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A Real Sense of Community at Colonial Estates

A few weeks ago, I traveled south to Colonial Estates in Taunton, Mass. to get some footage for a video that the National Co-op Bank is producing as a gift for our 10th anniversary. The plan is to … More »

Photo of Shirlene Stoven at her home at Applewood Mobile Home Park in Midvale, Utah, on Dec. 9, 2016.

Victory in Utah!

They did it!  The homeowners at the threatened Applewood Estates in Midvale, Utah, are acquiring their community – taking title, literally – as I write this! I am so relieved.  They called with no small challenge – making … More »

Persistence pays off

By Natividad Seefeld We hosted a Legislator tour last Saturday as a way to win back a rent credit that was lost in 2011. We were very excited that the one Senator we needed to show up the … More »

Photo showing nuns at the sign in front of Meredith Center Cooperative

Bless the Sisters of Mercy

The stories about the first Resident Owned Community – Meredith Center Co-op in Meredith, N.H., – often will include a line or two about how the start-up nonprofit New Hampshire Community Loan Fund financed the homeowners’ purchase of … More »

Photo of the ROC USA conference room with photos of the current and past ROC Association Directors as well as a large photo of the first elected Directors.

I am so happy I have to tell someone!

When a community leader is elected by ROC Boards in their region for one of the three ROC Association Board seats, it’s a big deal for them personally.  A big deal in the sense that it requires quite … More »

Photo of Liz Wood and Paul Bradley attending a ROC Association meeting together.

Third-party compliments cement certainty of co-op’s success

Ownership works. I received a lovely note yesterday from Liz Wood, former ROC Association Director and Membership Chair for Duvall Riverside Village in Duvall, Wash. In sharing the story of a member who recently passed, she forwarded her … More »

Photo of sign announcing celebration at Halifax Estates.

2017 in Review

I met the all-female Board of Directors of Halifax Estates Residents’ Association as they prepared for the October purchase of the community that they call home. They were smart, dedicated and serious. They also knew how to have … More »

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You want experience? You got it!

People trying to understand resident ownership sometimes ask, “But, do people have the capability to own and manage their communities?” After working with co-op leaders for going on three decades and in literally hundreds of communities, I can … More »

Photo showing judges standing together

More than fun …

It has always been fun to be on the University of New Hampshire campus in Durham.  I graduated in 1986 and have attended numerous events over the last 30 years, largely fun stuff like sporting events, concerts, ceremonies … More »