Residents in Mountain Home purchase neighborhood from owners

A small community outside Mountain Home has made a move to ensure residents don’t have to leave due to skyrocketing rents.

Hamilton Place, a neighborhood on 10.95 acres in Elmore County is now a resident-owned cooperative, or ROC, with the residents having purchased the community from the previous owner.

The 35-lot community is comprised of 22 mobile homes, 11 vacant lots, two stick-built rental units and a leased grocery store. The acquisition of the property was made possible through the help of LEAP Housing and ROC USA, a nonprofit which helps the residents of manufactured home communities become the owners.

“This was a wonderful thing that happened,” said Barry Shanahan, the board president of Hamilton Place. “We enjoy our little community a lot. Everyone was very skeptical at first, but our community came together. Everyone here has a limited income, and we know there are challenges yet to come, but right now everyone is so happy because we don’t have to leave and change our lives. It relieve so much pressure for people.”

Thanks to a loan from ROC USA Capital ― a national CDFI dedicated to financing resident-owned cooperatives ― the purchase price of $1.13 million, associated costs and infrastructure improvements were covered. LEAP Housing’s Impact Fund provided a gap financing loan to keep lot rents affordable until the vacant lots are rented out. Because of the gap loan, rents were raised $65 instead of $165.

According to a release from LEAP Housing, “each household in Hamilton Place independently owns their home and holds a member share in Hamilton Place Community Inc., the entity that owns the entire property. Members pay a one-time membership fee of $100, which grants them the right to run for the board and vote on important decisions affecting the community.”

The acquisition is the 329th ROC in the U.S. and third in Idaho.

“LEAP is thrilled to have worked with the residents of Hamilton Place to secure their homes in fast-growing Mountain Home,” said Bart Cochran, CEO of LEAP. “The success of Hamilton Place is a testament to the power of resident ownership, a mission-minded seller and the importance of community-driven solutions.”

Cochran added that the previous property owners were willing to work with the residents and go through the process for the community to become resident-owned.

“The owners of Hamilton Park Associates had been familiar with the ROC program for years and initiated discussions with LEAP Housing to explore if their Mountain Home property was a good fit,” said Joy Leudtke, a member of the previous ownership group. “It was important to them that the tenants had the first opportunity to purchase the property and secure their future from uncontrolled rent increases. They were very pleased to see the tenants, with LEAP’s support, successfully purchase the property.”