Bellingham MHC Purchase Fails

Lakeway Mobile Estates, Bellingham, WA is a 55+ community of 218 manufactured homes on 28 acres. It recently closed to new owners for $41 million. Even though the city offered help of over $5 million it was still not feasible for residents to purchase.

In a statement to The Bellingham Herald, Victoria O’Banion of the Northwest Cooperative Development Center said the organization “recognizes the uncomfortable reality that in some cases, a resident-owned cooperative is unable to afford the acquisition of their manufactured home community.” O’Banion said many factors “outside of our control and driven by the real estate market” can contribute to the inability of residents to buy their community including:

• The land and business value.
• The interest rate of the available capital for acquisition.
• The potential lot rent increase for each household which results in a higher risk for the lender.

“We are actively advocating for additional resources and solutions. Until that point, residents will continue to face this reality,” O’Banion said.

Read more at: https://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/local/article287110085.html#storylink=cpy The newspaper has a paywall but you can get past it for free.