure: 3 Benefits are subject to terms, conditions, and limitations, including limitations on the amount of coverage. Coverage is provided by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG company. Policy provides secondary coverage only. Cell phone insurance is offered through Mastercard. The maximum liability is $800 per claim, and $1,000 per covered card per 12-month period. Each claim is subject to a $50 deductible. Coverage is limited to two (2) claims per covered card per 12-month period. See Terms and Conditions for more details. Basic Checks Disclosure: 4 Receive free basic wallet-style checks for your new Berkshire Direct Checking account only. No cash value or credit towards non-basic wallet style checks. ATM Fees Disclosure: 5 All non-Berkshire Bank ATM Inquiry fees waived. We will reimburse all non-Berkshire Bank ATM Withdrawal and Surcharge fees incurred nationwide per statement cycle. Your surcharge (non-Berkshire Bank ATM fee) credits may be reportable to the IRS on Form 1099-MISC. "Statement Cycle" begins the calendar day after the previous Statement Cycle ends and runs through the last business day of the statement period. Berkshire Bank's ATM policies are subject to change at our discretion at any time. Identity Theft Disclosure: 6 Information about Identity Theft services will be sent in a separate email. Eligible customers for Identity Theft services would include the Consumer, his/her spouse or domestic partner, dependents in the household up to age 25, other IRS-qualified dependents in the household, and parents living at the same address as the consumer, or living in hospice, assisted living, or nursing home. Rev 11/24 Get more for your money with the Berkshire Direct Bundle • No incoming wire fees for domestic or international transfers • Cell phone insurance3 • Free basic wallet-style checks4 • atm waivers and surcharge rebates5 • No Overdraft Protection Transfer Fees when linked to any Berkshire Bank savings or money market account Client must enroll. • Identity theft protection6 • MyBanker Personalized financial planning for all your banking needs. We will come to you. Want better value? Go direct! Want to learn more? Daisy Paulus 860.942.3226 dpaulhus@berkshirebank.com Or stop by any Financial Center berkshire direct checking1 Direct deposit / balance requirements that grow as you go monthly direct deposit requirements or monthly minimum average balance apy Tier 1 $0.01 – $2,999.99 / $0.01 – $4,999.99 0% Tier 2* $3,000 – $7,499.99 / $5,000 – $49,999.99 0% Tier 3 $7,500 & more / $50,000 & more 1.00% * Avoid the $35 Monthly Maintenance Fee by maintaining one of the following requirements: • A combined monthly direct deposit amount of $3,000.00 or more in your Berkshire Direct Checking account; or • An average monthly balance of $5,000.00 or more in your Berkshire Direct Checking account each monthly statement cycle. berkshire directmoney market2 Berkshire Direct checking account required when opening account park operator. He says since then, his land rents have increased around 30%, and Delo- hery has embarked on a new career organizing mobile home owners. "We're a grassroots organization," he said. "When people get a notice that their park is selling, or their rents are going up, they tend to become more motivated to participate." Last year, a class action lawsuit was filed in Illinois on behalf of mobile home owners, alleging a group of park owners colluded to raise lot prices. Just three parks in Connecticut — in Colchester, Milford and Danbury — are resident-owned, representing perhaps 200 homeowners, and so far none have been acquired under the new right-of-first-refusal law. But Delohery says that law could still be key in effecting change. "The states across New England that have had mobile home park right- of-refusal legislation on the books for between 20 and 30 years, generally between 20% and 30% of the parks are resident-owned," he said. 'Younger people are moving in' While big companies see oppor- tunities for investment and profit here, the existing Connecticut market continues to be dominated by small- scale owners, and also isn't likely to expand in any significant way in the near future, according to Mark Asnes of Freehold Real Estate in Norwich. He is the president of the Connecticut Manu- factured Housing Association. He's also, along with Delohery, a board member on the state of Connecticut's Advisory Council on Manufactured Housing. Asnes says as home prices in Connecticut continue to rise, he's seeing new trends in the type of consumer who's in the market for a mobile home. "It definitely used to be an older downsizing population, or people on fixed incomes," he said. "What we're seeing is that younger people are moving in and buying these homes." He owns and operates communi- ties in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Ohio, and he's recently achieved the almost impos- sible by getting permission to create a new mobile home park in Waterford. It took more than two years to get approvals to begin construction on the park, which was only approved under the state's 8-30g affordable housing statute. Even as construc- tion begins, the park is already the target of lawsuits from abutting property owners. "Our specific industry has tried very hard to shed the trailer-park moniker," Asnes said. "The 'not-in-my-backyard' has followed us so strongly that most of the towns in Connecticut just don't want a new manufactured home community." In his advisory role, Asnes has fought hard against additional state regulation like rent caps, and says the state's park owners could do with extra support like financing to upgrade aging infrastructure. "If you keep whittling my ability to earn a living and provide safe, affordable housing for people, which is our sole purpose in life, if you keep chipping away at it, you end up with distressed properties," he said. "When you get distressed properties, you end up selling them to private equity." The interior of a manufactured home at the Shoreline Mobile Home Park in Branford. Mark Asnes

• Cover