Persistence Pays Off for Residents Purchasing Cotton Farm Village Cooperative

October 21, 2025

Convertirse en una comunidad propiedad de los residentes ROC-NH

It took 27 years, three attempts, and residents new and old coming together to make it happen. On June 14, Cotton Farm Village Cooperative celebrated the purchase of their manufactured-home park and becoming a resident-owned community (ROC). Cotton Farm Village — made up of 144 manufactured homes, two empty lots, and 12 rental apartments — became the 152nd ROC in New Hampshire.

Third Time's the Charm

Cotton Farm Village Cooperative ribboncutting photocourtesy NHCLF 6 14 25

The first time Guy learned about the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund was in 1998, when a previous absentee park owner mismanaged Cotton Farm Village into foreclosure. The park was due to be sold at auction.

In a manufactured-home park, the residents own their homes but pay monthly lot rent to use the land under their houses. When the park is owned by a private investor, the homeowners there may have little say about upkeep or rent increases.

Guy and other residents learned that buying the park cooperatively would put the residents in charge. They could vote each year on the co-op's budget, set the rules, and decide what got fixed and when. The Community Loan Fund’s ROC-NH™ program could help finance the park purchase and then continue to provide training and coaching to help the cooperative be successful.

Back in 1998, the residents successfully formed a cooperative but were unfortunately outbid by a New York real estate developer at the auction.

Four years later, the residents put in a larger offer to the new owner and were close to an agreement. But the deal fell through at the last minute.

Guy was devastated but remained hopeful. His belief in the ROC model was so strong that he continued to keep the cooperative going by filing an annual report with the state and paying a fee for the next two decades.

“I just felt so comfortable in the park and the community that I felt strong enough just to keep things going… on the hope that there would come a day that we would become a resident-owned community,” Guy said.

Fast forward to December 2024: the park went up for sale — again — and the tenants were given a 60-day notice to make a competing offer, thanks to a law that we helped pass in 1988.

Guy had saved the gavel given to the cooperative in 2003 by the Community Loan Fund and brought it to the first meeting of the residents.

Our ROC-NH™ team was there to support the residents as a strong board of directors, including Brian Harris, Sarah Wood, Amy Melvin, and Tony Scibilia, quickly assembled to hold meetings and work with expert engineers to assess the condition of the property.

Even the third time around, the process wasn’t completely smooth. Everyone had their own opinions and there were all kinds of unknowns. But most people agreed that if they went forward with the purchase, they would have more control over the future of their park.

On May 29, Guy and Sarah signed the paperwork to close on the purchase of their land, financed with a mortgage from the Community Loan Fund and our mission-aligned partners.

Sarah said resident ownership of the park means peace and security for her family, which includes two children.

“I love living here!" she added.

Guy hopes that families like Sarah’s will have a better future at Cotton Farm Village now that it’s resident-owned.

“We do rely on each other now, and I think that's going to make it more secure — not so much for me, but for the younger families that have kids that they're raising,” he said. “They know that they're in a secure situation and that there's nobody going to come in and pull a rug from underneath them. We're in charge of our own destiny.”

Persistence Pays Off for Residents Purchasing Cotton Farm Village Cooperative

Third Time's the Charm

Falling short but remaining hopeful

Falling short but remaining hopeful

One last chance

Celebrating security

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