NeighborWorks® America's Sustainable Business Initiative helps community-based NeighborWorks organizations strengthen their foundations and grow revenue. In 2024, the SBI provide seed grants to seven network organizations with promising earned revenue strategies. Over the next few weeks, as part of Small Business Month, NeighborWorks will highlight some of those outcomes.
For decades, manufactured homes in Minnesota parks have lacked access to affordable, fair financing. Because these homes are titled as personal property rather than real estate, buyers often rely on predatory loans with high interest rates — sometimes as high as 7–20% — and short terms. Many down payment assistance programs also exclude manufactured homes, further limiting access to homeownership.
At the same time, manufactured homes represent one of the few truly affordable pathways to ownership for families who are priced out of traditional single-family homes. With rising housing costs across Minnesota, these homes can offer stable, long-term housing at a fraction of the cost, especially in cooperatively owned parks where residents have more control over their communities.
NeighborWorks Home Partners, which has long focused on expanding access to affordable homeownership, recognized this as a solution.
Even while lot rent can limit choices, manufactured homes still offer one of the most attainable entry points to ownership compared to traditional families, said Beth Hyser, Chief Program Officer at NW Home Partners. “They can buy a brand new, three-bedroom unit for around $159,000…the units themselves are absolutely affordable in the buying world. In our market, you can't find a new house for $160,000. You'd be lucky to find one for $350,000.”
With approximately 800 parks across the state, including many cooperatives, the need for sustainable financing options was clear. Yet NWHP had no prior products serving this market, making the leap both daunting and necessary.
A seed grant from SBI – one of seven provided to NeighborWorks network organizations in 2024 – gave NWHP the chance to pursue innovative financing solutions for manufactured homes.
NWHP’s entry into manufactured home lending began with a partnership. CoNorth, a cooperative development nonprofit with programs focused on manufactured home communities, secured $10 million in legislative funding to support first financing for manufactured homes, but lacked lending capacity. They turned to NWHP, whose board and lending team recognized the alignment with their mission.
Through the SBI seed grant, NWHP was able to dedicate resources to explore this new frontier, hire staff and design a lending model. This work quickly became one of the organization’s primary strategic priorities.
Seeding Opportunity
The $75,000 SBI seed grant provided the essential support needed to move the program from concept to reality.
“The organizations that received the Seed grants had all demonstrated strong potential for sustainable business growth,” explained Alicia McCoy, NeighborWorks America’s interim vice president, National Homeownership Programs and Lending. “With the help of the grants, they met that potential.”
With the resources, NWHP hired and trained a dedicated loan officer, giving the organization the staff capacity to lead this new line of work. They researched national models, drawing on technical assistance from a nonprofit in New Hampshire, and developed comprehensive product guidelines that ultimately received board approval.
At the same time, NWHP negotiated contracts with the state housing finance agency and began early marketing, which included outreach to more than 300 park managers across Minnesota. These steps laid the groundwork for the launch of Prime Path, NWHP’s first financing product for manufactured homes. Introduced in May 2025, Prime Path finances only new, energy-efficient homes that meet HUD’s updated build standards. Alongside this, NWHP secured a limited pool of down payment assistance for cooperative park communities.
“Without the seed grant, we would have moved much slower and on a smaller scale,” said Hyser. “This investment gave us the head start we needed to realistically meet our 2027 goals.”
NWHP is actively working to refine guidelines, expand marketing reach and explore solutions for affordability challenges tied to high lot rents.
“The next step for us is a marketing campaign that helps destigmatize manufactured home community living to people who haven't considered it before and position it as a viable option for first-time home buyers,” said Hyser. “It’s hard to afford a home as a first-time home buyer. And this is a really good option.”
Looking ahead, they are pursuing additional loan capital for 2026, engaging with state and local partners to strengthen infrastructure support, and considering long-term strategies for financing existing manufactured homes — currently excluded but critical for preservation.
By entering this often-overlooked sector, NWHP is not only creating new pathways to homeownership in Minnesota but also establishing a model that could guide CDFIs nationwide in expanding their presence in manufactured housing finance.
