Saturday Greeters, Holliday Park Cheerleaders, Marketing, Promoters, whatever you call us, we’re here to help people become our good neighbors.

On a typical Saturday at 10:30 a.m. or so, the flags come out in front of the clubhouse and on the boulevard that contains the sandwich board that reads “Learn About Us”. And that is just what we do. People come in to find out about our secret.  How we live so economically, free of maintenance worries, in a safe and quiet community, this is what they want to know.  It’s because Holliday Park is a moderate income cooperative.

Two-thirteen cooperatives, as moderate income cooperatives are known, are not easily described in just a few words. Most of the time people inquiring have many questions. Once we explain the “buy-in” component and it sounds like the prospective member accepts that, we talk about the benefits. First and foremost are the low monthly carrying charges that include heat, maintenance, taxes and insurance.

Many people find co-op living an attractive alternative to renting or owning a home.  There is the young, career person who is devoting a lot of time to the job.  Young couples seek out this inexpensive way of life until they have saved enough to buy their dream house.  Then again, some young couples decide to stay at Holliday Park to live their lives, finding one of the larger units perfect for a growing family.

A frequent inquirer is someone, at or near retirement, looking to ease up on caring for a home, its leaks and squeaks, its repair and replacement. Co-op living also works for single mothers or fathers who don’t have the time to tackle projects by themselves.  Children’s afterschool schedules keep them busy enough. Then there’s the frightening component of running into an unscrupulous contractor who takes your money and never shows up or does shoddy work. That doesn’t happen here. We have a prompt capable maintenance crew that fixes what goes wrong.

We also meet relatives looking out for a family member or members who no longer can take care of their home. They are perfectly capable of caring for themselves (we are not an assisted living complex) but the everyday running of a household is too much. Our one and two bedroom ranch styles suit them perfectly.

All units feel like home since you have a front and back door, full basement and maybe even a patio. Parking in a carport offers lots of protection from the elements – snow, rain, sun; even frost settles only rarely. Carports do carry an additional monthly charge.

But wait, that’s not all you find here!  There is more!  There are the social activities and travel opportunities. We have cards on Thursday – Pinochle in the afternoon and Euchre in the evening. On the 2nd and 4th Friday a group plays Mexican Train Dominoes. As is customary at Holliday Park, refreshments are shared and enjoyed. For a dollar, movies are shown on the second Saturday of the month, with pop and popcorn included. Koffee Klutch meets every Monday morning and that’s only a dollar too.  Along with coffee, there are English muffins and fresh fruit. Conversations are definitely lively. Then there’s usually a swim party during the summer and a big Christmas party – you just never know who will get the inspiration to organize a get-together for everyone.  The travel opportunities range from one day trips to two week cruises, but only when the price is right.

Safety was mentioned. Because of our night patrol we are able to keep Holliday Park one of the safest communities in Westland. When you volunteer — we encourage you to do so — your commitment is 3 times a year for 3 hours in the middle of the night. What a small price to pay for this peace of mind. You become part of a group who is out each and every night 365 days of the year keeping us and our property safe.  Priceless!

So if living in a moderate income cooperative, in a safe community, with low carrying charges sounds like your kind of “next step”, do come in on a non-holiday Saturday between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., and talk to us in person.  You too may become one of our “good neighbors”.

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 1st, 2011 at 7:51 pm and is filed under Holliday Park. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.