Royal Crest volunteer real estate initiative generates revenue, strengthens affordability for their community
WEST WAREHAM, Mass. – When Al Latini and his neighbors purchased Royal Crest Residents Association in July 2022, they immediately capitalized on the local media stories featuring their community in an effort to fill empty lots and sell empty homes in their newly formed ROC.
It worked.
“We had a lot of publicity from buying the park, and we used that to our advantage,” said Latini, the Director of Operations and Maintenance. “We contacted the local newspapers and told them what was going on. We rode that wave of publicity, promoted ourselves and pushed ourselves and we started our own real estate business to generate revenue back into the park.”
Royal Crest is a 55 and older, 153-home community in West Wareham, a coastal community about 50 miles southeast of Boston and 13 miles from Cape Cod. All of the homes in Royal Crest are two-bedroom homes and homeowners pay $624 in monthly site fees. Nearby, a two-bedroom apartment costs between $2,000 and $2,700 per month.
We are providing affordable housing to people who really need it
Bob Costa
Board President
“The bottom line is that in order to keep lot rents down, you have to find some way of generating income,” said Board President Bob Costa. “If you have other means of income coming in through real estate, you don’t have to go to residents and knock on their door and ask them for money all the time.”
When homeowners purchased their manufactured home community, there were 10 vacant sites. Royal Crest partnered with outside vendors to lay the pads and ordered the homes, and Costa, Latini and Gary Robertson, Board Vice President, started marketing and selling the homes, advertising locally and on MHVillage.
“We are providing affordable housing to people who really need it,” Costa said. “That was our goal to begin with. The housing crisis throughout the community was terrible. When we sell these homes, we only sell to low-or moderate-income people. Thank God for ROC USA for helping people like us to be able to do this.”
The trio have sold 12 homes, including seven brand new homes, in the last two years for a total of $1.2 million, generating about $130,000 in commissions for the ROC. Recurring revenue is also up, with more households paying site fees each month. This additional revenue will help keep site fees down, invest in infrastructure issues and save money for larger projects. Royal Crest leaders would like to create a community building in the next couple of years for its residents, complete with office space, tech center and a library.
Massachusetts does not require a Realtor’s license to sell manufactured homes, however Latini does have one. But the biggest asset, he said, was having people who want to work together for the same goal.
“The key for this to work in any community is you have to have a strong Board,” Latini said. “It is a business, and you have to treat it that way. Board Members don’t have to be businesspeople but you have to have business experience and want to be successful.”
Chris Cervantes, Cooperative Development Specialist at Cooperative Development Institute’s New England Resident Owned Community Program, who works with Royal Crest, said he is impressed by the energy they bring to better the community.
“They are super go-getters,” Cervantes said. “They’re a selfless group. They don’t have a lot of tension between each other. You go to Board meetings, and they get stuff done and they want to get it done because it’s important and they really like each other. If you have a group of volunteers who are eager to do this, it’s a great alternative stream of income. They’re preserving long-term affordability for everyone.”
Costa said Royal Crest is happy to talk with other ROCs about their experience in setting up a real estate team. In fact, at least two other ROCs have established volunteer teams to sell homes that generate proceeds to benefit the entire community. To contact the Royal Crest team, send an email to Boardmembers728@gmail.com.