Agenda - 05-04-2021; 8-a - Minutes

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19 1 is more difficult to be successful. She said she does not have an average amount of rent 2 increases, and it depends greatly on what the market rents are, how far below market value the 3 rents currently are. She said if an investor buys a property, the rents typically increase to 4 market value as quickly as possible. She said residents have raised their rents anywhere from 5 $5-$180 increase to purchase the community, and it really depends on the market. She said a 6 $30-$40 increase is probably most typical. 7 Commissioner McKee agreed with the idea of asking the HOME Collaborative to 8 research the ideas further. 9 Commissioner Greene asked Thomas Beckett to speak on limited equity cooperative 10 housing and what it means over time. 11 Thomas Beckett said limited equity housing is a term used to distinguish it from market 12 rate housing. He said in cooperative housing residents own the asset. He said in New York 13 City the model is market rate, and each resident owns a share in the cooperative, and the 14 cooperative owns the building and they all share in maintaining the building. He said the pricing 15 is comparable to market rates in the city, because the membership if a full equity ownership in 16 the value of the underlying property. He said the limited equity housing came about in New 17 York as well, due to many abandoned properties with squatters. She said the membership does 18 not participate in the equity of the building, but rather in maintaining and governing it. He said 19 ROC USA is a limited equity model, where the cooperative corporation is a non-profit, and there 20 are no owners in the equity. He said members of a ROC pay a modest membership fee, and 21 each receives a vote for the Board of Directors and major issues of the community. He said 22 members are buying into a long-term stable rent situation, and the residents have the 23 opportunity to turn any cash flow into a reinvestment into the community. He said the home is 24 classified as a motor vehicle, which are generally considered depreciating assets. He said in a 25 resident owned community, the rents are stabilized, and generally become a higher valued 26 community, which creates equity. He said using a nonprofit as the vehicle takes the land off of 27 the speculative market, and no longer allows an investor to come in and turn it into condos. 28 Chair Price suggested, given the late hour that this topic be researched further by a 29 committee. 30 Commissioner Greene said she supports taking this to a committee for further research 31 and discussion. She said this idea is so valuable, as this is a market driven situation. She said 32 if a landlord wishes to sell, ROC USA begins the process. She said if this model is adopted, it 33 does not create a lot of work for a committee, and the Affordable Housing Collaborative does 34 not need to have its charge changed in order to cover. 35 Chair Price said she supports letting the Affordable Housing Collaborative move forward 36 with researching the item, and would like to increase the membership on the committee to 37 increase the diversity of the group. She said she would like to expand the number of voices on 38 the committee, including representation from people who live in the mobile home communities. 39 Commissioner Greene said the collaborative will bring information back to the full boards 40 for further discussion, and she does not want to slow things down. 41 Chair Price said she is not trying to slow things down, but rather wants to move them 42 along. She said she would like the BOCC to vote to pursue this. 43 Commissioner Greene said she would like for the Board to decide if this is a model that 44 in which the County wants to participate. 45 Chair Price said she thought the existing Affordable Housing Collaborative should 46 research the model. She said the only suggestion she and the mayors of the municipalities had 47 was to increase the diversity of the collaborative 48 Commissioner Greene clarified the suggestion of expanding the number of people on 49 the collaborative. She said, as elected officials, the existing representatives represent the 50 voters of Chapel Hill, the County and the Towns.