Manufactured homeowners in Montana
Over the past 30 years, nearly 24,000 manufactured homes have found their way to Montana families in need of affordable housing*. Clearwater Credit Union recently stepped in to help some of our members form cooperatives to buy the land under those manufactured homes.
When people think of affordable housing in the United States, they often think of subsidies, vouchers and large, multi-family housing complexes. But manufactured homes have long been a viable part of affordable home ownership in the U.S. and Montana.
The Reality of Manufactured Housing
Unfortunately, approximately 50% of manufactured housing units in Montana were built prior to the proper building code for this type of structure. Many units are unhealthy and extremely energy inefficient.
Financing Challenges
The housing type has evolved from truly mobile “trailer” to permanent “factory built.” However, financing systems have not kept pace. Unless sitting on a permanent foundation (which most units are not), manufactured housing is titled like automobiles, and loans tend to be short-term and high-priced. Moreover, most manufactured housing sits on leased rather than owned land, putting homeowners in unstable tenancy relationships. Month-to-month leases are not uncommon.
Working Together to Find Solutions
We support NeighborWorks Montana, a state Non-Government Organization, with cash and in-kind contributions. This funding helps residents of manufactured housing parks create cooperatives that stabilize tenancy and take control of the land underneath their homes.
Lending to Create Stable Foundations
We have designed an innovative loan product that provides borrowers a 20-year fixed rate at responsible pricing to make new purchases, refinances, and even cash out advances for small scale improvements. These loans are more affordable for manufactured homeowners, regardless of whether there is a permanent foundation or not. The credit union has also partnered with local Human Resource Councils and the Montana Board of Housing to create loss reserves targeting the replacement of the older, pre-building code units.
One Home at a Time
Clearwater Credit Union is proud to be putting its values to work to make these small, but powerful changes happen in the communities we serve.
*https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/mhs/data/latest-data.html
**https://data.census.gov/profile/Montana?g=040XX00US30
This story was originally published on January 23, 2019.
