Expansion of resident-owned communities stems from rental challenges, says housing expert

The growing movement of residents looking to buy their own housing communities is due in part to the lack of protections for renters, the founder and president of Resident Owned Communities said in an interview that aired Thursday on Hill.TV.

“When you own a home on the land of another, you live with a basic insecurity that the community could be closed down, that rent’s going to be raised excessively or that the infrastructure can go into disrepair,” Paul Bradley told host Krystal Ball on Wednesday.

“While resident ownership is not known by everybody and every homeowner, when they hear about it — the opportunity to gain ownership and control the land under their homes — they’re very eager to find a way to make it happen,” he said.

Commercial real estate data from Yardi Matrix showed that the nationwide average for rent climbed to $1,420 in January, a 3.3 percent jump from the previous year. 

“It seems to be happening at an increasing rate,” Bradley said. “There is a lot of yield-seeking equity in the market, a lot of international capital that’s flowing into the United States real estate market, and this is an asset that has attracted a lot of domestic and international capital.”

Resident Owned Communities is a nonprofit organization established in 2008 that aims to increase ownership in manufactured home communities. 

— Julia Manchester


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