Re: community Land Trust

[Megan McDonough]

Hi Marganne -

Different community land trusts (CLTs) take a slightly different spin on things, but the core concept is that the CLT removes/reduces the cost of land from the cost of housing to make housing more affordable.  The CLT owns the land and leases it to a homeowner.

Some of the CLT's in the US are affordable housing agencies, who get grants and/or government funding to help reduce housing costs.  The National community land trust network has good resources on how to do this: model lease agreements, etc.  CLT homeowners have one of the lowest foreclosure rates in the country!

The Land Trust I work with is a little bit different ... we promote affordable housing, but we have no income guidelines for new members.  Anyone who believes in our mission can become a member.  We want to stop the cycle of speculation that drives land costs up and refocus on land as a community asset for: wildlife, housing and farming. 

We charge the homeowners who live on land trust land a lease fee for the use of the land.  That lease fee could range from $5 to $100/month depending on the costs of the original land acquisition and when they signed their lease.  One advantage of this model is that the homeowner does not need to finance the land cost as part of a mortgage. 

We are able to keep our lease fees low because we are almost entirely volunteer run - volunteers make up the committees that do the work of the trust: land management planning, finding new land, educational events, etc.

Let me know if you have more questions.

Thanks,
Megan

 

 Topic: Community Land Trust

Marganne Meyer <marg...@macnexus.org> Jul 03 12:43AM -0700 ^

 
At 9:38 PM -0400 6/6/10, LarenCorie wrote:
 
>> If you are in western Mass consider joining us or just
>>checking out pictures and handouts that we'll post on
>>the web at www.vclt.org.
 
Sometimes I think if a few of us could settle on one to three small
house plans, we might be able to economically build a community of
small homes either in a neighborhood or on larger parcels that allow
for building more than one unit (or on a commercial lot).
 
Even if it never gets built in that format, I'd like to fit in some
expense estimates so we can get a clearer idea of how much it would
cost to buy into a small community. For me, the proposal made by Ron
is too expensive. But, I probably would be able to afford to rent a
small home for the same I'm spending now on a rental studio in
Sacramento. It could be a way to leverage in those of us who are
fairly poor and provide some relief for those of us who have the
funds or ability to get a mortgage (rental income).
 
Has anyone written down a good framework report we might use to
pencil in estimated expenses (probably within ranges) and the cost of
land depending on lot size or acreage and location? Then there would
be utilities and planning expenses.
 
I've looked at mid to western Mass. It's beautiful. I'm just not sure
I could adapt from always living in California to the radically
different climate in Mass. One advantage for me if I rent is I can
try out a location for a while.
 
I'd like to know more about how the Community Land Trust example
might make cost estimates look different.
 
Cheers!
Marganne


 

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