A research team made up of Extension Specialist Charlie French, Sally Ward, Professor/Department Chair, Sociology Department and Kelly Giraud, Associate Professor, Resource Economics Department, plan to evaluate the economic and social performance of resident-owned manufactured housing communities in New Hampshire.

The Ford Foundation, the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund and the Carsey Institute are supporting the research effort.

Currently, 71 resident-owned manufactured housing communities serve 3,300 New Hampshire families. Thanks to the assistance of the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund, homeowners in each of these cooperatively-owned communities were able to form self-governing corporations that purchased the land beneath their homes, as opposed to renting their land.

In spite of the popularity of resident-owned communities in New Hampshire, one important question remains - do they outperform landowner-owned manufactured housing parks from a social and economic standpoint?

The research team set out to answer this question through a comprehensive study that engaged residents of manufactured housing cooperatives, residents of landowner-owned parks and local officials from seven New Hampshire towns.

The study is testing the following hypotheses:
1. The cost of home ownership is stabilized by resident ownership
2. Homeowners gain access market-rate financing products
3. Homeowners gain long-term security
4. Members of resident owned cooperatives gain legal, managerial, and financial control over their community.

The research findings could have profound implications on how organizations and institutions address affordable housing in an increasingly tight housing market. The findings will be published and released at "The Meredith Institute," a national event to be held in Manchester November 1-3, dedicated to sectoral strategies to address affordable housing.