How Mill Creek mobile home residents bought the land under their feet

MILL CREEK — Ken and Karen Florczak found a notice taped to the front door of their doublewide mobile home early last summer. The land they lived on was up for sale.

The notice scared the couple. A new investor could raise their rent or force them out to build condos. He researched moving their home from the Sherwood Village community east of Mill Creek. But no neighboring parks had empty lots.

Shortly afterward, the residents received notice from the property’s managers about a meeting with the nonprofit ROC USA. The nonprofit, an association of resident-owned communities, could help turn Sherwood Village’s 35 homes into a cooperative, so they could buy the land themselves.

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In the fall, over 90% of residents voted in favor to purchase the property for $5 million just outside Mill Creek city limits, near the intersection of Seattle Hill Road and 35th Avenue SE.

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Since November, instead of lot rent, the residents have paid a mortgage for all of the land, with a 4.3% fixed-interest rate. When they bought Sherwood, they agreed to raise their monthly housing costs by an average of $232. With the help of ROC USA, Sherwood’s elected five-member board, all residents, handle most logistics — but residents must vote on anything that costs money or changes the bylaws.

https://www.heraldnet.com/news/how-mill-creek-mobile-home-residents-bought-the-land-under-their-feet/